VILLA COMPLEX PHASE I
2017-2022, Caribbean
This is the first phase of one of the most ambitious classical projects anywhere in the world, one that seeks to make a home for a patron with an abiding interest in the Greek and Roman history and at the same time a fitting context for parts of his collection of antiquities. While comparable in some ways to the Getty Villa in Malibu commissioned by J. Paul Getty in the 1970s, this does not seek to reconstruct a specific historic environment (in that the case the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum) but is freer in its conception and built with better materials. The ocean site and the tropical climate – for which colonnades work particularly well – inspired an almost hubristic desire to emulate Roman maritime villas. Having been chosen on account of his understanding of ancient architecture, Mark Wilson Jones formed Apollodorus Architecture precisely to research and deliver this singular proposition.
The salient characteristic of the first phase is the emphasis given to evoking a distinctly ancient atmosphere. Whereas the main house, which will form the second phase of the project, is more suited to contemporary living – given that the Renaissance and Palladian models, broadly understood, have proved themselves remarkably adaptable to modern functions – the first phase imposed fewer constraints. Here it was possible to aim for a certain purity and simplicity. (For obvious reasons there is now the need for air conditioning and suchlike.)
Moreover, whereas the interiors on the lower floor of the building were finished off by an interior designer, the open-air porticoes and spaces of the upper level remained entirely our design, and so best represent our approach and capabilities.
Due to the absence of a viable local quarry, the great majority of the stone was imported from Italy pre-cut to the specified shape. Its assembly on site called for millimetric precision and detailing. A major part of our job as the lead architects was to work with the Italian stone-cutters and verify their shop drawings so that they followed our design intent. The work was done with a combination of machine processes and hand-finishing. We could not rely on the knowledge that a master stone mason would have contributed in a more traditional set-up. Instead, the onus was placed on us to draw up, with 2D or 3D drawings as necessary, everything down to the last detail and coordinate the stonework package with the rest of the design team.
Wherever possible we sought to use loadbearing masonry on the project, instead of resorting to revetting reinforced concrete (which remains the preferred construction method on the island, partially due to seismic and hurricane considerations). The architraves around the Pool Court are made of solid stone and they are supported on loadbearing solid marble columns with monolithic shafts. The capitals recall the Tower of the Winds type, although they were created from first principles and from memory, and only subsequently checked against our own photographs of archaeological pieces and the publication of Stuart and Revett (i.e. a subtly different process than simply copying the latter). Following ancient precedent we used a variety of multicoloured stones for the columns, with the bases and capitals cut from a different marble than the shafts. The cornice that crowns the entablature includes lion spouts that are functional; they ‘vomit’ the rainwater outwards for it to be collected via drains in the floor in subterranean tanks for recycling. Thus the stonework is structural, functional, decorative and experiential at one and the same time - representing excellent value for money.
