The
Castle of Comezzano, set in the Po Valley near Brescia, was built in
the 15th Century around a preexistent tower. Entirely made of bricks
it has the typical plan of the Castles of the Italian plain, both in
dimensions and shape, with a flooded ditch all around the rectangular
complex of buildings, lift bridge, towers and a generous internal
court. Subsequent additions and demolitions deeply modified the
complex. The greater intervention, dated in the second half of the
19th
century, saw many secondary volumes demolished and a complete
redefinition of the main residence. During the 20th
century some volumes also collapsed, because of neglect.
The
restoration of this castle is the most representative intervention on
heritage conservation designed by our studio to date. Besides, for
our studio and more generally, at least in Italy and Europe, it's
more and more frequent to operate on existing buildings instead of
starting from scratch.
The
intervention on the complex focuses on three main areas, i.e. the
restoration of the remaining parts of the 15th century Castle, the
reconstruction of some volumes partially collapsed during the second
half of the 20th century and a few new additions to the existing
buildings. A new definition and use of the open spaces of the
internal court and the ditch is also detailed.
Every
minute part of our work has been supervised by the
local Commission
for the Architectural and Landscape Heritage
(The Italian “Soprintendenza”).
For
each of the three main areas, restoration, reconstruction
and new additions, we adopted different strategies, nevertheless all
referred to the same theoretical approach to restoration and reuse of
ancient buildings, as here detailed.
At
the basis of this approach there's the will to pursue a conceptual
clarity aimed at maintaining the peculiar state of the building and
therefore to avoid a disrespectful design path that would degrade its
meaning and its power.
Thus
the restoration handles the theme of intervention on the ancient
volumes with the aim to keep as much as possible the original parts
of the building maintained to the present. This is pursued with
non-invasive and localized interventions, using traditional
materials. Conservation of the the physical matter is the main goal
we have tried to reach, often trying to maintain parts substantially
deteriorated when this could not be a harm for the preservation of
the building itself and for its usability.
The
reconstruction of the collapsed volumes has probably witnessed the
most difficult choices. We think to have chosen a subtle solution,
which is at the same time effective, culturally sustainable and
understated. And we are very proud of this understatement.
The
language used for the reconstruction of the fallen portions of the
historical buildings allows to clearly acknowledge the typology and
morphology of the original complex.
We
pursued an autonomy of the rebuilt volumes and a balance of these
with the remaining ancient ones. This strategy can be likened to a
composition in a composition from which originates a good dialogue
between the different parts.
Consequently,
the rebuilt portions are easily recognizable compared to the
historical ones, as they are slightly simpler than the original in
masonry detail, they adopt squared off timbers for the roofs and
horizontal structures and the treatment of their walls is uniform.
Nevertheless they do not 'appear' as 'modern', they just subtly and
not plainly denounce their modernity, and, while not seeming ancient
at all, they remain subsidiary to the historical structures.
We'd
like that this intervention could be seen as pencil sketch that, with
its light lines, meaningful and identifiable, could help to enhance
the readability and the general substance of an enigmatic ancient ink
drawing.
A
totally different approach has been chosen for the actual new parts
of the complex, which are just two and very limited in dimension. A
little recent and utilitarian addition, set to the north of the main
building, built in the 1950s and almost generally collapsed in the
last decades, is reconstructed with a wooden facade that aims to make
it appear secondary and at the same time definitely contemporary
compared to the ancient walls it stands close to. The same treatment
is used for the closure of a first floor loggia that is transformed
in an apartment. These new elements are designed with a modern use of
materials (wood and glass) and detail, counterpointing the historical
brick walls. The design of the wooden facade is inspired by Peter
Zumthor's 'Gugalun House', where vertical and horizontal planks are
intertwined determining so a plastic facade. Other sources of
inspiration are Frank Lloyd Wright's George C. Stewart House (the
first inspiration for Zumthor himself?) and the less known house Paul
Schweikher designed for himself in Illinois in 1937-38. While all
these sources of inspiration share a similar (but not equal)
juxtaposition of timber planks, our solution nevertheless differs in
detail from all these three houses both because the planks are
detached one-another and thus constitute a ventilated facade and
because all the planks are laterally confined by vertical ones, a
system that enhances the feeling of a facade applied to a hidden
masonry structure set behind.
The
project gives again a proper spatial identity to the ditch, dried up
of water since the beginning of the 19th century, which is treated as
a grass lawn with no trees, with a hedge that encircles it and
mediates its relationship with the surrounding countryside.
The
main court, treated as an internal garden serving the dwellings, is
rethought with a paving that underlines the geometry of the spaces
and the built volumes, leaving the great part of the spaces as a
meadow. A great oak is inserted in relationship with the buildings’
masses and integrates the garden.
The
open spaces act as a catalyst for the many built volumes of the
complex, enhancing its unity as a whole.
With
the end of 2010 the first phase of the realization was finished with
all the roofs and the facades completed, while the general completion
of the work with the finishing is scheduled for the next decade.
Bruno
Tonelli
(civil
engineer, head of
architecture
at Studioartec)
Matteo
Gorlani
(architect,
Studioartec)
