Casalunga Golf Resort

By Francesco Pagliari - 7 January 2010

Casalunga Golf Resort owner, Gianluca Vacchi, assigned the development project to the Iascone practice. The brief: to extend the existing clubhouse located in the countryside of Castenaso near Bologna, Italy. Five new buildings have been added around the former clubhouse, a converted farm: a reception-cum-gatehouse, the new clubhouse, dressing rooms and golf-bag lockers, fitness centre with outdoor swimming pool and solarium, outdoor summer bar, and eight hotel rooms. The flat countryside around the complex is relieved by undulations created by gravel quarries excavated near the river. The golf course itself extends across a discussed quarry and includes an artificial lake. In deference to the traditions and history of the place, the new development took its cue from the typical features of the flat landscape: long drainage ditches flanked by rows of trees and stone buildings. The north-south pedestrian pathway, marked out by a straight row of trees, provides the axis for the whole layout. Volumes are in keeping with the agricultural setting. They relate to each other and to communal areas in the manner of a farm and outhouses; each has its distinctive function and each enjoys wide vistas over the golf course. The fully glazed façades of the clubhouse offer the most extensive views. New and old buildings sit well together. Along with the former farmhouse, two cylindrical silos, the golf club’s longstanding landmarks, have been retained. They have been given a glazed frontage and are now a reception-cum-gatehouse. The heights of the new buildings are in keeping with the original farmhouse, becoming gradually lower as the buildings extend southward. Stone is pivotal to the architectural design. Stonewalls resonate with the human and natural history of the place, their solidity and opacity countered by the lightness and transparency of glass. The river stones cladding the façades are held in place by stainless steel cages. The juxtaposition of shiny steel and stone,...