Casa N, a mixed-use residential and commercial building in Floridia, a town in the Sicilian province of Syracuse, stands out for its decidedly unconventional and idiosyncratic architecture. This original three-storey building designed by PEK Studio has clearly defined volumes and powerful geometries, as well as a compositional layout envisioned by the architect as both dynamic and introverted. The panels that cover the front of the building have a complex mechanism that allows the large surfaces to slide vertically and reveal the spaces hidden behind them, including the entrance to the garage and access to the commercial area. Instead, the street-facing side is more introverted, emphasising architectural relationships with the internal living spaces. Large openings and overhead connecting devices facilitate connections between the living and sleeping areas, while lightwells house self-contained gardens that allow natural light and greenery to enter the interior. Casa N’s striking design language is expressed through a material and colour palette which, for all its stylistic variations, remains largely homogeneous and helps to define the building’s character. Laminam porcelain stoneware was one of the principal materials chosen for the project and was used here in eight different versions. For the exterior façade, tiles from the I Naturali collection were chosen in the Pietra di Savoia Antracite colour and installed using a specially designed and patented system. Their main distinguishing feature is a degree of versatility that allows them to be used for any kind of application and multiple architectural requirements, even as complex as those of Casa N, while maintaining a strong reference to classicism and the Italian tradition. The I Naturali collection was used again for the balconies and ground-floor entrance hall, this time in the Pietra di Cardoso Nero Naturale version, while the Pietra di Cardoso Nero Fiammato colour shade was chosen for the courtyard walls. The marble look of Statuario Altissimo used on the interior floors and the stone effect of Ardesia Bianco a Spacco chosen for the bathrooms demonstrate the aesthetic versatility of this collection, which can adapt to the mood of any space while maintaining its intrinsic characteristics. The large exterior facade panels were chosen from the Laminam Collection range in the colours Nero (black) and Neve (white). One of the brand’s longest-running series, Collection interprets the aesthetic and material concept of solid colours with a full-body tone, which is particularly effective at creating a sense of continuity of space and volume in a context like that of Casa N. Finally, the bathroom walls consist of a combination of the I Naturali collection and large Laminam Seta slabs in the visually striking but always harmonious Liquorice colour.
