cosimo scotucci envisions the pantheon as the world's largest camera obscura

architect cosimo scotucci envisions the pantheon in rome, as the world’s largest camera obscura in his new conceptual installation ‘insideout’. aiming to celebrate people’s courage and introspective attitude during the lockdown, the project imagines the interior of the temple covered with inverted images of the outside world, revealing an unexpected new look for the well-known building. 

all images courtesy of cosimo scotucci

nowadays, the lockdown is one of the most powerful tools to avoid the spread of the virus, and that’s why it has been largely adopted all around the globe. ‘staying inside was not easy, but we did it for a greater goal,’ cosimo scotucci says. ‘this has been a time for soul-searching; many deepened their self-consciousness, and others discovered a whole new self,’ the architect adds. ‘insideout’ visualizes this exact introspection, turning the outside world upside down, and mirroring it inside; completely subverting something that has been very well known, and presenting an unforeseen beauty.

using a 8m disk with a small 12mm hole in the center, it is possible to turn the pantheon in the largest camera obscura ever built. the camera, pointing towards the sky, will project an ever-changing image, depending on the weather, the time, and the color of the sky. in this way, an inverted image of all outside surroundings will appear on all the surfaces of the interior, from a bleached foggy morning to a warm red sunset. ‘the camera obscura principle is very well-known concept since the renaissance,’ scotucci mentions, ‘for the first time in history we can use this tool to look at what is happening inside ourselves, rather than just project what surrounds us’.

project info:

name: insideout
architect: cosimo scotucci

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom