Respectful updates of centuries-old structures is a Tuckey Design Studio specialty. But in this case, invention, largely out of whole cloth—and marble and oak—was required. “We often work with historic buildings, which can be a delicate task as you’re working with fabric that is already so beautiful,” explains lead architect Elena Aleksandrov. “On this occasion, it was more of a blank canvas.”
Tuckey’s client approached the London- and Andermatt, Switzerland-based firm with a villa that had been abandoned mid-construction in 2010 and left to crumble. The property was “notable” in the studio’s words, for two things: its extraordinary location overlooking Lake Como in Northern Italy, and “the deteriorating concrete shell that deceived its otherworldly context.”
Rather than begin anew, the owner wanted to start with what was there. In response, Aleksandrov and team “celebrated” the rough frame by leaving it exposed and in good company by introducing a brightly refined interior palette. And the floor plan is now gracefully reoriented to take in the views, of course.
Photography by Dario Borruto, courtesy of Tuckey Design Studio.
Above: “The floor slab, concrete ceiling, and some glazing were the only elements existing on site, all of which were retained,” the architects tell us. They offset the weathered concrete with green marble columns and green-stained oak paneling and built-ins that commune with the verdant Lombardy hills out the windows. The armchair is Gerrit Thomas Rietveld’s much-copied 1935 Utrecht design from Cassina in a color called Crema.
The interior design of the villa was led by Yael Shmueli-Goetz of Tuckey Design Studio.
Above: The living room opens to an airy kitchen and dining area. The floor is concrete inset, in lieu of a rug, with squares of marble, all of which were then polished.
The owner currently uses the house as a vacation place–and is having Tuckey Design Studio build them a permanent place to live on a neighboring plot (when that’s done this will become a guest house).
Above: The Tuckey team added a large terrace and pool and oversaw the landscaping. They designed the indoor flooring to “echo” the surfaces outside.
Above: The kitchen island has a wrap-around frame of solid marble—the project’s three shades of marble, green, white, and beige, were sourced locally and carved in Bergamo. Jean Prouvé’s S.A.M. Table and Standard Chairs stand alongside a bank of custom oak cabinetry (the fridge and freezer are behind the two tall doors).
Above: Welcome to Lake Como.
Above: The villa’s open-plan living wing is linked to a bedroom wing by a glazed corridor off the kitchen (see the floor plan below). The oak paneling, pale marble, and polished concrete floor, the designers note, “alleviates the substantial visual weight of the existing raw concrete soffit with its gnarled textural surface.”
Above: There are two en suite bedrooms, plus an office, all enveloped in “calming” oak: flooring, built-ins, and slatted ceilings. All through the house, floor-to-ceiling curtains of fine wool—C & C Milano’s Camelot—serve, the designers explain, “as semi-translucent screens which can be drawn across the entire space when needed.”
Above: The bedrooms open to two inner courtyards with remarkable views.
Above: The main bathroom is lined in beige marble and has the same marble-inlaid concrete floor as the dining area.
Above: The artful materials palette continues in the room next door. This one has a sink and floor insets of the same Lombardy marble as the living room columns. Fluted glass is put to clever use fronting a tall bathroom cabinet: see more ways to use semi-transparent glass in our Trend Alert.
Above: Tuckey Design Studio’s floor plan is composed of linked wings. The firm summarizes the project as “a villa that has been reinvigorated by local materiality to sit elegantly within its scenic surroundings.”
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