JOHN MERRITT

TRANSFORMING THE VILLA LA FOCE – Chianciano Terme, Italy

For centuries, the earth has been a medium that is worked in order to yield food and shelter. Nowhere is this inseparable connection between human inhabitants and landscape more apprarent that at the Villa La Foce in Southern Tuscany. The proposed program here calls for a transformation of the villa from a residence to an institution for the study of cultural landscape. The proposed design must accommodate various user types including staff, students in residence, convention attendees, and visitors. This charge makes circulation a primary concern. To this end, the primary strategy is to create more direct access and more fluid movement by making a series of strategic cuts in site features at various points on the property.

“For centuries, the earth has been a medium that is worked in order to yield food and shelter. Nowhere is this inseparable connection between human inhabitants and the landscape more apparent than at the Villa La Foce in southern Tuscany. The program calls for a transformation of the villa into an institution for the study of cultural landscape. Since circulation is a key issue, the primary strategy is to create freer movement by making a series of cuts at various points on the property.”
Places that were former dead ends or niches become places of intersection.

The web page for this project is under construction.

The East side of the property comprises a network of formal gardens. 

Since circulation to, from, and within these gardens will be more active given the new role of this site, interconnectivity is essential.  In the images below, the garden below is linked to the garden above by a slender ramp to the right.  Here, a more central, wider connection is appropriate.  A stair, perhaps even a ceremonial one, is justifiable given its proximity to the main entrance.