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ALPS VILLA

atelier XYZ

Light, space and time: a starship over the Alps


Long time collaborators, architect Camillo Botticini and atelier XYZ team up for a new project: a new film, directed by Nicolò Galeazzi and Stefano di Corato, has now been released to celebrate his Alps Villa.
Atelier XYZ was also the appointed photographic studio for the Mompiano' Swimming Pool, the Orta-Lake View House and the Claw House, all carrying the signature of the Italian architect, of course.

Sitting on the top of a sloped hill, 700 m over the sea level, the villa stands in all its majesty against the mountains, creating, since the very first time it appears on screen, a striking contrast between the natural lines of landscape and the artificial, minimalist and clean ones of its structure. Here, in this relationship, lies best quality of the house - a building able to understand and embrace its environment, while rewriting it with personality.

"Alps Villa" is a film in four movements, each one carefully tailored by atelier XYZ to highlight the best architectonic qualities of the building designed by Botticini and transform them in a coherent narrative.
The video starts with a threshold opening to a staircase and a woman climbing the path that connects the street to the house: "this is the first moment of contact between the external landscape and internal one", comments Nicolò and Stefano, explaining how the staircase mimics the ascent to the mountain, while giving a spin to the traditional idea of the gate.

Then, we're inside: the white walls, the big windows and the carefully selected furniture welcome us in the living room of the house. The room opens to a balcony, that runs around the house, but without blocking the light, thanks to its transparency. A woman is enjoying the sunny day, a child is playing in the entrance: this second part is dedicated to the relationship between people and space. A seamless transition bring us from this part to the next one, where light, space and time become the protagonists of the film: while the woman plays with her child, we experience the sun setting down, feeling how the light changes inside Alps Villa throughout the day, from dawn to dark. Its illuminated interiors, along with its unique and modern shape, make the villa look like a starship landed on the Alps, at night.
More important: here we are also see how the Villa stands in relationship with the natural context that surrounds it. Nature and architecture are in a continuous conversation: every side of the Alps Villa presents openings that dialogue with the landscape, like in the back, where the patio is located.

In each of this movement, we can appreciate the rigorous yet innovative shape of the house, able to fully embracing the morphology of the terrain. For a better showing of it atelier XYZ used drone filming, along with slow, calm frames, that convey the vibe of the house.

(Story by Sara Marzullo, The Architecture Player)

Credits

Architect: Camillo Botticini
Mentioned project: Alps Villa (2012-2014)
Project location: Lumezzano, Brescia, Italy

Italy 2017
Duration: 3'59"