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Every summer since its creation in 2022, the Villa Medici Cabanes Festival has transformed the historic gardens of the Académie de France in Rome into a laboratory for experimentation and architectural practice.
The third edition took place from 22 May to 29 September 2024, with the installation in the gardens of six “cabanes” to visit.
The 6 projects were specially designed for the Festival by international collectives of architects, builders and students: ane architecture, Manuel Bouzas, CAMPO & DIPLOMA 20 ARCHITECTURAL ASSOCIATION, pratique architecture, HUTTOPIA and LAMÉCOL.
The idea of the hut, which gives the Festival its name, is the starting point for a dialogue between architects, artists, designers and landscape architects around various concerns: how to propose non-invasive architectural forms? What are tomorrow’s sustainable housing solutions?
Assembled in just a few weeks, these ephemeral architectures meet the unchanging tranquillity of historic gardens. Designed in wood or recycled materials, some blend seamlessly into the vegetation, while others extend their curves over the hedges. Wandering from hut to hut offers a new experience of the Villa Medici gardens.
Dive into the heart of the Festival with the hut architects in 6 video episodes!
Il tempietto, designed by ane architecture
The Il tempietto project is inspired by an emblematic piece of Renaissance architecture in Rome: Bramante's Tempietto, located in the convent of San Pietro in Montorio, now home to the Spanish Academy.
Cabane 7L and bookshop 7L X Villa Medici, designed by Manuel Bouzas
Spanish architect Manuel Bouzas has designed a project that unfolds in two areas of the Villa Medici: in the gardens, an observatory welcoming visitors, and in the reception hall, the 7L X Villa Medici Bookshop presenting a selection of books linked to the themes of the Festival des Cabanes.
Studiolo, designed by CAMPO & Diploma 20 Architectural Association
In the Italian palaces of the 15th and 16th centuries, the studiolo was a small room used as a place of study reserved for the sovereign. The students of Diploma Unit 20 at the Architectural Association in London subverted this archetypal relationship between knowledge and power by designing and building a studiolo as a shared communal space, a place to defy convention and construct a collective subjectivity.
La cahutte, designed by Camille Blanc (signes associés) and Philippe Bossanne (HUTTOPIA)
La Cahutte is one of six Festival cabins on display at Villa Medici. A skilful blend of wood and canvas, the cabane perched on stilts meets the highest standards of comfort while preserving, thanks to its attic, the open-air experience of an ineffable overnight stay in a tent, in direct contact with nature. The materials used to build the structure are aesthetically pleasing, without the need for earthworks.
Fleximob, designed by Lamécol
Fleximob represents the implementation of a modular concept conceived by French manufacturers, a folding and unfolding cabin that responds to three contemporary issues: the lack of space, the question of time and the need for adaptability.
Forum des vestiges, designed by practical architecture & fanum architecture
A pavilion-like hut, the Forum des vestiges project draws its inspiration and design from the Roman architectural heritage. Beyond the vestiges and ruins, principles and terms of Roman architecture such as the forum survive today: more than an architectural form, the forum represents a space - virtual or otherwise - for free exchange, socialization and debate. This temple-like wooden construction, set in a square of the Villa Medici gardens housing the remains, features a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces designed for both gathering and seclusion. The Forum des vestiges invites visitors to take possession of the cabin and its philosophical potential.
Find out more about the “cabanes”
Il tempietto
Winning project at the Festival des cabanes des Sources du lac d’Annecy
The Il tempietto project is inspired by an emblematic piece of Renaissance architecture in Rome: Bramante’s Tempietto, located in the convent of San Pietro in Montorio, now home to the Spanish Academy. Drawing on its surroundings to reveal its poetic power, the hut designed by ane architecture weaves a singular link with the cultural and historical landscape of the Villa Medici gardens, where it takes its place. The building follows the rules of proportion and composition of Bramante’s Tempietto: base, peristyle, heart and dome. Each element is transposed into a contemporary vocabulary and associated with the imagination of the hut: identical wooden modules can be assembled in no time, and the fabric woven around the structure accentuates the delicacy and lightness of the project, creating an envelope permeable to wind and water and forming a showcase for visitors. Nestled in one of the squares of the Villa Medici gardens, Il tempietto offers a moment of pause and contemplation in the shade of the trees.
Technical specifications
Construction materials: Douglas fir, canvas (woven polyester threads) Design year: 2023 Dimensions: 6.3 x 6.3 x 7.96 metres Design: ane architecture & Atelier Tras Fabrication: Cénomane framework Structural design: Cénomane framework
About ane architecture
ane is an architectural practice based in Pantin, France, founded by Laura Chérubin and Gaspard Clozel. It is interested in the way in which use and construction, understood as philosophical questioning, create architectural form. ane architecture looks for answers that are constructed and situated – in time and space – and never tires of reminding us that they must be sober, generous, perennial and economical. Convinced that these responses are only relevant if they embody the social ambitions of integration, living together and benevolence, we aim to help restore a fairer, more sustainable and more beautiful environment. For more information: ane.archi
Instagram : @ane_archi
About the Festival des cabanes des Sources du Lac d’Annecy
The Festival des Cabanes des Sources du Lac d’Annecy aims to promote architecture and enable everyone to appreciate the diversity of the relationship between man and his environment and landscape, whether in the Communauté de Communes des Sources du Lac d’Annecy, or in other regional, national or international areas.
In partnership with
LE FESTIVAL DES CABANES DES SOURCES DU LAC D’ANNECY ATELIER TRAS CHARPENTES CÉNOMANE ORLO ROTHOBLAAS SERGE FERRARI
La Cabane 7L and Librairie 7L X Villa Medici
Project carried out with Librairie 7L
Spanish architect Manuel Bouzas has designed a project that unfolds in two areas of Villa Medici: in the gardens, an observatory welcoming visitors, and in the reception hall, the 7L X Villa Medici Bookshop presenting a selection of books linked to the themes of the Festival des Cabanes. In the 16th century, atop Mount Pincio on the outskirts of ancient Rome, Ferdinand de’ Medici transformed Cardinal Ricci’s former estate into a Renaissance villa with a unique character in terms of gardens, architecture and interior design. Since then, the Romans have witnessed the evolution of this landscape and its pine-tree silhouette, recognizable from any point in the city. Cabane 7L is a vertical infrastructure that mediates between the inner garden and the Roman skyline. Thanks to a monumental wooden frame supporting a floating staircase, visitors are invited to rise to the level of the canopies to discover an unparalleled panoramic view. Constructed from Spanish pine, the cabin is both a refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city and a reading room overlooking Rome.
Technical specifications
Construction materials: spruce (glulam) Year of design: 2024 Dimensions: 13 x 5 x 10 metres Design, manufacture and assembly: SIDO Madera Design: Rosita Palladino Structure: Juan F. De la Torre
About Manuel Bouzas
Manuel Bouzas is a Spanish architect, researcher and teacher based in Boston (USA) and Galicia (Spain). He heads the MB-AE studio, which explores the intersection of architecture and ecology across multiple scales and media, from urban installations to design research. He holds a Master’s degree in Design Studies from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and a Master’s degree in Architecture from Madrid’s Polytechnic University (ETSAM). Manuel Bouzas is also a lecturer at Harvard Undergraduate Architecture Studies. His work was exhibited at the Spanish Pavilion of the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2018 and 2023. He has been awarded the COAM Prize 2020, the La Caixa Grant 2021 and the Renzo Piano World Tour Prize 2022. Find out more: www.mb-ae.es
Instagram : @manuelbouzas_
About the 7L X Villa Medici bookshop
Librairie 7L X Villa Medici, founded in 1999 by Karl Lagerfeld in Paris, was acquired by CHANEL in 2021. 7L stands for 7, rue de Lille, in Paris’s 7th arrondissement, and is also Karl Lagerfeld’s favorite number.
I love this place so much that it’s part of me,” said the great couturier and bibliophile, an insatiable seeker of beauty and knowledge.
7L celebrates its founder’s unconditional love of books and photography. The 700 m2 space includes a bookshop dedicated to new visual arts, the plateau-bibliothèque, where in situ creations are inspired by the contents of his personal library (housed in his former photo studio adjoining the bookshop), and Éditions 7L. On the bookshop side, the editorial line reflects the diversity of twentieth- and twenty-first-century artistic production. It features books on photography, design, decoration and interior architecture, as well as monographs on the fashion arts, catalogs of major exhibitions, and books on gardens and ceramics. Find out more: librairie7l.com
Instagram : @librairie7l
In partnership with
CHANEL LIBRAIRIE 7L
Studiolo
Students at the London Architectural Association’s Diploma Unit 20 have subverted this archetypal relationship between knowledge and power by designing and building a studiolo as a shared communal space, a place to defy convention and construct a collective subjectivity.
The pavilion merges the fundamental elements of wall and roof into a single inclined plane that, at first glance, separates interior from exterior. However, the wooden skin made from off-cuts reveals a much more porous relationship between the intimacy of the interior and the outside world, transforming, at nightfall, the protective shelter into a lantern.
Technical specifications
Construction materials: fir, Swedish pine Year of design: 2024 Dimensions: 6 x 4 metres Design: CAMPO and DIPLOMA20 Manufacture: Falegnameria Sociale K_Alma, Fercam Echo Labs Production: CAMPO Assembly: CAMPO and DIPLOMA20
About CAMPO and Diploma 20 Architectural Association
CAMPO is an independent platform created by Gianfranco Bombaci, Matteo Costanzo, Luca Galofaro and Davide Sacconi to study and celebrate architecture. CAMPO explores the consequences of a return to the physical presence of architectural design through the production of exhibitions, seminars and workshops. Since 2022, CAMPO has run the Diploma 20 unit at the Architectural Association in London. Diploma 20 explores emancipatory methods, traditions and examples of architecture, and aims to develop an atlas of alternative ways of perceiving and building the world around us. Find out more: campo.space
Instagram: @campo.space, @aa_diploma20
In partnership with
ARCHITECTURAL ASSOCIATION SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE FERCAM ECHO LABS FERCAM LOGISTICS & TRANSPORT FALEGNAMERIA SOCIALE K_ALMA
The hut
Technical specifications
Construction materials: Douglas fir, larch, canvas and metal parts Design year: 2010 Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 metres Design: Camille Blanc (de signes associés) and Philippe Bossanne (Huttopia) Technical design: HuttoLab Manufacturing: FOB (chalet), Cabanon (canvas), Bruyas (metal parts) Assembly: HMM (Huttopia Montage et Maintenance)
About Huttopia
Huttopia is an independent company founded in Lyon in 1999 by the Bossanne family, lovers of a certain art of camping and the great outdoors. 25 years later, under the Huttopia brand or as part of the CityKamp and OnlyCamp networks, the company now operates 127 sites in 8 countries, including 62 Huttopia Nature Campsites and Forest Villages in Europe and North America.
From design and operation to marketing and equipment manufacturing, the Huttopia Group integrates all the know-how required to set up in the great outdoors with minimum impact.
About Camille Blanc
A graduate of the Domus Academy in Milan, Camille Blanc has been working with Huttopia since its creation in 1999, contributing to reflection on the art of camping in natural spaces. Respecting and enhancing the natural environment, inventing a new aesthetic and creating a formal language have led to the emergence of this unique camping offer. The agence de signes associés brings together Camille Blanc and Elodie Montet, with a dual expertise in design, volume and graphics. They collaborate on the development of projects associated with “outdoor” activities, notably with the Office National des Forêts. Find out more: corporate.huttopia.com and designes-associes.com
Instagram : @huttopiaeurope
Fleximob
The Fleximob represents the implementation of a modular concept devised by French manufacturers, a folding and unfolding cabin that responds to three contemporary issues: the lack of space, the question of time and the need for adaptability. The solutions offered by the Fleximob include eco-responsible storage and transport thanks to its foldable nature, rapid implementation thanks to its design principles, and the possibility of customization (facade, shape…) thanks to its elaboration. The prototype presented in the gardens of the Villa Médicis will enable us to experiment with new architectural solutions in terms of modularity, and to develop emergency housing projects.
Technical specifications
Construction materials: wood (OSB panels), mineral wool insulation
Year of design: 2023
Dimensions: 5.3 x 2.6 metres
Design, production and innovation: LAMÉCOL
About LAMÉCOL
LAMÉCOL, originally a manufacturer and installer of glued-laminated timber frames, is a major player in timber construction in the South-West of France. LAMÉCOL is a Gironde-based company that has been contributing to the development of wood construction in the region for the past fifty years. The company emphasizes the use of local wood in its glulam production and the use of bio-sourced resources in its timber frames, cladding and flooring. Find out more on: groupedl.fr
The Vestiges Forum
Winning project of the Festival des cabanes des Sources du Lac d’Annecy for the Villa Médicis
A pavilion-like hut, the Forum des vestiges project draws its inspiration and design from the Roman architectural heritage. Beyond the vestiges and ruins, principles and terms of Roman architecture such as the forum survive today: more than an architectural form, the forum represents a space – virtual or otherwise – for free exchange, socialization and debate. This temple-like wooden construction, set in a square of the Villa Medici gardens housing the remains, features a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces designed for both gathering and seclusion. The Forum des vestiges invites visitors to take possession of the cabin and its philosophical potential.
Technical specifications
Construction materials: maritime pine, textile Year of design: 2023 Dimensions: 12.50 x 6.25 x 5 metres Design: pratique architecture, fanum architecture Technical design: pratique architecture, fanum architecture Fabrication: Julien Lavoine Carpenters, pratique architecture, fanum architecture and Artisans Découpeurs Structural design office: Synergie Bois Bordeaux
About practical architecture
pratique architecture is formed by architects Gautier Baufils, Gaspard Journet and Vincent Miquelestorena, who have been working together since their training at ENSAP Bordeaux. The collective supports a rational yet sensitive approach to architecture, focusing on its social and poetic dimensions. It’s an approach in which humility and simplicity are sources of emotion, and in which sensitivity and common sense are part of a logic of economy and the valuing of materials, in the service of use and the quality of space. For the Festival des Cabanes de la Villa Médicis 2024, pratique architecture is teaming up with Morgan Baufils, co-founder of fanum architecture, who places the symbol, narrative and meaning conveyed by architecture at the heart of his practice. Find out more: pratique-architecture.com and fanum-architecture.fr
Instagram : @pratique_architecture, @fanum_architecture
About the Festival des cabanes des Sources du Lac d’Annecy
The Festival des cabanes des Sources du Lac d’Annecy aims to promote architecture and enable everyone to appreciate the diversity of the relationship between man and his environment and landscape, whether in the Communauté de Communes des Sources du Lac d’Annecy, or in other regional, national or international areas. Find out more about the Festival des cabanes des Sources du lac d’Annecy
In partnership with
LE FESTIVAL DES CABANES DES SOURCES DU LAC D’ANNECY JULIEN LAVOINE CHARPENTE MONNET-SÈVE SOUGY SYNERGIE BOIS GIROD MORETTI MAISON ADAM ARTISANS DECOUPEURS NP ROLPIN SERGE FERRARI ROTHOBLASS BAL RUBIO MONOCOAT IGUZZINI ELIANE MEILHOC & ETIENNE JOURNET CHRISTOPHE & NATHALIE BAUFILS UN MILLIÈME
Cabin Night 2024
La Nuit des Cabanes is a major summer event in the gardens of Villa Medici. A festive and artistic event, Nuit des Cabanes explores the poetic and convivial dimension of the cabin as a place of hospitality at the crossroads of disciplines.
08.06.2024
There is no new world by Stéphane Thidet
Project designed for the gardens of the Villa Médicis and those of the Château de Villers-Cotterêts, Centre des monuments nationaux.
Funded by the Mondes nouveaux artistic creation support program.
Yoga, pilates and vinyasa flow classes in the gardens of Villa Medici
Yoga: Mondays, 6:30 to 7:45 pm
Pilates: Wednesdays, 6:30 to 7:45 pm
Vinyasa Flow: Fridays, 6:30 to 7:45 pm
Fees: €12
Inauguration of the Festival des Cabanes
3 pm - 8 pm
Meeting with the architects and concert.
23.05.2024
Pop up. Reflections on temporary design projects and initiatives in the urban context
Presentation of four design experiments with a strong civic impact, by the Rome campus of NABA, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti.
With Claudio Larcher, Daniele Mancini, Claudia Campone & Sante Simone.
Moderation: Silvia La Pergola.
8.07.2024
Presentation of the book Zibaldone, Campo
Book presentation in the presence of the authors.
17.07.2024
Practical information
Opening days and times:
Monday to Sunday (closed Tuesdays) from 10am to 7pm (last admission at 6:30pm) Admission:
Full price: €8 / Reduced price: €6
TRIBU price: €1
Free for SOLO or DUO card holders
