Italian Tiny House
Sector
Residential
Location
Caxias do Sul
Year
2021
Italian colonial architecture in Rio Grande do Sul, a cultural cycle developed in the Italian immigration ,Brazil, between 1875 and 1960, represents a legacy of great architectural, historical and cultural importance. Initially destined to meet urgent shelter needs, in the context of the difficult colonization, and being therefore impermanent and precarious, the vernacular architecture developed in the region in a short time evolved and diversified, gained grandeur and durability, it was dressed in an aesthetic in many aspects original, and in its heyday, which occurs between the beginning of the twentieth century and approximately the 1940s, was associated with issues of cultural identity and social status.
Its characteristics have geographic, typological and chronological variations, but in general lines this architecture is defined by the simplicity of forms, the originality in the use of materials, the creative structural and decorative solutions, the solidity of the construction — which can be in wood or stone — for its austere and dignified appearance and for its harmonious insertion into the landscape.
The programs consists of a base 6x6x6 meters cube limitation, for one sleeping area. The challenge was to choose a site, which was selected from a cultural relevance, and style. To add more space into the house, the design went “outside the box” and underground, utilizing the foundations stones walls from the cultural Italian houses from the region and adding a extra floor, bending the parameters and creating more spaces for living and communion. The basement floor is submerged into the earth with small wine storage behind the stair, a kitchen and small living space. At the first level, a hall and bedroom are located with the main entrance, and upstairs there is the last master suite.
It mainly uses sun from east and west, minimizing glare exposure and gaining heat from the north wall during the winter, The basement has two big doors facing north to welcome the most of natural light.
