Diébédo Francis Kéré has created a stone and wood pavilion encircled by wild grasses in the Palazzo Litta, a historic palace in Milan.

© Giovanni Desandre

Architects: Kéré Architecture

Location: Milan, Italy

Architect In Charge: Diébédo Francis Kéré

Project Year: 2016

Photographs: Giovanni Desandre, Piercarlo Quecchia, Courtesy of Kéré Architecture

Diébédo Francis Kéré has created a stone and wood pavilion encircled by wild grasses in the Palazzo Litta, a historic palace in Milan.

© Giovanni Desandre

Taking cues from the social and spatial dynamics of a typical African village, the Courtyard Village aims to carve paths for social encounter and gathering among visitors. Defining this communal ground is an elevated platform surrounded by a ground cover of native Italian grasses. Atop the platform stand three open, circular shelters made of stone, whose shaping and materiality dually express a sense of transparency and mass. Overhead, a singular over-hanging roof of bamboo protects and shades the village community below.
Courtesy of Kéré Architecture

The installation features the first chair designed by Kéré. Called ZIBA, the piece references traditional African stools that are shaped by carving solid logs with handmade tools. The ZIBA stool, made of scented cedar, reinterprets ...