Patio House, by Solum Studio: a labyrinth of silence facing the sea as a promise

On the southern coast of Sicily, where the land ends in a dramatic cliff, a narrow plot becomes an architectural path. Here, the Milan-based architects of Solum Studio have conceived Patio House — a dwelling as abstract as it is organic, as silent as it is meticulously thought through. The house stretches across the entire site, from the road to the edge of the sea. Yet its gesture is not one of conquest, but of retreat. The architecture folds in on itself, excavates its own space, and shields itself from the outside. Only at the end, as a reward, as a promise, does it open to the sea.

The path is the soul of the project. An open-air corridor runs through the house from end to end, like a spine. There are no interior corridors, no forced connections: each of the five bedrooms opens onto this central walkway through small doors, while a series of independent patios ensures privacy and filters the light. The spatial sequence has the cadence of a ritual, a passage between shadows and light. The path widens and narrows, in a labyrinthine play of solids and voids, of walls and apertures.

At the end of this journey —more emotional than functional— the living room awaits. It is here, finally, that the house, until now closed in on itself, yields to the landscape. Large sliding glass doors disappear into the walls, letting in the sea light that floods the shared space: living, dining and kitchen. The kitchen is further illuminated by another patio, where a minimal, linear staircase leads to the rooftop terrace. From there, the sea displays its full beauty, and the dense geometry of the floor plan becomes visible, a labyrinth seen from above.

Textures, materials and tones complete the atmosphere: stuccoed walls in earthy hues, warm concrete floors, Noto stone on the terraces, and volcanic stone in the pool. Everything speaks the language of restraint, of essence, of that which withstands time with quiet grace. There are no glass façades, no decorative gestures. There is earth, shadow, and a calm that is not silent but contained.

Patio House does not reveal from the outside the richness of its interior. Its mystery lies in the sequence. The way it is inhabited becomes a nearly ritual act. It is a house that breathes the spirituality of temples, an architecture that does not boast, but offers peace, silence, and serenity. And at the very end, like a secret shared with the visitor, the gift of the sea, the promise fulfilled.

Project: Patio House.
Architecture: Solum Studio.
Architects: Lorenzo Campagna, Filippo Gismondi, Mattia Agates y Lorenzo Loda.
Completion: 2025.
Photography: Nicolò Panzeri.

Solum Studio

Solum Studio draws its ideas from the creative heart of Milan, in a space where architectural thought coexists with the rhythms of daily practice. Founded in 2019 by Mattia Agates, Lorenzo Campagna, Filippo Gismondi, and Alessandro Loda, all of whom studied at the Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio, the studio was born from a shared desire to craft an architecture that is essential, quiet, and rigorous — one that not only engages in dialogue with its surroundings, but listens to them attentively.

Before settling in Italy, their individual paths took them to Lisbon, London, and Lugano, where they worked with renowned studios such as Manuel Aires Mateus, Al-Jawad Pike, and HKS Architects. This international experience, however, never distanced them from their roots. Alongside their first commissions, they founded the student collective Concreto in 2017, a group that already reflected their inclination toward critical reflection, visual representation, and architecture as a collective act.

Solum Studio moves fluidly across scales, disciplines, and geographies. From single-family homes to furniture, from ephemeral installations to international competitions, their work is marked by restraint, materiality, light, and emptiness. The project Patio House, in Avola, Sicily, is one of their most emblematic works: a home carved into the dry landscape, seeking both to protect and to reveal what is essential.

In addition to their architectural practice, the four founders also teach at the Politecnico di Milano, where they pass on to new generations the same thoughtful, coherent, and site-sensitive approach to architecture that defines their own work.

Source: Solum Studio

Project by Solum Studio