Frederico Valsassina . photos: © Francisco Nogueira
In a somewhat featureless lot, the result of successive and disjointed uses of the land, we tried to re-imprint a logic to the whole and recover the character of the construction.
We also intentionally wanted to reduce the built presence in favor of the protagonism of the landscape as a defining element of the fabric. Bearing in mind the specific program of a second home reserved for summer holidays, the definition of the spaces was based on a fusion between what is natural and what is built, formally and materially achieved through permeability between outdoors and indoors.
The simple volumetry viewed from the entrance is a reference to the rurality that is typical of this region so that not much of the house is visible. Two isolated volumes, marked by gable roofs, are the only constructions that welcome us and provide the transition to the interior of the villa. Dug into the north and outlined against the landscape, the pre-eminent living space develops under these volumes, taking advantage of the natural sloping terrain.
Dependent on the exterior, the compartments all communicate directly with the living area, which is also the site of the swimming pool, through large glazed areas. The sunken interior spaces enjoy the light and that naturalness by means of patios that bring them into closer proximity.
The selection of materials emphasizes the intended symbiosis between the construction and its surroundings. The tonality of local aggregates is recovered through a plaster that incorporates them, natural wood, clay tiles, the sands, and the autochthonous vegetation – with the common purpose of fusing the “parts” that constitute the whole.
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