The architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron has designed a series of seven villas on the shores of Lake Lugano. The residential complex sits along a portion of the Villa Favorita park, a vast property built in the 17th century. The villas and outdoor spaces are carefully woven into the steep hillside topography by way of an iterative architectural design. Circular, horizontal, and vertical cutouts are carved into the walls and slab structures. The resulting geometrically complex spatial fabric shapes arches and courtyards, creating indoor and outdoor spaces that blend seamlessly together. A long, uniform terrace planted with tall pine trees forms a cohesive canopy in harmony with the hillside landscape, both visually and ecologically. Beneath the engineered terrace is a vast underground space, precisely designed to integrate the substrate needed to support this naturalistic environment.