Olivé House: A Hillside Apartment Reimagined Above the Val Squaranto

Located on the eastern hills of Verona, Olivé House is a refined residential refurbishment that transforms a century-old building into a light-filled contemporary home overlooking the Val Squaranto. Designed byFutura | Squaranto Associati, the 160-square-meter apartment occupies the first and second floors of a historic structure once known locally as “La Alpina,” a former village bar positioned at the highest point of the settlement.

Despite its extraordinary location and uninterrupted 180-degree views across vineyards, cypress trees, and the surrounding landscape, the original apartment layout failed to engage with its context. Service spaces, staircases, and corridors dominated the main façade, while the primary living areas were pushed inward, disconnected from natural light and the valley panorama. The renovation project set out to reverse this condition entirely, using architectural clarity and material coherence to reconnect domestic life with the landscape.

The design strategy began with a radical reorganization of space. Nearly all internal partitions were removed, allowing the architects to relocate storage, service areas, and technical functions toward the center of the plan. This freed the perimeter for spaces intended to be lived in, placing everyday activities directly along the façade and in dialogue with the surrounding views. Select structural interventions supported this transformation while preserving the integrity of the historic building.

One of the most distinctive architectural decisions was the inversion of the conventional residential hierarchy. Instead of situating bedrooms above and living areas below, the project places the kitchen, living room, and a generous new terrace on the upper floor. This level becomes the social and experiential heart of the home, elevated to fully embrace the valley landscape. Below, the more private functions are housed, including the entrance, bedrooms, a compact service block, and a creative studio space.

Throughout the apartment, existing windows act as carefully composed frames, offering sequential views of the medieval castle, historic villas, and cultivated hillsides. A new, large sliding glass opening connects the living space to the terrace, disappearing completely into the wall and dissolving the boundary between interior and exterior. From this vantage point, the oak forests and the distant Lessinia mountains become an extension of the domestic environment.

Material selection plays a crucial role in reinforcing this connection to place. Floors are finished with large oak planks and “biancone della Lessinia” marble, referencing the local geology and woodland context. These natural materials are complemented by concrete surfaces, creating a restrained palette that balances warmth with architectural precision. The terrace continues this language with a concrete floor and a perimeter wall built using reclaimed terracotta bricks salvaged from a nearby farmhouse demolition. An outdoor kitchen integrated into this structure further enhances the terrace as a functional extension of the living space.

Olivé House exemplifies a thoughtful approach to residential renovation, where spatial inversion, material authenticity, and landscape engagement redefine everyday living. By reorienting the apartment toward its exceptional setting, the project demonstrates how adaptive reuse and contemporary design can coexist within a historic envelope, offering a timeless response to place, light, and topography.

All photographs are works of  Catalogo Studio - Maria Francesca Lui, Marco Lumini