Rural House Competition - Ec(h)o Retreat : Cultivating Eco-Conscious Living in Rural Italy

The aim is to create a community that embraces a simpler lifestyle, reminiscent of their ancestors, characterized by agriculture and craftsmanship by preserving the charm and architectural integrity of the Cascina through low-impact actions.

The secret garden is both an orchard and a meditation place for the community, while a new pergola serves as a bike park, with a pathway leading to the housing blocks, into a semi-private garden.

A new volume guides visitors to the main public outdoor space, the Aia, a shaded mineral square providing access to the Porch and the new building, extending their functions.

An urban garden and a pool, housed within the existing structures of the Pigsty and the Pergola, overlook the fields.

Only eco-friendly materials are involved: insulation and plaster of the existing building are made of rice husks while the new building -a multipurpose room where sliding panels and compact furniture allow flexible functions- is in wood.

The interiors are compatible with a community made of families, artisans, travellers and pioneers keen to experiment the proposed lifestyle, creating a social mixite where the creative reuse of the Cascina leads to the Urban regeneration and rediscovery of the whole area.