Text by Marie Godfrain

Villa Medici - An ode to creativity

Playground for artists and creatives since the Renaissance, Villa Medici, in Rome, is constantly reinventing itself. Among recent projects launched by its director Sam Stourdzé is the renovation of the lemon garden in collaboration with Tectona.

Villa Medici: where heritage meets creativity

Artists’ residence, art centre and key heritage site of Rome, Villa Medici, the French Academy in Rome, deploys this vision when commissioning contemporary creators for its rooms, salons and outdoor areas. Among these spaces, the discreet triangular lemon garden, located next to the mansion’s left wall and providing a stunning view of Rome, was one that Sam Stourdzé, Director of Villa Medici, was particularly keen to renovate. The garden has just reopened to the Villa’s residents, after being fully reimagined by the Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets, who introduced 29 citrus trees (lemon, bitter orange and citron trees) and installed a 26-metre pergola.

« In common with the rest of Villa Medici, a Renaissance masterpiece, we wanted to bring together heritage and creation by commissioning contemporary designers » details Sam Stourdzé, an ardent defender of dialogue between different eras, a philosophy that he has long shared with Tectona since managing Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles. It was therefore natural that both parties would combine energies for this exceptional project to make furniture for the lemon garden.

Furnishing the lemon garden

Together, they selected the Belgian design duo Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen « for the purity and intelligence of their design » to design the furniture to be placed on the lawns, under the arbour and in the shade of the lemon and bitter orange trees. « Our shared ambition with Tectona was to find the best designers to design contemporary and timeless lines that would vie with the greatest creations at the Villa » recalls the Director of Villa Medici.

The triangle motif

Won over by the project, Muller Van Severen decided on the triangle idea while strolling through the Villa and noticing triangles as a recurring theme, most notably the shape of the lemon garden. « We want to show that it’s possible to be contemporary and embrace architectures, an environment from another era» analyse the duo.

They incorporated this particular geometric form at the ends of the coloured metal slats used in their chairs, sun loungers and tables. The result is « A collection of radical contours, with the sun lounger evoking the golden age of modernism » according to Sam Stourdzé, who also notes as references « arrows spanning the period from the Renaissance to Richard Peduzzi, former Director of the Villa and creator of the triangle-shaped suspensions in the cafeteria.»

The collection is destined for a long and prosperous life now that it has entered the Tectona catalogue. « We also wanted this project, which was designed for us, to be made available to the general public because the Villa should serve as an ‘influencer’ of sorts for contemporary decorative arts. This collection is the perfect manifestation of this idea – it can be appropriated by anyone and it stirs the imagination powerfully,» concludes Sam Stourdzé.

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