Home New Zealand – August 01, 2019

Groundfloor

Firstfloor

1. Entry


2. Bathroom


3. Living


4. Bedroom


5. Study

1

Design

notebook

Q&A with architect Mark

Cannata of Zero Zero

How long did the renovation take?

Time in Sicily seems to move more

slowly than other parts of the world.

The construction phase took almost two

years, which is much longer than you

would normally expect. The emphasis

on quality and innovation meant a steep

learning curve for some of the contractors

and subcontractors involved.

Talk us through the ancient water supply.

Historically, when building a new house,

a cistern would have been carved out of

the bedrock to collect rainwater – the

only supply then. Most of the area is on

a karstic limestone plateau that’s riven

with caves and openings, such as the

cave under the house. The cistern, and the

adjacent one in the next house, may have

been carved from an existing void. It must

have been quite a feat of engineering: the

cistern is a pyramid with a square 4 x 4

metre base with rounded corners and

a circular sump to collect any silt.

What projects are you working on?

Our current workload is quite varied in

size and building type: we’ve just started

on a new house within the ruins of an old

stable, which will be a Near Zero Energy

Building. We are also working on new

suites set in a Mediterranean garden

for a luxury coastal resort, which will be

built entirely of Cross Laminated Timber.

On the larger end of the scale, we’ve

been providing sustainability advice

for a new biotechnology centre near

Palermo with HOK, my former London

practice. And, in collaboration with major

universities, we continue our research

and experimentation with a number

of projects that combine sustainability

and historic conservation.

What are your plans for the other two

buildings on the property? Well, Mia has

already decided that the cave should be

the ‘party’ room. It’s a generous space,

approximately 7 x 6 metres, which is

cool in summer and warm in winter. The

other two buildings will be respectively

the kitchen and living room in the final

configuration of the property. The house

has been designed with adaptability in

mind: Mia’s room will become the family

bathroom (it already has plumbing under

the floor); the current kitchen will become

the main bedroom, with the existing

pantry furniture adapted to a wardrobe

with the hidden en suite behind. The

upstairs ‘boat’ volume will become the

children’s bedroom and play area.

The mini-me tiny house.

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