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The project plays with the slope of the land and the unevenness of the garden to create unexpected views
In Pove del Grappa, at the feet of the Grappa massif and right at the entrance to Valsugana, the firm Didonè Comacchio Architects has completed the construction of a private residence with simple lines, which hide great complexity and compositional research.
The villa is partially set in the ground and plays with the light slope of the decline, emerging from a stone base with a pyramid-shaped volume. The purity of the lines is reminiscent of the form of a hut. Externally, it fits into its context as closed and impenetrable volume, hiding patios, small courtyards, and terraces. The architects took advance of the topography of the garden to create intimate and hidden outdoor spaces, open the architecture outwards with large, full-height windows, and fill the house with the sight of the surrounding landscape.
The complexity of the building layout was shaped by the desire to create environments with increasing privacy: hallways and corridors give access to smaller, more private rooms, and the larger spaces hide other smaller spaces behind flush doors that follow each other in sequence, like in a game of Chinese boxes.
The heart of the composition is a glass volume that is located almost in the center with respect to the layout of the ground floor, like a pivot around which the entire house revolves. With direct access from the garage, it overlooks the living area through transparent closures and was designed to hold collectible automobiles, as well as works of art and small expositions.
The first floor, dedicated to the sleeping area and the family’s private life, features a small living area and two double bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. On this floor, the layout is polarized by two open spaces that open the volume on opposite sides, with a panoramic viewpoint and a terrace that houses a hot tub.
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A brown, pleated pattern is the leitmotif of the project, which is found in the internal finishings, furnishings, and façade elements.
On the exterior, the massive natural stone base embedded in the ground is topped by the volume of the first floor, which is clad in a folded and perforated metal sheet. Inside, the ceiling of the ground-floor living area and the bedroom headboards recall the same motif, created through the juxtapositions of many dark wooden shingles. Other furniture elements, like the bathroom furnishings, are decorated with the same finishing.
This decorative element is flanked by extremely linear and contemporary furnishing elements: planar, smooth surfaces in dark wood and white colors fill the spaces, juxtaposing the wall and floor finishings, which also feature these contemporary lines.
The use of natural gray stone complements the palette of the interiors, with great blocks that serve as tables or support surfaces, and the cladding of the stairs serves as a mediator between the smooth gray resin used for the ground floor – this device creates continuity between the indoor and outdoor flooring – and the warmer, more intimate light brown parquet, used for the sleeping area.
Location: Pove del Grappa, Vicenza, Italy
Architect: Didonè Comacchio Architects
Year: 2023
Contractor: Impresa Cappellari
Build Up Area: 500 m2
Consultants
Structural Engineer: NOS (Stefano Scomazzon, Enrico Scanavin)
Plant and system design: Mountech Srl STP
Suppliers
Windows: Schuco
Electrical part: Artemide
Metal Facades: Mazzonetto Skin
Photography by Alberto Sinigaglia courtesy of Didonè Comacchio Architects
