Hillside house: Casa D'Agosto by 35a Studio

Casa D'Agosto is picturesquely situated between woods and large cultivated areas in a hilly landscape dotted with numerous villages and castles. Built on the slope of a 3,000-square-metre parcel of land at the edge of Valverde, a municipality with only 315 inhabitants, the holiday getaway has been erected at the site of an old barn, which had to be demolished to make way for the new building.  The entire new house for a young married couple from Milan has been constructed out of reinforced concrete, with most of its windows positioned to provide views of the wide landscape.

The holiday home by 35a studio has a square ground plan and is conceived as an open space extending over two floors. The top of the building is particularly noticeable for its expressive shape, achieved with a 45 degree turn of the traditional pitched roof and bringing about a striking composition of the interior spaces. The partially double-height living and dining area on the ground floor can be reached from the garden through large sliding windows.  An open staircase leads up to the likewise open sleeping areas, where large windows provide views of the picturesque natural surroundings that resemble framed pictures.