Europe Week Nine: Urban Design
These past few weeks in Rome school we worked on developing the urban plan of a site. The goal was to take a run-down ex-slaughterhouse yard in the Testaccio region of Rome and transform it into a center for reuse as it was occupied since ancient times by programs of waste management and disposal. My project acknowledged this trend of reuse, and focuses on opening up the enclosed courtyard and introducing green space that would allow pedestrians to move through and explore the surrounding context, which include the old slaughterhouse, Monte Testaccio, a cemetery, a portion of Rome's ancient Aurelian walls, and the Tiber riverfront. I developed an urban master plan for the site that takes visitors from the industrial functions of the reuse center, through a public courtyard, under a cantilevered restaurant/cafe, and down a theater-like space that finally leads to the river.
Our mid-review was on Friday and it went fairly well, although I still have a lot of work to do developing the architectural portion of the project. But first, a two week excursion to Tuscany, Venice, Austria, and Paris! You can't even imagine how excited I am right now.
I should probably get started packing...ci vediamo dopo amici!
