Lo Studio

The first of the homes you encounter on arrival at the Civita Institute is Lo Studio, where Astra and Tony lived for about 20 years, from the early 80's to 2003, when they moved into Il Ruderone. During much of that time it doubled as their home and a studio/library space for the program. Between Melissa Henry's visit and my fellow fellow Anita Lehmann's imminent arrival, I've been exploring it (and using it's ground level spaces to help keep my adjacent Il Nuovo space cool). Here's a sampling of my documentation, so far.


I appreciate the comments received to date, especially my friend and fellow Rome Program alum Greg Andrews' email saying simply SEND MORE SKETCHES. That spurred me to break out the sketchbook again, so I'll start with a couple of quick studies of two of my favorite features of Lo Studio.

When I sleep in too late to enjoy breakfast in the east facing window featured in my previous post, or the stoop outside the entry, Lo Studio has a lovely little terrace off the south end of the library, overlooking the main street. A well-established grape arbor and the house to the south provide shade until mid-morning, and the basaltino steps make a perfect seat. I decided to make this sketch a sort of self-portrait to give it some scale and in keeping with my effort to take more photos with people in them, not just buildings. My figure drawing needs some work...

Another feature of Lo Studio and all the homes that I admire is the design, detailing and placement of windows, providing compelling vistas while maintaining an amazing degree of privacy in such a tightly-packed town. This sketch from the northeast window of the upper, bedroom level, also shows how the shuttered casement windows expand the view and light by capturing reflections when open. This view, similar to my earlier breakfast shot, shows my neighbor Signor' Oscar's house in the foreground (and reflection) and the Sala Grande beyond.



To give a bit more complete picture of Lo Studio, these "working" photos show the main spaces. The approach shows Oscar's house on the right, Il Ruderino in the center, and the steps to Lo Studio's main entry on the left. Beyond and to the left is another entry, directly to the kitchen. 











The studio shot is looking toward the terrace door from the in the sketch above, showing the space set up much as it was in '84. This is taken from the lower steps of the stair, just inside the main entry to the left of the shot. Behind this view is the kitchen and bathroom.





One example of the skillful design, especially of the early houses, are the tight little bathrooms and kitchens. The Studio bathroom is so tiny I resorted to a new iPhone fisheye lens, which accentuates the feel it has of being on a boat. The window over the tub doubles as a mirror, and a mirrored window into the adjacent kitchen provides both small rooms with extra light and virtual space, while maintaining privacy.

The kitchen manages to fit a custom eating table into a tight but very functional space, with built-in open shelving.
















Upstairs, this bedroom shot shows the window from the sketch above in the distance, and the connection to the foyer shared with Il Nuovo. It also shows the typical palette of materials, clay tile floors, white plaster walls and chestnut beams and woodwork. All of the spaces have ample and beautiful pieces of art - above the drafting table here are some exquisite presentation drawings for one of Astra's student projects.