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Architects: MOST Monti Studio
- Area: 7000 m²
- Year: 2022
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Photographs:Andrea Ceriani
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Manufacturers: Oikos, B&B Italia, Bentley, Cattelan Italia, Desiree, Ditre Italia, Gama Decor, Jacuzzi, Leds-C4, Lualdi, MAXALTO, Molteni & C, Poliform, Poltrona Frau, Teofilo, Villeroy & Boch , Zalf
Text description provided by the architects. In Conakry, Guinea, MOST Monti studio completed The Seasons, an unconventional residential project comprising a multi-functional villa with contemporary interiors, a garden, a mosque, a pool, and a basketball court. Raising on a large, unoccupied hilly area that slopes towards the sea, the project blurs the lines between urban and residential. The project is based on three simple principles: sea view, division of space and privacy. The Seasons is nested on a slope between an urban district of Guinea’s capital city and the beach on the other side. “Architecturally speaking, The Seasons' 7,000 sqm is quite a peculiar size: residential or urban?” Indeed, the project has been conceived as a small, self-sufficient ecosystem centred around a 2,000 sqm villa on two levels. Like a district scaled down to family size, the project features a beauty salon, a chapel, a spa, a playground and a gym.
The multifunctional villa stretches parallel to the seafront to provide maximum sea exposure. For privacy reasons, the rear façade facing the neighbourhood. features minimalistic white ethereal volumes shielding any view of the interiors. Inside, all the light-filled interiors face the seafront thanks to floor-to-ceiling wall facades providing an almost seamless view.
The villa is divided into three layers. A more external white volume with slits houses the guest room, the bathrooms, the cinema room, and the studio. The second layer is a sandwiched, open-air tropical garden, bringing light and ventilation into the house. The latter layer hosts the living and dining rooms, kitchen, family area, office, and five bedrooms on the first floor. A metal canopy covers the main entrance. Once inside, the sea view is revealed while stairs and corridors direct to the other areas of the villa. The villa also features two volumes perpendicular to the building's central axis that seem to project toward the sea. The first one features the pool lounge in visual dialogue with the outdoor swimming pool. The second volume is dedicated to wellness and features a beauty salon, a medical room, a massage room, a jacuzzi, a sauna, a steam room and a gym. A mirror of water originates in the pool facing the sea, and flows through the entrance and over the other façade, contouring the whole villa.
The Seasons also features an open-air basketball court and a mosque located in the embankment lying between the sea level of the villa and the upper land at the border with the neighbourhood. The spiritual space is a pure white cube split into halves by a slit that creates a striking mystical lighting effect on the walls and the ceiling while also pointing to Mecca. Being built on a lot ‘unreclaimed’ by man and unconquered by nature, The Season does not dent the surrounding natural environment. The project features a water purification system before it enters the sewage system. Thanks to a high-performance glazing system and double walls with insulation and plasterboard, The Seasons minimises energy dispersion, providing a healthy environment for its inhabitants.
