Adaptive Reuse, Residence in Florence, Italy

Sant’ Orsola

Founded in 1309, Sant’Orsola was a Florentine convent later associated with Lisa Gherardini, believed to be Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, who was buried there in 1542. Following its suppression, the complex served as a tobacco factory, refugee shelter, and proposed barracks before falling into disuse.

Through adaptive reuse, a small portion of the historic structure will be reactivated as a private residence for a family of four. The apartment introduces a contemporary domestic program while preserving the existing fabric and allowing new life to coexist with the building’s layered past.