A New Architectural Dialogue in Rome The MAXXI Museum Extension in Rome, designed by LAN, embodies a new generation of hybrid architectures that blend the boundaries between nature and artifice. Situated in a developing area near the Tiber and beneath Monte Mario, the project asserts the identity of the MAXXI complex through a multifunctional building and a linear urban park. The new building is a silent architecture that reinterprets existing urban patterns with orthogonal forms and simple volumes. It houses restoration and research laboratories, archives, and educational spaces across multiple levels, crowned by a large hanging botanical garden. The reflective compluvium on the roof, with its mirror material, creates a kaleidoscopic effect, multiplying images of vegetation and seasons. The urban park introduces permeable green surfaces to enhance climatic comfort, replacing the cemented areas typical of the site. This approach transforms the space into a lush green landscape, retaining the parallel strip configuration reminiscent of Zaha Hadid’s original design.

Design Highlights

Integration of a multifunctional building and urban park Use of orthogonal forms and simple volumes Hanging botanical garden with reflective compluvium Prefabricated panels in polished pink concrete Permeable green surfaces to improve microclimate

Key Facts