Casa di Belmondo

Located in Belmonte Calabro, on the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria, the Casa di Belmondo hosts the activities of La Rivoluzione delle Seppie and the Glocal Center. Designed collaboratively by Orizzontale and Le Seppie with students, migrants, local craftsmen, and researchers, the project transformed the former Casa delle Monache, abandoned for over forty years, into an open, living infrastructure that cultivates trust, shared knowledge, and cooperation.

The Casa di Belmondo is the result of the synergy between Orizzontale, which leads the architectural design and construction process of the Casa di Belmondo, and Le Seppie, who curate and mediate the entire Belmondo project. Within this broader framework, Le Seppie facilitates networks, educational programs, and exchanges between local and international communities, while Orizzontale translates these dynamics into spatial form and construction practice. The spaces of the Casa, distributed across three open, doorless levels, host artistic and research residencies, remote work activities, and collective gatherings in constant dialogue with the village, fostering forms of collaborative design intelligence that combine autonomy and participation. In this sense, the Casa is both the result and a tool of the BelMondo project, a device for community-making and reflection on the boundaries of architectural design. The project reflects on the architect’s role as that of a mediator within an open, collaborative system capable of embracing the unexpected, exploring everyday activity and improvisation as design strategies. Limited financial resources fostered strong synergy among professionals, associations, and residents, transforming the realization of the Casa di Belmondo into a continuous exercise in collective engagement and shared learning.

Built through workshops and collective building sessions beginning in 2019, the construction of Casa di Belmondo is guided by the principles of collaborative design, minimal infrastructure, flexibility, and incremental growth. Simple construction techniques and modular systems allow adaptation over time. The first construction week saw the installation of fine wooden and recycled marble floors on the first level, together with a basic electrical system and lightweight metal and wooden furniture; these elements were sufficient to initiate a hybrid process of construction and inhabitation that continued over the following years. This approach emphasizes the instrumental role of architecture in the process rather than in its final outcome. In 2024, after five years of workshops and with modest municipal funds, local companies expanded the electrical and heating systems without interrupting its use. The Casa’s architecture thus acts as an open framework that evolves with its users, emphasizing architecture as a living process rather than a finite object.