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LIGHT AND NATURE SANCTURAY

Location: Rieti, Itlay

Type: Adaptive Reuse

Team: Marcos Escamilla-Guerrero

Status: Idea

Year: 2025

Our proposal to refurbish the Abbey of Santa Maria del Piano emerges from a harmonious dialogue between light, nature, and architectural heritage. Nestled within the striking landscape of Pozzaglia Sabina, the project seeks to integrate the abbey and its surroundings with new meditation spaces that honor the site’s spiritual and natural essence.


Materiality and Atmosphere: The design relies on a restrained palette of materials—glass, steel, and fabric—chosen to prioritize the interplay of natural light while fostering an atmosphere of calm. These materials lend an ephemeral quality to the intervention, softening the boundary between the interior and the outdoors to create spaces conducive to meditation and introspection.


Subtle Intervention: Respecting the original architecture, the intervention takes a subtle approach. The abbey’s historical profile remains intact, with all new elements designed to be temporary and reversible, enabling the future restoration of the abbey to its original state.


Spaces of Reflection: The design reimagines key spaces within the abbey to inspire both individual and collective moments of reflection. Bell Tower: Transformed into an intimate chamber for personal introspection, celebrating stillness and solitude. Main Gallery: Adapted as a collective meditation space, its roof offers an outdoor platform for communing with the landscape—tree canopies, sky, and horizon become part of the meditative experience. Lateral Gallery: Discreetly houses a café and restrooms, ensuring these functional additions do not detract from the abbey’s serene character.


This proposal balances reverence for history with a forward-looking vision, creating a sanctuary where architecture, nature, and light converge to offer an environment of profound peace and introspection.

"A meditation space"

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"An interplay of light, nature and history"

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