Hannes Peer's water mirror installation frames Roman baths

(Image credit: Giulio Ghirardi)

Transportive and almost mystical, a new water mirror has been inaugurated at Rome's ancient Baths of Caracalla. The treasured site dating back to the 3rd century AD, is one of the eternal city's must-see attractions. It has now been further enriched with a bespoke spatial installation by Milan-based architect Hannes Peer – linking past and future, landscape and architecture, set against the backdrop of some of the world's most famous historical ruins.

Hannes Peer's 'Water Mirror'

Hannes worked with the ancient site's director Mirella Serlorenzi, composing an ethereal body of water set against the old Roman baths' towering stone structures. At the heart of the concept was the desire to celebrate the complex's function and offer a glimpse of how it would have been like with water flowing through it chambers.

How did the element animate the site? 'The creation of the body of water,' says Serlorenzi. 'It is the first element of an integral project aimed at restoring the perception of these places as they were in antiquity. Water, an element absent [from the site] for over a thousand years, returns in a decisive way but is respectful of the ruins: in a game of mirrors the natatio [swimming pool] emerges from the body of the baths and is positioned symmetrically in the gardens, duplicating the imposing caldarium [hot plunge pool].'

'A [clearly] contemporary gesture, it creates a sort of conceptual metaverse and reactivates [the site] through water games and sprays, which are a reminder of the ancient function of the Baths of Caracalla.'

The water mirror was created in collaboration with architect Paolo Bornello, featuring delicate fountains that spray water upwards and diffusing it into a mist that hints at the warmth inside the ancient Roman baths.

Based on a master plan created under the supervision of Special Superintendent of Rome Daniela Porro and curated by Serlorenzi, in the next few years, a team comprising Peer, technical director of the bath site Maurizio Pinotti, Studio Bornelloworkshop, architect Andrea Grandi, and landscape architect Giuseppe Provasi will reveal further plans and interventions around the ancient baths' campus – watch this space.

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Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).