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Richard Meier's new museum in
Rome
is leading the trend of the modern in a country steeped in history
Italy has
always been a top destination for anyone wanting to see wonders of
architecture. It's home to innovative structures, built during
ancient times, whose design still inspires awe: the Pantheon's
elegant dome with its great oculus, for example, or the massive
Colosseum -- the prototype for all sports stadia today.
Now, fans of contemporary architecture will notice that
some of the world's most high-profile architects, from London's Zaha
Hadid to Dutch design powerhouse Rem Koolhaas, are increasingly
turning their sights to Italy. On April 21, 2006, a new museum will
open in central Rome, designed by major American architect --
Richard Meier, best known for his sleek, crowd-drawing design for
the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Meier's soon-to-debut Ara Pacis
Museum is the first modern building to pop up in the Eternal City's
historic district since the Mussolini years.
With banks of windows and a clean, boxy silhouette, the Ara Pacis
Museum is home to the ancient Altar of Peace, which Emperor Caesar
Augustus had built in 9 B.C. to commemorate Rome's war victories. As
the modernist home for a historic relic, the Meier building is an
intriguing symbol of the confluence of past and present that has
begun to characterize the landscape of Italy's major cities from
Milan to
Florence.
Bridge Too Far? Many of the international "starchitects" with
Italian projects are devising buildings that forgo classical form in
favor of radical new geometries and forward-thinking engineering
details reflecting today's values -- conceptual and practical -- of
transparency and sustainability. Italian architects perhaps not as
well-known on the global stage, such as Luisa Fontana, are also
experimenting with fresh approaches toward eco-friendly and other
innovative strategies.
Some projects promise to be superlative structures, such as the
proposal for the world's longest bridge, stretching over the Strait
of Messina, which would connect
Sicily to mainland Italy for the
first time. Others will be firsts, like the first green skyscraper
in Italy, designed by Pei Cobb Freed and Partners.
While not on the dramatic scale of
China or
Dubai's building
booms, Italy's architectural renaissance is quantifiable. In March,
the Italian national statistics office (ISTAT) reported that the
production index of the Mediterranean nation's building industry
rose slightly (0.7%) in fourth-quarter 2005, compared to the same
period of 2004. So what's the motivation behind Italy's current crop
of new buildings?
Some Disagreement. Italy's government and real estate developers
seem to be following the trend of luring big-name architects to
design iconic tourist destination buildings. In other words, they're
hoping for the "Bilbao Effect," the economic spike that the
once-sleepy Spanish city experienced after Frank Gehry's
Guggenheim
Museum opened in 1997. Italy's economy could use that boost. On
March 1, 2006, ISTAT reported that the Italian economy had zero
growth in 2005. Increased tourism could certainly help.
Not unlike China, Italy also seems keen to modernize its national
identity through architecture. Contemporary buildings designed by
international architects suggest an openness to globalization. The
move toward bold lines and away from classical forms, however,
hasn't been without controversy. Richard Meier's streamlined,
light-filled design for the new Ara Pacis Museum has been criticized
at length by traditionalists, and it took 11 years to complete after
various false starts.
New Boot. Still, earlier projects in Rome, like Renzo Piano's
Parco della Musica, a complex of theaters and live-music venues
housed in shell-like structures that opened in 2003, and Meier's
Jubilee Church, a sail-shaped house of worship, which also opened in
2003 and was commissioned by the Vatican, have been drawing
favorable reviews -- and tourists.
Rome isn't the only place where architectural experimentation is
taking place and adventurous new projects aren't limited to the
biggest cities. Italy's first zero-energy residential development,
for example, will open in the northern town of Schio in 2007. Across
the nation, an architectural renaissance is reshaping Italy for the
21st century.
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