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Changing the Face 2008 - Rome - The Colosseum

Designing a new fictional façade for a Coliseum in Rome is certainly not an everyday task for an architect! But it was exactly this unconventional idea that was the incentive for the workshop that we conducted with six leading European architects’ offices in September 2008 in Italy. Free from any design limitations concerning financial viability or utility in the real world the architects where asked to develop innovative facades.

Icon by the river
By Robert Erlac, BRT Architekten
Icon by the river - Colosseum
In his approach to the task in the workshop, Robert Erlac interpreted the Colloseum as a monument on the banks of the River Time. This is, of course, meant symbolically. On the arena’s south side, most of which has been destroyed, he proposes the erection of a dynamically vibrating canopy roof.
Corianosseum
By Paul Kath, Coop Himmelb(l)au
Corianosseum - Colosseum
Over the centuries, the Colosseum has undergone a considerable amount of change in terms of what it signifies as a building, with the gladiators’ arena finally becoming a tourist landmark. Paul Kath’s idea was to disassociate the structure from its relationship to the urban environment and link it to a second symbol of the Italian way of life: the espresso cup.
Colosscope
By Boris Kunz, Dietz Joppien Architekten
Colosscope
The fates and tragedies that have run their course in the Colosseum have been long forgotten by most of us. Through modification of isolated parts of this historic monument, Boris Kunz aims to bring them back to life. His ‘Colosscope’ evokes images of worlds that would otherwise escape perception and be lost to the memory for ever.
Reconstruction through subtraction
By Hans Focketyn
Reconstruction through subtraction
Hans Focketyn approaches the Colosseum with the exactitude of an archeologist. In his design, a precise incision is used to cut out a slice of the arena and insert it somewhere else in the circle. This reveals the inner structure of the building and makes it possible to experience its original geometrical form.
Segni e Rughe – Traces and creases
By Andre Santer, J. Mayer H. Architeten
Segni e Rughe – Traces and creases
Earlier events have left visible and invisible traces on the Colosseum. It is exactly these that Andre Santer focuses on in his particular design: fine veins made of DuPont™ Corian® permeate the building’s outer shell behind which space for new functional uses is created.
2011 Competition
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The 2011 competition is open
Register on Architizer.com and submit your project. Deadline: 15th May

changing the face 2011
Puskinsky cinema

 

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