Palazzo dei Diamanti | DAP Studio

Palazzo dei Diamanti designed by DAP studio, The project relates to the historical building moving in two opposite directions: harmony and opposition. On one side, the strengthening of some fundamental themes – the axiality, the portals system, the relationship between solids and voids, the theme of the unfinished –  roots the project in its context and generates a natural sense of belonging. On the other side, the pavilion grafting is an intentional act that redefines the space, opposing the lightness of a new glass volume to the historic building materiality. The pavilion closes the unfinished side of the main courtyard ensuring continuity to the exhibition system while maintaining a visual relationship with the garden. Its architecture is made of few elements: a glass box between two horizontal planes, the base, and the roof; a reflective pool of water; a brise-soleil on the garden side that is not a simple two-dimensional element but a real wall that evokes the idea of a dematerialized mass. A mass made of thin white metal elements which generate a light framework. Inside the Pavilion, on axis with the entry points, a single material volume emphasizes the succession of the portals. The project takes the theme of the portal, as a meeting of the different ways,  also in correspondence with the entry points from the city, marked by three concrete portals. The courts and open spaces landscape, designed by Studio Antonio Perazzi, is designed to express the will to emphasize the idea of emptiness. A system of geometrical flat surfaces is the direct continuation of internal functions and the natural landscape has been designed to be transformed: regular green volumes can be created to organize different outdoor exhibition spaces.
Project Info:
Client: Ferrara Municipality
Designer: DAP studio / Elena Sacco – Paolo Danelli
Location: Ferrara
Landscape: Studio Antonio Perazzi
Structure: Proges engineering
Plants: Planex Srl
Status: Competition, Second Place Award
Year: 2018
Project Name: Palazzo dei Diamanti

All Images Courtesy Of DAP studio