A TUSCAN VILLA FOR A BALLET DANCER

Italy, Architecture –
World-famous dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet, SYLVIE GUILLEM, lives in a stunning villa designed by architects Junko Kirimoto and Massimo Alvisi




VILLA GUILLEM was once a group of two neglected farmhouses, which were brought back to life by ALVISI KIRIMOTO ARCHITECTURE STUDIO. The buildings from early the 20th century are now home to former renowned dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet, Sylvie Guillem, and her husband, Gilles Tapie. Architects Junko Kirimoto and Massimo Alvisi of the Rome-based design firm defined Villa Guillem by its relationship with the environment as a substantial part of the project design.






Doors | designer: Alvisi Kirimoto, material: oak wood salvaged from old beams

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The villa nestles on a 27,000-square-metre property in Lazio and employs natural and locally sustainable materials such as terracotta, tufa stone; and the recycling or reusing of all existing wood beams.
The farmhouse to the south, the villa of 290sqm gross floor area, constitutes the residence proper. The farmhouse to the north, comprising 320sqm, accommodates the art workshops of Sylvie Guillem and Gilles Tapie as well as a small apartment for the caretaker on the upper floor. Though distinct in their programmes, the two buildings have a similar appearance, the architects adopting a similar strategy to renovate them both.
Alvisi Kirimoto utilised materials that are natural and salvaged: the floor is of terracotta tiles laid on mortar without glue, with listels used in the common spaces and tiles of traditional shape in the bedrooms and bathrooms.
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Compiled by Carol Kraal. Text courtesy of Alvisi Kirimoto; photography by Luigi Filetici. Sylvie Guillem photographs courtesy of her Facebook page