With the common goal across their portfolio of enhancing the landscape, Camposaz has designed a tourist information pavilion in Roccamonfina, Italy. The wood pavilion is sited just off of a pedestrian path, overlooking the adjacent public park with stunning views of the nearby mountains, a driver in the design.
The pavilion can be divided into three components, an entrance in the middle, a viewing area looking towards the mountains and the information center. To define space, the open-air rooms of the viewing area and information center are raised. The level entrance divides the programmed spaces and extends to the guardrail beyond to provide barrier-free access to the view.
The primary structure is comprised of four wooden frames, each with a different profile to provide support for the roof geometry. The two outboard facing frames have a diagonal brace to prevent racking while maintaining circulation between the three spaces. An interlocking wood joint is used at all right corners along the base, where three beams come together, occurring eight times in total. Raised floors in the viewing area and information center also serve as a structural element, maintaining the orthogonal relationship between the four primary frames. The beams for the roof also share a common interlocking detail, the vertical post taking on the loads from the two beams it supports.
Creating the contoured roof geometry, smaller members span the shorter length, which provides sun shading within the pavilion. The architects use two screen walls at the information area to define space. In contrast, the viewing area only has one screen at your back while you admire the view of the mountains.
Throughout design and construction, Composaz blends the skills of architects, designers, and carpenters, enhancing the entire creative process. It is apparent through the joinery, assembly, and programming of the pavilion that this integration of skillsets is imperative to the design process for the architects.
Architects: Camposaz
Lead Architects: Alessandro Chojwa Sagrera, Ertunç Hünkar, Kady Wong, Lorenzo Massimiano, Yangkenan Li
Location: Roccamonfina, Italy
Year: 2017
Area: 12 sqm
Collaborators: Paul Schrijen, Tatiana Levitskaya, Giovanni N. Wegher, Massimiliano Piffer
Consultant: Gabriel Lenghel
Photography: Lorenzo Massimiano
