Completed in 2019 by Foster+Partners, Dolunay Villa is a new private villa situated along the coast of the Aegean Sea in Turkey’s southwestern province of Muğla. With 1,668m² in size, this villa is sited amid the natural rugged setting with awesome sea views. The most interesting feature of this villa is its handcrafted undulating structural timber roof. This unique roof is designed together with Swiss firm Blumer Lehmann.
Design
The design for this villa uses its site’s natural contours to create a low-rise building and it appears as a single storey structure. It is embedded within a beautiful Mediterranean garden, offering a multisensory experience with fragrant plants, rich seasonal planting, and mature olive trees. The main entrance leads to the heart of the villa with private family quarters that oriented to respond to the site contours. The public living and dining areas have exceptional views of the setting sun over the Aegean.
Structure
‘Opaque to open’ is the journey through the villa, reflecting the different levels of privacy throughout. The design seeks to blur the boundaries between outside and inside living with large glass doors. These doors are on the facade and provide an unobstructed flow of space between the exterior and interior spaces.
The handcrafted undulating structural timber roof of this villa is designed together with Swiss firm Blumer Lehmann. This villa has a prefabricated and precision-engineered structure with substantially less carbon. On steel columns, there are solid structural oak beams that support a large 7.5m cantilever to provide cool shaded courtyards and outdoor shaded spaces.
Rooms
Connecting the two levels, the central feature stair is made from solid Portuguese limestone and also supported through post-tensioned cables. These cables are running through the stone with no other visible supports. The balustrades are made from thin glass tubes with the timber handrail to show the staircase’s purity and provide a feeling of lightness.
Materials
Each element is designed to reflect the high levels of craftsmanship in the design and to respond to the specific requirements of the client. A smaller sunset pavilion is located near the coast that features a bamboo soffit, wooden tables, olive groves, and natural stone walls. The natural interior material palette is used for the interior and it consists of stone, wood, and bronze and it features various tones of warm greys and browns. A relaxed, elegant feel to the coastal retreat comes from the oak joinery and leather furnishings.
Dolunay Villa Gallery
Photography: Foster+Partners