place: Pordenone
client: Private
assignment: direct
architects: arch. Ado Furlan, arch. Vittorio Pierini
services supplied: project, construction management and interior design
project: 1998
construction: 1998/2002
note: listed building; mq 680
photography: Massimo Poldelmengo
Any restoration design must start with a survey of the existing layers and the study of historical context. The design in itself is a working process subject to constant modification: in this case its development was guided by the architectural elements and the frescoed fragments discovered after the initial cleaning of the more recent additions. The entry at the ground floor is almost dark, shadowy; without artificial lighting it is impossible to move around. As one accesses the upper levels, light filters from the windows of the various rooms and gets brighter and brighter, until, at the attic level, a large skylight offers a charming view over the roofs of the historical center. The iron and wood staircase, light and detached from the sidewall, creates a pathway that runs through the entire building. Light creates ever-changing atmospheres during the day and makes the entire environment fully readable, from the ground floor to the roof, from darkness to pure light. Simplicity and lightness are the characters of the newly introduced architectural elements (iron superstructures, clear glass plates separating the frescoed fragments from the masonry or furniture); they help integrating “old” and “new” by creating a balanced relation between the different areas of the building.
