Italy

R E S I D E N C E S

White Oak Residential Park

Castiglione del Lago

R E S I D E N C E S

Villa Blue Leaf

Roccadaspide

P R O J E C T S   _   R E N O V A T I O N S   _   G A R D E N S

2017-2024

Villa AM, Palermo  |  Attic Riviello, Salerno  |  Villa Filograna, Lecce  |  Villa Bamonte, Salerno  |  Villa DeSantis, Frosinone  |  Apartment Quaracchi, Firenze  |  Villa Colaprisca, Roma  |  Primavera Park, Napoli  |  Villa Di Naro, Napoli  |  Villa Dramisino, Salerno  |  Attic Onore, Napoli  |  Villa Miagor, Salerno  |  Apartment Falcone, Salerno  |  Villa Cypress, Salerno  |  QB Residential Park, Salerno  |  Villa Migliaccio, Frosinone  |  Villa Perrini, Frosinone  |  Villa Finsinger, Terni  |  Villa Ricci, Padova  |  Villa Zanè, Roma  |  Villa Diaz Della Vittoria Pallavicini, Roma  |  Castle von Liechtenstein, Brescia  |  Villa Beretta, Brescia  |  Medical Center AstraMed, Frosinone  |  B&B Cannella, Salerno  |  Studio Palumbo, Salerno  |  Studio Mascolo, Salerno  |  Clinic Fonte, Salerno  |  Hotel and Restaurant Mojo, Salerno  |  Hotel Paradiso, Salerno  |  Hotel and Restaurant Collespinoso, Frosinone  |  Hotel and Restaurant Raphael, Salerno  |  Church Sacro Cuore, Napoli  |  Other Size Gallery, Milano  |  Garden Fiocco, Roma  |  Lightness Garden, Roma  |  Garden Miagor, Salerno  |  Ciku Bamboo Park, Roma  |  Garden DeSantis, Frosinone

P U B L I C

New Nursery School "Gianni Rodari"

Massalengo

drawing by R3Architetti

under construction

A N T I S E I S M I C   R E S E A R C H

Dancing with the Earth

In 1980, the Irpinia earthquake damaged my family's house. It was one of the most terrific earthquakes in the history of Italy. Hundreds of thousands of houses collapsed like sand castles on a rainy day. Even concrete buildings were severely damaged, shattering their common mythical consideration as the eternal material. Two years of work before we could go back home. I was nine years old, and since that experience I have been obsessed with antiseismic systems.

Core mission of White Oak Arkitecture is to take occasion of any new project for developing always more innovative solutions for contributing to safer houses, preventing other children from experiencing earthquakes in the same sad way I did.

I will never forget the horrific sound of the house cracking all around us in the darkness of the night, while my brother, my parents, and I, all together in just one hug, were protecting each other, just waiting for the end of the earthquake. Years later, remembering that experience, when I needed to decide which high-school to start, I had clear that I wanted to become a good-houses builder, because only bad-built houses can kill people, earthquakes can only invite the well-built, to dance.

I N T E R I O R S   _   F U R N I T U R E   _   F L O O R S

Medieval Archetypes

Our furniture are designed and produced by White Oak Arkitecture with the highest quality of Northern America and Northern Europe timber, mainly white oak and ash. Inspired by medieval archetypes, mixed with golden proportion and arboreal geometries, our furniture aim to reproduce not only the aesthetics of ancient shapes and proportions, but also the soul, the spiritual meanings of the middle ages, with a sacred care to details, do not neglecting those will be hidden to the sight. From the Norway Table to the Oaklight Wall Lamp, from the LimeTreeLeaf Chair to the Oak Floors Collection, all of them are characterized by prime quality timber, and as less as possible screws and nails, glues and preservatives, but using dry-joint systems and natural oils.

The Luxury of Wood. A Lesson by Paolo Portoghesi

In December 2011, my first meeting with Paolo Portoghesi happened by chance. We were on the same flight back to Italy, I from New York, and he and his wife, Giovanna, from Frankfurt. We were seated in the same row, with Paolo by the window, Giovanna in the middle, and me on the aisle. Recognizing Paolo, I introduced myself, honored to be in their company and to meet in person one of the European masters of organic architecture. We spoke about wooden architecture, trees, medieval spirituality, and archetypes. Paolo recalled my name, appeared into an interview by his magazine Abitare La Terra, six years earlier, an article about me as theorist of the tree-centric architecture. Hours passed like minutes, and we only stopped talking because the aircraft was landing in Rome. We met again months later at their home in Calcata. He wanted to see the prototype of the joint system that I used for the Norway Table. We talked all day about wooden architecture and my theory about tree-centric architecture as the foundation of sustainable architecture. And before I left, Paolo said, "It is strange, Thomas, that at my old age, after so many projects, books, conferences, I still have regrets... and one of them now, talking to you, is that I underestimated the potential of wood, used so rarely compared to the illusions of concrete and steel. Architecture needs more wood, because it needs more humble architects, too much focused on noisy ego, while architecture should be silent beauty."