In an interview with est living, founder of his eponymous Belgian firm Vincent Van Duysen asserted that as an architect, working with the earth is both existential and imperative as a way of guaranteeing the well-being of his clients. This approach took him to a site north of Milan, Italy, surrounded by old trees, where he’s designed a home for seeking respite in nature. “The morphological context of the land—a natural hilly and wooded landscape—instilled a vertical flow to the program,” Vincent Van Duysen says, who responded with a design that accentuates horizontal lines and generous roof overhangs.

The home has two distinct facades that respond to the sloping site. The north side is described as ‘introverted and horizontal’, featuring plastered brick volumes and large windows beneath the eave line. The south side is characterised by double-height terraces of black terracotta bricks and generous roof overhangs.

The foundation lies above ground level, allowing the basement to double as a plinth for the second level and the terraces to resemble a low masonry platform. At the same time, the walls are conceived as screens that ‘rise directly from the ground’. Windows are protected by wide eave overhangs and line up as a continuous band, allowing the clients to soak up the surrounding greenery from within.

“Large continuous volumes, articulated through simple architectural artifices, create a circumscribed environment,” Van Duysen explains. “Air, light and views permeate every ambient with a sense of unity, preserving only minor subdivisions,” he adds. Determined to avoid any superfluous elements, the B Residence by Vincent Van Duysen Architects is a sensorial experience at its best, allowing for a complete and enduring immersion in nature.