The chemist’s house in Gibellina, the history and design of Franco Purini’s work

The Casa del farmacista (Chemist’s House) in Gibellina, in the province of Trapani, is considered to be the first work (excluding the renovation of Casa Libertucci and the Teatrino Scientifico in Rome) by the architect Franco Purini, who designed it together with his wife and fellow architect Laura Thermes.

Characterised by an intense simplification of form and large, clean shapes, the work is reminiscent of the legacy of the Modern Movement. Let’s find out more about this project.

Comparison with the Modern Movement

The term ‘Modern Movement’ refers to the rationalist architecture that developed from the 1930s onwards, particularly around the work of Le Corbusier.

Another important master of this style was Frank Lloyd Wright. This type of architecture focuses more on function than form and brings about a renewal of the characteristics, design and principles of architecture.

A blend of modernity and nostalgia for the past

The Chemist’s House in Gibellina is made up of a series of simple shapes and elements that are repeated within a spatial rhythm. The architectural forms are simple and basic, reminiscent of buildings from the past.

There is a main front and a rear, and between these two elements is the core of the house. The main façade features a projecting element, reminiscent of a stereotypical little house, which creates a unique column-free portico. Despite its modern and austere appearance, the project has an underlying sense of melancholy and seems to convey a desire to restore lost values, which have been superseded in the name of progress and modernity.

Other projects in Sicily

In addition to the Chemist’s House (1980), Purini and Thermes, with their eponymous studio Purini/Thermes, carried out other projects in Gibellina and in the province of Trapani, namely:

• the system of squares (1982);
• Casa Pirrello (1990);
• the chapel of Sant’Antonio da Padova in Poggioreale (Trapani).

Article translated by Jasmina Towers

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Curiosities

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