Casa N: Dynamism and Tradition in a Contemporary Home

Floridia, a town near Syracuse, is home to Casa N, a residential project by architect Giuseppe Merendino of Pekstudio. The building reinterprets the tradition of the Sicilian courtyard house with a contemporary approach that combines privacy, openness, and protection.

Casa N is an example of what the architect describes as “dynamic-repelling architecture” – a structure that screens and protects its occupants, built around a vibrant, versatile core.

House N: Modulated protection

Dall’esterno, Casa N appare come un volume chiuso e protettivo. La facciata principale, rivolta verso la strada, è un guscio che isola dal rumore urbano e custodisce l’intimità domestica. È questo il carattere “repulsivo” della casa: il confine esterno è una barriera che traccia una separazione rigida tra l’abitazione privata e lo spazio pubblico della città.

From outside, Casa N is a closed, protective volume. The street façade is a shell that insulates the home from urban noise and protects domestic privacy. This is the home’s “repelling” element – its external barrier that establishes a rigid separation between the private dwelling and the town’s public spaces.

The relationship with the exterior is controlled by a mechanical system that regulates openings only as needed. Vertical sliding panels, for example, open access to the garage and to the stores on the street.

This controlled dynamism creates a modulated dialogue with the town and transforms the building’s apparent rigidity into living architecture.

Dynamism, intimacy, place

Inside, Casa N reveals a welcoming, luminous dimension. The focal element is the central courtyard, a reference to an Arab and Sicilian tradition. This reveals the architect’s clear intention to anchor the project to the local context, which is rooted in Sicilian agricultural and cultural traditions and preserves memories of a past marked by the people’s resilience.

Floridia was built over the ruins of a devastating earthquake in 1693 that destroyed much of Sicily’s Val di Noto area. From this perspective, every new architectural addition is built on a history of reconstruction, memory, and local continuity.

The courtyard, overlooked by the stairs and balcony corridors, is a light, calm space that gives structure to domestic life. Large aluminum casement and sliding windows allow the interior to dialogue with this area, creating visual continuity between the day and night zones.

Every element is designed to balance comfort and privacy – tilt windows optimize regulated ventilation openings and air exchange, while lift-and-slide systems ensure even daylighting and high technical performance without compromising the understated aesthetic.

Local history and innovation coexist in the project. The courtyard design, for example, recalls ancient models, but the use of modern materials and technology makes the dwelling contemporary, functional, and responsive to the client’s needs. Casa N is a project that balances contrasts: inside and outside, protection and hospitality, tradition and modernity.

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