m²ft architects Unveils HUT-SPOT Biodiversity Pavilion on Abandoned Tennis Court in Italy's Romagna Hills

HUT-SPOT, a modular pavilion by m²ft architects, occupies a disused tennis court on the edge of woodland in the Romagna hills, Italy. The structure stacks prunings and dry branches from the surrounding forest into a ziggurat-like form within a square grid of concrete, fibreglass, and nylon straps. The name combines 'hotspot'—denoting high biodiversity and connectivity—with 'hut', a basic shelter. The pavilion functions as a small-scale biodiversity hub, with decomposing branches supporting fungi, bacteria, saproxylic insects, and solitary bees, which in turn attract birds, small mammals, and amphibians. A central seat places human activity within this evolving habitat. Positioned on the abandoned court as a metaphor for the tension between controlling and giving space to nature, HUT-SPOT accepts change: wood shifts, prunings settle, and organisms proliferate. The project, submitted via designboom's DIY submissions, was edited by Christina Vergopoulou and photographed by m²ft architects.