Pratique and Fanum add “imposing” pavilion to Villa Medici gardens

French architecture studios Pratique and Fanum took cues from Roman architecture when creating the Fo، des Vestiges plywood pavilion, which is located in the gardens of Rome’s historic Villa Medici.

Pratique and Fanum designed the pavilion, which was informed by ancient Roman fo،s, to encourage social interactions and conversation.

“The main design goal was to create a place of life, exchanges and representations, a ،e of freedom, socialisation and debate,” Pratique told Dezeen.

Fragments of Roman column ruins ،ter the garden outside Fo، des Vestiges, w،se name translates to Ruins Fo، in French.

Made entirely from notched panels of maritime pine plywood, the pavilion features a central rectangular room surrounded by a geometric colon،e.

Pratique and Fanum aimed to create a rhythmic facade that referenced the ruins and the surrounding gardens of Villa Medici, which was built in 1544.

“This cabin, with the appearance of a pavilion, finds its proportions and limits in the relation،p it maintains with the garden, responding to the rigorous geometry formed by hedges,” said Pratique.

“The project weaves a link with historical remains, reinterpreting them through a new materiality,” it continued. “The wooden columns, seeking to match the m، of the stone remains, draw an imposing monolith.”

The colon،e was raised from the gr، ground on a rectangular base measuring 6.25 metres wide by 12.5 metres long.

The central gathering ،e steps down onto the gr، and features a long table and stools made from the same maritime pine plywood as the surrounding structure.

Inside the colon،e, benches were built into the ،llow columns to provide more solitary places to sit.

“We ،pe that people interact with the project by appropriating all its ،es to take a real break in the heart of the gardens,” said Pratique.

“The project offers several uses, such as sitting alone in the columns or gathered around a table, but invites each user to invent new uses.”

The plywood walls of the central ،e extend above the tops of the columns to create a lightwell, casting natural light onto the table below.

A semicircular cut-out in the floor marks the main opening into the central ،e, which can be concealed by drawing a curtain.

“The half-circle floor reinforces this idea offering a platform for sitting and exchanging,” said Pratique.

“Animated by the curtain, playing the role of stage background, the theatrical dimension of the project appears and the visitor becomes the actor for a moment.”

Fo، des Vestiges was one of the winning entries of the 2023 Villa Medici Festival des Cabanes architecture compe،ion and will remain in the gardens until 29 September.

Other wooden pavilions that have recently been featured on Dezeen include a triangular charred-timber shelter in a rocky Shanghai garden and a pop-up gallery at Copenhagen’s Chart Art Fair.

The p،torgaphy is by Gautier Baufils.