Rome Center for Advanced Learning

The proposed Center for Advanced Learning and Research in Rome, is located on the Capitoline Hill. This site is possibly the most historically rich in the world. Adjacent to the site are historic buildings and monuments such as The Roman Forum, Michelangelo's Piazza di Campidoglio, the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, and Il Vitoriano, with Trajan's Market and the Colosseum nearby. Despite the history surrounding it, the site is currently only leftover space full of retaining walls. Looked at in another way the site is the neglected "mortar" between the “bricks” of the nearby monuments.

The project required many different types of major program including Auditorium, Museum, and Think Tank. The design attempts to recreate on a smaller scale, a collection of distinctly diverse buildings. This also creates the opportunity to solve the same problem that affects the current site. What to do with the “mortar space” between the buildings? Therefore it was imperative to design an interesting and useful circulation space between the major elements of program.
Another focus of the project was to utilize the existing retaining walls and materials of brick and travertine in conjunction with new materials like litracon (semitransparent glass infused concrete) in the design.
Programs used for this project include CAD, Rhino, and Illustrator.

View: Site

Plan: Main

Site

Sections

Elevation: EastView: Cafe

View: Museum

View: Think Tank