Project: Studio Svetti Architecture | Emanuele Svetti Architetto
Project Manager: Arch. Francesco Setaro – Studio Svetti Architecture
Interior project Assistants: Arch. Luca Pasqualotti – Studio Svetti Architecture
Arch. Veronica Maccarini – Studio Svetti Architecture
Category: Holding Head Quarter e Gallery, Residenze, Spa & Resort
Surface: 4500 mq
Start of work: October 2015
Colle Allegro "New Tuscan Luxury Life Style" is the pay-off of the project, inspired by the style that the Gori Family wanted to give to this place. The project aims at giving back this style to an area characterized by the shabby rural genesis and unfortunately decayed.
The project is born as a work of the avant-gardes, a scratch by Fontana, which doesn’t want to be limited to the simple recovery of the area and its architecture, but it was imagined to paint on a canvas with fast signs, to scratch the place by creating on it constructions that show the viewer how a modern three-dimensionality exists and is ready to dialogue with the past.
The Villa is the focus of the project, representative spaces of the Holding, with the Gallery dedicated to the history of products and lobby areas for guests and clients, 5 completely independent luxury apartments with the same floor area, with views on both sides of the property, "loft" atmosphere and 3 common areas on the main floors that represent hospitality, entertainment and the owners.
All apartments have entrance from the common areas located in the center of the building, spread over 3 floors, any surrounding area is easy to access, in addition to the lift, through the creation of two connecting staircases: one, almost carved, placed on the front side of the building, as a celebration of the main entrance of the Villa, is a link between the ground floor and the first floor, whereas the other, instead connects the first and third floors, created by the meeting and the fusion between a helicoidal staircase and a straight one, and it is placed on the back side of the building.
The project is born as a work of the avant-gardes, a scratch by Fontana, which doesn’t want to be limited to the simple recovery of the area and its architecture, but it was imagined to paint on a canvas with fast signs, to scratch the place by creating on it constructions that show the viewer how a modern three-dimensionality exists and is ready to dialogue with the past.
The Villa is the focus of the project, representative spaces of the Holding, with the Gallery dedicated to the history of products and lobby areas for guests and clients, 5 completely independent luxury apartments with the same floor area, with views on both sides of the property, "loft" atmosphere and 3 common areas on the main floors that represent hospitality, entertainment and the owners.
All apartments have entrance from the common areas located in the center of the building, spread over 3 floors, any surrounding area is easy to access, in addition to the lift, through the creation of two connecting staircases: one, almost carved, placed on the front side of the building, as a celebration of the main entrance of the Villa, is a link between the ground floor and the first floor, whereas the other, instead connects the first and third floors, created by the meeting and the fusion between a helicoidal staircase and a straight one, and it is placed on the back side of the building.
The housing units are inspired by a Wabi-Sabi vision: a praise to imperfection of temporary and unfinished things, celebrating the beauty of unusual things. Each unit is characterized by antique wood floors, which Emanuele wanted to be laid before the construction site was finished, to highlight its character, or in the lime based wall finishes, a living material, which transforms itself day by day and makes the defect of the surface its greatest aesthetic value. In the same line, the coffered ceilings recall the past of the residence and coexist with contemporary signs, designed by Studio and realized by an Umbrian cabinetmaker Master. They are the are the proof that craftsmanship continues, even among a thousand difficulties, to be the true hallmark of Made in Italy.
Credits: Daniele Domenicali - Schüco Italia
The intervention involves the recovery of an underground passage that historically was used as an escape route most likely because of the war, rather than to hide "habits from Decameron" of the Lords of the past. From the passage there is access to one of the residences, which thus has a privileged entrance to the elegant garden in front of the Villa, spread on 4 levels, which take advantage of the slope of the hill, and characterized by exceptional secular trees including a redwood, two enormous cedarwoods and four palms, which recall colonial era.
The most important thing of the renovation works is to preserve the Family Chapel which is set inside the geometries of one of the apartments at the ground floor, recovering the late nineteenth-century original frescoes and also all the relics that were kept there. Nowadays we can find many references to the Families who lived the Residence and see shades of blue which gently rest on all the wall hangings.
Divided by the Italian-style garden but connected to the Villa by a 15-meter walkway, there is a two-story contemporary architecture set into the hill. Only one floor is partially above the ground resulting from the removal of a substantial portion of hill, and then it was harmonized through a 1200 mq garden roof, which has the function of trait d’union with the hill, thanks to the autochthonous trees that have been foreseen, selected In collaboration with landscape architect Elisa Frappi of POOL. Thank to that. the new building creates a unique space. Inside we can find a 500 sqm SPA, 4 guest suites and a winter garden which is connected to the underground car park for 20 vehicles, close to the upriver excavation. With its position, the parking space acts as a filter element in the internal roads, preventing the creation of traffic in front of the Villa and guaranteeing comfort and fully usability for all guests.
The new spa is 500 square meters of size and it is created as the celebration of the meeting between the majesty of stone and the fluidity of water. The spa will be a space entirely based on the care and well-being of the person with 10 stations: chromo-therapy shower and steam baths, relax area, Turkish bath, hot tub, sauna, swimming pool with counter-current swimming, Kneipp path, salt room and massage room. The hydromassage area will be the center of the project and it is part of a loop of the ground that contained tanks for collecting rainwater, which has been transformed in in an iconic place by Emanuele. It is characterized by a pool of water with an elliptical cut in the center, which sculpts an air ring always maintaining the dialogue between nature and architecture.
The most important thing of the renovation works is to preserve the Family Chapel which is set inside the geometries of one of the apartments at the ground floor, recovering the late nineteenth-century original frescoes and also all the relics that were kept there. Nowadays we can find many references to the Families who lived the Residence and see shades of blue which gently rest on all the wall hangings.
Divided by the Italian-style garden but connected to the Villa by a 15-meter walkway, there is a two-story contemporary architecture set into the hill. Only one floor is partially above the ground resulting from the removal of a substantial portion of hill, and then it was harmonized through a 1200 mq garden roof, which has the function of trait d’union with the hill, thanks to the autochthonous trees that have been foreseen, selected In collaboration with landscape architect Elisa Frappi of POOL. Thank to that. the new building creates a unique space. Inside we can find a 500 sqm SPA, 4 guest suites and a winter garden which is connected to the underground car park for 20 vehicles, close to the upriver excavation. With its position, the parking space acts as a filter element in the internal roads, preventing the creation of traffic in front of the Villa and guaranteeing comfort and fully usability for all guests.
The new spa is 500 square meters of size and it is created as the celebration of the meeting between the majesty of stone and the fluidity of water. The spa will be a space entirely based on the care and well-being of the person with 10 stations: chromo-therapy shower and steam baths, relax area, Turkish bath, hot tub, sauna, swimming pool with counter-current swimming, Kneipp path, salt room and massage room. The hydromassage area will be the center of the project and it is part of a loop of the ground that contained tanks for collecting rainwater, which has been transformed in in an iconic place by Emanuele. It is characterized by a pool of water with an elliptical cut in the center, which sculpts an air ring always maintaining the dialogue between nature and architecture.
Credits: Daniele Domenicali - Schüco Italia
FROM THE LANDSCAPE POINT OF VIEW
In terms of landscape, the main purpose was to maintain all the existing plant species, by adding Mediterranean plant species. For this reason, it has been decided to collaborate with Pool and in a particular way with Elisa Frappi to select and harmonize plant species inside the property.
Today we can find 7 green macro-areas: the front garden, the one in front of the Villa, the Italian garden, the roof-garden, the winter garden, the olive grove and orchard area, and the wooden area. Each area requested a project of careful selection of species, because, even if they are in the same complex, different expositions create different microclimates. If they were not considered, they would have decreed the complete failure of the project. The project includes areas with avergren carpets, where the grass would have had difficulty surviving, taking care of the waste of water resources, or different species typical of Italian gardens, such as boxwood and yew in the “secret garden”, gramineous plants in the roof garden, but above all, extreme care has been taken in the preservation of pre-existing species, such as oaks and cypresses, the sequoia and the cedars of the garden in front of the villa, in some cases doing real works of "first aid" on species in difficulty due to construction and age. About this, sensibility, love and care of the property were helpful to preserve this important botanical heritage.
The property, loving nature and green areas, but also fan of exotic botanical plants, asked the architect to create a winter garden inside the new structure: the garden is distributed on two different levels and have a microclimate that allows life to exotic plant species. This space includes also an area dedicated to meditation and to a “dialog with nature”.
In terms of landscape, the main purpose was to maintain all the existing plant species, by adding Mediterranean plant species. For this reason, it has been decided to collaborate with Pool and in a particular way with Elisa Frappi to select and harmonize plant species inside the property.
Today we can find 7 green macro-areas: the front garden, the one in front of the Villa, the Italian garden, the roof-garden, the winter garden, the olive grove and orchard area, and the wooden area. Each area requested a project of careful selection of species, because, even if they are in the same complex, different expositions create different microclimates. If they were not considered, they would have decreed the complete failure of the project. The project includes areas with avergren carpets, where the grass would have had difficulty surviving, taking care of the waste of water resources, or different species typical of Italian gardens, such as boxwood and yew in the “secret garden”, gramineous plants in the roof garden, but above all, extreme care has been taken in the preservation of pre-existing species, such as oaks and cypresses, the sequoia and the cedars of the garden in front of the villa, in some cases doing real works of "first aid" on species in difficulty due to construction and age. About this, sensibility, love and care of the property were helpful to preserve this important botanical heritage.
The property, loving nature and green areas, but also fan of exotic botanical plants, asked the architect to create a winter garden inside the new structure: the garden is distributed on two different levels and have a microclimate that allows life to exotic plant species. This space includes also an area dedicated to meditation and to a “dialog with nature”.
Regarding the nightlife of the park, a lighting concept with direct, indirect, refractive and emotional light sources has been designed, in collaboration with Cristian Farnetani of G-Smart.
The architect’s idea was to obtain a lighting with artificial sources, which would recall the most romantic one that you have using the flame, so torches and candles. Direct light sources with a limited light intensity tend to illuminate the surfaces of the floor without dazzling visitors. Sometimes they are used embedded in the flooring with the aim to create the idea of walking in a path lighted by little flames which point the path. About that, Emanuele made a study of point light and he design personally the object, with the aim to obtain the best possible effect. The hoped result has been reached after months of tests, designs and study of feasibility with the involved companies.
The lighting of plants in this type of context is fundamental. For this reason, the choice of using light to emphasize the geometry of green through projectors and lenses that can adapt and enhance in the best way all the different botanical species, creating a “magical aspect”.
