Our brief called for the conversion of a late 16th century palazzo – known to have been inhabited by a number of colourful characters – into a luxurious six-suite guesthouse.

Interventions to the building’s historical fabric were kept to a minimum, dealing primarily with the removal of accretions and the re-instatement of the courtyard’s symmetry. A fourth façade was designed in the courtyard – a contemporary interpretation of the façade directly opposite it – which houses service runs, circulation, and vertical access all the way up to the roof terrace. Here interventions were equally discreet: a large raised deck would conceal services and simultaneously allow for a lap pool to be sunken within it, respecting the historical fabric and the surrounding traditional roofscape dominated by the bell towers and dome of the predominant St. Lawrence Church.

After a long, arduous struggle with local planning authorities, the clients lost their patience and, sadly, abandoned the project.