Within our historic city centers lie forgotten buildings — silent witnesses of our past. These structures, sometimes in poor condition, seemingly stagnant and outdated, hide immense potential, waiting for a sensitive intervention to bring them back to life.
The LFSN House project was born from the desire to restore dignity and function to one of these buildings, presenting itself as an act of dialogue between past and present, between historical memory and contemporaneity.
The primary goal is to preserve the essence of the existing building, intervening with a measured architectural gesture that redefines its forms without radically altering them.
The concept is based on the idea of continuity with the urban fabric, achieved through a pure, geometric, and linear volume that emerges beyond the line of the existing façade, transforming into a sort of urban “pop-up.”
An architectural emergence that develops both vertically and horizontally, in a play of contrasts that respects the context without imposing itself: the new volume integrates into the context with discretion, emerging from the existing urban fabric without disrupting it.
The intervention engages in dialogue with the plasticity and materiality of the historic building. The choice of materials has been carefully curated to soften the contrast between old and new: clean, smooth surfaces alternate with porous and textured ones, inspired by the rougher and more worn textures of the surrounding context, creating a sense of visual and tactile continuity.
Through this intervention, the building not only regains its value within the urban fabric but is transformed into a new point of interest. Its shape and the materiality of its surfaces make it a silent landmark — an element that stands out without overpowering, contributing to a revitalization that enriches the identity of the urban space.
LFSN House invites us to look at historic centers with new eyes: forgotten buildings, through sensitive and conscious interventions, can be reinterpreted and transformed into vital resources — capable of telling a new story without ever forgetting their roots.
Project: 165_LFSN house
Studio Name: LFSN
Design Team: Livio Ficarra, Silvia Nardi, Ottaviano Emma
Year: 2023
Location: Mazzarino (CL), Italy
Photography Credits: Gemma Barletta
