Casa E.T.: A Sense of Place Entwined with Contemporary Sensibility

In Albinea, a town set in the rolling foothills of the Reggio Apennines, a renovation and extension project has transformed a historic farmhouse into a contemporary residence without betraying its original spirit.

The project, by Studio Bocchi, was carried out between 2023 and 2025 and involved a stone building from the early 20th century located in a farmyard. Over the years, the building had undergone several interventions, from structural consolidation with reinforced concrete retaining terraces to roof reconstruction and the addition of a concrete and wood porch. The interiors, however, no longer met contemporary living needs, especially on the first floor.

A new look for Casa E.T.

The main focus of the work was the first floor, where the living area and bedroom were inadequate. An existing porch on the east side with a pitched roof was completely rethought, with the timber roof and clay tiles removed, the concrete columns retained, and a new steel frame added to support a flat slab. The original wooden joists were salvaged and used in the new volume, reflecting the design approach’s focus on material memory.

The new space, now the living area, was enclosed by a glazed curtain wall with staggered aluminum pilasters. This opens the space to the surrounding landscape, while the pilasters, with their Cor-Ten–type finish, create a contrast with the exposed stone wall inside.

What was previously the living area is now the kitchen, which connects to the new volume via a wide opening lined with sheet metal created by modifying previous openings in the stone wall. Similar changes were made to the first-floor bedroom, which now opens into a home wellness area with a sauna.

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In dialogue with the landscape

The renovation also involved the exterior, with substantial work carried out on the terraces that descend toward the valley. The addition of a cantilevered infinity pool, along with a semi-buried mechanical and storage room below, required regrading the site with reinforced-earth and gabions. This also created new usable outdoor areas.

The driveway was moved to make it independent from the rest of the courtyard, while the main entrance was entirely rethought, moving it from the center of the porch to the short side of the extension. The new main façade has been emphasized with the addition of a partially covered metal pergola with creepers, designed as a filter between indoors and out.

Between past and present

Casa E.T. offers a balanced dialogue between conservation and innovation. The design respects historic materials and a sense of place, entwining them with a contemporary sensibility expressed through transparency, light, and materials that reinterpret the rural aesthetic through a modern lens.

The project brings new life to a historic building, integrating it into the landscape while updating it to meet contemporary living needs.

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