Given: (unattractive) parking lot next to the Italian Parliament building in Rome as a site. And Theater parameters.
Assignment: Take Theater and add backstage and lobby zones. Leave space for public exterior space as well. Fit site within urban fabric.
My Initial Thoughts: The stairwell located at the southernmost entrance of the site (about a story of height difference) gave me the idea to expand the higher grade further into my site, and incorporate the stairwell somewhere within my site. I also want to separate the new outdoor piazza space from the current piazza space existing in front of the Parliament building.
Resulting Exterior: The awkward space at the southern tip of the site becomes a small piazzetta (at a new raised grade). Ideally, the Corner tip of the new building becomes a bar to give this space a place of interest. The stairs to take the experiencer down to the grade of the Parliament, are located in 2 places, down a dark alley along the west facade of the Parliament building, and another stair on the west side of the new building. Those stairs are wide, which sparked the idea that they should be turned into a setting that can also be used as an outdoor theater. Then was the conundrum on how to facade the entrance, which ultimately shapes the piazza area as well. Keeping up with the Theater motif, I was inspired by a theater in the round, which is a theater of gathering around a center point of interest, much like a piazza. A colonnade across the facade of the circle would also continue, in order to create a visual separation between the piazza and the theater, but still leave it open when not in use.
Resulting Interior: A lobby space shaped by the cropped circle to the west, and a flat border from the piazza in front of the Parliament to the east. There is also a backstage space that has an attachment to the outdoor theater for when that is in use.
Overall: Yet again, everyones critiques were enjoyable to sit through. Everyone brought a new argument to the table that were all entirely plausible. I have been enjoying how our critiques have become more of intellectual discussions about how well we conceptualized and how much more we could do if we had say another week. The jurors likes my use of grade changing and utilizing the stairs and suggested if i had another week, my geometries would most likely evolve to be more organic.
Saturday we leave for Istanbul, where, yet again, I will be without a computer. I am extremely excited to go to such an different country. The Rome of the East. The perfect spot for an architecture student in Rome to visit during their study abroad. This experience is going to be crazy. Food is going to be different, and Mrs Basu wont be there assuring me that its delicious, so I am really embarking on something new.
My only question: To bath, or not to bath? You know what they say, When in.... Istanbul.... I guess?
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