U.Ø house by BETA.Ø Architecture Office raised the question of how to generate a domestic space in the area of the existing dwelling to extend and optimise the possible uses for each space by its current residents. Therefore, open, flexible spaces were generated to allow natural light to enter the home, enabling easy reconfiguration of spaces through the use of lightweight partitions that act as necessary filters. This means the spaces can be divided up as the user needs during the day, whilst also generating visual fluidity.
The space then is designed as a flexible setting, in which the user can choose the various corners where domestic life takes place within an environment where the light and the selected finishes have the capacity to generate a homogeneous, warm domestic atmosphere. All the areas that make up the home’s daytime layout, such as the lounge area, the dining room itself or even the kitchen area, can be converted into meeting areas, office or study, allowing them to be made independent of the rest of the layout, always ensuring appropriate conditions of comfort in line with their use.
The design of the lightweight partitions is a subtle nod to the current users’ memories and experiences, reviving the traditional dividing systems linked to time-honoured Mediterranean architecture. The integration of the variety of spaces into the daytime layout is emphasised by the use of flooring made from homogeneous materials in large format, such as the great continuous lengthwise wooden boards or the stone pieces in the area more closely bound to the dining room and the kitchen.
The introduction of curved geometry in the dividing elements helps break the perspective in transit areas, which are sufficiently ample and capacious to become useful spaces where even small domestic lounge corners can be set. Careful, isolated use of fine materials in furnishing elements designed in black and greenish-grey stone, along with wooden elements in natural oak, combined with metals such as copper and bronze, establish a theme that brings character and quality to the environmental uniformity of the home.
