ronan & erwan bouroullec install le belvedere, a dreamscape pavlion in rennes, france

back in 2016, ronan and erwan bouroullec hosted four exhibitions in rennes, france, focusing on a different aspect of their design practice. one of them was rêveries urbaines (urban reveries), a show that presented ideas that considered the development of urban dreamscapes through fountains, furniture, lighting, marquees and pergolas. hosted at les champs libres, this exhibition gave rise to the idea that this sort of fantasy could find a place in rennes.

(above and main) images by yann peucat

‘le belvedere began in 2014/2015 when we were working on the four exhibitions planned for 2016 in rennes,’ said ronan bouroullec. ‘the mayor of rennes suggested that for the event we should design something for the public space. the ‘rêveries urbaines’ exhibition that was shown in the champs libres was our response to this: an exhibition that was the result of research around how we could contribute to a city – not particularly thinking of rennes, but rather cities in general.’

image by yann peucat

following three years of discussion, analysis and designs, ronan and erwan bouroullec present le belvedere — a pavilion installed on the vilaine river created with no specific purpose other than allowing passersby to be pleasantly lost and daydream.

image by yann peucat

‘the gamble was to install a construction within this landscape with sensitivity: to affirm the presence of the belvedere without obscuring one of the most beautiful views of the city,’ ronan bouroullec continues. ‘on this particular point, the question of scale was long debated. in the end, the decision was made to align the project with the large trees along the quai saint cyr.’

overall, le belvedere is striking in its simplicity and form. it sits on a circular unpolished concrete pile and embraces visitors with a lightweight, slender structure made of a tensile assembly of stainless-steel masts and anodized aluminum stays. 32 luminous orbs and 16 wind-sensitive mobiles reinforce the lightness of the pavilion while adding an extra poetic layer.

images by studio bouroullec (unless otherwise stated)

‘fine and virtually transparent, the belvedere is about 13 metres high; it exists without existing, both present and restrained, very different at night, when it takes on the air of a lighthouse,’ bouroullec concludes. ‘the wind that activates the 16 mobiles, the weather and seasons that visibly affect the shine of the structure, also have an important role in one’s changing perception of the object.’

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project info:

name: le belvedere
client: city of rennes
design team: studio bouroullec, paris
studies, engineering and production: atelier blam, nantes
studies, engineering and production of the concrete base: groupe legendre
project manager: atelier blam
management assistant: david perreau
funding: ville de rennes et puzzle, fonds de dotation pour l’art public