Zest Architecture is a young architectural studio based and led by the Dutch architect Co Govers since 2008. Her project for the restoration of an old Catalan farmhouse and its transformation into a 21st-century house, Villa CP, will take part in the following Biennale di Venezia, which will be opened on next 7th of June and about what we have been talking about the last weeks.
The house is exhibited in the Palazzo Mora in the exhibition "Time Space Existence" organized by the Global Art Affairs Foundation and directed by Co Govers.
Description of the project by Zest Architecture
Villa CP is a restoration project, whereby a 21st century house has been created inside an old stone structure. The existing stone walls have been largely rebuilt, with enormous openings towards the landscape linking the house to its spectacular surroundings: a National Park of cork oak with distant views towards the Mediterranean.
ZEST Architecture’s work is always marked by sustainability, so it may not come as a surprise that this project sports materials and elements such as a natural pool whose water is filtered by plants and gravel, insulation with locally harvested and produced cork, clay, and stray panel finishes in the interior and heating/cooling through a geothermal installation.
The old and the new (that which will age) strengthen each other in this project through their opposition and juxtaposition. The old has been left visible with all its scars, while new materials such as Corten steel, wood, and clay, were chosen for the beauty of their natural imperfections and the way in which the traces left by time make them even more beautiful. Rain, wind, human touch…. will make sure that this house will be even more beautiful over time.
