Soaring towards wider perspectives, Visionnaire unveils the ‘Volare’ villa in Dubai

The renowned song Volare by Domenico Modugno flows through Italian brand Visionnaire’s launches for the year 2023. The melody breathes life into not only their product design novelties, but also into the luxury brand’s debut architectural and interior design project titled, and justifiably so, ‘Volare.’ The brand completely conceived the architectural project in collaboration with real estate developer Volare, where the partnership culminates in a captivating villa design perched magnificently on the shores of Jumeirah Bay Island in Dubai. The location marks an exclusive place for Visionnaire’s inaugural foray into the sphere of real estate. The villa contrived by Italian designer Alessandro La Spada is an oasis of peace and exclusivity, where the sky meets the sea in a beautiful, dreamlike setting.

Spanning 2,000 sqm, the villa essentially embodies Visionnaire’s ethos, apart from imbibing the location's expression in an elegant manner. The recognisable and iconic unit—positioned on the beach inside the Bulgari Compound in Dubai—aspires to enhance the spirit of the place through sophisticated use of natural materials and colours that strike a dialogue with the palette of the landscape, while responding astutely to the climate. The interiors exhibit similar elegance and refinement, featuring an environment where light and shadow, transparencies and reflections, create effects of intended mystery.

“Volare is the name of the developer we are working with, but it is also the name of our new 2023 collection, which we borrowed from the song by Modugno. ‘Volare’ (Flying) means making room for imagination, soaring aloft to see wider perspectives, nurturing visions, and being visionaries,” shares Leopold Cavalli, CEO and co-founder of Visionnaire. “Hence, ‘Volare’ is an ambitious project, one that has never before been formulated in our industry. The concept that we have presented in our new collection is the same one we have applied to the ‘Volare’ project in Dubai,” he adds.

In an exclusive interview with STIR, Cavalli discusses the inspirations that guided and manifested within ‘Volare,’ how it speaks of the brand’s spirit while respecting its intense, picturesque context, as well as what's next in store for Visionnaire.

STIR: Please tell us more about ‘Volare.'

Leopold Cavalli: ‘Volare’ is the name of the new residential concept of Visionnaire, created to narrate the true philosophy of habitation, one inspired by the Japanese word yugen (幽玄), a beauty that is often suggested, instead of being explicitly displayed, an aesthetic experience that requires attention, contemplation, and sensitivity, to be fully appreciated. For Visionnaire, ‘Volare’ becomes a manifesto for the contemporary home, a project that starts from content that formulates its container, passing from the individual to the space. The home’s spaces are no longer defined simply by their architectural functions but are organised on the basis of the emotions of the people who will be their future inhabitants.

STIR: This project marks Visionnaire’s debut in the architectural discipline. Was there a difference in the approach taken for the same, as you stepped into a new creative sphere?

Leopold: Our growth has always been driven by our clients asking us to find new project solutions, and now, this latest evolution of our home philosophy was also applied to yachting and the soft contract sector, which has to do with real estate development. Therefore, our language gets closer to architecture consistently, to convey an idea of coherent storytelling for the project, a house that fully reflects the personality of its owner. The ‘Visionnaire Home Philosophy’ was born with the aim of giving a transversal interpretation with respect to a way of life that evolves with society. This is our thinking when we approach any kind of project.

STIR: At the same time, what features of the design and its process remained constant?

Leopold: ‘Volare’ will be a recognisable and iconic unit at first glance, where the employed palette of materials and colours enters the interior in fluid continuity with the architectural exterior. An overall language that fully respects the genius loci, spreading from the outside into the house, and mingling with the architecture, as an innovative result with respect to what has been offered today in the realm of luxury real estate.

Water, sand, and light have been our drivers: the perceptive passage between the intensity of the light and the colour of the sky is immensely strong, especially when passing from an exterior to an interior; the organic nature of the sand that you sometimes breathe in as it is transported by a light sea breeze and the energy of the sea, cannot fail to win you over. The interior design and exterior architecture will be characterised by the creation of rationalist yet organic forms concurrently, in which light and shadow, reflections and transparencies will be used to create effects of depth and mystery, as well as allowing for maximum viability and a sense of belonging—precisely to recall the concept of yugen. The result is a residential building with a contemporary design that will integrate perfectly with the surrounding landscape, and make the most of the three drivers. The interiors have been designed with great care to ensure maximum functionality and comfort, without neglecting the aesthetics, but above all, the strong emotional component of each of these artefacts.

STIR: Could you elaborate on why Jumeirah Bay Island was selected as the project’s location?

Leopold: Jumeirah Bay is the new address of choice for Dubai’s most discerning homeowners, sculpted in the shape of a titanic seahorse with commanding views of the ocean. Those elements made it the perfect location to commence our first real estate project.

STIR: How does the project's overall design and experience convey and represent Visionnaire’s brand ethos?

Leopold: I believe that Visionnaire's philosophy of living will be easily recognisable and present in this project—the facade will be truly representative—made of stone with an undulating motif and interspersed with large windows with diagonal cuts in metal, that will let in a lot of light inside the villa. Even the interiors will have designed spaces that will incorporate our typical stylistic signs, from the boiserie to the wallpapers, or the use of precious stones. Pieces that have now become iconic for the brand, such as the ‘Babylon Rack sofa,’ conceived as a work of modular mini-architecture, with many functional features for studying, working, and relaxing, will also be placed inside. Associated with different uses across the span of the day, the modular sofa is also perfect as a work zone, or to simply watch a movie. On the other hand, the ‘Kerwan’ dining table is a mix of unexpected geometries. The peculiarity of the table lies in the curvature of the marble of the legs from the slab and not from the block, avoiding waste of material. The steel and the stone of the base melt optically. The two materials, tensioned by concave and convex curves, make up a single two-faced element, while the mirrored surface of the curved steel reflects the surrounding environment. The marble top concludes the project sculpturally.

STIR: Alessandro La Spada has been a long-time collaborator with Visionnaire—could you share with us how this collaboration was unique?

Leopold: We share a deep bond with Alessandro La Spada. He is a member of the Visionnaire family and we have collaborated on many collections together ever since the brand’s inception in 2004. He is globally renowned for his iconic pieces with Visionnaire, many of which have won leading design awards over the years. For this project, he took care of the exteriors of the villa, of which, the external façade recalls the wavy motif evocative of an oriental trait which we find on the ‘Ca' Foscari’ bed, as well as on the definition of new interior solutions, as the ‘Duncan’ foodroom, presented during the previous edition of Salone del Mobile. A special hideaway kitchen, like a treasure chest, has a sliding panel with a surface in brass tiles arranged to form an elaborate geometric pattern, like a frieze and a precious ‘skin' containing the kitchen. With a simple gesture of the hand or automated control, the panels shift and vanish into lateral compartments, leaving the kitchen block completely visible. Here too, nature remains the key inspiration, with a textural effect of tree bark on the brass surface, creating a unique effect perceptible from a distance or up close.

STIR: Providing an olfactory identity to spaces is quite an intriguing aspect. How does the exclusive fragrance by Antonella Bondi factor into the overall experience of ‘Volare?’

Leopold: ‘Volare’ demands attention to detail, all the way to the creation of an olfactory identity for spaces. Visionnaire, with Antonella Bondi, developed an original fragrance exclusively for this project, after conducting research into the identity of places, objects, and materials. It helps to make the project even more special and intrinsic to our philosophy of living.

STIR: With this project, what impact do you anticipate?

Leopold: ‘Volare’ represents the first experience for Visionnaire in the real estate world, and we hope it will lead the way for many others to come. It is precisely in projects like this that Visionnaire is able to express itself best, from the idea of a concept to the creation of the smallest detail.

STIR: Sustainability has become a crucial consideration in projects across the fields of art, design, and architecture. Were similar conscious practices employed for ‘Volare?’

Leopold: For those, like Visionnaire, who draw, produce, and design timeless luxury interior collections, lowering impact has become a fundamental asset. The brand explores a concept of contemporary beauty that passes through quality and experimentation, to become the instrument of a renewed and intimate psycho-physical wellbeing. In practice, this means working on materials never used before, with techniques that refer to a savoir-faire made in Italy.

Last year, Visionnaire made a decisive turning point for the company by becoming a 'benefit company,' by defining its business approach by promoting positive and essential values within the community. Benefit companies are for-profit organisations, but also have the objective of bringing shared benefits to the ecosystem in which they operate, guide, and drive innovation through their activities. In its business practices, IPE-Visionnaire intends to pursue one or more positive effects—or reduce negative effects—in regard to people, communities, territories, and the environment. So, for us, it is very natural to think of a project with already low environmental features. Starting from constructive logic up to the pieces of furniture designed with high-performing fabrics and leathers that are part of our sample book, Re-Generation.

STIR: What is NEXT in store for Visionnaire?

Leopold: After ‘Volare’ Dubai, we have in store another amazing project—always in the region—for the creation of a villa with an overall area of 2,000 sqm in the heart of the Al Maktoum City (MBR City) district. Visionnaire will be in charge of the interior design and its concept, covering all the fixed and mobile furnishings, lighting, and accessories, all the way to the selection of works of art. Through its expertise and creativity, Visionnaire will formulate an extraordinary environment in which architecture and landscape combine in unique harmony, totally in tune with the genius loci. The house will be designed with a focus on the responsible use of materials, and it will be furnished with products by Visionnaire, which stand out for their crafted quality and attention to detail. Every space will be conceived to offer comfort, beauty, and unique sensorial experiences.