A Sicilian pattern village masterplan exploring prototype houses, terrace housing and landscape-integrated domestic typologies
| Project Location | Saponara, Sicily, Italy |
| Project Type | Residential, pattern village, prototype housing, terrace housing, masterplan, landscape integration |
| Project Description | A pattern village masterplan in Saponara, Sicily, exploring a series of prototype house types, terrace housing and their relationship to the landscape and village fabric of southern Italy. |
| Architect | UFO Architecture |
| Lead Architect | Claudio Lucchesi |
| Project Collaborators | Yo2, Atelier Bow-Wow |
| UFO Scope | Overall masterplan, two villa types and terrace housing |
| Project Status | Unbuilt design study |
| Project Year | 2010 |
| Programme | Prototype villas, terrace housing, residential plots, shared landscape, access routes, village spaces and landscape-integrated domestic environments |
| Design Focus | Pattern village, prototype housing, Sicilian landscape, residential masterplan, terrace housing, topography, orientation, materiality and village fabric |
| Masterplan Strategy | The project organises a village of prototype houses within the Sicilian landscape, combining individual domestic identities with a coherent plan for the whole area. |
| Housing Strategy | UFO Architecture developed two villa types and terrace housing as part of the pattern village, exploring different ways of combining privacy, landscape, orientation and shared village structure. |
| Landscape Strategy | The proposal uses topography, views, orientation and outdoor spaces to root the houses in the Sicilian setting, treating landscape as a primary part of the residential typology. |
| Research Context | The project shares the pattern village research approach with Universal House in Seoul, translating the idea of a village of prototype houses into a southern Italian context. |
Saponara Pattern Village is a 2010 residential masterplan and prototype housing study in Saponara, Sicily. Led by Claudio Lucchesi, the project explores a village of prototype house types and their relationship to the landscape, topography and village fabric of southern Italy.
The project shares a research interest with UFO Architecture’s earlier Universal House work in Seoul, where the idea of a pattern village was used to test a family of related house typologies. In Saponara, this approach is translated into a Sicilian context, where landscape, orientation, climate, materiality and the structure of the existing village environment become central to the design.
UFO Architecture was responsible for the overall plan of the area, two villa types and the terrace housing. Other architects involved in the wider project included Yo2 and Atelier Bow-Wow, creating a collective pattern village where different domestic prototypes could coexist within a shared masterplan framework.
The proposal is not conceived as a conventional subdivision of isolated plots. Instead, it explores how individual houses, terrace housing, access routes, shared spaces and landscape can be organised as a coherent residential environment. Each house type has its own architectural identity, but the village is structured by common relationships to terrain, views, movement and outdoor life.
The two villa types developed by UFO Architecture investigate the relationship between private domestic space and the Sicilian landscape. Orientation, shaded outdoor areas, terraces, thresholds and framed views are used to connect everyday living with the surrounding topography. The villas are conceived as landscape-specific prototypes rather than generic houses placed on a site.
The terrace housing introduces a denser residential typology into the pattern village. It explores how compact housing can still maintain strong relationships to light, air, views and outdoor space. By combining terraced form with landscape integration, the project proposes a more collective model of domestic life suited to the village scale.
Saponara Pattern Village reflects UFO Architecture’s broader interest in residential typologies, ecological design and building-landscape integration. The project uses the pattern village as a tool for testing how prototype housing can respond to place, climate and community while still allowing variation, identity and architectural experimentation.
