Fragile equilibrio

This abandoned villa lies hidden in the middle of an old apple orchard – silent, forgotten, and slowly dissolving into its surroundings. Once a place of elegance, with ornate ceilings, sweeping staircases and tall windows, it now feels hollow – a fragile shell of what it used to be.

Even during the first visit seven years ago, the decay was obvious: collapsed ceilings, fractured floors, deep cracks running through the walls. But now, everything feels even more fragile. Rooms that still stood are now open to the sky. Floors are gone. Ceilings have vanished. The collapse is accelerating.

And yet, a strange dignity remains. In every detail – a faded mural, a curve of iron, a ray of light on crumbling stone – there’s a soft echo of the life that once filled this place.

This is no longer about restoration. It’s about what stays when everything else falls away – the fragile balance between beauty and collapse.

Château Gargoyles

Hidden deep in the French countryside, this abandoned château rises between forest and field – silent, forgotten, yet full of presence.

Its architecture is richly detailed, worn by time. Along the battlements sit grim gargoyles – grotesque stone figures with twisted faces, somewhere between statue and spirit. Once meant to protect, they now seem to guard nothing but emptiness.

The windows stare blankly into the overgrown distance, the roof is wounded, and nature presses close against the walls. And yet the building holds itself with a strange dignity – as if it still remembers what it was. A final echo from a time when even stone was shaped to tell stories.

OC, April 2025