In the medieval village of Brugnello, Piraccini + Potente architettura have transformed an old stone house into a contemporary retreat suspended above the Trebbia Valley. Nuvolato Architop® covers the interior floors as well as the outdoor spaces, creating a visual and material continuity that strengthens the connection between the house and its natural surroundings.
Perched in the medieval village of Brugnello, on a rocky outcrop overlooking the meanders of the Trebbia Valley, Casa Vertigo is the result of the careful restoration of an old sandstone house. Designed by architects Stefano Piraccini and Margherita Potente, the project transforms the building into a holiday home conceived as a retreat while retaining a strong connection to the site’s history.
The original stone fabric has been preserved, along with the introverted character of the façades facing the village, while large openings on the north side frame the landscape and heighten the sense of vertigo that gives the project its name. Inside, a new exposed reinforced-concrete structure reinterprets the material character of the local stone, creating restrained, intimate spaces. The austerity of the concrete is softened by reclaimed timber sourced from old mountain farmhouses and used for furnishings, partitions, and the large central volume that organizes the ground-floor spaces.
The pursuit of continuity between architecture and landscape is also expressed through the flooring. Nuvolato Architop® was chosen for both the interiors and the outdoor spaces, creating a continuous surface in keeping with the house’s mineral and tactile material language. Just a few millimetres thick, Ideal Work’s concrete flooring solution reproduces the appearance and durability of traditional concrete, helping to reinforce the sense of a single, unified space.
The flooring extends beyond the openings, reducing the visual separation between the interior, garden, and surrounding landscape. Together with the large windows, the glazed volume created from the former portico, and the circular window overlooking the Trebbia, Nuvolato Architop® draws the eye outward, turning the landscape into a constant presence within the house.
2026
Brugnello, Piacenza, Italy
Architects: Stefano Piraccini e Margherita Potente – Piraccini + Potente architettura
Applicator: Pavidesign