‘villa gontero’: a 1970s brutalist residence by carlo graffi
Photographer Roberto Conte returns with his latest photo series capturing‘Villa Gontero,’a brutalist residence built by architect Carlo Graffi between 1969-1971 in Cumiana near Turin, Italy. Planning for his client and first owner of the villa, entrepreneur Riccardo Gontero, Graffi involved renowned engineer Sergio Musmeci, author of the famous viaduct on the Basento River in Potenza. The result was a dramatic structure, with a bold concrete cantilever highlighted by a stepped upward visual movement ending over a swimming pool and red-painted fixtures contrasting with the dominant grey tone. Relatively forgotten in the last couple of decades,‘Villa Gontero’has been carefully renovated in recent times.
all images © Roberto Conte
Graffi, also active as a designer, was a close friend of Italian architect Carlo Mollino and collaborated with him on many projects, including the well-known‘Teatro Regio’of Turin. Interestingly,‘Villa Cattaneo/K2’by Mollino in Agra, even if quite different from‘Villa Gontero’in many ways, may have influenced the planning of the latter, at least for its cantilevered solution and the overall position of the structure in relation with the sloping piece of land. You can check out more photographic works by Roberto Conte on his website.
the villa was built initially for Turin entrepreneur Riccardo Gontero
dramatic, upward motion defines certain features of the brutalist villa
view from the pool
bright red paint coating doors and fixtures
living space
project info:
name: Villa Gontero
project dates: 1969-1971
location: Cumiana, Turin, Italy
architecture: Carlo Graffi
engineering: Sergio Musmeci
photography: Roberto Conte
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edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom
