Aspen — New York — Como — Dubai
Internal area
Completed
Status
2023
Completed
5,200
Plot
Location
Lake Como, Italy
Type
Lakeside villa — new build behind retained gatehouse
Scope
Architecture, interiors, landscape
Palette
Botticino marble · Limed oak · Lime plaster · Copper
Overview
A three-generation lakeside house combining a retained gatehouse with new accommodation. The heritage authority required the historic street face to remain untouched; everything new sits behind it, organised around a single marble court with a reflecting pool aligned on the lake.
The brief
Six bedrooms across main house and gatehouse, salone, lakeside loggia, pool, boat store. Step-free route from arrival to water for the grandparents.
Palette
Steep terraced grounds with a protected plane tree at the centre. A topographical and arboricultural survey fixed the court position before any plan was drawn; piling avoided the root zone entirely.
Reinforced-concrete frame with Botticino rainscreen; 600 mm court walls double as retaining structure. Copper roof over the new wing, laid in traditional standing seams.
Lime plaster walls, limed-oak floors and Botticino thresholds throughout. The salone spans 11 m with concealed services; the gatehouse keeps its original timber ceilings, repaired beam by beam.
Terraces restored with dry-stone walling; new olive and cypress planting; pool positioned so its surface mirrors the lake from the salone.
Lake-water heat exchange for heating and cooling, discreet roof PV behind the ridge, and rainwater harvesting for the terraces.
Salone — lime plaster, limed oak
Timeline
Team
Architecture + interiors
SELA Studio
Heritage consultant
Como practice
Structural engineer
Milan practice
Stone contractor
Botticino specialist
Project data
