Cortona, Italy - a town dating to the Etruscan era with a permanent population of merely 700. Atop its daunting, steep hills lies a terraced cove nestled on the edge of the community, hugging an ancient stone wall. The proposal in this location is one suitable for a private life, a sanctuary for those who seek and value qualities such as community, nature, and a notion of self-sufficiency. The following project houses twelve monks - those dedicated to and celebratory of a lifestyle extremely apt for such an advanced site and resulting architecture.
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The challenge lies not only in designing for austerity, but deciding what constitutes an absolutely necessary inclusion for those interested in only essentials. No luxury is spent here, instead cherishing the luxury of the surrounding landscape. A new, secondary perimeter wall was added, one that pays homage to the existing typology deeply rooted in Italian communities across Tuscany. This encloses the programs of living quarters, cloister, and chapel from the adjacent public road, instead funneling views beyond, to the miles of Tuscan landscape below Cortona. Integrating with the existing terraces, monks have the potential to harness these for agriculture, allowing for a distinct separation and little reliance from their surroundings.