Ex Fiera di Roma - Masterplan

The first generative gesture, by which the dual soul - local and urban - of the intervention was emphasized, consists of the arrangement of three strips cut transversely by a grid of transversal directions and squares that draw paths, mark accesses and define spaces for the use of the inhabitants. The outermost strips are conceived as two linear parks that run parallel to Via Cristoforo Colombo: the first constitutes the buffer zone, defined by the municipally owned area, vis-à-vis the major road artery that connects the center of Rome to EUR and from there to the Tyrrhenian coast; the second, toward Via dell'Arcadia, links the new neighborhood to the existing one, constituting an equipped, protected and safe green space available to citizens. Between the two parks is the built-up area, consisting of three courtyard blocks. These are respectively functionally composed of a residential subdivision dedicated to social housing and two free-market residential subdivisions, both complemented - on the northwest front facing Colombo Street - by a linear system dedicated to private services. The functional mix obviates the problem of zoning and is aimed at establishing relationships and mutual benefits between the different functions without creating promiscuity. The result is an alternation of point buildings and stick buildings that are immersed in a large green area, a system that is presented as the contemporary deconstruction of a courtyard neighborhood. Semi-public spaces are thus determined, separated from public spaces also through the Hochparterre that allows privacy for the ground-floor dwellings. Such Hochparterre rises 1.50 toward Colombo Street and Arcadia Street, and 80 cm toward the inner courts. The northeasternmost portion of the lot, on the other hand, has been earmarked to accommodate public and commercial functions as a priority, identifying a square imagined as an offshoot of the new linear park laid out along Arcadia Street. A large public courtyard building dedicated to children and youth defines the square on the northwest front, while a building for commercial use is planned on the southeast front. The square is thus bordered by buildings with different functions (public, commercial and residential) so as to ensure its 24/7 activation. The volumetric development of the above-described facility was determined on the basis of maximum building efficiency, trying to minimize the footprint on the ground. The blocks composed of the residential compartments (free market housing, social housing) and the compartment intended for private services provide for a slatted development of three levels above ground arranged longitudinally on the lot. These are for residential use on the front facing Arcadia Street and for services on the front facing Christopher Columbus Street.