La Raia Guest House / De Amicis Architetti

Architects: De Amicis Architetti
Location: 15066 Gavi AL, Italy
Area: 1400.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Alberto Strada

Text description provided by the architects. La Raia Guest House (Locanda La Raia) come alive in an old abandoned building which was once an old tavern, typical of the local tradition. The reconstruction started from research of the meaning of the place and its relations with the landscape: from enhancing the dialogue between interior and exterior.

The proportions of the building have been redefined through fills and soil movements to recover an identity more pronounced and recognizable; new openings, different for shapes and dimensions, have selected the most interesting views, and the the same typology matrix was reversed by transforming the inner court on an abstract patio around it to which the new organization of internal spaces revolves.

Another strong element of territorial relationship concerns use of the color for the facades: moving away from the local tones of the local tradition, the Locanda, looking for a new one dialogue with the landscape from the will to belong to it, no longer through a chromatic contrast, but as its own declination within the same range colors. Architectural details, fixed furniture components and most of the accessories have been designed custom. The furnishings and some decorative components have been recovered having care to mix antique atmospheres and contemporary design.

Ten rooms and two apartments: each one is different in size, color and atmosphere. The common areas include two stays, two communicating lunch areas, one shop with farm products, a gym, one spa and a pool. In the entrance the garden is made up of a selection of only aromatic herbs, arranged in such a way to form a large leaf.