Ville & Casali

A VILLA IN CORSICA IMMERSED IN NATURE

The French architectu­ral studio AW2 has built a modern house featuring plain and simple rooms, benefittin­g from large windows offering views of the surroundin­g landscape to capture the smells of the island

-

THE FRENCH ARCHITECTU­RAL STUDIO AW2 HAS BUILT A MODERN HOUSE FEATURING PLAIN AND SIMPLE ROOMS, BENEFITTIN­G FROM LARGE WINDOWS OFFERING VIEWS OF THE SURROUNDIN­G LANDSCAPE TO CAPTURE THE SMELLS OF THE ISLAND

“Designing residentia­l architectu­re in these places means considerin­g the features of the site...

“Designing residentia­l architectu­re in these places means considerin­g the features of the site, the context and the people who will live there,” explain Reda Amalou and Stéphanie Ledoux, the founding architects of the French architectu­ral studio AW2 (www.aw2.com) in an interview with Ville & Casali. They were commission­ed to design and build a brand-new 400-m2 villa in the south of Corsica. “We wanted to create a design that would disappear into its natural setting and adapt to the topography of the site, to have minimal impact on the existing environmen­t. At the same time, it also had to be functional and appropriat­e for the family’s needs, who love to regularly host their friends and family,” recalls Ledoux. “We wanted to make it appear as if the house had always been there, completely surrounded by nature. We only added a small cactus garden to visually join the two parts of the villa.” The home is spread across five levels, each meticulous­ly designed to guarantee suitable privacy at night and shared use of the common areas during the day. All rooms are connected to the outside and can be opened or closed at will thanks to large windows that frame the views and extend the interior towards the surroundin­g greenery, as far as the terraces and gardens. The living area in particular has been designed to be enjoyed in close contact with nature. To achieve this, there are no clear divisions between one room and another. Instead, pierced stone screens have been erected, which allow the light to filter through and illuminate the space. A delicate combinatio­n of different materials has been expertly chosen to emphasise the architectu­ral spaces. The local white limestone creates a pleasant contrast with the bright green of the Mediterran­ean scrub and is used both for the façade as well as for the

large fireplace and room partitions. The concrete then creates a neutral, almost invisible shell, perfect for blending in with nature and for staging handcrafte­d furniture and furnishing­s.

Newspapers in Italian

Newspapers from Italy