ITA_INTR_02021B

Anonima Agricola

Private Client
Rural Institution
200 sqm

Bulit

Maremma, Tuscany

Nominated for the Eu Mies Award 2023-24

Finalist for Premio Architettura Italiana Under 35, MAXXI Roma, 2023

Special Mention for Premio Architettura Italiana, MAXXI Roma, 2022

A rural estate in the Tuscan Maremma reinterprets the traditional podere as a hybrid landscape where agriculture, culture, and habitation coexist.

Located between Fonteblanda and Montiano, overlooking the Gulf of Talamone, Anonima Agricola emerges within one of the most characteristic landscapes of the Maremma region. The project originates from a reflection on the idea of genius loci: the complex relationship between the natural identity of a place and the forms of human intervention that shape it.

Rather than reproducing a picturesque image of the Tuscan countryside, the project begins from the transformation of a pre-existing agricultural estate. Today the site combines agritourism, agricultural production, and cultural activities within a single territorial framework. Three hectares of olive groves produce Tuscan IGT extra virgin olive oil, seasonal vegetables are sold through a small on-site kiosk, and open fields are dedicated to the cultivation of sweet baby peppers, while part of the buildings host artist residencies that attract visitors from around the world.

Within this context, the architectural intervention challenges the stereotypical image of the rural Tuscan landscape. Contemporary planning regulations often impose a static and codified idea of countryside architecture—pitched roofs, traditional windows, and stylistic materials—producing what could be described as a “diorama landscape,” carefully composed to serve the tourism industry.
Anonima Agricola proposes a different approach. The intervention reinterprets the typology of the Ente Maremma farmhouse, historically associated with post-war agricultural settlements. Rather than replicating its vernacular appearance, the project constructs an abstract counterpart: a volume clad in folded metal sheets whose reflective surface captures the changing colors of the surrounding fields and sky.

Material choices follow the same logic. Instead of traditional architectural finishes, the project adopts what the architects define as “anonymous materials”—elements typically associated with agricultural infrastructures rather than domestic architecture. Polycarbonate panels used in greenhouses, aluminum sheets, and concrete blocks commonly found in farm buildings become the constructive vocabulary of the intervention.

Through this strategy, the project establishes a delicate balance between continuity and transformation. Anonima Agricola becomes a polymorphic environment where architecture, agriculture, art, and landscape intersect—moving beyond nostalgic representations of rural tradition and proposing a contemporary interpretation of the Tuscan countryside.

Ph.Piercarlo Quecchia (DSL studio)