Villa del Sole – Verbania, Italy

Transforming an abandoned villa and a detached custodian house into a total of four apartments on the shore of Lake Maggiore in northern Italy was our first project after moving our practice from New Zealand back to Europe. The villa was sitting empty in a completely overgrown park for more than 15 years like in a fairy tale and was showing serious structural deficits.

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A leaky roof had caused penetrating rain water damage not only to structural elements, but also to frescos, ornamented ceilings and a multitude of timber details, making it mandatory to completely restructure the historic building, as well as the two-storey custodian house at the front gate.

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It also allowed us, to completely rethink the inner logistic of the house which was built as a single residence with the only existing kitchen being located in the basement, next to the servant’s rooms, and whole levels without bathrooms.

We started with excavations under the existing, grand staircase to increase the basement area and to provide a central access to the lower level. We moved the main entry from the west to the northern façade, while keeping the original elements and transformed each level into three separate apartments, each with three double bedrooms, two bathrooms and an open-plan kitchen/ dining/ living area.

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The nearby custodian house was in such a degraded shape that we had to start with completely rebuilding internal floors and walls. This provided the opportunity to add insulation throughout, to open up the lower level to a newly built stone-paved terrace, to add a second bathroom and to create a generous roof terrace instead of just rebuilding the dilapidated roof.

In addition to structural damage, the top floor of the villa had suffered from spatial manipulations as a result of previously made unsympathetic modifications which had resulted in a dysfunctional array of rooms and dark corridors, lacking cohesion and spatial logic. It was compulsory to completely remove those oddly arranged configurations.

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We wanted to draw in more light and create a sense of open space, while maintaining and respecting the historical aspects of the house, in particular the paintings, the original stucco ceilings, the terrazzo floors, the timber carvings and elaborated internal door elements.

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So, we removed all traces of previous amendments, and pared back the shell to its original grandeur and elegance. We aimed to reinstate the sense of scale and proportions of the villa while creating open spaces of elegant simplicity in tribute to 21st century comfort demands.

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Another priority was, to integrate well the open-plan areas to the park and the upper terraces. We sought to develop a fresh, uncluttered space, filled with natural light and a pervading sense of calm. Creating the space, honoring the original Liberty-Style interior, while adding a modern touch, was the sentiment that sums up the pragmatic approach we had employed throughout the renovation.

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The terraced, park-like garden with its sculptures, pool, an artificial cave, a gazebo and mature trees were carefully renewed and modified to integrate the required car parks and is once again complementing the character of the buildings by providing a rich and divergent landscape, a place whose inherent sum is much greater than its parts.