25 September 2012
With a “ClimateHouse” B certification, Prè de Sura at San Martino in Badia, designed by Studio Casati, is first of all sustainable, thanks to the orientation of the plan and the materials out of which it is built: steamed ash for the external façades, and terrastone for the internal partitions. An aid to climate control is provided by a wall built of layers of beaten clay that divides up the rooms and is able to absorb humidity from everyday use and release it again when needed. Its secret, though, does not lie in environmental sustainability, but in the view of the castle of San Martino in Badia, which can be enjoyed from every corner of the house. All the windows have been designed to offer a view of the landscape: at the height of an adult or a child, and even when lying in bed, a position from which the sky and stars can be admired. (via Dezeen)
