The workshop’s objective is to design a new access to the archeological/museum/monument complex of the Fori Imperiali. This access is situated on the eastern side of Piazza Venezia, along via dei Fori Imperiali and it borders the archeological area of the Basilica Ulpia (Trajan’s Forum), the churches of S. Maria di Loreto and S.S. Nome di Maria and the monumental complexes of Palazzo Valentini and the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni.

The project aims to explore new functional and spatial solutions that reconnect the different paths to access and visit the area, including the urban level of Piazza Venezia, the archaeological levels (-7/10 meters), and the connection to the newly planned entries to the Metro Line C, currently under construction (- 24 meters).

The design program involves a very complex environment, in which several different issues need to be addressed and resolved: on the one hand, those issues related to the innovation of the site, with new functions and programmatic needs, on the other hand, those issues related to the preservation and re-evaluation of the archaeological heritage.

 

Description of the context – problems and opportunities

The axis of the Fori Imperiali is one of the most representative works of the fascist years, which was achieved through the demolition of an entire neighborhood of medieval and renaissance origin, thus creating a modern Boulevard facing the ruins of ancient Rome; this work emphasized the regime's intentions to create an analogy between the magnificence of the Roman empire and fascist power, giving the ancient monuments a new spatial scenario, free of the urban stratification of medieval and renaissance Rome.

Just as a Futurist gesture, the axis directly (and dynamically) connects the Colosseum with Piazza Venezia, headquarters of the political power of Mussolini, leaving on one side the gigantic monument to the King (Vittoriano) and, in the meantime, creating a highly significant and symbolic site which functionally shifts the city's center of gravity towards the sea and the new neighborhood of the EUR.

The function of a great Boulevard is still in use, in spite of the presence of heavy vehicular traffic and the continuous excavation campaigns which erased most of the original 1930s urban layout, to highlight the new excavations and give space to some terraced viewpoints towards the Fora. These excavation campaigns give the site an uncomfortable feeling of continuous transformation and perennial “work in progress”.

The most interesting opportunity related to the creation of a new access to Trajan's Forum and to the subway is the possibility of providing a new link to the system of the Fora with the large museum complexes in the immediate surroundings (Trajan's Market, Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, Campidoglio, Palazzo Venezia), and creating a consequent network with the most important monumental and historical sites within the area.

As a consequence, the project should not be considered as an isolated episode, but as part of a broader system devoted to the use of the Fora and, more generally, to the use of the most ancient area of the city.

It is therefore important to plan and design several information points within the project in order to assist the visitors in comprehending the site and its complexities related to its stratification.

 

Project Area

The perimeter of the project involves the area at the foot of the Quirinale Hill, the Basilica Ulpia area, the piazza S. Maria di Loreto, the edge of via Alessandrina and the archaeological area of the Imperial Fora, specifically involving the vegetated semi-circular exedra which is part of the monumental complex of the Vittoriano.

The project may also offer the opportunity of providing new links between the different site levels and, thus, offering a new reading of the Fora sequence. This reading is quite difficult today, and it may be resolved by re-visiting and providing a new meaning to some of the interrupted historic paths (i.e.: via Alessandrina, via Bonella).

More specifically, the project area involves the archaeological level under the via dei Fori Imperiali. The project aims to connect Trajan's Forum and the Forum of Caesar, re-establishing the transversal continuity among the Fora, a continuity which was originally interrupted by the construction of the Alessandrino neighborhood, then by the construction of the Vittoriano, and finally by the creation of the via dei Fori Imperiali.

 Requirements

The contents of the project must be on three boards in A1 format in pdf.

A general site plan at scale 1:500, a complete set of plans and sections at scale 1:200 and at least four three-dimensional drawings including one general area axonometric drawing, should be considered the minimum requirement per each group.

The project will be presented on screen with a sequence of not more than 10 pages using programs such as PowerPoint or other multimedia software (Flash, Pinnacle, Premiere, Final Cut, etc.). Group presentations will be held on Monday 30^th March and should be planned not to exceed ten minutes per group.