VERTIGO | Stefano Piraccini

The Soul of the Place The intervention by Piraccini + Potente in the medieval village of Brugnello is not merely a restoration; it is a reflection on the boundary between persistence and transformation. Perched on a ridge overlooking the winding Trebbia River, the project inhabits the tension between the tectonic solidity of sandstone and the vertigo of the landscape, transforming the act of inhabiting into a sensory experience.

The Shell and the Lantern: A Dialectic of Volumes The methodological approach stems from a profound respect for the building's shell. The conservative recovery of the existing structure was carried out through subtraction and consolidation, keeping the stone masonry intact and reintroducing local stone flakes for the roof edging. While the blind elevation facing the village preserves the introspection of the historical aggregate, the openings on the northern front, directed toward the Trebbia's meanders, act as "optical devices," framing the gravitational force of the precipice. The only act of controlled disruption is the replacement of an incongruous 1960s porch with a contemporary addition: a glass volume screened by natural timber slats. Designed to evolve over time, the wood will weather into a mineral gray, assimilating with the village’s stone, while at night its transparency inverts, transforming the addition into a discreet lantern.

The Internal Shell: The Contemporary Cave Beyond the threshold, the material dichotomy reaches for radicality. The interior is defined by a fair-faced reinforced concrete structure—a "box-within-a-box"—that integrates seismic performance (where concrete collaborates with stone) and high energy efficiency standards rarely achieved in restoration. Here, concrete is not viewed as an industrial material, but as an abstract reinterpretation of stone. Zenithal light, captured through calibrated cuts, rains down upon the surfaces, creating a contemplative, museum-like effect that resonates with the client's passion for art collecting. The space thus becomes an exhibition device where light itself becomes a primary design material.

Tectonics of Detail: Vernacular Memory The interior layout revolves around a functional core made of reclaimed wood from rural Apennine buildings. This sculptural volume acts as a distributive pivot, housing the staircase, kitchen, and services, balancing the material severity of the concrete with its tactile warmth. Every detail is meticulously designed, from custom-made furniture to window frames that capture the landscape like authorial canvases. The dialogue with 20th-century masters emerges in the circular opening carved into the concrete of the dining area: a tribute to Carlo Scarpa’s legacy, where the window becomes a perspective lens capturing the surrounding "vertigo."

Metaphysical Atmosphere and Privileged Vision The project celebrates materials for their intrinsic nature: stone, concrete, steel, marble, and wood. In the bathrooms, the language shifts toward absolute minimalism: book-matched marble slabs coat the surfaces as if they were cavities carved directly into the rock. "Vertigo" thus expresses its duality: while the exterior disappears out of historical deference, the interior reveals a metaphysical space where high-performance building technology vanishes behind the emotion of light.

Conclusions The project’s name is not merely a geographic reference or a tribute to Hitchcock; it represents the doubling of architectural identity: an ancient skin protecting an essential and rigorous soul. It avoids the pitfalls of radical minimalism, seeking "decorum" instead through the luminous vibrations reflected by the materials. It is an architecture of silences, shadows, and privileged views, where technical precision is concealed in favor of an introspective and timeless atmosphere.