A Spacious Contemporary Home with Rustic and Unique Elements in Salve, Italy

Ecosustainable House is a spacious contemporary home located in Salve, Italy. It was designed by Massimo Iosa Ghini, with rustic and unique elements, with a fascinating and charming landscape.

Ecosustainable House by Massimo Iosa Ghini

In Salento, near Salve and a few kilometers from the sea, in an ideal archetypal dimension, the dwelling designed by Massimo Iosa Ghini rises up. A place to getaway immersed in the countryside and in the midst of nature, with age-old olive trees and maritime pines, holds the secret of a fascinating and charming landscape.

In a unique Mediterranean setting and in harmony with the surrounding seascape, Massimo Iosa Ghini has chosen to build a new house integrating it with the same Salento land, adopting techniques and materials suggested by local artisans and builders: the project uses the local Chianca stone for the outdoor paving, large panels of porcelain stoneware for the inside, Acquarica tuff for façade cladding, Lecce stone for the fireplace inside and even the use of dry-stone for the old pajara barrel roof. It has been used both passive control, (sunscreens, low-emission glass, green pergolas, use of natural shade from the trees) and active control techniques (photovoltaic panels in off-limits zones of the roof).

Arranged on a single level and on a lot of more or less than one hectare, the project is designed on the image of the Salento masseria and respects the existing vegetation that, in the outdoor living area near the main living room, is brought to light through a structure in acid-treated wood that works as a pergola and supports the branches.

A large living area of six meters (19.7 feet) long facing south makes a whole with the dining-kitchen zone and becomes the family hangout; surrounded by four bedrooms with their own vestibules and baths.

Large glasses which face the external area are designed as a natural continuation of the “protected” space, paved and designed as a place of relations with crafted sofas and armchairs, underline the constant relationship between outdoor and indoor spaces.

Detached from the house, in an independent old rudere, a pajara transformed as a guesthouse equipped with an outdoor area for relax. The flat roof, with access from an external staircase and set aside as a solarium, leads to the panoramic viewing point to watch the countryside and the sea.

Hammock for a nap, tailor-made chairs and crafted tables alternate at few Iosa Ghini design pieces carefully chosen to decorate interior spaces, creating an intending decorative essentiality, leaving daylight and the surrounding nature as the absolute protagonist of the domestic setting.

Photos by: Massimo Iosa Ghini & Cosmo Laera