LEONIA
“The city of Leonia refashions itself every day: every morning the people wake between fresh sheets, wash with just-unwrapped cakes of soap, wear brand-new clothing, take from the latest model refrigerator still unopened tins, listening to the last-minute jingles from the most up-to-date radio.”
architecture / interior design
competition: House of the future, Dubai (2023)
In collaboration with
Martino Bettoni Architetto
Pondering the house of the future for a city like Dubai raises fundamental questions, considering the changes our cities and our Earth are undergoing. Will nature have the same colors? Will the human species look the same as it does now? Will the Earth’s soil still be predominantly fertile? In this context of uncertainties, what should the houses where humans will live be like to reflect the lifestyle of the future?
Architecture, one of humanity’s primal needs, helps us address future requirements whose names we do not yet know. The opportunity to change, modify, and shape space is what makes people free to act, behave and live. We have conceived of housing units that can move within a piece of land in ever-different ways, adding or removing parts as the family’s needs change at different moments in their lives. It’s a landscape in the service of the evolutionary paths of humanity, responding to the orographic demands of an uncertain future terrain.
The house of the future must be a response to the global issue of the housing crisis that we must address, both in metropolitan contexts and in the vulnerable areas affected by natural disasters, with the goal of finding an answer in the Earth for the Earth. The basic configuration within the available lot consists of larger units that enclose specific functions, chosen according to the clients’ needs, and they are connected by interstitial corridors that serve as moments of pause and reflection before reaching another room and, consequently, engaging in another activity. This stratagem is intended to enhance domestic functions and capture/reveal light in a dramatic way. The compositions of this layout will preserve two distinct outdoor spaces, one more public and representative, the Majlis, and the other a more private and domestic garden.
In this context, the use of local and sustainable materials, the adoption of innovative technologies such as 3D printing, and design based on bioclimatic principles are just some of the possible responses. The flexibility and adaptability of future houses will be essential to meet the changing needs of families and the challenges imposed by evolving environmental conditions. The house of the future will be an embodiment of sustainability, resilience, and harmony with the Earth, thereby helping to address the housing crisis and preserve our planet for future generations.
Leonia is a paradise suspended between sky and earth, a return to the essence and aesthetics of primitive forms, a new world that escapes the chaos and greed of the modern world, aspiring to a simpler and closer-to-nature lifestyle.
Spaces designed to preserve the required privacy, flowing consciously between the interior and exterior. The interiors take shape according to the three primordial elements of humanity, such as air, water, and fire, connecting the house to the fundamental sources of human life.
The house of the future will be the stage for new and ever-evolving domestic uses and rituals, contributing to improving the quality of life and addressing future challenges.