Museum for a Roman Villa
Pully, Switzerland 2017
Client: Ville de Pully Competition, third prize
The volume of the proposed new Roman Museum in Pully engages positively with the town hall and seeks clearly to define the site as the centre of the town. The proposed new museum has a cubic volume, with façades that recall the figural proportions of the elegant Roman villa that once commanded the site. The volume of the museum faces westwards in a confident way, creating a central square in front of the town hall and operating as a fulcrum between the existing vineyards and the proposed new Roman garden to the east of the site.
The museum is organised on three floors, each five metres high. Visitors enter onto the middle floor, which is at the same level as the adjoining central square. Walking into the museum, one enters a space ten metres in height, looking down at the archaeological fragments of the villa. At this entrance level – in front of a generous window looking east towards the garden – is an exhibition of artefacts related to the villa. This relationship between interior and landscape recalls the relationship between loggia and landscape that once existed in Roman times. From this middle floor, one can descend to the level of the archaeological site with its associated exhibition and interpretation.
At the top level of the museum is the main, close-controlled exhibition gallery for temporary exhibitions. This gallery is surrounded by education facilities, a café and loggia giving views over the valley towards the lake – a space that has the potential to become a significant public room for Pully. The new Roman garden is accessible from the museum as well as from Avenue Samson-Reymondin. Its design and collection of artefacts is a natural extension of the spaces of the museum and provides a new landscaped public space for the town.
Competition entry
Credits
Location
Pully, Switzerland
Date
2017
Client
Ville de Pully
Construction cost
15m CHF
Area
2,415 m²
Status
Competition, third prize
Caruso St John Architects
Adam Caruso, Peter St John, Florian Zierer
Project architect
Emilie Appercé
Project team
Laetizia Hackethal, Michal Sadowski, Michael Schneider, Nora Walter
Structural engineer
Ferrari Gartmann AG
Services engineer
Kalt & Halbeisen Ingenieurburo AG
Building physics
BAKUS Bauphysik + Akustik GmbH
Landscape architect
Studio Vulkan Landschaftsarchitektur GmbH
Visualisations
Nora Walter