Andrea Jasci Cimini has designed a contemporary interpretation of a historic building typology, the lighthouse. The success in the design not only stems from its pleasing visual appearance, but also in the redefinition of an aging typology. The lighthouse, as a building typology, has slowly evolved into a cultural relic as new technologies render it redundant.
Once an essential water navigation tool, Cimini’s design successfully preserves the conceptual elements of the lighthouse building type, while divorcing the building-type from its function. While the function has become somewhat obsolete, the building has adopted a cultural significance as a destination rich in history.
Like many building types that have followed the same trajectory in their evolutions, architects and designers must strategize new ways to design within the lighthouse typology, but also allow the building to take on new functions. The lighthouse’s historic significance and connection to nature have made it the ideal retreat or place of reflection.
Cimini describes the lighthouse as a ‘nostalgic object,’ a term that recognizes the obsolete navigational functions of the structure but highlights feelings of cultural fondness and memory.
In nature, only the things that do not evolve are destined to become extinct. The design challenge was to understand if the lighthouse can be transformed to innovate its function and expand its possibilities of use.
-Andrea Cimini, Architect
Cimini’s interpretation of the evolution of the lighthouse typology for this design was founded upon three main principles: energy, tourism, and communication. The resulting structure aims to provide an environmentally sustainable living environment that attracts tourists to interact with the lighthouse through its new function as a set of temporary residences. Above the rooms, Cimini has chosen to maintain the physical lantern embedded in the lighthouse, but also place a wind turbine at the apex of the structure to generate all the energy needed within.
News via: Andrea Jasci Cimini
