Building and Process of Construction
Originally, Malaparte approached
Adalberto Libera to design his house in Capri. Malaparte specifically sought
out Libera to design his much anticipated home because of his reputation as one
of the most successful modern architects of Italy at that time. Prior to
designing Malaparte’s home, Libera had also helped in editing the first of
Malaparte’s Prospettive journal articles and had already been consulting with
him on the design of his home. He was later dismissed when Malaparte was
unsatisfied with his ideas and decided to complete the building himself. Libera
wanted a long, two-story rectangular building where rooms would be aligned
along a corridor. Malaparte disliked how linear and rational Libera's design
was and thought it was too similar to a "Mediterranean stucco box" (Russell 2005).
Libera's design for Casa Malaparte overly resembled an instutionalized space,
reminding Malaparte too much of a prison or military bunker. Libera’s design
was far too conventional and strayed from Malaparte’s desire for a radical home
that mirrored his personality.
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Comparison of Libera's conventional
floor plan and Malaparte's symmetrical floor plans
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Malaparte’s
final plans strayed so far from Libera’s design that hardly any trace of his
original plans remain in the building today. The massing and distribution of
the rooms became much more simplified. The appearance of the overall form and
elevations was unified into one encompassing shape. No evidence of the
arrangement of Libera’s windows and doors remains. The uniformly aligned
windows of Libera’s plan gave way to the seemingly randomized placement of
large barred and unbarred windows.
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Comparison
of Libera's uniform size and placement of
windows and Malaparte's seemingly randomized elevations
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The
building’s most distinguishable feature, the stair case leading to the roof
terrace, is a literal alliteration of the steps in front of the church of
Annunziata on Lipari, the island in which Malaparte was imprisoned in 1934.
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One original feature
designed by Malaparte that did not carry through to the final design was a main
entrance access that carved itself through the existing staircase leading up to
the roof and into the main floor. However, due to the impracticality and dangers
of waters flooding the area, the stair case remained a solid undisturbed form
and the main entry was altered. The sealing off of this entry way disrupted the
symmetry of the plan and pushed the main entryway off to one side and the
staircase into a tighter corner.
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Blocking off this threshold
through the stairs also severed the connection and fluidity from the main
living area to the roof top terrace. This now meant that travelling from the
main living area to the roof top terrace one would have to descend sixteen
steps and another 48 to reach the roof level. Another change that was made to
Malaparte’s original structure was the symbolic, white, sail-like railing that
sat atop the roof. Originally, the railing did not taper down and into the
roof, it was a continuous height that wrapped around as a more practical
partition and screening method. However, the static shape of the uniform height
railing soon progressed into the more elegant sweeping gesture that we see
today.
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Though Casa Malaparte began
as being painted red, there was a brief period of time in which it was
painted white. The colour of the white stucco building gave off an otherworldly
and pure look in contrast to the deep blue sky and sea. It held semblance to
Ancient Greek sculptures and further emphasized the fact that the building was
forged out of materials of the limestone cliffs on which it was built. The
temple-like appearance of the white paint only lasted a few years and was soon
changed back to the sharp red that we see today. In comparison to the unity
that the white paint implied, the contrast of the red paint to the lack of reds
in the surrounding scenery is drastic.
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Throughout the course of
one day, the red nature of Casa Malaparte alters with the movement of
the sun. At the peak of its orbit, the sun cast on the structure brightens it
and Casa Malaparte’s appearance can be likened to that of a lizard
absorbing in the sun. Closer to night fall, the trapezoidal structure resembles
a crystal, giving off an illuminated glow.
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The red colour of Malaparte has also been said to symbolize
the force of rebellion; the anger and defiance (House Like Me, . Pop culture
and historical references of the colour red that have been linked to the
symbolism of Casa Malaparte include the red of street gangs, the red
of Christianity (wine and the blood of Jesus), and the red of Communism and
Facism.
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| Possible symbolic references of the colour red (Source: Mussolini, Jesus and Moscow) |
Building
and Place
Casa Malaparte was built
atop the rocky terrain of Punta Massulo approximately thirty-one meters above
the sea level. Access to the home can be gained in two ways. The first option
is by ground, walking a pathway of salt-covered, rocky steps across private
property. The second option is to travel by sea on calm days and after
debarking the boat there is a 99 step climb up a staircase built along the
cliff side.
Casa
Malaparte is often described as having grown straight out of the rocky cliff
side that it was built. (House
Like Me, pg.10) Its ridged geometric shape mirrors that of
the landscape surrounding it. The structure hugs the rugged terrain of Punta
Massulo; evening out where the land is flat and tapering in where the rock
formations grow narrow. However, many would also argue that Casa Malaparte was
built with little or no regard to nature and its surroundings. The
contradictions in Curzio Malaparte’s personality can also be noticed in the
home.
The
environmentally friendly aspects of Casa Malaparte include its low-cost construction,
lack of toxic building products and thick masonry walls that provide
insulation. However, the ecological downfalls include its lack of a proper
water retaining system, poor indoor plumbing and lack of solar energy collected
from the roof. As a result of its estranged location, electricity and water
must be supplied by an alternate source. More importantly, the home was built
with little regard to the harsh winds and waves that continually damage it.
However,
Malaparte’s grasp of an environmentally conscious building differs from the
modern understanding of passive solar heating and photovoltaic cells. Instead,
Casa Malaparte constructed a home that fused with its site socially,
politically and culturally.
Had
Malaparte gone through with Libera’s original design, his home would have been
the staple image of a modernist object. Casa Malaparte may not have been famous
and would simply have been another home built on a rock. However, by designing
a structure that fused with the site, Casa Malaparte became “the building as
the rock”. (House
Like Me, pg.94)
Building and Purpose
During
the five-year period of Malaparte’s exile, he had grown a fondness for the
solitude and extent of contemplation that prison allowed him. It was during his
years of lax imprisonment that Malaparte dreamed up the ideal environment in
which he would live the remainder of his life after his release. The purpose of
building a home in perfect isolation was to create the ideal writing
environment re-create the solitude of prison. At the time of construction Casa Malaparte was the
only structure built on Punto
Massulo. It stood alone on the
clifftop, surrounded on three sides by the Sea and a considerable distance from
civilization. Casa Malaparte provided him with the solitude needed
to nurture his writing.(House Like Me, pg.21)
Dominating
the majority of the ground floor plan and upon entry to the home is the large
living area that houses the grand fireplace and its chestnut mantle.
Surrounding the room are large windows that command views of the expansive
cliffs and sea. In addition to the grandeur and elegance of the fireplace and
view, Malaparte also designed specific furniture made of fragments of Classical
architectural columns and large tree trunks. Specifically designed to be placed
in the study, Malaparte had large oversized versions of classical couches and
armchairs. (House
Like Me, pg.11)
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| Benches made from fragments of Classical columns, wood and glass (Source: Quadratura) |
Much care went into the selection and arrangement of rooms and
furniture in Casa Malaparte. The symmetry in the building would have been near
perfect had it not been for the changes made to the main entryway. At the end
of the building opposite to the main entrance there is an obvious symmetry of
the T-shaped corridor dissecting the identical bathrooms leading to the master
bedroom. (Davies
2006)
Superb analysis I never got in school. From Libera's original proposal to losing Malaparte's original stairway entrance I will never look at it the same again.
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