A RĒGULA 2025-winning project with zintek® roofs
Amidst the hills of the Tuscan Maremma, overlooked by the town walls of Magliano in Toscana, an ancient rural settlement has come back to life. This is Borgo Banditaccia, recently redeveloped by the Edoardo Milesi & Archos architecture firm and awarded the 2025 Premio RĒGULA in the Restoration, Renovation, and Regeneration category.
The architects approached the redevelopment work as a reconstruction process: they restored the sole remaining authentic parts of the ancient rural complex — the passageways with vaulted ceilings and the historic building at its centre — and removed all incongruous additions, redesigning the whole structure as a single organism in dialogue with the agricultural surroundings.
Compact volumes, textured surfaces, and carefully calibrated solids and voids together form an understated work that is rooted in the location. The design employs simple materials — local stone, reclaimed bricks, and exposed concrete — to create continuity between old and contemporary architectural language.
Part of the building envelope for the apartments and indoor pool is made from Natural Earth Brown zintek® from the «The Color Line» series, laid with double seaming. In contexts like Borgo Banditaccia, the roof does not just play a technical role; it is an integral part of the architectural composition, helping it to integrate with the landscape. The metal surfaces define the building’s profile and its relationship with the light, the pitches of the roofs, and the hills on the horizon.
The new Borgo Banditaccia is now holiday accommodation spread across mini-apartments, communal spaces, and shady pathways: a small, homely environment that evokes the feel of a Mediterranean village, with closely spaced volumes, sheltered areas, and unexpected open views over the landscape.
Sustainability is also incorporated into the project, including the use of local materials, passive systems, and rainwater recovery, showing how safeguarding rural heritage can also be an opportunity to experiment with new forms of contemporary living.
The 2025 Premio RĒGULA confirmed Borgo Banditaccia’s major contribution to regional redevelopment, highlighting the combination of memory and modernity, meticulous design and attention to the landscape.
Through its involvement in projects like this, Zintek is contributing to a form of architecture that transcends building work, helping to restore the local area, promote its materials, and create dialogue with the surroundings.
