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House in Mathi by MARC

By Eric Meunier

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Italian studio MARC has designed the House in Mathi project, a transformation of dilapidated barns into a contemporary residence and studio in Mathi, a small town in the Province of Turin, Italy.

House in Mathi by MARC:

“The client decides to leave his nice apartment downtown Torino to move his family to his hometown, restoring a big shed, little more than a roof in ruins, adjacent to the little house he restored with his wife in the years after their wedding. It is a long-time dream, for which he is eager to invest most of his resources. After interviewing several architects, he asks MARC to design a special house, irrational, for his whole life.

MARC decides to accept this responsibility with the client’s same honesty and passion. The family’s desires and needs are met directly, without trying to rationalize them into a design too unitary: openness toward the exterior, energetic autonomy, a small swimming-pool, care for the previous home, to be connected to the new one without being modified. A micro world made of well-defined initial elements, continuously developed and rethought during the period –not a short one- of the construction, heterogeneous, but neutralized by coating them with an uniform and indifferent color RAL 7032.

Also the close bond to the territory is interpreted literally: a shallow excavation crosses the house from one side to the other and defines the building’s relation to the ground, provoking an immediate visual and functional link between the interior and the landscape. This lower -yellow- footprint allows to fit an additional floor without changing the outline of the building. It also allows enough space to suspend the volume of the swimming-pool at the second floor, for a better exposure to the sun.

During the construction period, the clients decide to extend to other building nearby the same additive approach the used for the house. They decide to restore also their professional studios, connecting them to the house through an old brick building. A year later they buy the house in front, to establish a small bed & breakfast, as well connected to the main house. A little village within the village begins to show… To be continued.”

First Level
Second Level
Third Level

Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4

Photos by: Beppi Giardino

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About Eric Meunier

Currently the Owner and Chief Executive of HODYO Design, Eric Meunier's expertise in the design industry spreads over 20 years. He was the driving force behind HomeDSGN's early success, founding this website in 2011. Today, he loves to channel his passion for design into remodeling houses and transforming interior spaces with his keen eye for detail and architectural finesse. Learn more about HomeDSGN's Editorial Process.

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