Italian artist Gaetano Pesce was commissioned to interpret a hectare of olive trees in Carovigno countryside, in Puglia, Italy by creating a series of playful holiday homes. Commissioned by Caterina Tognon of Caterina Tognon Arte Contemporaneo, the two mini houses are the portrait of the gallerist and her husband with faces full of expression – pink for her and blue for him. Kind of reminds me of this project we covered earlier this year (actually, it’s really nothing like it except for the gender-based colour code thing).

Together with architects Gabriele Pimpini and Cosimo Cardone of Studio Talent, Gaetano Pesce created a playful example of contemporary architecture in a context saturated in history, effortlessly straddling the worlds of visual art and contemporary design.

The houses, dubbed Pescetrulli, are clad in tinted polyurethane, a versatile material readily used for insulation purposes. Pesce’s work has often concentrated on the research of new materials, having experimented with polyurethane since the 1970s. ‘Pescetrulli’ has become one of the most innovative examples of polyurethane used in a permanent architectural setting, which affords the houses with passive thermal properties. As a result, they require virtually little heating during winter and conversely, cooling in summer.

Accessed from the outside, the bathroom structures are clad in 150 x 150mm mirror tiles, reminiscent of a giant disco ball. Such fun and frivolity!

But Pescetrulli is not just some cute idea by Caterina Tognon. The property was imagined as a vessel for living in a modern architectural space while spending plenty of the time in the open air. Immersed in an area rich with secular olive trees, the houses can also be rented out for the entire year. With a large outdoor dining table, able to host up to 30 people, a 40-metre swimming pool and a rotating art programme curated by Caterina Tognon, the appeal is very real.

More info can be found here.

[Images courtesy of Gaetano Pesce and Pescetrulli.]