On the hiking path, a weighted wreck stands before the rocky gate. One slips through a barely wide crack, sliding in sideways. The new shipwrecked one, lifting his head, sees an overturned hull. From the bottom of the boat, the sky falls. River Chapel, La Barca introduces the profile of an inverted boat to the landscape of Piobbico’s Le Porte del Vitoschio in Italy, earning recognition as the winning installation for the 2025 Festival di Microarchitettura.

Designed by Marina Poli, Clément Molinier, and Philippe Paumelle, the compact timber pavilion evokes an overturned hull, with each component subtly echoing the maritime world. Stretched in length, it follows the path’s extension, guiding each step forward. Its slender shape suggests an intention to cross the rift. As if it had been displaced from the river it follows.

Like a shipwreck, the roof opens to the sky, letting light reveal a series of rhythmic floor timbers, all supported by the central keel, which leads the gaze toward the bow. There, a stone seems to anchor the tapered structure from within. The walls are punctuated with cleats that firmly hold the planking. The floor creaks underfoot.

Six porticoes form a longitudinal corridor bordered by two plank walls. At each end, two curved half-hulls are joined. The curved ribs are cut from the boards and assembled in a sandwich structure. La Barca is ballasted with four stones taken from the site. It offers a place to pause and observe the details of a curious architecture with the look of a boat.

According to the architects, La Barca serves as a brief stopping point along the way, blending elements of a chapel, a shelter, and even a shipwreck. People interpret it in different ways – some see a boat, others a sculptural refuge or a climbable structure, while some view it as a mysterious feature woven into the landscape. This purposeful ambiguity shapes each visitor’s experience.