A True Brutalist Experience: Step Into A Sardinian Rock Home

Inspired by the unique architecture of Costa Smeralda, A House in Sardinia in Italy emerges as a unique network of terraces, courtyards, pathways, balconies, and expansive living spaces.

Architect Stefania Stera of Paris-based Stera Architectures was asked to build a “barefoot palace” in Costa Smeralda, a 56-km stretch of scraggly coves, sparkling blue waters and sandy beaches in Sardinia, Italy. The area is famous for hosting a slew of iconic villas and resorts built in the 1960s, by an array of acclaimed architects, such as Luigi Vietti and Cini Boeri. This house in Sardinia was born from a desire to emulate and fit into this rugged, coastal landscape and pay homage to the site’s unique architecture. It fit Stera perfectly, as she is a Sardinian and grew up watching its distinct architecture unfold. The residential architecture is in line with the initial project of Porto Cervo, begun in the 60s by Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV with the Costa Smeralda consortium.

“When I was little, I saw the birth of the Aga Khan’s complex; on the beach, I used to build hotels with arcades and wooden pontoons instead of sandcastles. I saw the birth of Cini Boeri’s black house from the beach of Monte d’Arena… I have known the outlines of these Sardinian rocks by heart and their fantastic forms have nurtured my imagination. A House in Sardinia fits into these natural volumes. The client embraced these themes and gave me complete freedom to design a non-bourgeois layout of spaces,” explains Stera.

The three-level, seven-bedroom villa design almost seems like an out of place piece of Brutalist architecture, singing to the rhythm of its unique surroundings and heritage. Nestled on a ragged, rocky outcrop, A House in Sardinia emerges as a unique amalgamation of interlocked masses, terraces, patios, pathways and coloured surfaces that revolve around a shaded courtyard that screens strong prevailing winds of the coastal area.

Functionality and Flamboyancy

Stera, having worked with the clients once before for a project in Paris, shares that they wanted a holiday house that drew heavily from the functional and flamboyant architecture of Costa Smeralda, “but with a more contemporary vision. My inspirations were works like Casa Malaparte in Libera and those of Cini Boeri in La Maddalena, the construction of which I saw from the beach as a child; it also draws from the work of architects Jacques and Savin Couelle who built for the Aga Khan. And finally, my favourite architect, Katsuo Schinohara,” she shares.

The residential design inscribes itself fully into the Sardinian setting, the site and the habitat mutually nurturing one another. “The founding gesture of the project, the one that determines its location, is the plotting of two axes: one projected towards the sea, the other soaring towards the rocky cliffs. Their crossing allows for the articulation of different places important in the site and the layout on two levels,” explains the design team.

Step Inside

The dwelling has an unconventional layout – its ground floor was hollowed out of the site to create a closer relationship with the sea and make better use of the garden – the green terrace formed here becomes “the flying carpet” that overlooks the turquoise sea. The courtyard on the ground floor is surrounded by various articulated, geometric volumes and receives sunlight, which is reflected on the façades that surround it, forming a bright core with the sea to the south.

The house also includes accommodation for the caretaker, two service bedrooms, and 200 sqm of services (kitchen, laundry rooms, storage, grocery store, wine cellar, sewing area, and so on) as well as outdoor spaces that cater to an open kitchen, an open-air bedroom with a bathroom fitted with a square shower and various unique terraces.

The courtyard also functions as the entrance patio and the central circulation space with an alfresco dining space. A door leads to a rather discreet hall that serves two rooms on the ground floor and, upstairs, the communal areas comprising the living room, dining room, office, and master suite in an open plan. The dining room has a vaulted aesthetic while a set of enclosed and open areas make up the master bedroom, unfolding a rich sequence of spaces that frame views of the natural setting via small courtyards, patios, terraces, dressing rooms and bathrooms.

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