





Roma, Italy
2024
2024
«Librairie 7L»
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Team:
Rosita Palladino and Manuel Bouzas.
Institution:
Villa Médicis: Académie de France à Rome
Sponsors:
Librairie 7L
CHANEL
Pictures:
Luis Diaz
Rosita Palladino and Manuel Bouzas.
Institution:
Villa Médicis: Académie de France à Rome
Sponsors:
Librairie 7L
CHANEL
Pictures:
Luis Diaz
In the heart of Villa
Medici, under vaulted color-wash ceilings painted in the 1970s by Balthus,
former director of the French Academy, and accented by travertine ornaments,
the Libraire 7L pop-up store in Rome reimagines the traditional ticket office,
transforming it into a space where books take center stage. The furniture,
designed by Manuel Bouzas and Rosita Palladino, draw inspiration from the
"bouquinistes", bookstalls that line the banks of the Seine in Paris.
These modular structures, reminiscent also of Roman "edicole,"
bridge the two cities, opening and closing just like their urban counterparts.
While the project
references outdoor urban furniture, its goal is to create a dynamic interior
space that can expand into a flexible setup for events and book presentations.
Manuel Bouzas and
Rosita Palladino’s bouquinistes are designed for easy disassembly into two
parts: the book stall and the legs. These legs double as supports for a
matching table, following the same design language. Each bouquiniste is
constructed from a single sheet of plywood and a polycarbonate panel, finished
in reflective silver paint.
The materials used in
the Libraire 7L pop-up reinterpret the textures and tones of Villa Medici,
blending harmoniously with the surroundings. A subtle LED lighting design
elevates the displayed books, transforming them into art pieces, a nod to how
Karl Lagerfeld, founder of Libraire 7L, treated the texts in his personal
library.
The French Academy in Rome - Villa
Medici was founded by Louis XIV in 1666. It is a French institution that has
been housed since 1803 in the Villa Medici, a sixteenth-century mansion
surrounded by a seventeen-acre park, located on the Pincian Hill in the heart
of Rome. It is a national public institution under the authority of the
Ministry of Culture, fulfilling three complementary roles: hosting artists and
art historians in residence for long stays of one year or shorter periods;
implementing a cultural program covering all artistic and creative fields aimed
at a broad audience; and preserving, restoring, studying, and promoting both
its architectural and landscape heritage and its collections. The French
Academy in Rome - Villa Medici is directed by Sam Stourdzé.
The Librairie 7L was founded in
1999 by Karl Lagerfeld in Paris and was acquired by CHANEL in 2021. The name 7L
pays tribute to the address 7 rue de Lille in the 7th arrondissement of Paris,
where it is located, and it was also Karl Lagerfeld's lucky number. 7L reflects
the unconditional love its founder had for books and photography. The
700-square-meter space includes a bookstore showcasing new titles on visual
arts, a library area where on-site creation is inspired by its personal
collection, and a section dedicated to the Éditions 7L publishing house. The
selection of books reflects the diversity of artistic production in the 20th
and 21st centuries. It features works covering photography, design, decoration,
and interior design, as well as monographs on fashion design, exhibition
catalogs, and books on gardens and ceramics.





