Tile and Concrete / Francesco Di Gregorio & Karin Matz

Architects: Francesco Di Gregorio & Karin Matz
Location: Parma, Italy
Project Year: 2011
Project Area: 90 sqm
Photographs: Francesco Di Gregorio

Located in Lasagnana, on a tiny street in the middle of Val Parma, the ground level of a former stable has been converted into an apartment / studio for a young couple.

Dimensions and shapes come from the position of existing elements: windows, walls and columns.
The strongest element of the stable was for us the “whole space”.

A bathroom is the only volume added, completely covered in white 10×10 cm tiles that bring light and uniformity. It is a freestanding structure where space has been turned inside out. The bathroom stands on a new concrete floor, which is separated from the existing walls and columns by a gap framed with steel plates, which define its limit and absorbs its flows.

The “whole space” is the bathroom, the bathroom is the “whole space”; All supported by a uniform slab. No distinction is made and only position and relation matter.

Divisions are possible through lightweight vertical surfaces hanging from a grid of stainless steel wires, which also transport the electrical cables around the space. The kitchen is under construction and will sit in the existing heating room of the house.

Once finished, realizing that the bathroom box looks like the face of a beautiful cow. It might just be a coincidence, but one that made us happy, because we love cows!

Text provided by Francesco Di Gregorio & Karin Matz