Urbani House transformation

摘要

The baroque apartment building had one flat on each of the five stories, connected by a spiral stair. The new owner wanted to use it as a family townhouse. He was warned that when he would say to his wife, "I'm going upstairs", she would ask, "where upstairs?" A principal consideration of the design was how the lower stories could be spatially connected, in addition to the spiral stair. In addition to the required updating it was necessary to undertake structural measures to provide earthquake resistance. These measures are not hidden by a false ceiling but made effective as spatial characteristics.