Margin presents Bettino, the new Pavilion dedicated to the sale of merchandising products of the Meyer Foundation is located inside the homonymous Pediatric Hospital of Florence and is part of the recently created gallery between the east and west body of the original building.
This is presented as a laminated wood structure, surmounted by a continuous steel and glass façade in visual connection with the four hectares of greenery that surround the hospital. The interior is characterized by the rhythmic repetition of a wooden structural system, composed of main and secondary ogival arches that reach a height of over 10 meters.
The Pavilion designed by the young studio, is in continuity with the gallery respecting the tight rhythm of the ogival spans. A symmetrical counter-arc with respect to the glulam system, it constitutes the backbone to support the windows, while a series of white laminated wood sails functionally divides the interior space.
Arranged across the tunnel at the center line of the hat, the sails preserve the open and permeable character of the structure. The formal lexicon of the gallery is reinterpreted in the Pavilion to outline a protected and at the same time transparent volume, which houses an exhibition and sales area, together with a more equipped collection area with work stations for employees and a small warehouse. wardrobe. The interior furnishings, designed and made to measure, are designed to be flexible, mobile and reconfigurable according to needs.
From a structural point of view, the Pavilion is a self-supporting modular steel system consisting of a metal slab, made out of work and dry assembled on site, which rests on the existing floor and distributes the load of the elevation structure. The foundation slab is hidden by a floating wooden plank floor, while the vertical pillars undermine the interspace of the sails.
The lighting of the internal space is made by a system of LED spotlights embedded in the lower ribs of the arches and gives diffused lighting to the interior space that is added to the abundant natural light of the glazed gallery.
All the materials used, from galvanized steel to laminated wood, are glossy white, in contrast with the matt white lamellar wood of the context. The difference in treatment creates an interesting play of refractions that captures the attention of the visitor and at the same time makes it possible to identify the new intervention, harmoniously inserted into the whole.
With a measured and rational elegance, the result of a sensitivity out of the ordinary, Margin creates a Pavilion that celebrates lightness, grafting decisively and at the same time on tiptoe, respecting the pre-existence.
Project credits
Name: Bettino
Architects: Margin | Giulio Ciccarese and Valentina Pontieri
Project team: Giulia Marzocchi, Enrico Durante
Client: Meyer Pediatric Hospital Foundation (www.fondazionemeyer.it)
Company: Perrottagroup (www.perrottagroup.it)
Address: Meyer Pediatric Hospital, viale Pieraccini 24 - Florence Area: 40 sqm
Year: 2018
Photographer: Pietro Viti (www.pietroviti.it)