In the heart of Oltrepò Pavese, amidst gentle hills embroidered with vineyard rows, Pilot Architetti designs an architectural recovery project that reinvents an agricultural building, part of a traditional courtyard system, transforming it into an intimate residence deeply rooted in the landscape. Casa nel vigneto, completed in 2023 in Codevilla (PV), stands beside the manor house and a second rural structure, in a setting where time seems suspended between the tranquility of the countryside and the profound identity of the territory.
The project addresses the challenge of transformation while respecting landscape regulations that mandate preserving the original silhouette and using a pitched roof with tiles. The design tension thus lies between constraint and freedom: on one hand, the building retains its traditional structure; on the other, it is reinterpreted through contemporary stylistic choices, such as the offset roof ridge and paired openings that rhythmically mark the facade.
The building opens decisively to the west, where the level difference between the internal courtyard and the natural slope offers a privileged view over the vineyard landscape. Conversely, the east facade maintains a more enclosed character, ensuring privacy from other structures. The material palette favors bricks and plaster, elements typical of rural construction tradition, while the use of brick detailing—such as window surrounds and thresholds—establishes a subtle dialogue with the area’s agricultural past.
The project’s pulsating heart is the sculptural, lightweight spiral staircase, which functions as the central generator of the space. The interior environments unfold along the inclined lines of the roof, emphasizing the dynamism of the spaces and guiding natural light through a calibrated play of volumes and openings. The project engages with the landscape not by mimicking it but by asserting a measured and sensitive new residential identity: one of architecture that observes the past with respect and the present with awareness.
Pilot Architetti is a Milan-based studio founded by Alessia Chiapperino, Paolo Conforti, and Samuele Ossola, with a practice spanning architecture, design, museography, and exhibitions. Alongside their professional work, they maintain a strong pedagogical and research vocation, collaborating for years with Politecnico di Milano and the Adrianea Academy, developing an experimental design approach attentive to space and context quality.
For more info: www.pilotarchitetti.com
CREDITS
Project: Casa nel vigneto
Architect: Pilot Architetti
Location: Codevilla (PV), Italy
Year: 2023
Photography: Francesco Tricarico
