Where to build a villa on the lake
Over the centuries the magic of the lakes has inspired artists such as Goethe, Catullus, Rilke and Kafka on Lake Garda; Foscolo, Rossini, Stendhal and Wagner on Lake Como; Carducci and Pascoli around Lake Iseo and Franciacorta.
Different settings
Each lake has its own colours and vegetation, and each area expresses its own history, culture and architectural and planning traditions. As often happens in Italy, every municipality is a world of its own, with its own rules and ways of thinking and seeing things.
The Valtenesi
on the Brescia shore of Lake Garda
Between Salò and Desenzano, the western shore of Lake Garda rises into hills of olive groves and vineyards dotted with villages and castles. The finest positions are on slopes facing east towards the lake, and many fall within protected landscape areas, where every project needs landscape approval. Here the design follows the land instead of levelling it, with green roofs and loggias facing the view.
Iseo and Franciacorta
South of Lake Iseo, the hills of Franciacorta alternate vineyards, farmsteads and historic villas. It is a prized agricultural landscape, where a new building must relate to rows of vines and dry-stone walls. In Gussago, Massive House I shows how a contemporary villa can reduce energy use through the mass of its envelope and its orientation, without giving up the views of the hills.
Como and the Brianza lakes
Between Lake Como and the small Brianza lakes (Pusiano, Annone, Alserio, Segrino), historic villas and parks shape a landscape built up over centuries. Here contemporary design often works on existing buildings, with rules that change from one municipality to the next: that is why the feasibility check comes before any decision on form.
The morainic hills
of Lake Garda
The morainic amphitheatre south of the lake is the atelier’s home landscape: gentle hills between Castiglione delle Stiviere, Solferino and San Martino della Battaglia, with the lake on the horizon. This is where the Villa on Lake Garda, set into the slope, and the Villa on the Morainic Hills, a Class A+ house built with insulating concrete forms, were born.
Visits
Plan a day out
A day on the lakes with the atelier, to see the places before you choose.
Write to usto plan a day outVisit a building site
A villa under construction, from structure to finishes, with the people building it.
Write to usto visit a building site