Villa Eden

The western shore of the lake is known for its mild climate and richly cultivated landscape. The British design team built two villas on the hillside above a resort town, carefully set among olive groves and cypresses. Their volumes are broken into one- and two-storey structures that step with the slope.

The villas reinterpret the limonaie, the pergola-like buildings used to grow lemons along this shore until the late nineteenth century. Each volume is framed by three solid walls of natural stone on a stone plinth, while the main façade opens to the landscape with full-height windows.

Slender-columned pergolas stand in front, echoing the rhythm of the olive trees, shading the rooms and extending them into sheltered outdoor spaces that lead to terraces and pools. Stone for the walls and terraces comes from local quarries, and the light pergola roofs and window frames are made of timber.