Objeto A Art Gallery

The building is located on Niceto Vega Street, an artery in constant development in the Palermo neighbourhood. From the outset, the project recognised the importance of the building's presence through both its architectural expression and its programme.

The speed and lights that characterise the street became a starting point for reflecting on the duality between the building's outward expression and its inner world. The facade therefore acts as an inflection point between a static, perceptive interior and a dynamic exterior closely linked to passing traffic.

The project preserves the most genuine characteristics of the original Palermo house and integrates the new intervention through a contemporary language that also pays tribute to the existing construction.

The relationship between facade and street was reinterpreted as a backlit sign: a playful, moving field of colour. This agile and lightweight operation rests on the robustness of the original facade, composing a closely related tectonic whole.

A sequence of twelve slender pivoting shutters, made of frosted polycarbonate in metal frames, allows the facade to shift from completely closed to fully open. Each shutter conceals an RGB LED system that can colour the facade according to the desired chromatic sequence.

Inside, the building is organised in section through stepped courtyards, floating mezzanines and quiet spaces for perception and contemplation. Continuous views connect the rooms with the exterior, natural light, the sky and the vegetation, while metal frames hold large panes of glass independently from the reinforced concrete structure.

The project captures a planted oasis and makes it an integral part of the building, preserving the essence and character of the original house. Throughout the work, particular attention was paid to the points where the old house and the new gallery meet, from the main architectural decisions down to the smallest construction details.

Technologically, the project follows the same principle: an early twentieth-century house incorporates contemporary systems, from energy-conscious air conditioning to high-definition audio and video. The spatial richness, noble materials, constructive honesty, chromatic calm and preserved greenery create a setting that gives full prominence to the works of art it contains.