Villa G in Sorengo
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Villa G in Sorengo

Scape

Villa G in Sorengo
By Francesco Pagliari -

The villa is built around contrasting volumes that rise up from the ground, expanding into relatively independent sections where interaction with nature is constant. The villa is not far from Lugano and it has become a "landmark" for the connected nature of living in a house, as the architectural elements unfold and connect, forming sequences of spaces and pathways. The hillside plot is fairly steep, near a protected wood, and has partial views of the mountain ridge and other panoramas out over the lake. The basement level is a garage, with direct street access. The ground floor is above street level and can be reached at the end of a few short flights of steps that climb the slope. The villa itself is made up of numerous different volumes that develop horizontally both along the north-south axis of the ground floor and vertically to rise up and form the upper floor. The evident overhang that marks the separation between the ground and the first floor not only clearly distinguishes the horizontal expansion of the ground floor, from the upper floor volume, but also provides shade.
It is a place of seclusion and expanding spaces. The corridor is the main axis, providing the key for all the other spatial organisation and the focal point for the indoor-outdoor dynamics. At the heart of house, the sitting room is like the fulcrum for the layout. The glazed walls here provide a sort of transparent permeability that "cuts" across the villa and creates a direct relationship between the interior and the space immediately outdoors.  The corridor connects with the rooms just inside this glazing and with the central patio. The light floods in and penetrates the interiors, connecting spaces and intersecting the longitudinal axis.
The main living room and study - separated by shelves adorned with decorative items - face onto the patio. A closed wall bounds the other side, with the bedroom area (and bathrooms) beyond it, in the more secluded southern wing.
The stairs leading to the upper floor form up a very compact, almost hidden space, in the north section of the villa. The upper floor is defined by separate volumes, at different heights, providing living and utility spaces, and a terrace. There is a guest area, with a sitting room and bedroom. A large playroom, connected by a glazed corridor to the guest area, opens onto the terrace with a full height window. This architectural set of volumes creates an almost artificial landscape, encouraging a dialogue among the villa architecture, the surrounding landscape and the nearby built space.
The essence of the villa is defined by clear elements. The materials and the colours reflect the structure of this composition, based on geometrical clarity, with clear hues for the treated concrete used for the external walls and the plasterboard for the interior walls.

Francesco Pagliari     

Location: Sorengo, Lugano (Svizzera)
Client: Privato
Completion: 2014
Gross Floor Area: 340 m2
Cost of Construction: 2,150,000 Euros
Architects: Scape
Works Management: Scape
Contractor: Dado

Consultants
Structural: Lorenzo Medici
Technical Systems: Mauro Gavazzini
Landscape: Letizia Carpi

Suppliers
Lighting: Artemide, Flos
Kitchen: Poliform
Doors: L’invisibile by Portarredo
Bathroom Fixtures: Ceramica Flaminia
Bathroom Fittings: Zazzeri
Stone Flooring: Tirone Edilizia
Wood Flooring: Il Parquet & Co.

Window Fixtures: Secco Sistemi

Photography:  © Francesco Mattuzzi


Scape
Scape is an Italian architecture firm with offices in Rome and Paris that has made internationalization its main strength. Conceived as an idea in May 2002 by Ludovica Di Falco, Francesco Marinelli and Paolo Mezzalama, the firm –scape s.p.a. was concretely established in 2004. Alessandro Cambi joined as fourth partner in 2005.
Since opening, SCAPE has oriented itself towards both Italian and foreign markets. The first point of arrival for the company’s strategy of openness was setting up an office in Paris in 2008. SCAPE is fitted out with the most sophisticated digital tools. The firm’s techno-digital efficiency is mainly manifested by the adoption, in 2011, of the BIM philosophy (Building Information Modelling): it stands as SCAPE’s affirmation of its desire to bring construction back to the centre of the design process.
In 2008 the French Ministry of Culture and Communication awarded SCAPE with the “Nouveaux Albums des Jeunes Architectes.”
In 2014 Scape won the Award for the “Giovane talento dell’Architettura Italiana 2014” for the project Multifunctional building ZAC des Lilas, Paris.

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