Villa Spectenhauser

The stone slabs placed in regular outlines create a border for terracing, which is composed of subtle variations in gradient, in both the garden and the living area of the building, creating an immediate link between the two different environments. While outside, the variation in gradient is naturally present due to the orography of the ground, the choice to reproduce a layout on different levels inside as well is designed to create this correlation between the two spaces.
The individuality of the two environments on the other hand, is achieved by matching various natural components to the stone in each area: i.e. grass in the garden and wood in the lounge.
Outside, a few different elements are alternated: the glass of the openings especially on the ground floor, the aluminum of the sunscreen system and finally, the stone material covering large parts of the opaque surfaces - rectangular slabs of Giallo Etrusco, mounted and dry.
The use of the stone is an essential element to the Spectenhauser di Merano villa’s identity, fundamental in guaranteeing unity in the perception of its space. This impression is confirmed as we enter the heart of the building - beyond the vermillion red walls that border the dining area towards the interior, the Crema Fiorito stone becomes the sole material used for the facing. It is a continuing surface that, without joints or spaces, expands across each floor, sometimes following the horizontality of the paving, sometimes following the vertical steps of the staircase.
The effect achieved is that of a stable and ordered space, where the only changeable element is the progress of shadows generated by the aluminum sunscreen protecting the large openings on the façades.
In the inside of the bathrooms the role of stone material comes into its own: not just because it expands to cover partitions and furniture, but because we could almost imagine that the very shape of the environment, with its projections and niches, is in fact an enormous monolith with various chunks removed.