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

location: Cumiana, Turin, Italy  architecture: Carlo Graffi

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edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom

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