Villa Ottolenghi

Introduction

Villa Ottolenghi

Ottolenghi The Villa was designed by Carlo Scarpa in the

final stages of his career. Despite this is one of his most
studied and known. It portrays some of the most important
issues addressed by the architect in their projects, especially
relationship between the natural, artificial and
unpredictability of human nature.
Although this book pays special attention to the craftsmen
and construction details that characterize this Scarpa
expands especially in the exploration of space constraints
ligand present with the practicality of the result.

Architect:

Carlo Scarpa

Because the rules of the house could not rise more than a
floor on the level and was restricted area inside.

Year(s) of
construction:

1974-1978

In response to these stringent conditions, the architect

decided to bury most of the house in the field by reducing
the scale of the building in the environment to a minimum.
This operation not only managed to minimize the visual
impact of the city but gave the home of an excellent
relationship with the outside world in all its sides.

Location:

Bardolino, Verona, Italy

Description

Coordinates:

The front entrance faces the Lake Garda, the visitor is presented as the only apparent facade of the house,
composed of gypsum walls juxtaposed with irregular holes and a small glimmer of thick columns that dictate most
of the design.
The opposite side of the village is defined by a "Callet, a deep incision on the ground that reminds to the streets on
the outskirts of the nearby Venice. Adjacent rooms, but buried beneath the earth, receive natural light through the
incision.

Concept
Within the project an important aspect is the treatment of water by the architect. The water is used to express at
the same time emphasizing the relationship between inside and outside, between the natural and the artificial.
Wright influenced by Japanese architecture as the calm pools unite inside with the outside at the same time make
us pay attention to the separation of both. This separation was also highlighted by the heavy walls and irregular
openings. It is the contrast between such an ethereal, like water and the heavy walls and columns that we
distinguish between inside and outside.
With the seemingly haphazard disposal of the pillars and rough stone coating Scarpa accomplished while
conveniently separate the different environments of the house to note the inability to predict what the architect
unpredictable human life.
The rough side of the pillars along with his consistency apparently no structural stress the fact that the house is
buried in the ground, as if in a cave dug into the same question.

Spaces
The areas of life day are geared towards the entrance at the same time enjoying a direct relationship with the
outside world.
These sites take shape from the natural terrain and the position of the nine seemingly haphazard structural pillars.
There are changes in level between the living room, kitchen, dining room and bathroom, stays that otherwise
would not have any physical separation.
This response so closely linked to the characteristics of the land itself is not the works of Scarpa, except perhaps for
the family cemetery Brioni being built simultaneously.

Materials
It was heavy and rustic materials such as natural stone to highlight the "cave" in the house.

Drawings
In this nearly complete version of the plan for Villa Ottolenghi, almost all of the programmatic components of the
villa have been located. The arrangement of the master bedroom and the exact location and dimension of the curve
walled bathroom within it (lower left), as well as the volume of the fireplace that connects the main living area and
the study (center) are still in play. This version of the plan includes a column located in the sitting area of the
master bedroom, along the northwest edge of the villa (lower left). The column will be relocated to the eastern side
of the main living area in the final design.

Visible folds in the paper at the top, left and right, as well as the irregular shape of the sheet, illustrate how Scarpa
worked on the drawing from multiple points of view, aligning his drafting edge to the various angles of the plan.
Sketches and notations over the entire drawing further demonstrate this approach to the development of the villa
plan.