Nestled in the green of the Ligurian slopes, overlooking the coast and embraced by the Mediterranean light, Villa Pinetina is a single-family residence that explores a new constructive grammar, based on materiality, detail, and the relationship between solids and voids. Designed by the Calvi Ceschia Viganò Architetti Associati studio, the work arises as a free and cultured reflection on the role of architecture in the landscape, without indulging in formalism or nostalgia.
The project develops around a central glass-enclosed patio, the beating heart of the dwelling, which modulates the relationships between interior and exterior through a play of transparencies and reflections. The internal spaces are deliberately neutral, designed to be permeated by the intense light coming from the sea to the south and the more intimate and warm light of the internal courtyards, filtered by the presence of vegetation. Light thus becomes design material, capable of transforming surfaces and defining the character of the environments.
The entire composition originates from a rigorous control of materials: exposed concrete, split stone obtained from the excavations, porcelain stoneware, glass, and aluminum are combined without hierarchy, in an exercise of balance that rejects the distinction between “noble” or “humble” materials. Each surface contributes to building the communicative fabric of the space, where architectural quality is revealed in the precision of the detail and the clarity of the composition.
The mass of the building gradually lightens: the base rests on the material solidity of local stone, while the upper facades, clad in limestone slabs that decrease in size as they ascend, gain dynamism and lightness. This ascending design gives the entire volume a formal vibration, restoring to the architecture a sense of movement within its own balance.
The villa thus presents itself as a layered work, a project that reflects the studio’s vision, capable of transforming functional needs into architectural gesture and of bringing together earth, light, and material in a coherent, sober, and deeply rooted narrative in the place.
Calvi Ceschia Viganò Architetti Associati
The Calvi Ceschia Viganò studio is born from the union of the experiences of Marco Calvi, Gaetano Ceschia, and Andrea Viganò, active in Sanremo, Milan, and Venice, with the aim of offering a flexible design structure, capable of adapting with sartorial precision to the needs of each client. With a vocation for integrated design and the role of general contractor, the studio operates throughout Northern Italy, with a multidisciplinary approach that blends architectural sensitivity, technical expertise, and attention to the context.
For more info: www.calviceschiavigano.it
CREDITS
Project: Villa Pinetina
Architect: Calvi Ceschia Viganò Architetti Associati
Location: Sanremo (IM), Italy
Year: 2024
Photography: Aldo Amoretti
