Nestled in the lush vineyards and woodlands of Piedmont, Italy, lies LILELO, a new eco-hotel that offers tourists the chance to experience the ultimate tree change.
Designed by Paris-based architecture practice atelier LAVIT, this distinct wood and glass-based hotel draws inspiration from traditional haystacks, featuring a triangular silhouette standing on a thick trunk-like base. The project promotes sustainable living, where architecture and nature connect together.
The hotel comprises four cabins, three serve as private suites while the fourth houses the common spaces, including a generous terrace and a spacious kitchen with a large table. This structure acts as a gathering area where guests can sit together, fostering social interaction and communication.
DESIGN INTENT
Sustainability is at the core of the design, combining glass and wood together using a construction approach that responds to the sloping land of the site. The interior and exterior spaces are interwoven with a generous amount of glazing. The vast openings fit seamlessly into the wooden structure and generate well-lit living spaces immersed in the site’s rich vegetation. The lodges merge seamlessly with their natural setting, almost as if ‘they are camouflaged’.
The architects embraced a sustainable approach, focusing on energy efficiency and eco-compatible materiality. The cabins are raised off the ground, minimizing the impact on the terrain and, at the same time, responding to the sloping topography. With this tactful gesture, the eco-hotel melds faultlessly with its natural setting, blurring the lines between the man-made and natural environment.
The cabins themselves span six meters in width and nine meters in length, with a ceiling height of almost six meters. They are constructed of larch treated only with oil, which is a natural element absorbed into the wood, enriching and nourishing it as it ages. The furnishings, wall, and floor finishes are also made of wood to create a visual continuation showcasing a similar character to the exterior.
The project took up the challenge of using prefabricated elements but without resorting to standardization. The lodges were not designed as closed volumes from which the openings were subtracted, but as a space created by three inclined surfaces, following the Japanese logic of working on layers.
LILELO is a unique and distinct eco-hotel that offers tourists the chance to experience the ultimate tree change. The design focuses on sustainability, energy efficiency, and eco-compatible materiality, using wood to meld faultlessly with its natural setting and blurring the lines between the man-made and natural environment.
- Extracts from ArchDaily and Design Boom.
