Project Name: Villa Air

Location: Morneg, Tunisia

Design Team: ARK-architecture

Total Floor Area: 1,500 m²

Completion: 2024

Photography: Bilel Khemakhem

Design Features:

Project - Perched on a gentle slope in Morneg, Tunisia, Villa Air by ARK-architecture reimagines Mediterranean modernism through a striking dialogue between weightlessness and gravity. The 1,500-square-metre residence, completed in 2024, unfolds across a two-hectare site with the dramatic Jbal Errsas mountain range as its backdrop, creating an architectural composition that appears to hover above the terrain.

The villa's most distinctive feature lies in its impossibly thin cantilevers—mere 45 centimetres thick—that project boldly from the main structure like horizontal planes suspended in mid-air. These gravity-defying elements serve both aesthetic and environmental purposes, casting precise shadow lines that provide natural solar protection while creating the illusion of architectural levitation that inspired the project's name.

Rather than imposing upon the landscape, the three-level residence cascades along the natural contours, its earthy-toned textured surfaces fostering seamless chromatic continuity with the ground. This geological emergence is enhanced by the building's material palette: pristine white volumes that capture shifting Mediterranean light, warm travertine and timber accents, and sand-pigmented concrete that anchors the structure to its context.

The principal façade operates as a carefully calibrated frame, transforming views of the surrounding landscape into living tableaux. Interior spaces prioritise flow and continuity, with double-height volumes channelling daylight deep into the core while vertical circulation becomes elevated promenades offering evolving perspectives.

Twin infinity pools extend the architectural geometry toward the horizon, where water and sky converge in silent dialogue. This creates the project's central paradox: reconciling intimacy with openness through refined threshold gradations where interiors dissolve into terraces and platforms.

Villa Air transcends mere functionality to achieve a poetic condition of dwelling—a testament to site-specific modernism that privileges clarity, precision, and sensory depth in perfect symbiosis with Tunisia's dramatic topography.

Design Team - ARK-architecture, founded in 2011 by architect Bilel Khemakhem, has rapidly established itself as a leading contemporary architecture firm specializing in comprehensive design services that span the entire project lifecycle from conceptualization through construction completion. Under Khemakhem's leadership, this Tunis-based studio has emerged as a formidable force in contemporary architecture, delivering innovative solutions that seamlessly integrate environmental responsiveness with architectural sophistication.

The firm's design philosophy centers on contextual modernism, evidenced through projects like Villa Air, which demonstrates their mastery of structural innovation through impossibly thin 45-centimetre cantilevers that create dramatic spatial experiences while responding to Mediterranean climatic conditions. Under Khemakhem's guidance, ARK-architecture has developed a distinctive architectural language that balances bold formal gestures with environmental sensitivity, utilizing material palettes of travertine, timber, and sand-pigmented concrete to achieve contextual integration.

Recognition for their design excellence spans multiple international platforms and competitions. The firm has garnered nominations for prestigious awards including the Arab Architects Awards (2018), Prix des Journées Architecturales de Carthage (2019), ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards (2021, 2023, 2025), and the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Awards (2024).

ARK-architecture's commitment to design innovation and technical excellence continues to position the firm at the forefront of contemporary architectural practice in the MENA region.