Architects from Peter Pichler Architecture built a one-story ribbon house with a courtyard, panoramic windows and a roof terrace over the top of a hill in South Tyrol. 

The Italian commune with the poetic name of Termeno sulla Strada del Vino is an important wine region, the birthplace of the Gewurztraminer grape variety. The owners of one of the local wineries decided to replace the dilapidated villa on top of the hill of Castelac with a modern building. In the tender, which was announced three years ago, the project of the Milan bureau Peter Pichler Architecture won. 

Photo: Gustav Willeit, Samuel Holzner

The architects carefully analyzed the complex site, the geology of which determined the shape of the building. To provide the residents of the house with the opportunity to admire the circular panorama, the authors decided to use a ribbon structure that wraps around the top of the hill in a spiral. So the idea of a U-shaped building with three sectors, which are located at different heights, was born. Part of the house is sunk into the hill; the architects gave laconic faceted forms to the other elements towering above it.  The small height of the one-story building makes it an organic continuation of the natural landscape, and the milky gray shade of textured concrete resembles local limestone, from which the walls of vineyards are built. 

Photo: Gustav Willeit, Samuel Holzner 

Photo: Gustav Willeit, Samuel Holzner 

The U-shaped layout of the building made it possible to create a cozy courtyard inside it, protected from the winds from Lake Garda. The main public spaces – living room, dining room, kitchen – are located in the central wing, the glass facade of which faces the valley. In the side sectors there are bedrooms and bathrooms. The architects made the interiors of the house minimalist: there is wooden parquet and built-in wardrobes, white walls and ceilings, thin black window frames. An additional place to relax was the roof terrace of the central sector with a small rocky garden and outdoor furniture.

Photo: Gustav Willeit, Samuel Holzner 

Photo: Gustav Willeit, Samuel Holzner 

Photo:Gustav Willeit, Samuel Holzner 

Photo: Gustav Willeit, Samuel Holzner 

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