The most important choice a person will make when building or restoring their home, is the architect. The person who will share their dream, and years of their life. They will witness fights over the placement of the kitchen, the surprising emotion of choosing a fabric, the gasp when you see your view framed by a custom designed window for the first time. It is a long-term and intimate journey....
Age is the essential element of every project James Cavagnari touches. There is an elegance, a particular beauty achieved only when a material stands through time, gaining soul and depth where shallow aesthetics would fade. For Cavagnari, a home is a person, and he designs them to become more captivating with each passing year....
Whether he is designing a reconstruction or a new, contemporary house, the science of Cavagnari’s process is the same. He must discover the project’s personality before he can envision how it will be captured. Take Villa Cupolino, a breathtaking 14th-century villa overlooking the city of Florence. The recent renovation shows how Cavagnari can honour the identity of a historic home and bring its lost soul back to life, by uncovering the distinct personality that was lost over time....