The Measure of the Gaze: Villa on the Piave
An understated concrete villa conceived as a sequence of views
Near the Piave River, a single-storey villa is shaped around a precise idea of privacy: not to close itself off from the landscape, but to carefully choose how to frame and experience it.
A long exposed concrete screen defines the perimeter of the house and extends beyond the residential volume to create a large central patio. Towards the street, the architecture appears compact and protective; towards the inner part of the site, it opens through a succession of carefully calibrated cuts, glazed surfaces and framed views. The wall is therefore not simply a boundary, but a device through which the relationship between the house and its surroundings is established.
The entrance follows the same principle. A covered outdoor passage leads from the street towards the private part of the property, creating a visual axis that, from the very first step, extends through the entire house to the swimming pool on the opposite side of the site. The dwelling is thus experienced in fragments, through a sequence of spaces gradually revealed along the way.
The heart of the project is the patio. The roof that defines it is punctured at precise points to accommodate a strawberry tree and clusters of ornamental grasses, allowing fragments of sky to appear and natural light to filter in from above. It is an almost minimal gesture, yet enough to transform a sheltered space into a constantly changing environment, where the passing hours are registered through light and vegetation.
Inside, the living area brings together the kitchen, dining room and living room within a single open space.
Large glazed surfaces do not simply expand the perception of the interiors, but establish a visual continuity with the patio, swimming pool and garden. The sleeping area takes on a more measured character, articulated by regular openings framing the bedrooms, study and bathrooms. Even the gym, overlooking the pool, participates in this continuous relationship with the outdoors.
Exposed concrete, terrazzo, glass and wood form an essential material palette that continues seamlessly from inside to outside, avoiding a clear distinction between architecture and open space. Carefully crafted details and a selection of design pieces introduce a more intimate, domestic dimension to this material foundation, creating a balance between rigour and comfort.
The project does not seek the greatest possible degree of openness, but rather the right degree of openness. Every window, passage and interruption in the volume establishes a precise balance between protection and exposure, between what is excluded and what is deliberately chosen. It is through this careful selection of views that the house finds its identity.
