Between Rigour and Poetry

In the heart of Curitiba, the capital of Paraná and a laboratory of urban sustainability, stands Casa 17-JB, a villa that weaves architecture with nature, Italy with Brazil.

Designed by architect Luiz Volpato the villa creates a dialogue between lush vegetation and brutalism softened by citations from the Italian school.

Volpato explains, "The influence of Italy was decisive for cultural and architectural development on the American continent, and it contributed to the Escola Paulista principles. Lina Bo Bardi, Gio Ponti and João Vilanova Artigas, from Parana with Italian roots, all forged a modernist free brutalism recognizable today”.

The villa is a re-reading of these lessons. Its compact verticalities, exposed concrete, wood, and generous windows fuse together raw materials with lightness of touch, in a constant dialogue with the tropical garden.

The Italian client, Germano Carrara, emphasises the villa's ties with “good construction”, understood as technical consideration together with sensory suggestion.

The project combines solidity and poetry in a timeless structure situated on a sloping site covered with protected native forest. These conditions shape the building, an articulation of four overlapping volumes including one underground, in a solution that is respectful of environmental constraints and conserves the surrounding vegetation.

A social block lies at street level, serving as the entrance and reception area, with a large concrete load-bearing wall that separates public and private spaces. Above this, a residential block clad in wood houses a living room and four suites, all with balconies looking onto the tree canopy.

The service block, emphatically black, is below street level, and includes a garage, gym, indoor pool and sauna with, deep underground, a climate controlled cellar in perforated concrete for the storage of wine.

Every opening is designed to create visual permeability and dissolve boundaries between indoors and out. “Not only is the dense vegetation a backdrop, it is an active element of the design” creating suggestive plays of light and shadow.

The spaces of the villa open onto the landscape in an ever-changing stimulating scenario favouring continuous dialogue between architecture and nature. A principle of integration also followed in the interior design.

“We were seeking an atmosphere in which architectural gesture, presences, and objects that awaken sensations could thread through everyday life. Spatial fluidity, and the tactile materials and furnishings contribute to creating spaces at once welcoming and attractive.

Combinations of raw materials and refined finishes in a multiplicity of textures and colours, and the varied textures of natural, velvety and rough surfaces produce contrasts that intensify the sense of freedom. The palette of colour uses the authentic tones of black stone, warm wood, and golden amber, in a mix that evokes a sunny atmosphere that is never invasive.

“We wanted to make spaces that were elegant but clean, and that together with the spatial solutions would exalt the greenery that is so predominant outdoors”.

The sculptural staircase, a pure synthesis of function and beauty, is a structure inmetal and wood set in concrete and covered with a translucent roof.

The choices of furniture generate equilibrium and tension, together with plasticity and chromatic identity. “The client is passionate about architecture, an art collector who wanted the best of international design. The challenge was to satisfy this ambition without overcharging the spaces”.

The project starts with a large concrete wall, a neutral canvas for artworks and a backdrop to furnishings elevated to the status of sculptures: Favela, Vermelha and Corallo armchairs; Jenette, Ella and Gina chairs; the Scrigno sideboard and Brasilia table.

Favela and Vermelha, designed by the Brazilian Campana brothers, embody the cultural contamination that threads through the entire dwelling.

“The reading cabin is an intimate corner designed for relaxation and silent observation and was conceived specifically for Pack, one of the owner’s most well-loved pieces of furniture”. The sofa-sculpture pivots the space, reinforcing the dialogue between furniture and landscape.

Pale tones in On The Rocks and Favela, the reds and blue of Absolu and the orange of Corallo interrupt the neutral background and form a dialogue with the greenery, an undisputed protagonist.

Volpato concludes “the architectural gesture is clear: it is modern yet anchored in the wildness of the context”.

Thus the home becomes a sensory experience and generates wonder: the architecture, furnishings and landscape weave together in a continuous sense of belonging. The organization of the volumes follows the terrain, spatial transitions are calibrated, materials age gracefully, and Edra pieces add emotion and meaning, fusing rational rigour with timeless poetry.