Pool With a View

Local stone and grotto-like rooms for a villa with a modernist reinterpretation of the traditional “stone walls” that support the terraced fields of the Ligurian countryside. A building-symbol that Flexform has chosen as an extraordinary setting.
On the coast, near Imperia, there is an emblematic building that is completely at one with its surroundings. It is Villa Nemes, designed by Giordano Hadamik Architects, composed of two semi-underground structures arranged one alongside the other in a slight curve in order to follow the lay of the land. A serendipitous design project that changed the life of the two architects, partners in life and at work. To oversee the project, they moved to Liguria, homeland of Daniele Giordano. «The idea came up at a party. We were approached by friends of relatives. They knew that I am a native of the Riviera and it was their dream to have a home there. So, they thought that working with me was the most logical choice», reminisces the architect. «The brief was very simple: they wanted a modern house, immersed in nature, made of stone and tied to the place. With the least possible environmental impact.»
For Giordano and Nadine Hadamik, the original concept was that of an anthropized Ligurian landscape, with its stone-terraced fields. This led to the decision to literally carve part of the building out of the hillside, to minimize the volumetric impact on the terrain. The excavated stone was then used to clad the building’s exterior allowing it to become a mimetic skin - a sort of modernist reinterpretation of the “Ligurian stone retaining walls” that support the terraces. The garden surrounding the villa was built the same way, with a stone wall that supports the terrace for the 14-meter swimming pool. «It was the first project of this kind that we have ever taken on. Then we realized that this approach works well throughout the Mediterranean area, wherever there is a pristine landscape: Greece, Cyprus, Sardinia», explains Giordano.
One part of the villa contains a large open living space, the other part, five bedrooms and three bathrooms. In between is the entrance, what Giordano refers to as the “split”, which acts as the juncture. The decision to build on a single level was imposed by the desire to limit the impact on the surrounding landscape as much as possible. The same is true for the green roof planted with sedum, a low-maintenance succulent. The interiors are distinguished by three materials that recur on all the surfaces: natural wood, with its imperfections; Pietra del Cardoso (kitchen countertop, bathrooms) and the resin that coats all the floors. «We were specifically asked to keep it simple,» explains the architect. «The owners liked the idea of a lived-in house, made of materials that mature with time. And they wanted well-designed spaces. One of their requests was that the bedrooms be easily converted, from king-size to twin beds, or to an office, or game room.» All of the built-ins were custom designed and crafted by local artisans and are part of the interior architecture: like the internal walls that become storage compartments.
One distinctive feature of this building is the openings toward the landscape and, here again, Giordano elaborates: «We always try to connect the indoors and the outdoors. Here, we wanted to highlight an ancient oak tree in front of the living room. The owners were seated under its branches when they said, “our house will rise here.” It is heartening to think that my wife and I also built our own life project around this job. We were working as employees in England. We left everything and invested in this adventure that led us to be who we are today. We are still indebted to these people because they believed in us; they gave us the freedom to express ourselves and to work. They practically gave us carte blanche. We were very fortunate.»