Surely the most beautiful and most important project sprang from the desire of Laura to live in the countryside and reside in an isolated, spacious house, surrounded by nature.
Casa Tabarelli
However the name Tabarelli was not only famous for the modern furniture shops in Padua and Bolzano, for the beautiful furnishings designed for some famous hotels, restaurants and bars, schools, cinemas and theatres, or private residences for an entire generation of South Tyroleans and for Jože Plečnik's furniture collection. Surely the most beautiful and most important project sprang from the desire of Laura Tabarelli de Fatis to live in the countryside and reside in an isolated, spacious house, surrounded by nature. It was she who found a hill a few kilometres from the city and it was she who insisted on going to Venice to meet Carlo Scarpa.
The design for Casa Tabarelli in Cornaiano was created in 1967. Built on a hill near Bolzano by his young and talented assistant architect Sergio Los (who later designed also the iconic shop in via Stazione 1) the construction is an absolute rarity for those years and environs, to the point that all the three projects were not approved for several months, since their great qualities and absolute respect for the surrounding landscape were not understood. The development of the walls, the division of space in the interior and the various slanting roofs, in fact are reminiscent of the surrounding vineyards, creating a work that blends with the environment in an absolutely harmonious manner.
Prof. Carlo Scarpa in Cornaiano, march 1968
The initial project involved a copper roof that over the years would assume the colour of the fungicide that was sprayed in the vineyards in those years. Unfortunately the project was not understood and was rejected.
The interiors were simple and spartan, exposed concrete (cemento a vista) or white or brick red plastered walls (obtained by mixing pulverized bricks and lime). Carlo Scarpa had planned to use wooden floors throughout the house and only after a long negotiation with Laura, the whole house, with the exception of the kitchen and Tatyana and Antonello’s two bedrooms, was paved using a beautiful stone carved in a quarry located in a small valley on the border with Austria, that only Carlo Scarpa knew of. Since the house was surrounded by a garden that was accessed from every room, the practicality of the cleaning, care and maintenance of the floors rightly prevailed over aesthetics.
The sloping and irregular ceilings were covered with Venetian spatula (spatolato veneziano), choosing the different colours that the sky takes on during the day, from the yellow of the moon and stars for the sleeping area, to the orange of sunset for the living area.
The furnishings were also stark and simple. A Bastiano sofa, a Vassily armchair, a Charles Eames armchair, Cesca chairs around the dining table, Vanessa beds for the bedrooms, a desk by Marcel Breuer in the study and a table and chairs by Luigi Caccia Dominioni in the garden. On the walls, deliberately left free, only a few works by Morandi, Man Ray, Josef Albers, Lucio Fontana, Karl Plattner, Angel Duarte, Edoardo Landi and sculptures by Munari, Victor Simonetti, Charles Perry.
Upon Laura's death, Casa Tabarelli was sold in 2012.
© 2021 antonello tabarelli de fatis. all rights reserved. imprint & privacy policy
Surely the most beautiful and most important project sprang from the desire of Laura to live in the countryside and reside in an isolated, spacious house, surrounded by nature.
Casa Tabarelli
However the name Tabarelli was not only famous for the modern furniture shops in Padua and Bolzano, for the beautiful furnishings designed for some famous hotels, restaurants and bars, schools, cinemas and theatres, or private residences for an entire generation of South Tyroleans and for Jože Plečnik's furniture collection. Surely the most beautiful and most important project sprang from the desire of Laura Tabarelli de Fatis to live in the countryside and reside in an isolated, spacious house, surrounded by nature. It was she who found a hill a few kilometres from the city and it was she who insisted on going to Venice to meet Carlo Scarpa.
The design for Casa Tabarelli in Cornaiano was created in 1967. Built on a hill near Bolzano by his young and talented assistant architect Sergio Los (who later designed also the iconic shop in via Stazione 1) the construction is an absolute rarity for those years and environs, to the point that all the three projects were not approved for several months, since their great qualities and absolute respect for the surrounding landscape were not understood. The development of the walls, the division of space in the interior and the various slanting roofs, in fact are reminiscent of the surrounding vineyards, creating a work that blends with the environment in an absolutely harmonious manner.
Prof. Carlo Scarpa in Cornaiano, march 1968
The initial project involved a copper roof that over the years would assume the colour of the fungicide that was sprayed in the vineyards in those years. Unfortunately the project was not understood and was rejected.
The interiors were simple and spartan, exposed concrete (cemento a vista) or white or brick red plastered walls (obtained by mixing pulverized bricks and lime). Carlo Scarpa had planned to use wooden floors throughout the house and only after a long negotiation with Laura, the whole house, with the exception of the kitchen and Tatyana and Antonello’s two bedrooms, was paved using a beautiful stone carved in a quarry located in a small valley on the border with Austria, that only Carlo Scarpa knew of. Since the house was surrounded by a garden that was accessed from every room, the practicality of the cleaning, care and maintenance of the floors rightly prevailed over aesthetics.
The sloping and irregular ceilings were covered with Venetian spatula (spatolato veneziano), choosing the different colours that the sky takes on during the day, from the yellow of the moon and stars for the sleeping area, to the orange of sunset for the living area.
The furnishings were also stark and simple. A Bastiano sofa, a Vassily armchair, a Charles Eames armchair, Cesca chairs around the dining table, Vanessa beds for the bedrooms, a desk by Marcel Breuer in the study and a table and chairs by Luigi Caccia Dominioni in the garden. On the walls, deliberately left free, only a few works by Morandi, Man Ray, Josef Albers, Lucio Fontana, Karl Plattner, Angel Duarte, Edoardo Landi and sculptures by Munari, Victor Simonetti, Charles Perry.
Upon Laura's death, Casa Tabarelli was sold in 2012.
© 2021 antonello tabarelli de fatis. all rights reserved. imprint & privacy policy