Building near water is challenging, because the lakeside landscape is evolving all the time. In these spots where the flow of the land is interrupted by the lapping of the water, the lake is a living entity: able to modify the light, our perception of distance, the climate, how interiors engage with the outdoors and how materials interact with their reflection. The lakeside environment impacts the shape of buildings, the materials we use to construct them, how we design the layout, and even how the occupants experience and perceive their surroundings.
These buildings can stand back from the shore, look onto it, emerge from the surface or spread out into the landscape. Terraces, loggias, porches, windows: thresholds and prospects are not just places to observe the scenery; they build perspectives, filter fragments, blur lines and adjust the light, transforming the lake into a key element in the living experience. And it’s where these elements come together, where every sequence of the interior layout opens out onto the landscape, that the buildings acquire their identity, and where ceramic surfaces step into their architectural dimension.
Towards the shore, the sunlight reflected by the lake meets the surface of the construction, highlighting textures in a way that’s perceived differently as the day progresses and the seasons change. With their veining patterns, shifting tones and subtle irregularities, porcelain stoneware is the perfect material to create a sense of unity and spatial consistency, engaging in a respectful dialogue with the surroundings. Large-format tiles can be used to reduce grout lines and create virtually seamless surfaces, helping to shape a sleek architecture in which surfaces melt away, allowing the interaction between light, volume and the horizon to emerge in all its splendour.
This style concept must, of course, take account of structural elements such as formats, grout lines, joints, fittings, changes in elevation and drainage systems. In addition, there’s a particular technical coordination that must be made when it comes to materials: lakeside buildings need to be able to cope with dampness, temperature ranges, exposure to the elements, variations in the water level and a number of other types of stress. Porcelain tiles tick all of those boxes, delivering both style and performance for projects that need materials to be resistant, durable and low-maintenance.
Large surfaces, coordinated colours, carefully calibrated textures and a virtually seamless transition from one area to the next allow porcelain tiles to slot effectively into an overall design vision in which water becomes a horizon, light becomes part of the construction and the lake surface blends smoothly with it.
A fine example of all this can be observed in two residential projects that differ significantly in terms of setting and style, but which both have an impressive capacity to establish an on-going dialogue between architecture, water, light and matter: Villa Dellago, which looks onto Lake Garda, and LuxLine, on the shores of the Kokemäenjoki River in Finland.
Villa Dellago: an oasis of transparencies and light
In Torri del Benaco, JM Architecture designed a residence that almost seems to float amid the olive trees. In this project, the line separating indoors from outdoors fades into the landscape, and the natural materials converse with the light that streams across the water.
Nestled in the fabulous scenery on the eastern shore of Lake Garda, in Torri del Benaco, Villa Dellago takes great care to really listen to the landscape. The project, conceived by the architect Jacopo Mascheroni (JM Architecture), follows the contours of the land; this is the core concept of the architecture. The idea was to preserve the original surroundings and respect the characteristics of the location. The villa is perched on one of the natural terraces of the terrain, sitting parallel to the waterline, with a low, compact outline.
The villa is composed of a single floor above ground, conceived so that the lake can be seen from every room. The living area faces south, so as to capture the sun throughout the day, while the master bedroom faces north. The utility areas and the entrance are in a central position, from which a stairway leads down to the lower level. From here, two large open patios bring sunlight into the rooms below ground, blending into the slope of the garden.
From the inside, the villa seems part of the landscape. The floor-to-ceiling windows make the walls practically transparent, offering a seamless view of the lake as it changes with the seasons. The villa is sheltered by a large, low cantilever roof that projects outwards by more than three metres on all sides, creating a pleasantly shaded porch.
The only opaque section of the façade maintains the privacy of the master bathroom, illuminated by the light from the open-top patio that extends the interiors into an outdoor shower area. This part of the façade is entirely covered in engineered wood planks. The warm tones of the oak finish engage with the surrounding landscape and complement the neutral tones of the stoneware floor tiles.
The interior flooring, the raised loggia and the roof have been tiled using the colour Pietra del Cardoso, while the darker, contrasting Onsernone shade was chosen for the pool. Both colours are from the Pietra di Paragone collection, and the 30x60 cm porcelain tiles cover a total surface of 720 sq.m.
The contours of the garden follow the level of the ground, with grass on the flat terraces and particular plant species on the more distinctly sloping areas.
LuxLine: matter, light and landscape on the Kokemäenjoki river
Located in Pori, on the banks of the Kokemäenjoki River, LuxLine is a private residence designed by the architect Birgitta Hjelm-Luontola. The project was prompted by a desire to bring the light and wide-open views of the surrounding landscape into the home, establishing a direct, continuous relationship between architecture, interior design and the riverside environment.
Built on two levels, the ground floor hosts the spa area with Finnish sauna, the utility areas and the garage, directly connected to the home, while on the upper floor we find the master bedroom, with a dressing room and private bathroom, as well as an open-plan kitchen and living room area. The layout of the home, with large windows and sliding doors built into the walls, was chosen, as were the surfaces, to highlight the visual relationship with the river, turning the landscape into an active element of the domestic experience. The natural light is thus an integral part of the project, reflecting on the surfaces, altering the perception of the rooms with the changing of the seasons, and shaping the atmosphere within a single spatial sequence.
The materials were chosen to strike a balance between functionality and style: the large porcelain tiles from the Marmoker collection, in the colours Grafite and Statuario Grigio, were used for the main areas of the home and the spa. In the living area, the polished finish reflects the light and the landscape outside, visually amplifying the perception of the space, while in the spa, the continuity between the flooring and the coverings creates a cosier, more enveloping ambience. The name LuxLine embodies this pursuit of continuity, for a project in which the ceramic tiles are complemented by other surfaces, where light, matter and the landscape define a sleek, simple spatial concept. The porcelain tiles interact with wood and raw stone, constructing a single, consistent material language. It is this dialogue between material, light and landscape that defines the architectural identity of LuxLine.
