Introduction
The Tili Wine Italy Guest Homes competition was run in collaboration with Tili Vini Italy, a boutique winery located in the central Perugia region of Italy. Competition participants were asked to design a collection of five guest homes located on the winery’s property that could each accommodate a couple. Tili Vini produces a range of high-quality organic wines using sustainable methods, without using chemicals and focusing on new technology that reduces the amount of CO2 produced. The competition sought green, forward-thinking ideas for the unique site in line with the client’s ambitions.
The competition was launched as part of Buildner’s Small-Scale Architecture series, and in partnership with ARCHHIVE BOOKS publications, which is excited to announce the first issue of its bi-annual MICROHOME Magazine - a careful curation of innovative conceptual and built projects for more sustainable small-scale living.
Buildner collaborated with an international jury that included: Marshall Blecher, co-founder of MAST, a maritime architecture studio based in Copenhagen; Ivi Diamantopoulou, an architect, educator, and co-founder of New York-based New Affiliates, where she explores how architecture is shaped by, and shapes, local economies and dynamic systems through its practice and form; Nicole McIntosh, the co-founder of the Swiss-American design practice Architecture Office; Andreas Profanter, a partner at the Italian office noa* network of architecture; Lera Samovich, an architect at Fala Atelier in Porto; and Lara Sappa, co-founder of studio Officina82, based in Garessio, Italy, which focuses on microarchitecture, restoration, landscape design and exhibit design. Sappe is also founder of the StarsBOX®, an innovative accommodation solution created in the Ligurian Alps as a model for tourist sleeping facilities respectful of the environment and the natural landscape.
Buildner and its jury team thank each of the designers who took part in this competition.
We sincerely thank our jury panel
for their time and expertise
Lara Sappa
co founder of Garessio
Italy
Sara Ricciardi
Founder of Sara Ricciardi Studio
Italy
Andreas Profanter
architect
Austria
Silvana Ordinas
Founder and Partner, Peter Pichler Architecture
Italy
Nicole McIntosh
Co-Founder of the Swiss-American design practice Architecture Office
Switzerland
Jaya Kader
Founding Principal of KZ Architecture
USA
Ivi Diamantopoulou
architect, educator and co-founder of New Affiliates
USA
Lera Samovich
Fala Atelier
Portugal
Marshall Blecher
Founder at Studio Marshall Blecher & Co-founder at MAST
Denmark
1st Prize Winner +
Client Favorite
Client Favorite
COURTYARD
We believe that competitions develop architectural practice. We are excited to work in different subjects and fields. Seeing different approaches on the subjects studied gives us new perspectives. We also enjoy developing projects.
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The project collects a series of rectangular structures around a central courtyard. It restores the existing two-storey building on site as a wine tasting space; here the author makes use of the existing large facade opening to frame views towards the vineyards. The proposed guest houses are built of wood and rammed earth and are woven together with a fabric-topped canopy that surrounds and frames the central courtyard. A small pool adjacent to each guest house cleanly separates the living areas from the communal walking areas, serves as a landscape feature and creates a small micro climate to mitigate temperatures. The plot is further framed with light wooden benches to clearly define the site’s square geometry and to enrich the landscape design. The project successfully ties the buildings into its landscape and, while quiet in nature, succeeds in establishing the courtyard as a powerful center of inertia and core of activity.
Buildner's commentary, recommendations and techniques review
Order your review hereThe project makes use of an interesting grid organization which places complex, well-considered line drawings in gray and white to the left of each sheet, with larger colored renderings to the right. The resulting effect places visual emphasis on the successfully- rendered perspectives while the line drawings remain supplementary. The balance is clean, the hierarchy clear, and there is a direct relationship between the orthogonal design of the project and the layout of the presentation sheets. The limited use of colors in the imagery places strong emphasis on the expression of natural materials which appear in harmony with the existing site and landscape. Consequently, and to the presentation’s benefit, the green planted elements as well as the wooden finishes stand out in relief. Special detail is given to materiality and the micro-expression of joints, grains, and imperfections. Very rarely is a competition entry able to achieve this level of detail and consistency. Annotation and text is used in a limited way. Spaces, textures, and materials are clearly announced, however the project would benefit from additional text to describe design decisions, as well as an introductory or summary paragraph to solidify the design concept and aspirations in words. While the gray linework is consistent and aids in expressing the visually heavier renderings, the line drawings would benefit from additional weights and the use of darker grays or blacks to augment hierarchy. As drawn, gray shadows are the same visual tone as the lines and so do not help to articulate forms or provide the intended depth. Gray annotation text also does not stand out from drawings and in certain cases becomes lost. When reviewing the line drawings in detail, a reader cannot clearly differentiate ‘cut’ lines in section from elevation lines. This is particularly the case for the overall site sections on sheet 3.
2nd Prize Winner
Tili Village
I think architecture competitions are very importante to chalenge my day to day work and take me out of my comfort zone. The start of a new project is always very exciting and the competition format, where we only get feedback in the end, makes it even more thriling.
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The project is defined by a series of small burgundy-red colored buildings with pitched roofs. The project places the guest houses away from the main road for privacy and for views to the vineyard. A shared rooftop space was also created on the rooftop of the southernmost building for views to the surrounding landscape. In plan the organic distribution of the buildings across the site defines a series of unique outdoor spaces that includes an entrance square and gathering space. In section, the pitched rooftops create expansive and high-ceilinged interior spaces, which are rendered white in stark contrast to the exterior red envelopes. The kitchen space is given a more steeply pitched roof topped by a window, producing a sort of visual landmark for the site that also houses one of the important communal spaces.
Buildner's commentary, recommendations and techniques review
Order your review hereThe project successfully makes use of a two-column format with black and white line drawings to the left and richly colored images to the right. The renderings are particularly strong for producing a visual color balance and describing the design aspirations which are otherwise not apparent in the drawings. It is recommended that the author include scale human figures both in drawing and in perspective. While the general sense of the spaces is clear, a reader cannot fully appreciate the scale nor the spatial experience. Such scale figures could also further explain: How does one use the space? How do groups use communal spaces? While the overall presentation is beautifully rendered, there is a lack of hierarchy with regards to the line drawing components of the sheets at the left. The text and drawings have the same shade of gray and so it is not clear for a reader where to look first when reviewing drawings. Furthermore, there is quite a bit of empty white space on the sheets while the drawings are almost too small to make sense of. The final fourth sheet, for example, would greatly benefit from larger sectional drawings to provide a fuller sense of the design intent.
3rd Prize Winner
Sere d'estate
We like to participate in architecture competitions because the proposals are always very interesting and allow us to experiment with new concepts in different places.
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Simple white buildings are employed as an archetype of the traditional Umbrian rural home, primordial and sculptural elements set at right angles to form a semi-enclosed courtyard amidst the otherwise open vineyard. The author has designed a set of buildings that are austere in nature, as if a clean and even empty stage on which activities might take place. The project includes simple yet advanced renderings in tandem with geometric minimalist plans and sections. The project uses shades of white, frameless windows and fine lines to play with light and shadows and to offer a proposal that is enticing in its quietness.
Buildner's commentary, recommendations and techniques review
Order your review hereThe presentation is minimalist in nature and reflective of the design of the project. The author has clearly made efforts to reduce visual clutter in order to express the geometric and spatial clarity of the project. The sheets are organized in two clean columns, with small plan and sectional diagrams to the left with renderings to the right. While the layout is rigorous and will clearly resonate with many jurors, there are presentation tips this submission would benefit from. There is no material annotation to describe the project’s construction, for example, nor explanations as to why spaces and buildings were laid out this way. The author could maintain the project simplicity while adding text to further describe the architecture and better communicate the project. As a result, a reviewer may find the project overly simplistic and not developed enough to be convincing as the most convincing and sophisticated design entry. The author would benefit from the inclusion of scale human figures so that a reader can more fully appreciate the project scale. While the plans and sections are clearly laid out according to simple geometric shapes, it is not clear how a human might inhabit or use these spaces as drawn. Such a clean project would benefit from some additional nuance in drawings.
Buildner Student Award +
Buildner Sustainability Award
Buildner Sustainability Award
Tili houses in a dialogue between heritage and innovation
I wanted to challenge and express myself in a project carried out autonomously without university supervision.
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The project aspires to create a space that is representative of the winery and in strong relationship with nature and the surrounding Umbrian landscape. The central structure is restored and the program is organized so this building welcomes visitors and immediately focuses on the site’s built history. Around this five guest houses are organized to frame a central exterior space and are communicated via pergolas which blur interior with exterior. The guest houses have various heights to infuse the collection of structures with the feel of an organically-developed village consistent with the region’s traditional built fabric. Each guest house is designed with private openings facing the vineyards and landscape.
Buildner's commentary, recommendations and techniques review
Order your review hereThe presentation makes use of a primary colored rendering on each of the four sheets, which is supported by secondary line drawings and text. The principal imagery is muted in nature and consequently expresses the project as a light intervention and in context with its site and the historical Italian region. While the drawings successfully convey the project intent, the layout is inconsistent and would benefit from a more rigorous use of a grid or uniform sizing of imagery. The text on the first sheet is positively bold and strong, but does not relate to text use or hierarchy on the following sheets. Furthermore the text is lengthy and repeats much of the information described in diagrams on sheet 3. The author would benefit from reducing the text or relocating certain phrases, such as that about massing or sustainability, alongside the corresponding diagrams. The hierarchy of imagery on sheet 3 could also be improved. The layout includes two plans and three sections which are quite detailed in nature, however these are reduced in size and take on less importance than the image describing the corten wine racks - while this image is interesting it does not provide much information.