Competition
Abbey of Santa Maria del Piano in Pozzaglia Sabina (Rieti), Italy
Collaboration with Pedro Suzan Moi
A building with different functions throughout history, belonging to various owners, assembled and dismantled as needed. The abbey stands as an object representative of its surroundings and of Italian civilisation. It demonstrates how a significant building can so easily change purpose, ultimately ending in abandonment.
Our focus is to use the ruin and its essence as a tool for meditation. The remains of the building are not seen merely as architectural features, but as objects for reflection. The concept encourages visitors to roam freely, discovering personal meaning within the architecture rather than being confined to a rigid or artificial form of meditation.
To achieve this, we have gently yet deliberately introduced new elements that interact in various ways with the abbey. These include floor and roof surfaces, structural components, and new openings both inside and outside the ruins. These interventions aim to transform the perception of the ruins, creating multiple spaces from what was once perceived as a singular entity. Each space is defined by its unique characteristics, derived from the abbey’s existing materials, enabling diverse approaches to creating environments conducive to meditation.
We harness the time-worn, grounded materials of the abbey to craft spaces that resonate with calmness and reflection. Our approach emphasises the phenomenology of moving through spaces—experiencing different materials, textures, scales, and acoustics.
New volumes are added to complement the abbey without dominating it. These minimal interventions house the community kitchen and visitor centre, including shared bathrooms. The contrast and proximity between spaces are highlighted by these new additions, while the outdoor surroundings remain vibrant and green. Smooth yet fragmented stone flooring invites visitors to stroll, explore, and discover niches and rhythms along the path, encouraging reflection on nature and material.
On the west side of the site, a garden is created where large platforms define the space while serving as podiums for future exhibitions. Here, the ruin functions as a mural, objectifying the architecture and allowing visitors to appreciate the building’s scale in new ways.
This intervention is designed to reinforce emotions and thoughts as visitors move through the building. It is a dialogue between the old object—with its rough textures, natural materials, and monumental presence and the tectonic new, which complements and adapts itself around and within the old giant, fostering a cohesive experience.