Marsà al hamam (Turtledove's bay) is the name of Marzamemi's original arabian urban fabric, a seaside village located in the south of Siracusa that gives onto Ionian Sea. In the '50s, as an outgrowth of 1600's ancient fishermen's houses, an appendix to the village was built.
The building rises on the rocks, based on a rock platform partly marked off the sea wall. As other houses in the village, it is subjected to heritage landmark even if typological features do not really justify this instruction. This will be helpful for authorities to relate to designer in charge chosen by new landlord, an Italian artist that loves southern sun and warmth. The building purpose is a house where to spend short periods during the year for reading, meditate and watch the horizon. Here, indeed, looking at migratory birds flights, your gaze gets lost in the surroundings, and then caught up by the sea, Cape Passero Island and Hyblaean Mountains.
This site landscape quality can only determines a minimal action, setting new space based on pre-existing condition and new purpose. Project takes inspiration from site’s bonds (village building materials, urban control tools) and relationship between the house and natural elements (wind, sea) giving reason to choices for materials and technologies.
Whether on the outside, thick walls made of sandstone blocks confirm pre-existing perimeter and volume as well, on the inside new project redesigns space by inserting a main unit that includes interior compartments. Lime and pozzolana are the only new materials introduced to satisfy the need of preserve walls always subjected to sea waves and salty fog. They suggest new action methods towards the context. As for pre-existing walls, both on the outside and inside, a rough and ruffled manufacturing is applied. On new walls (main unit) same material becomes smooth and polished and, from some angles, it lets sunlight to reflect sea and sky blue on the walls. Modica light stones, used for the floor, with eco treated wood of the roof, design internal space.
The floor continues on the outside becoming the terrace on the seawall border; here the bush-hammered stone reflects sunrays just like in the village main square where, long time ago, fishermen used to unroll tuna fishnets. Three mosaics and a piece of pottery, expressly made by landlord for this house, blend with walls and floor.
Sunlight floods with all its intensity this house’s rooms, shattering on surfaces made by a few natural materials, just like a symbiosis between the house and the surrounding landscape. The internal space contains it and reflects it towards the outside, like a bright lighthouse that points out the village to navigators.