Tavernelle Val di Pesa (SI)
2025
Client: The Florence Hills
Photographs: Binario Lab archive
Render: Arch. Alessandro Argentesi
• Ideas competition with honorable mention
Podere Santa Margherita
The project involves the restoration of a 19th-century Leopoldina farmhouse, a type of rural dwelling typical of the Val di Chiana area in Tuscany.
The main features of this building typology include ground-floor loggias, an oven integrated within the building, a dovecote, and a space originally intended for stables.
The project area includes two buildings: the main house and an adjacent rustic outbuilding located at the rear of the property.
Over the centuries, the main building has undergone modifications both in its internal layout and in its façades.
The objective is to restore the villa to a single residential unit by removing later additions and realigning the openings. The three arches on the main façade will be resized following an analysis of the curvature of the existing arches in the masonry. These arches will also be replicated on the opposite side, in order to establish visual continuity between the two gardens.
The main entrance is centrally located in the plan, dividing the house into two blocks.
Upon entering, one accesses a space with a timber ceiling crossed horizontally by an elevated walkway leading to the main staircase. This platform has been designed to longitudinally subdivide the interior spaces.
Continuing along this raised pathway toward the northwest side, one reaches the living area, characterized by small brick vaults and a double row of arches separating the living room from the dining area. The arches may also serve as an exhibition space, where slender metal structures will support paintings and sculptures.
The selected materials will recall tradition: terracotta for the floors and raw earth for the walls. Only the installation methods and textures will offer a contemporary interpretation. The furnishings will be simple and essential in design.
The first floor will accommodate the bedrooms. The master bedroom will feature an en-suite bathroom with a wall of built-in wardrobes and a walk-in closet located opposite the bed, accessed through a system of pivoting and folding panels. A spiral staircase next to the entrance will lead to a first boudoir space. Continuing upward, one reaches the top of the dovecote, converted into a bathroom, where a circular shower will be placed at the center of the room, offering views of the surrounding hills through a double-height window.
The project places great importance on the garden.
Considering the building’s position atop a small hill and surrounded by dense woodland, the design proposes a series of “green rooms” along the path from the main gate to the villa. These spaces will be defined by trees and lower vegetation, in continuity with the natural landscape.
These secret gardens are conceived as places for rest and contemplation before reaching the farmhouse.
The selected tree and shrub species will be native: myrtle, wild lavender, and broom for the rear garden, while maritime pines, limes, lilies, and purple foxglove will frame the gardens on the entrance side.
For the exterior surfaces, following a chromatic analysis of contemporary buildings, a light-toned plaster will be selected. Both for the external and internal finishes, raw earth (such as Matteo Brioni) will be used, a material composed of clays and aggregates sourced from different regions of Italy. The colors will result from the blending of different clays without the use of natural or artificial pigments. This sustainable approach will ensure greater living comfort.
Explore other projects
