Transit Studio is working on a large country house between Taormina and Catania in Sicily. The site overlooks the sea from a dramatic terraced landscape, and back towards Mount Etna. The project is a reworking of a number of existing buildings on site, including the original Noble House, The Palmento, where grapes were pressed for winemaking, The Cantina, the wine cellar, and a small Chapel.
Given the local property development rules, extending the existing volume would have limited future development on site, so the design developed by using all of the existing spaces but completely reconfiguring them. We will move the entrance to the rear of the original house to create a layered journey when entering the buildings that will finally reveal the stunning panoramas from the primary rooms. The wine pressing rooms will become the heart of the property with excavations to the spaces below to create the new bedroom wing looking out into the landscape. A gym, indoor swimming pool and spa are also part of the lower floor design. The building structures will also be upgraded and restored to meet local earthquake regulations.
The wine cellar will be repurposed into a double height living space, and the original ceilings of the smaller rooms in the Noble House will be recreated within the new formal living, dining and office areas. The kitchen and hallway will sit within the centre of the house, using the original wine pressing rooms, and some of the original materials from these areas.
The landscape around the buildings will be revitalised, with a new kitchen garden around a central carob tree on the lower level, and new terraces to maximise the outdoor spaces and view around the house.
