river chapel pavilion lands as an overturned timber vessel in the italian mountains

a boat-shaped timber pavilion for Festival di Microarchitettura

River Chapel, La Barca brings the silhouette of an overturned boat to the mountains of Piobbico, Le Porte del Vitoschio in Italy, forming the winning installation of the 2025 Festival di Microarchitettura. Designed by Marina Poli, Clément Molinier, and Philippe Paumelle, the compact timber pavilion interrupts a hiking path with a narrow fissure that invites visitors to slip inside a hull-like space open to the sky.

La Barca blurs the lines between chapel, shelter, and shipwreck

Once entered, the project by Marina Poli, Clément Molinier, and Philippe Paumelle reveals its layered nautical references: a central timber keel organizes a rhythmic sequence of floor timbers, while the open roof draws daylight into the interior cavity. The elongated volume aligns with the trail, guiding movement toward a tapered bow anchored by a stone taken from the site. Six porticoes define the main corridor, bordered by plank walls and framed at both ends by curved half-hulls. The ribs, cut from boards and assembled in a sandwich structure, express the chapel’s lightweight construction, while four local stones act as ballast and tie the installation to its surroundings.

La Barca offers a brief pause along the path, oscillating between the typologies of chapel, shelter, and shipwreck. Visitors read it variously as a boat, a sculptural refuge, a climbing form, or an enigmatic presence embedded in the landscape, an intentional ambiguity that shapes the encounter.

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project info:

name: River Chapel, La Barca
architect: Marina Poli | @marina_poli_, Clément Molinier | @clement_molinier, Philippe Paumelle | @philippepaumell

location: Piobbico, Le Porte del Vitoschio

event: Festival di Microarchittetura | @festivalmicroarchitettura