Just back from recharging my batteries in the south of France, I was inspired as always by its beautifully essential Mediterranean architecture. This simple but handsome pavillon d’été, a garden or poolside shelter from the summer sun, is the work of Avignon-based architect Andrew Nelson and provides a nice segue back to our photo essay on Exposed Structural Elements.
Of special interest is the use of the ancient Provençal practice of setting the barrel-shaped roof tiles directly on the specially shaped and precisely placed common rafters (quets en français), themselves posed on the massive purlins. All native stone and timbers, this structure, in the best tradition of Provence, seems to emerge from the very landscape itself.