chronus interregnum.
//cultural center
2023
//reuse the nymphaeum
with
João Delgado
The relationship with a ruin is usually approached in two ways: embracing the new intervention or recreating the past. The Bramante Nymphaeum is unique because it is already a pastiche of ancient times—a layering of different projects rediscovered in the distant future. Any intervention had to engage with this theme, embracing the superimposition of different times.
The project responds to three dimensions: the original nymphaeum celebrating water, the ruin with its mystic quality, and the new program introducing a garden and a theater. These layers are physically superimposed, creating a landscape of tensions that unfold through time.
The theater now inhabits the old ruin, drawing from its aura to celebrate one of the oldest art forms. The garden follows classical traditions, hosting structures like an amphitheater, a new thermae, and a café bar, each existing as an independent element within nature. Two bodies of water reinterpret the nymphaeum, linking the garden and the ruin.
The project's materiality reinforces this temporal collage. The plan references the Oracle at Delphi, while the theater follows a classical structural approach. In contrast, a deconstructivist strategy shapes the composition, using concrete to freeze the structures in time, anticipating their transformation into future ruins.
//all renders done by Tombo Architecture Visualization