Project: Villa Eden
Architects: David Chipperfield Architects
Location: Gardone, Italy
Area: 28,847 sq ft
Photographs by: Courtesy of David Chipperfield Architects
Villa Eden is a superb villa that is a part of a luxury resort on the coast of Lake Garda in Gardone, Italy. It was designed by David Chipperfield Architects to blend in with the grass covered terraces, olive groves and cypress trees that surround the lot.
The buildings are also paying tribute to the region’s distinctive pergola-like structures called limonaie, used primarily for the cultivation of lemons.
Villa Eden’s interior and exterior design are both spectacular but perhaps the best part of this dwelling is the view that is unobstructed from every room.
The western shore of Lake Garda is characterised by its mild climate and richly cultivated landscape. David Chipperfield Architects Berlin has designed two villas on the hillside looking over the resort town of Gardone Riviera. The buildings are carefully inserted into the landscape with its olive groves and cypress trees. Their volumes are divided into individual one or two storey structures, which are offset to one another following the topography of the hillside.
The typology of the villas interprets the architecture of the limonaias, which were built for the cultivation of lemons and are historically typical for the area. These buildings characterised the western shore of Lake Garda with their pergola-like structures up until the end of the nineteenth century. With reference to the limonaias, the building volumes are each framed by three solid exterior walls made of natural stone masonry and built up on a plinth of the same material. The main elevation facing the valley opens up towards the Mediterranean landscape with room-height windows. Pergolas with slim columns are placed in front of the volumes, echoing the rhythm of the surrounding olive groves. The pergolas provide protection from the sun and extend the interior into a protected outdoor space, which leads to further terraces with outdoor pools.
The stone for the masonry and terraces comes from local quarries. The light roof structure of the pergolas and the window frames are crafted from wood, providing a contrast to the stone. The inner organisation of the buildings further reflects the surroundings. While the auxiliary rooms are located in the rear areas, the living and bedrooms are situated at the front, providing panoramic vistas of the lake and the surrounding landscape. The two buildings were constructed in the context of a larger project, encompassing seven villas, a hotel and an apartment building designed by four architectural practices.
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