Gardens Pavilion, Rome, Italy

Located in the historic gardens of the Farnese Palace—an iconic monument of the Italian Renaissance from the 16th century and home to the French Embassy—the Pavilion - a communal space for relaxation and informal gatherings for embassy staff - draws inspiration from the heritage of its surroundings while reinterpreting it through contemporary climate-conscious architecture and theoretical research.
The Pavilion is designed with a low-carbon vision. Its lightweight wooden structure, built without heavy foundations, preserves the underlying archaeological site. Drawing on traditional construction techniques, it minimizes resource use while showcasing locally sourced materials—particularly visible in its masonry walls, which form the facades. These facades are adorned in the spirit of Roman spolia, incorporating reused historical materials that had been stored for centuries in the palace’s cellars.
The Pavilion’s facades are insulated to meet Italian thermal standards, using 100% recycled cotton insulation sourced from the textile industry to reduce heat loss. Double-glazed, solar control windows flood the interior in soft natural light, while a Northwest-facing bris-soleil blocks harsh summer sunlight. On the Southeast side, shading is provided by the 6-meter-high perimeter wall.
All windows are operable, allowing for direct natural ventilation. When closed, air renewal is ensured by a solar chimney: outdoor air enters the Pavilion through perforated bricks embedded in the masonry walls and exits through the chimney, which features a black painted metal solar collector to maximize the temperature differential and enhance thermal draft.
Heating is provided by a reversible air-to-air split unit. In summer, three independent ceiling fans with variable speed settings allow users to adjust their thermal comfort. During heat waves, the split unit can be activated in cooling mode.
Twenty square meters (215 ft²) of lightweight, flexible photovoltaic panels mounted onto the zinc roof generate yearly 3.1 MWh of electricity, used directly by the Pavilion or fed back into the grid when onsite demand is low.