In the heart of Bordighera, on the Ligurian Riviera, a 1940s villa finds new vitality thanks to the intervention of the Milan-based studio 967arch. With the Villa per Noi project, the space originally conceived as a holiday home is transformed into a permanent residence, capable of combining the charm of historical memory with the elegance of a contemporary design language. Architects Cesare Chichi, Stefano Maestri, Monica Vivian, and Simone Preatoni guided the intervention with a keen eye for the identity of the place, respecting its original characteristics and enhancing them through a cultivated and measured reinterpretation.
The project is based on a precise balance between conservation and transformation. The interior spaces have been reorganized to adapt to the needs of stable daily life, expanding the communal areas and creating new private zones. A key element of the intervention is the management of natural light, enhanced by the opening of wider passages that flood the rooms with brightness, emphasizing the visual connections with the external landscape.
The dialogue between past and present is also expressed through a refined selection of materials and details. Original furnishings, carefully restored, coexist with contemporary insertions such as the fluted mahogany wainscoting that unites the master bedroom, kitchen, and bathrooms, offering continuity and warmth. The wardrobe covered in Chinese silk in the noble corridor becomes a focal point not only aesthetically but also chromatically, dictating the interior palette.
Outside, the project recovers the traditional Ligurian lexicon, reinterpreting it with discretion. Terraces, made of Istrian stone, alternate with wooden cubes obtained from railway sleepers and details in corten steel. The original garden has been preserved, while the facade combines luminous plasters and dry-stone walls, maintaining a strong and direct relationship with the context.
In a harmonious balance between memory, function, and beauty, the project presents itself as a testament to how architecture can regenerate existing places while preserving their soul. The result is an enhanced identity of the place through a measured yet profound language, capable of enduring through time without losing intensity.
967arch
The Milan-based studio 967arch, founded by Cesare Chichi and Stefano Maestri, has been active for over 25 years in the fields of architecture, interior design, and product design, working with private, public, and large international companies. Their approach combines artisanal care with a managerial vision of processes, prioritizing simplicity, sobriety, and irony, always with great attention to detail and design research. Their clients include entities such as Google, Campari, Ferrero, FC Internazionale, and Loro Piana.
For more info: www.967arch.it
CREDITS
Project: Villa per Noi
Architect: 967arch
Location: Bordighera (IM), Italy
Year: 2024
Photography: Fausto Mazza
