Chrysalis Garden
Curinga, Italie, 2023
Jardin de ruines : protection des ruines de thermes romains antiques
Concours pour Reuse Italy
Info
Promenade
The key concept of the project is to imagine the site as a contemplative garden where people can come and wander, to see the ruins but also to enjoy a stroll between the trees and the tall grass. Three paths meander through the site, around and through the ruins. New groves of trees and flowerbeds shape the wandering of the visitors all around the ruins of the thermae, in a garden of ruins, trees and meadows.
Respecting the atmosphere
The power of fascination of a ruin lies in its mystery and quiet evocation of the passage of time. The new addition to the site protects the ruins and brings people in to visit, see and understand its historical significance, while staying true to the mystical and contemplative qualities of the place.
Echoes from the past
A green metallic structure outlines the contour of where the vaults of the baths might have been. These skeletons of walls and ceilings emulate an echo of what walking through the building felt like centuries ago. This approach acknowledges the gap we will always have in our knowledge of those ancient places. We will only ever be able to imagine what they were like.
The intervention has a minimal impact on the ruins, trying to showcase its current state without overshadowing it. In order to protect them from the elements, the walls are wrapped in a transparent fabric chrysalis.
Au sein des ruines délaissées du sud de l’Italie
Se dressent les chrysalides des carcasses de ses thermes
Une promenade de métal blanc serpente et
Amène le visiteur a venir contempler
Le récit d’un temps passé et de celui présent,
Protecteur de l’avant et ouvert vers l’après.
Les arches vertes esquissent l’espace d’avant imaginé,
Les anciens Frigidarium et Tepidarium s’en retrouve dévoilés.
Les piliers annoncent
De loin les volumes
D’un jadis entoilé
De dedans le regard file
Au travers des armatures
Vers les vignes de Curinga
La perception se vit
Se visite et se traverse
Au sein d’un parc, d’un jardin ouvert
Entre les cris des enfants et le vent