surreal set

Photo: ©Paolo Fusco AT THE HEART OF THE APPIO LATINO DISTRICT IN ROME, JUST A STONE’S THROW FROM THE S 1950 PARCO DELLA CAFFARELLA, ARCHITECT DUO LA MACCHINA STUDIO HAS TRANSFORMED A APARTMENT INTO A SURREAL SET, WHERE FICTION AND REALITY EXIST SIDE BY SIDE IN A SEEMINGLY THEATRICAL SCENE – RETROSCENA, A DECLARATION OF IRONIC AND DARING POP.

Wait, was that Bottom with his donkey head that just walked past me? From the very first glimpse into the Roman apartment by design duo La Macchina Studio, you feel like you’ve been transported into Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s as though an elf is suddenly going to appear from behind every piece of furniture. La Macchina Studio – Gianni Puri and Enrica Siracusa – follows a multidisciplinary approach that allows architecture, theatre, music and illustration to come together to form the idea for the project. One of the main attributes of the practice is the use of graphical representation as a method of exploration: collages, illustrations, dioramas and models are creative tools, not just a means of displaying ideas. Their creative process involves introducing and overlapping input from different contexts and cultural sources and helps clients to see the result from a specific perspective. The architects are brimming with fabulous and ingenious references that stem from both the cultural background of the company and that of their clients, thereby encouraging clients to voice their suggestions through an innovative effort that can then be formally incorporated into the project. In accordance with the wishes of the home owners – a young couple – the architects drew on the expertise of local craftsmen to salvage the existing Venetian terrazzo floor, while at the same time totally reinterpreting the remaining structure to create a new storytelling space.

In the living area, new materials have been inserted in correspondence with traces of the original divisions, with a clear band of black and Botticino marble defining the areas. The area along the corridor takes up the original design of the flooring with a pinkish border with pozzolan powder, while the bedroom is tinged with the warm nuances of brick red micro cement. The result is a combination of designs in different grains and colours that creates a “collage” effect, in contrast with the absolute white of the plastered walls. “With Retroscena, we wanted to enhance the irreverent and surreal nature of the architectural story, which is inextricably linked to its photographic alter-ego by playing with colour contrasts, graphic motifs and unexpected incursions,” say Gianni Puri and Enrica Siracusa, the founders of La Macchina Studio.

The apartment reveals itself longitudinally along the main wall, which represents the limit between private and representative space and creates a landscape punctuated by three different elements. A white lacquered bridge wardrobe hides a small study: the reader’s refuge, an intimate, silent space, isolated from the rest of the home. A grey-blue flush-to-the-wall door that seems drawn on gives access to the salle de bain covered in white mosaic with contrasting joints, while a carved-out ogival passage gives a glimpse of the back wall in peacock-coloured enamel and the free-standing washbasin. An arched door in classic blue lacquered wood leads to the sleeping area with clear lines and a welcoming atmosphere. The door, with its wooden profile that juts out 70 cm into the dining room, is the centrepiece of the living area and hides the kitchen furniture from view. The living room is the largest space in the house: a yellow curtain runs along the demolished partition, outlining the areas and drawing a soft border between the different functions.

Retroscena offers a playful and fantastic vision of the house. Bold colour choices and savvy design tricks give personality to the interiors, turning the spotlight on the inhabitants, protagonists of a theatrical – and architectural – pièce full of surprises.

PROJECT DETAILS Name: Retroscena / Address: Quartiere Appio Latino, Rome (Italy) / Architects: La Macchina Studio (Gianni Puri, Enrica Siracusa) / Client: private / GFA: 75 m2 / Completion: August 2020 Photos by Paolo Fusco / Materials: Venetian terrazzo flooring, micro cement flooring, furniture and handcrafted details in lacquered wood, ceramic mosaic and wall enamelling

Retroscena offers a playful and fantastic vision of the house. Bold colour choices and savvy design tricks give personality to the interiors, turning the spotlight on the inhabitants, protagonists of a theatrical – and architectural – pièce full of surprises.