The Cabane 7L and Librairie 7L X Villa Medici

Project made with Librairie 7L

The Spanish architect Manuel Bouzas has designed a project which is display in two areas of the Villa Medici: in the gardens, an observatory that can be used by the visitors, and in the entrance hall, the librairie 7L X Villa Medici presents a selection of books relating to the ideas behind the Festival des Cabanes de la Villa Médicis.

In the sixteenth century, on the outskirts of ancient Rome, Ferdinando de’ Medici transformed the residence of Cardinal Ricci on the Pincian hill into a Renaissance villa, featuring unique architecture, interiors, and gardens. Since then, Romans have observed the evolution of this architectural feature and its silhouette, with its gardens filled with pine trees, recognizable from any viewpoint in the city.

The Cabane 7L is an observatory that mediates between the garden and the horizon. Thanks to a large wooden structure that supports a linear staircase suspended in the air, visitors will have the opportunity to ascend to a reading room at the level of the canopies and discover a panoramic view never captured before.

Construction materials : spruce (laminated wood)
Designed: 2024
Dimensions: 13 x 5 x 10 meters
Design team, production, and assembly: SIDO Madera
Design (bookshop): Rosita Palladino
Structural engineer: Juan F. De la Torre

About Manuel Bouzas

Manuel Bouzas is a Spanish architect, researcher, and educator based in Boston (United States) and in Galicia (Spain). He runs MB—AE, a design practice exploring the intersection of architecture and ecology through multiple scales and mediums, ranging from urban installations to design research. He holds a master degree in Design Studies from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and a master degree in Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Madrid (ETSAM). Manuel Bouzas is also a Teaching Fellow at Harvard Undergraduate Architecture Studies.

His work has been exhibited at the Spanish Pavilion of the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2018 and 2023. He received the COAM Award in 2020, the La Caixa Fellowship in 2021, and the Renzo Piano World Tour Award in 2022.

Learn more at: www.mb-ae.es
Instagram: @manuelbouzas

About Librairie 7L X Villa Medici

The Librairie 7L X Villa Medici, founded in 1999 by Karl Lagerfeld in Paris, was acquired in 2021 by CHANEL. 7L stands for 7, rue de Lille, in the 7^th arrondissement in Paris, but was also Karl Lagerfeld’s lucky number.

I love this place so much that it feels part of me said the great book-loving fashion designer, who was constantly on the lookout for beauty and knowledge.

7L reflects the unconditional love of its founder for books and photography. The 700 square meter space includes a bookshop displaying new titles on the visual arts, the library area where in situ creation is inspired by his personal library (shown in his old photographic studio next to the bookshop), as well as the publisher Éditions 7L.

The selection of books in the bookshop reflects the diversity of artistic production in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Its presents works covering photography, design, decoration, interior design, but also monographs on fashion design, catalogues from major exhibitions, as well as books on gardens and ceramics.

Learn more at: librairie7l.com
Instagram: @librairie7l

In partnership with:
CHANEL
LIBRAIRIE 7L