Villa Rivo sits among rolling farmed hills close to the hilltop medieval village of Montottone in the central Italian region of Le Marche. The architects were struck by the seasonal changes of the surrounding farmlands shifting between the lush greens of spring and the golden summer that they chose to create large windows in the bedrooms and bathrooms to frame the views and create strong connections between the indoors and outdoors. Subject to strict seismic and aesthetic planning restrictions the villa occupies the footprint and volume of the old barns and animal sheds that together with the neighboring 1850’s farmhouse (which serves as the owners private family home) were a working farm up until the 1960’s. To contrast the two buildings the decision was taken to clad the house in greyish/blue tinted thermal insulation inspired by the original colors still extant on the outdoor pizza oven. Flexibility was a key design consideration to meet the functional needs of creating a space that could hosts groups of up to 10 people for both pure house rental and also yoga / wellness retreats & culinary courses and also to act as a home for the owners' Asian art and antique collection.
Bio LAMAS is an award winning architecture studio registered in the US and Canada. We have worked in a range of scales, from ground-up residential houses to manufacturing and commercial spaces. We are practitioners and academics, equally invested in pragmatics and discursive research. Together with our energetic staff, we explore ornament, color, optical illusions, and craft traditions with advanced technology.
Other prizes 2020 - Winner Architecture Masterprize - Avling Brewery 2020 - Domus 50 Best Architecture firms 2020 - Winner Frame Awards Jury Prize - Avling Brewery 2017 - Architizer+ Award 2017 - Architect Magazine "Next Progressives" 2014 - Finalist for MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program
