Bari - London
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Il Riccio (The Hedgehog)
Gioia del Colle - invited
Il Riccio (The Hedgehog) is a pavilion where books are shared. It is built in Piazza Pinto, the central park of Gioia del Colle. Designed by PROFFERLO Architecture, the pavilion functions as an urban landmark where it provides a sheltered space to exchange books. Il Riccio is dedicated to Michele, a book peddler who played an important role in promoting a culture of reading books within the mid-size town of Gioia Del Colle (Bari) in southern Italy. Il Riccio was prefabricated offsite in two pieces of bent sheet metal mounted on a three-dimensional frame that served as a structure and shelving. On the side, the façade shows a circular and a rectangular opening where they become the eyes of the hedgehog. These were laser cut on the sheet metal and overlapped with a dark grey metal grating module. Inside the pavilion, the sawtooth roof allows an unexpected uniform light where the sky blue colour of the interior glows within.