An existing building that was given a makeover by LEPRI + PARTNERS (Lepri, Simoncini, Dobori), Cortemaggiore Residence now has a new, contemporary image that adds a different type of elegance to the surrounding urban fabric, while still reflecting the compositional and chromatic rhythms that always seem to have been a part of this town.

From Milano Marittima to Riccione, the towns along the Romagna Riviera typically have streets that run at right angles to the beach, broken up by elements parallel to it. The seafront, the beach, the promenade, the railway, and the Adriatic Highway demarcate a series of parallel strips with different uses, depending on their distance from the beach, that are crisscrossed by a strictly orthogonal grid of streets. Riccione’s sea canal, which extends from the sea inland to where it meets the Melo River, breaks the rule of parallels and perpendiculars, first with an artificial layout and then a natural one that follows the course of the river.

Near the point where the linearity of the canal gives way to the meanderings of the river – that is, where the orthogonal grid of the city is interrupted by the beginning of rural land – a regeneration project is underway to transform an area once occupied by offices into a residential zone covering some 16,150 sq.ft. (1500 m²).

Regeneration through architecture

In this context, Riccione-based firm LEPRI + PARTNERS (Lepri, Simoncini, Dobori) oversaw a project to renovate an existing building and repurpose it for residential use and design a brand-new detached home.

Seventeen apartments have been created in the existing five-level building, with four on each of the first four floors and a penthouse apartment that occupies the entire attic level. For the most part, the original structure, dimensions, and volumes have been retained, but a rethink of the façade and the relationship between internal and external spaces has effectively reinvented the building.

The original balcony, with a uniform concrete balustrade, was broken up rhythmically to lighten the façade and make it less static. The result includes double-height arcades, metal sunshading fins, blind panels in continuity with the walls, transparent balustrades, and soffits with timber slats. The renovated elevations redefine the relationship between inside and out, ensuring that the views from the apartments are constantly changing, while also creating a new, contemporary image for the building as a whole.

The treatment of surfaces is more uniform and focused on materials at the ground and attic levels, the use of brown underscoring the brighter central floors while also creating a reference to the chromatic choices of the new timber and bronze accents.

A new detached home

The same language and chromatic choices were made for the single-family home located on the side of the site facing the sea. This compact two-level volume with asymmetrically pitched roofs has a dark lower section with an emphasis on its material so as to form a continuity with the ground, and a lighter and brighter upper level.

The LEPRI + PARTNERS (Lepri, Simoncini, Dobori) project has successfully renovated an existing, low-quality structure with the addition of just a few new elements while retaining its structure and volume – a key requirement for architecture and a city that aims to be increasingly sustainable.

>>> Discover the new sea park in Rimini.

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