Regium Waterfront Italy : Architecture Information

Regium Waterfront Zaha Hadid Architects 16 Feb 2009 The project aims to define the city of Reggio Calabria as a Mediterranean cultural capital through the realization of two characteristic buildings: a museum and a multifunctional building for performing arts. The location of the site on the narrow sea strait separating continental Italy from Sicily, offers an opportunity to create two unique buildings visible from the sea and the Sicilian coast: a Museum of the Mediterranean History and a Multifunctional Building. The form of the museum draws inspiration from the organic shapes of a starfish. The radial symmetry of this shape helps to coordinate the communication and circulation between different sections of the museum and its other facilities. The Museum of Mediterranean History will house exhibition spaces, restoration facilities, an archive, an aquarium and library. The Multifunctional Building is a composition of three separate elements that surround a partially covered piazza. The building will house the museum’s administrative offices, a gym, local craft laboratories, shops and a cinema. Three different auditoriums, which can be converted into one large space, are also housed in the Multifunctional Building. REGIUM WATERFRONT, Reggio Calabria, Italy Zaha Hadid Architects Signing of the agreement between the Municipality of Reggio Calabria and Zaha Hadid Architects. 5 Feb 2009 Dr Giuseppe Scopelliti, the Mayor of Reggio Calabria, joined Zaha Hadid at the Italian Embassy in London today in a ceremony to mark the signing of the agreement for the Regium Waterfront project by Zaha Hadid Architects. The project aims to define the city of Reggio Calabria as a Mediterranean cultural capital through the realization of two characteristic buildings: a museum and a multifunctional building for performing arts. The location of the site on the narrow sea strait separating continental Italy from Sicily, offers an opportunity to create two unique buildings visible from the sea and the Sicilian coast: a Museum of the Mediterranean History and a Multifunctional Building. The form of the museum draws inspiration from the organic shapes of a starfish. The radial symmetry of this shape helps to coordinate the communication and circulation between different sections of the museum and its other facilities. The Museum of Mediterranean History will house exhibition spaces, restoration facilities, an archive, an aquarium and library. The Multifunctional Building is a composition of three separate elements that surround a partially covered piazza. The building will house the museum’s administrative offices, a gym, local craft laboratories, shops and a cinema. Three different auditoriums, which can be converted into one large space, are also housed in the Multifunctional Building. “I am absolutely delighted to be working in Reggio Calabria. The project will be a gathering place for people of all ages - presenting the Mediterranean’s rich and diverse history with visual and performing arts to enhance the cultural vitality of the city; providing an essential venue for discussion and discourse where the public engages with the spaces and with the exhibitions. This connection between culture and public life is critical; as what differentiates museums of the 21st Century from the previous century is that the client is no longer simply one patron. The client is the public - it’s many people, which makes this project really exciting.” states Zaha Hadid. REGGIO CALABRIA, REGIUM WATERFRONT Project Design: Zaha Hadid & Patrik Schumacher Project Architect: Filippo Innocenti Design Team: Michele Salvi, Roberto Vangeli, Andrea Balducci Castè, Luciano Letteriello, Fabio Forconi, Giuseppe Morando, Johannes Weikert, Deepti Zachariah, Gonzalo Carbajo Structures: Adams-Kara-Taylor: Hanif Kara M&E: Max Fordham: Neil Smith Cost Surveyor: Building Consulting: Alba de Pascale, Edoardo Lima Maritime Structures: Studio Prima: Pietro Chiavaccini, Maurizio Verzoni Regium Waterfront images / information from Zaha Hadid Architects Feb 2009