这两座房子是通过对材料、技术和程序的研究、设计和实验的长期过程而建成的。这个过程的约束因素是客户的勇气和信任，他们接受了成为这个旅程的一部分，而这两座建筑只是其中的一个片段。

These two houses have been built through a long process of research, design, and experimentation on materials, technology, and program. The binding element of this process was the courage and trust of the client who accepted to be part of a journey of which these two buildings are only a fragment.

研究。纸牌屋的项目早在2015年底实际委托之前就开始了。Elastico农场多年来一直在对建筑材料以及与之相关的技术和工艺进行结构化研究。在过去的10年里，我们一直从事工业建筑预制结构件的研究和实验性应用。同时，我们与砖、石、木和预制钢筋混凝土行业合作，充分了解它们的潜力以及这些材料在建筑市场上替代或/和组合使用的可能性。我们对撒丁岛花岗岩的研究始于2013年，当时来自奥尔比亚的一个采石场与我们联系，研究他们的材料，并评估这种独特的、相对便宜的、丰富的产品的未表达的潜力。

Research. The project for the Houses of Cards started long before it was actually commissioned at the end of 2015. Elastico Farm has been carrying on for years structured research on building materials and on the technology and techniques related to them. In the last 10 years, we have been engaged in the study and experimental application of prefabricated structural elements for industrial buildings. At the same time, we have worked with the brick, stone, wood, and prefabricated reinforced concrete industries to fully understand their potential and the possibilities for alternative or/ and combined use of those materials in the construction market. Our research on Sardinian granite began in 2013 when we were approached by a quarry from Olbia to study their material and to evaluate the unexpressed potential of this unique, relatively inexpensive, and abundant product.

材料。撒丁岛花岗岩是一种侵入性火成岩，由于其形成时的压力和温度，具有优良的特性。在过去，它被广泛用于结构性用途（如万神殿的柱子），而现在通常被用于覆层或地板。撒丁岛花岗岩的一致性，以及它的均匀性和抵抗力，使它成为铺设大型地面的理想材料，如机场、车站和公共场所的交通和磨损。这些年来，陶瓷材料的快速发展，以及可以从东亚地区找到价格非常有竞争力的高性能石材产品，正在慢慢侵蚀我国境内这种产品曾经占据的市场份额。

Materials. Sardinian granite is an intrusive igneous rock that has excellent properties due to the pressure and temperatures at the origin of its formation. While in the past it was widely used for structural purposes (as for the columns of the Pantheon), nowadays is normally employed for cladding or for flooring. The consistency of Sardinian granite, together with its homogeneity and resistance, makes it ideal for paving large surfaces such as airports, stations, and public places subject to traffic and wear. In these years, the rapid evolution of ceramic materials and the possibility of finding highly performing stone products at very competitive prices from East Asia are slowly eroding the market share once held by this product of our territory.

对材料特性和采石方法的调查表明，有可能使用可以直接在挖掘现场生产的大型整体构件。使用花岗岩制作承重板的想法来自于对挖掘过程的观察以及对岩石开采和修整技术的了解。更具体地说，用铁丝切割采石场的墙壁可以达到一定的精度，而材料的紧凑性使其有可能生产出尺寸非常大的块和板。考虑到运输板块的重量和整体尺寸（陆路和海路），我们确定了最佳使用面板的合理尺寸为600厘米×240厘米，厚度根据结构需要从12厘米到20厘米不等。原则上，花岗岩板的抗压和抗弯能力可以与类似厚度的钢筋混凝土板相媲美。

The investigation into the properties of the material and the quarrying methods suggested the possibility of working with large monolithic elements that could be produced directly on the excavation site. The idea of using granite for the load-bearing panels came from the observation of the excavation process and the acquired knowledge of the technologies with which the rock is extracted and trimmed. To be more specific, the cutting of the quarry wall with the wires allows a certain accuracy while the compactness of the material makes it possible to produce blocks and slabs even of very large dimensions. Considering the weights and overall dimensions for transporting the slabs (by land and sea), we established that a plausible size for optimal use of the panel was 600 cm by 240 cm with a variable thickness depending on the structural needs from 12 cm to 20 cm. In principle, the resistance to compression and flexure of a granite panel is comparable to that of reinforced concrete panels of similar thickness.

设计。建在意大利北部都灵省一个小镇上的牌坊，是大型花岗岩板作为承重建筑元素的实验阶段的一部分。这两座房子都是由三层叠加的隔板组成，由于切割和金属镙丝的系统而连接起来。在结构设计阶段，出于对其认证的规范性考虑，我们选择将花岗岩板与其他混凝土板结合起来。这使我们能够研究这种材料，而不必经过冗长的认证过程，因为这将会延迟，也许会影响到完成项目的可能性。与彩色混凝土板相结合的工作，帮助我们了解这种材料的局限性和机会。这现在有助于我们发展研究，并通过我们现在正在进行的一些其他项目继续进行预制混凝土的实验。

Design. The Houses of Cards, built in an allotment of a small town in the province of Turin, in Northern Italy, are part of the experimentation phase on the large granite slab for use as a load-bearing construction element. Both houses consist of a triple level of superimposed septa that connect thanks to a system of cuts and metal dowels. During the structural design phase, for normative reasons related to their certification, we chose to combine granite slabs with other concrete panels. This allowed us to study the material without having to go through a lengthy certification process which would have delayed and perhaps compromised the possibility of completing the project. Working in combination with the colored concrete panels has helped us to understand the limits and opportunities of this material. This is now helping us to develop the research and carry on the experimentation on pre-cast concrete through some other projects we have now underway.

因此，对材料的研究和实验与对基于承重板的结构系统的研究和实验是同步进行的。这两座房子的形状来自于项目的连续方法。从一个常规和直观的方案–猫屋开始，我们开发了第二个项目–狗屋，在这个项目中，第一个建筑结构中发现的理论问题通过形式得到了解决。这产生了更复杂的空间。猫屋有一个正交的结构，这决定了它在应对假想的地震所产生的力量方面的弱点；因此，干式安装的面板需要金属支撑和加固来抵抗横向力量。相反，狗屋由于其围绕中央庭院开发的形状，不需要额外的支撑物。其复杂的径向形式产生了一个结构上有效的建筑。

Research and experimentation on the material have therefore developed hand-in-hand with that on the structural system based on load-bearing panels. The shape of the two houses comes from a sequential approach to the project. Starting from a regular and intuitive scheme – the Cat House – we developed a second project – the Dog House – in which the theoretical problems identified in the structure of the first building are solved by form. This produced more complex spaces. The Cat House has an orthogonal structure that determines its weakness in reacting to forces produced by a hypothetical earthquake; the dry-mounted panels, therefore, need metal bracings and reinforcements to resist transverse forces. The Dog House, instead, thanks to its shape developed around a central courtyard, does not require additional bracings. The complexity of its radial form produces a structurally efficient building.

在设计阶段进行的研究在施工现场得到检验：这是实验和验证的阶段，这时有可能发现新的问题，解决这些问题，并对其进行处理，以了解项目背后的想法是否能成为一个可能的建筑系统。

The research carried out during the design phase gets tested in the construction site: this is the phase of experimentation and verification, this is when it is possible to identify new problems, solve them, and process them in order to understand if the idea behind the project can become a possible construction system.

方案。所有的结构调查和随后的形式选择都必须处理方案和单户住宅类型的具体要求，以及现在住在那里的人的需求。属于两姐妹的房子有相似的尺寸，但在分布和内部空间关系上非常不同。

Program. All the structural investigations and the subsequent formal choices had to deal with the program and the specific requirements of the single-family house typology, as well as with the needs of those who now live there. The houses, belonging to two sisters, have similar dimensions but are very different in their distribution and inner spatial relationships.

猫屋有一个正交的和非常紧凑的结构，其中的板块定义了一系列外部的微环境，过滤了通往房屋内部的通道。在那里，一个双高的大厅连接着不同的楼层。因此，房子的中心作为一个场景分布元素，可以从每个房间感知到。

The Cat House has an orthogonal and very compact structure, in which the slabs define a sequence of external micro-environments that filter the passage towards the inside of the house. There a double-height hall connects the different levels. The heart of the house, therefore, acts as a scenographic distribution element and can be perceived from every room.

狗屋的结构围绕着一个中央天井发展，一个空的核心作为一个内院，它的入口被一系列由板块的径向排列定义的空间所调解。即使是一楼的内部房间，也是径向排列的，并且总是与花园和内院直接接触。另一方面，在一楼，结构板的不规则布局产生了较难预测的内部和外部空间。两间卧室都通向一个大露台，俯瞰空旷的房屋内部，这是一个亲密的空间，与外面和附近的街道封闭。
在这两座建筑中，承重结构起到了场景化的作用，并定义了这两座房子的本质。具有花岗岩材质或混凝土颜色的板块，定义并赋予空间以特征。在 “猫屋 “中，板块的规则排列传达了严谨性，并产生了空间的封闭性和有限性；结构元素作为房间内的碎片出现，作为能够与光线和颜色进行互动的正式重点。另一方面，在 “狗屋 “中，第一层的放射状结构与其他两层的必要不规则排列形成对比，暗示了一个未完成的系统和可以变化和发展的空间。

The structure of the Dog House develops around a central patio, an empty core that serves as an inner courtyard whose access is mediated by a sequence of spaces defined by the radial arrangement of the slabs. Even the internal rooms, on the ground floor, are arranged radially and always have direct contact with both the garden and the inner courtyard. On the first floor, on the other hand, the irregular layout of the structural panels produces less predictable internal and external spaces. Both bedrooms open onto a large terrace overlooking the empty interior of the house, an intimate space, closed to the outside and the nearby street.
In both buildings, the load-bearing structure plays a scenographic role and defines the essence of the two houses. The slabs, with the materiality of granite or with the color of the concrete, define and give character to the spaces. In the Cat House, the regular arrangement of the panels conveys rigor and produces a sense of closure and finiteness of the space; the structural elements appear as fragments inside the rooms, as formal accents capable of playing with light and color. In the Dog House, on the other hand, the radial structure of the first level contrasts with the necessary irregularity in their arrangement on the other two levels, hinting at an unfinished system and spaces that can change and evolve.

如果说花岗岩和混凝土结构元素传达了一种永恒的感觉，那么木质隔断则让人感觉到时间将导致它们的转变和潜在的解体。这座建筑包含并预示着废墟的形象，唯一能够抵抗的东西将揭示出项目的本质。

If the granite and concrete structural elements convey a sense of permanence, the wooden partitions let one perceive the possibility that time will lead to their transformation and potential dissolution. The building contains and foresees the image of ruin, the only things that will be able to resist will reveal the essence of the project.

Architects: Elastico Farm
Area: 200 m²
Year: 2020
Photographs: Atelier XYZ
Design Team:Stefano Pujatti, Valeria Brero, Serena Nano, Daniele Almondo, Andrea Rosada
City:Torrazza Piemonte
Country:Italy