Observatory 7L*
Villa Medici, Rome, IT
2024
In the 16th Century, on top of the colle Pinciano on the outskirts of ancient Rome, Ferdinando I de Medici transformed Cardinal Ricci's lands into a unique Renaissance villa notable for its characteristic quadrati gardens. Since then, generations of Romans have witnessed the evolution of this landscape and its distinctive pine silhouette, recognizable from anywhere in the city. Yet, in all these years, what have these pines observed? Observatory 7L consists of a vertical infrastructure that mediates between the inner garden and the Roman skyline. Through a monumental-scale wooden armature holding a floating staircase, visitors are invited to ascend to the level of the canopies to experience a panoramic view never captured before. Constructed with locally sourced pine timber and counterbalanced with travertine stone blocks from adjacent quarries, the project serves as a temporary venue for residents, artists, and visitors to reactivate this historic garden through multiple events and performances.
* Under Construction
Author:
Manuel Bouzas
Structural Design:
Juan F. De la Torre
Client:
Festival des Cabanes
Villa Medici
Sponsors:
Librairie 7L
Chanel
Librairie 7L*
Villa Medici, Rome, IT
2024
Established in Paris in 1999 by the world-renowned fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, the Library 7L became a significant cultural landmark before being acquired by CHANEL in 2021. It specializes in a diverse range of works, including photography, design, decoration, interior architecture, fashion arts monographs, major exhibition catalogs, and publications on gardens and ceramics. Post-acquisition, the library has seen substantial development, including the establishment of a new branch within the historic Villa Medici, home to the French Academy in Rome. This project seeks to reimagine the Rome-based library, incorporating specifically designed furniture that not only showcases the books but also enhances the overall visitor experience. Inspired by the iconic Bouquinistes bookstalls lining the banks of the Seine in Paris, six pine wood modules are designed as boxes that can be opened or closed. These adaptable units are constructed to display an array of items, from books to art pieces created by academy residents, offering flexibility for indoor use or outdoor setups to facilitate public engagements, book launches, dialogues, events, and beyond.
* Under Construction
Author:
Manuel Bouzas
Rosita Palladino
Client:
Librarie 7L
Villa Medici
Sponsors:
Librairie 7L
Chanel
Forest Futures
Harvard GSD
Cambridge MA, US
2024
‘Forest Futures’ is a design exhibition taking place from January 25 to March 31, 2024, at the Druker Gallery of Gund Hall at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. It has been curated by Professor Anita Berrizbeitia in collaboration with students and from the Fall 2023 seminar ‘Forests: History and Future Narratives.’ The exhibition explores the intertwined histories of forests and humanity, critically examining the profound connections between design disciplines and these critical habitats. A glance at the ungraspable timeline of forest evolution, 350 million years, reveals an alarming fact: a millennium of human activity—a blink of an eye in geological time—has threatened the equilibrium of these life-sustaining ecosystems. The curatorial approach reflects the diverse storylines explored in the seminar. As forests capture the attention of multiple disciplines, each exhibition section incorporates historical, technical, artistic, and scientific perspectives. The exhibition design includes diverse content and visual media, such as a Dymaxion map with digital visualization, reproductions of Charles Sargent’s maps, a selection of urban forest projects, a visual glossary with key concepts and techniques, faculty-led research work, and a selection of photographs by Stanley Greenberg, among others. Together, these various perspectives converge to interrogate the future of forests in their environmental, societal, and political dimensions.
Instructor, Curation and Design:
Anita Berrizbeitia
Teaching, Curatorial, and Design Assistant:
Manuel Bouzas
Students:
N. Boverman, H. Das, E. Dunnenberger, R. Gao, L. Garinois, A. Harvey, M. Lantigua, Y. Ji, A. Jones, A. Kupi, F. Lima, P. Margain, G. Meek, E. Menard, R. Palladino, Y. Qin, K. Wu, E. Zmuda
Exhibitions Team:
Dan Borelli, David Zimmerman-Stuart
Photographer:
Manuel Bouzas
Mediterráneo
TAC! Festival
Valencia, ES
2023
This project pays tribute to the Mediterranean climate by recognizing the role of blinds as an architectural element that historically enabled people to adapt to challenging weather conditions. Blinds have brought shade and character to countless streets across southern Europe. However, modern mechanical systems, driven by high energy consumption, have replaced them, posing environmental risks. Using regenerative, bio-based, and locally sourced materials, the project features long wooden blinds suspended from a catenary canopy suspended from two triangular wooden porticos that support 400 sqm of traditional blinds. The vibrant green shade produced by the blinds transforms the site into a lively public space for the local community. Additionally, a circular opening illuminates a small garden that regulates temperatures during late summer. Stones integrated into the design serve as both counterweights and furniture. Over the course of the festival, community members are invited to explore and reactivate this space. The material palette echoes diverse landscapes located within 300 km from the site, such as the pine plantations of Soria, the blind factories of Sax (Alicante), and the stone quarries of Teruel. After dismantling, the materials were recirculated and donated, leaving a temporary footprint in the city.
Author:
Manuel Bouzas
Structural Design:
Juan F. De la Torre
Photographer:
Luis Diaz
Client:
TAC! Festival,
Organizers:
MITMA Spanish Government, Arquia Foundation, Valencia City Council, Las Naves
Foodscapes
Spanish Pavilion
18th Venice Biennale, IT
2023
FOODSCAPES “By eating, we digest territories” explores the Spanish agro-architectural context to address global issues. It introduces visitors to an exploratory journey through the architectures that sustain us, from the small-scale domestic kitchens to the vast operational landscapes that nourish our cities. Bringing together more than two dozen architects, filmmakers, and researchers, the exhibition encompasses five short films, an archive in the form of a recipe book, and a public program. Our contribution, “Drinking Forests: A Metabolic Recipe of Wine,” examines the relationship between wine and forests and how the winemaking process generates a cultural and sensory journey linked to the regions where the wine is produced. Wine production entails a double structure: for each vineyard producing the main ingredient, there is a forest making its production possible. Every time we drink a glass of wine, we drink the landscape of the Rioja Alavesa, savor the Galician forests, or smell the cork oak groves of the Portuguese Alentejo. Thus, in the shadow of grapes, wood enables key transformation processes that result in wine. The project offers a trans-scalar journey upstream towards forests and landscapes where wine is born and where socio-ecological problems arise.
Authors:
Urbanitree (Daniel Ibáñez, Vicente Guallart)
Manuel Bouzas
Curators:
Eduardo Castillo-Vinuesa
Manuel Ocaña
Photographer:
Pedro Pegenaute
Mateo de Mayda
Collaborators:
MITMA, AC/E, AECID, Arquia Foundation, TBA21, European Climate Foundation
