Rome is founded upon stone. Known as the eternal city, its material permanence has left traces of past civilisation throughout the capital. From extracting to constructing to sculpting, there is a duality between resource and civilisation at every scale. Drawing upon this sentiment, this project proposes a performing arts centre that spotlights the importance of material heritage in architecture.
By re-appropriating Mussolini’s city wall, notions of preservation are questioned and a third city wall is constructed to celebrate the local music culture of San Lorenzo.
The building is intended to mediate between Rome’s layers of tangible and intangible history, both of which are peeled back and pushed forwards within the architecture.