zaha m. hadid : the centre for contemporary arts, rome

zaha m. hadid : contemporary art museum ..........................................................................................................................................................................

......................... shop .................. competitions .............. education ................ interviews ................... snapshots ................... history .......... contemporary

the centre for contemporary arts, rome

by zaha hadid with patrik schumacher

the project becomes a 'second skin' for the area, while
respecting its boundaries with rigour.
it acts as a tie between the geometrical elements already present:
to be built on the site of old army barracks between the river
tiber and via guido reni, the centre is made up of spaces that
flow freely and unexpectedly between interior and exterior,
where walls twist to become floors or ceilings.
the building absorbs the landscape structures, dynamizes them
and gives them back to the urban environment.
hadid's architecture can thus be understood as an intensification
of the surrounding space.

'a scene for thought, with art as a player on the cene' says hadid.

'the jury therefore now places this project in the hands of the
ministry for cultural heritage and activities, in the hope that it will
continue as it has done so far in its difficult role of client,
with the aim of arriving at a finished work in the shortest time
possible' speech by the jury chairman daniele del giudice.
construction should be phased with completion between 2002 to 2004.

walls / not-walls: towards a contemporary spatiality

'in architectural terms, this is most virulently executed by the
figure of the 'wall'. against the traditional coding of the 'wall'
in the museum as the privileged and immutable vertical armature
for the display of paintings, or delineating discrete spaces to
construct 'order' and linear 'narrative', we propose a critique of
it through its emancipation. the 'wall' becomes the versatile
engine for the staging of exhibition effects.
in its various guises - solid wall, projection screen, canvas,
window to the city - the exhibition wall is the primary
space-making device. by running extensively across the site,
cursively and gesturally, the lines traverse inside and out.
urban space is coincidental with gallery space, exchanging
pavilion and court in a continuous oscillation under the same
operation. and further deviations from the classical composition
of the wall emerge as incidents where the walls become floor,
or twist to become ceiling, or are voided to become a large window
looking out. by constantly changing dimension and geometry,
they adapt themselves to whatever curatorial role is needed.
by setting within the gallery spaces a series of potential partitions
that hang from the ceiling ribs, a versatile exhibition system is
created.
organisational and spatial invention are thus dealt with
simultaneously amidst a rhythm found in the echo of the walls
to the structural ribs in the ceiling that also filter the light in
varying intensities.'
read more
/// ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT AND URBAN STRATEGY
text by the zaha hadid studio

see more