Lake Chapel / Re-use Italy
Entry for the Re-use Italy architecture competition
The project introduction was as following :
The Lake Chapel of San Giovanni in Val di Lago is a small octagonal church, built in the middle of the sixteenth century on the shores of Bolsena lake, on the ruins of an ancient medieval church, along the Via Francigena.
The Via Francigena is an ancient road and pilgrimage route running from Canterbury in England, through France and Switzerland, to Rome and the to Apulia, in southern Italy, where there was the embarkation for the Holy Land. Nowadays many pilgrims still follow this route on foot, on horseback, or by bicycle, as the Via Francigena has been designated Major Cultural Route of the Council of Europe.
One of the stages of Via Francigena goes from the town of Acquapendente to the town of Bolsena, passing through San Lorenzo Nuovo. The main path crosses the city center, while an alternative path leads to the Church of San Giovanni in Val di Lago and then to the lake’s shores.
Participants of this competition are asked to reuse this space as a Pilgrim Center.
This design proposal shall try to create a symbiosis of the remaining structure of the old church of San Giovanni and a newly built pilgrimage center. Our draft joins the stone walls of the underlying ruin with a wooden timber structure, which turns the structure into a recognisable landmark, yet remains its rural modesty.
The bold scaffolding structure is matched with fabric canopies,
sheltering the ruins and strenghtening them structurally and visually.
Derived from the octagonal shape of the chapel, the pilgrimage huts nestle around the back of
the church, facing outwards onto the surrounding meadows. This allows for a separation of quiet
areas and vivid get-together, mass and celebration, church service and community festival.
Since the church is only to be used several times a year, we chose a design that allows for a lot of light and air to enter the structure, still protecting from rain. More canopies might be installed during the winter months and the timber structure could be hung with banners and decoration for seasonal festivals and masses.
The pilgrimage huts can house several people and are divided into one closed winter quarter and
one open summer quarter. During the summer, both buildings may be used, since there will be
more people traveling. We accomodated a large bathroom underneath the summer quarter and
a storage room underneath the winter quarter. The storage room could hold plenty of furniture for
community events which can be held in the middle of the two buildings, below a tent canopy.
The bold scaffolding structure is matched with fabric canopies,
sheltering the ruins and strenghtening them structurally and visually.
Derived from the octagonal shape of the chapel, the pilgrimage huts nestle around the back of
the church, facing outwards onto the surrounding meadows. This allows for a separation of quiet
areas and vivid get-together, mass and celebration, church service and community festival.
Since the church is only to be used several times a year, we chose a design that allows for a lot of light and air to enter the structure, still protecting from rain. More canopies might be installed during the winter months and the timber structure could be hung with banners and decoration for seasonal festivals and masses.
The pilgrimage huts can house several people and are divided into one closed winter quarter and
one open summer quarter. During the summer, both buildings may be used, since there will be
more people traveling. We accomodated a large bathroom underneath the summer quarter and
a storage room underneath the winter quarter. The storage room could hold plenty of furniture for
community events which can be held in the middle of the two buildings, below a tent canopy.
