Interior of Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome

Pontificio Istituto Orientale, Rome, Italy

The Pontifical Institute was established in 1917 as a school of higher studies that has as its particular mission the service of the Oriental Churches. At the heart of the institute is the library with more than 180,000 volumes. It was refurbished in 2016 under the supervision of SMT Studio, who chose BauBuche Panel X as the main interior design material.

Participants

Interior design / architecture

SMT STUDIO Gajano Gastreghini Architetti Associati

Architects

Giacomo Gajano Saffi and Mauro Gastreghini

Area

550 m²

Completion

September 2016

Material

788.7 m² BauBuche Panel X

Production of BauBuche elements

Pollmeier, D-99831 Amt Creuzburg

Photos

Jacopo Rimedio

Project information

The library has a multi-storey centre hall surrounded by galleries on three levels. For this restoration and refurbishment project, many specific regulations and requirements had to be met. Apart from the usual safety regulations, the designers had to pay particular attention to the air flow through the room, as adequate ventilation is crucial for the preservation of old books and documents. The proprietors also wanted to maintain the original character of the library as a stylish, modern and sophisticated place of learning.

In order to create a calm interior, SMT Studio used BauBuche Panel X for the bookshelves and other furniture as well as for the panelled walls. As the laminated veneer lumber was used in its natural colour, it could be beautifully combined with red upholstered furniture and a black support structure to provide a venerable interior.

The two architects are very pleased with the result: “This is the first project for which we used BauBuche, and the material exceeded all our expectations. BauBuche enabled us to fulfil the wishes of the proprietor and meet the technical construction requirements of this unique project.”

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    Pfersdorfer Weg 6
    D-99831 Amt Creuzburg

    POLLMEIER IS A MEMBER OF GERMANY'S FEDERAL ASSOCIATION OF SAWMILLING AND WOOD INDUSTRIES​

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