Meditation Pavilion & Garden
Meditation Pavilion & Garden
GMAA
ARCHITECTS
Gmaa
MANUFACTURERS
Agabekov Led, Bega, Michael Anastassiades, Ssq Slate
PHOTOGRAPHS
A.korour
AREA
120
YEAR
2013
LOCATION
Geneva, Switzerland
CATEGORY
Installations & Structures
Text description provided by architect.
The Meditation Pavilion blends in the global conception of the park where it’s placed, enhancing the composition with its own qualities.
The idea of this pavilion is projected through the particular relation of the wooden volume gently hovering above a crossing water surface, creating an ensemble precisely aligned with the cardinal directions.
The poetic relation between the pavilion and the water surface is highlighted through a work on the vegetal environment that confines the pavilion’s position inside the private park that spreads around it.
The Gramineae mounds around the pavilion and the pool create a fluid vegetal belt, changing colors and movements with the seasons, and hiding the pavilion from direct views, allowing only partial or indirect perceptions. It is only fully revealed when penetrating among the mounds.
A special attention is given to lighting design (natural and artificial) in order to preserve the site’s intimate character.
In both lateral volumes, skylights allow natural light in, while suspended spotlights and indirect lighting enhance the rhythm of timber cladding and the the ceiling’s corners.
The pavilion itself is composed by a crossing central void, flanked by two lateral volumes.
The ensemble sits on top of a wooden platform cantilevered over the lawn and pool.
The structure is made of V4A stainless steel covered by thermo-coated solid ash wood in walls, floors and ceilings.
The central void includes two slight reinforcements on the floor in an asymmetric position and can be closed by sliding elements from inside the walls.
Each lateral volume contains a different function: the changing room and bathroom in the west one and the summer kitchen and storage in the east one.
In order to refresh the atmosphere around the pavilion, a misting system is integrated along the eaves.
