LONG STAY

Foster + Partners takes an expansive approach to this Aegean-facing private holiday villa near Bodrum

- CHARLOTTE MCMANUS

On the coast of Turkey’s MuÄŸla province, 30 minutes from Bodrum by boat, a sloping plot of rugged, sun-baked land, alive with greenery and bordered by beaches, runs down to the Aegean Sea. Approaching from the northern, land side, it takes a moment to spot the building that has recently been completed here, so artfully does it complement the landscape.

Built between 2015 and 2019, SZ Villa is the work of Foster + Partners. The studio’s projects are typically large-scale and high-profile, making this holiday home, luxurious as it is, all the more intriguing (the firm’s last published private residence was Leedon Park House in Singapore, completed in 2006).

When you arrive, a fragrant Mediterranean-styled garden, carefully cultivated with plants, herbs and olive trees, leads to what at first glance appears to be a single-storey building topped with a simple straight roof, almost hidden among the foliage. Crossing the main threshold reveals the structure’s true dimensions – two levels, not one – which follow the natural contours of the sloped terrain. While the west side contains areas for living and dining, the east is dedicated to family quarters. A spiralling central staircase connects the two aspects, in addition to an open bridge towards the back of the building. To the south lies the sea.