MAXXI: MUSEUM OF XXI CENTURY ARTS

[from www.zaha-hadid.com]

MAXXI: MUSEUM OF XXI CENTURY ARTS

Rome, Italy
1998–2009

Photography © Iwan Baan

PROGRAM:
Contemporary art and architecture centre, temporary exhibition spaces

CLIENT:
Italian Ministry of Culture, Rome, Italy
Fondazione MAXXI

SIZE:
30000 m²

CONCEPT:
MAXXI stands for Museum of 21^st Century Arts. It is the first Italian public museum devoted to contemporary creativity, arts and architecture. The idea of building a centre for contemporary arts and architecture dates back to early 1998 with the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage desire to ensure the great cultural traditions of Italy’s past should not be denied a prospect for continuity in the future. The MAXXI was conceived to promote today’s artistic expressions – which will become tomorrow’s cultural heritage. Intended not only as place to exhibit art, the MAXXI was also planned as a research workshop for different contemporary languages of design, fashion and cinema to establish a dialogue with art and architecture – its cultural mission inspired by three key words: innovation, multiculturalism and interdisciplinary.

The design concept for the MAXXI was to move away from the idea of the museum as ‘an object’ and towards the idea of ‘a field of buildings’ accessible to all. After many studies, our research evolved into the concept of the confluence of lines, where the primary force of the site is the walls that constantly intersect and separate to create both indoor and outdoor spaces. The plan aligns itself with the two urban grids that regulate the town planning of the area and the new interpretation of these grids generates the geometrical complexity of the campus. The walls of the MAXXI create major streams and minor streams. The major streams are the galleries, and the minor streams are the connections and the bridges. The site has a unique L-shaped footprint that meanders between existing buildings. Rather than seeing this as a limitation, we used it to our advantage, taking it as an opportunity to explore the possibilities of linear structure by bundling, twisting, and building mass in some areas and reducing it in others – creating an urban cultural centre where a dense texture of interior and exterior spaces have been intertwined and superimposed over one another.

The contractor provided integrated construction solutions from the technical proposals presented at tender stage – with direct contribution of all sectors involved in the completion of components. The individual specification of materials was minimized in favour of an integrated strategy, ensuring the precise coordination of construction materials and methods required to develop the bespoke production lines for the contract. For continuity, the walls of the MAXXI were cast on-site in self-compacting concrete, representing one of the most challenging aspects of the construction process – with casts up to 50m long. The concrete shuttering involved the coordination of casting guidelines issued by Zaha Hadid Architects; with the site management directly responsible for the structural planning of the joinery, the completion of off-standard formwork systems, the design mix of the concrete, and the critical aspects of laying the concrete.

PHOTOGRAPHY:

Photography © Iwan Baan

Photography © Iwan Baan

Photography © Iwan Baan

Photography © Iwan Baan

Photography © Iwan Baan

Photography © Roland Halbe

Photography © Roland Halbe

Photography © Iwan Baan

Photography © Iwan Baan