Alexander Petrounine.

Framing The Ruin

2020


Fontanigge is a place suspended in time; its territory is composed of some of the last remaining salt-pans in the Mediterranean. Through time this traditional method of salt production has enabled the development of a special living environment, in which nature and humans go hand in hand. The project is conceived as an abstract reconstruction of the salt-pan house ruin. Its sculptural form emphasises its identity through the cross laminated timber following the perimeter of the ruin, creating a volume that becomes a unique fragment of the uniform mosaic of scattered houses along the horizon.

The framing of the ruin emphasises its value and importance; it protects it and creates an interior courtyard. This forms a dialogue between outside and inside through the composition of openings, strengthening the dialogue between nature and ruin; framing the ruin from outside and framing nature from within, the sculpture clearly highlights the importance of both these elements of Fontanigge’s heritage: its natural environment and its respectful, man-made inhabitation.