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The renovation of the German Archaeological Institute in Rome arose from the need to update the 1962 building to modern seismic standards and current functional requirements while preserving its historical identity. The concept combined conservation and innovation, recovering original materials such as marble and wood and integrating them into the new design. Structural interventions included creating new seismic joints and reinforcing existing structures. Technological systems were integrated into the architecture to optimize energy efficiency and environmental comfort, using radiant flooring and fan-coils. The result is a balance between tradition and modernity, ensuring safety and sustainability.
The building is embedded in a neighborhood developed in the early 19th century within the historic walls of Rome.
Established as a rsidential neighborhood, over time it has become increasingly polarized with a use for offices and hotels, effectively expelling the resident population.
The relevant aspect that relates the building to the context is its function: bring after 17 years of closure the headquarters of the archaeological institute back inside its original headquarters built in 1964.
The social benefits of a cultural institution are such that it can be considered a counter-trend operation that aims to halt the gentrification phenomenon and reverse the trend by reevaluating it as a residential destination and thus ensuring the necessary mixed functions that a neighborhood should have.
The project constitutes a manifesto of sustainability, right from the decision to preserve an existing building from the 1960s instead of demolishing it and building a new one. The intervention was radical, starting with the load-bearing structures, where the existing ones were implemented, reinforced and integrated with new elements until the building was adapted to the most restrictive earthquake-resistant regulations. A huge amount of materials from the demolitions were recovered and integrated into the project; from the exterior fixtures, which were disassembled and implemented in the features, to a huge amount of flooring and cladding materials, creatively used up to the recycling of the fragments All this ensuring a state of the art efficiency and energy comfort.
The project cannot be called a restoration or even a renovation. Rather, it is a contemporary reinterpretation of a typical 1960s modern architecture building where an attempt was made to keep intact the spirit, materiality and quality of that era, using the possibilities offered by current technological development to make it contemporary.
A number of different functions are articulated in A compact rectangular building measuring 53 x18 meters developed on six above-ground and two underground levels, such as reception area, exhibition space, four open-access libraries totaling 140 seats, a photographic library, two conference rooms, 35 offices, compactable book storehouses, storage rooms, chillednegative archives and photo laboratories, residences, underground parking lot, a terrace and a secret garden.
The integration of original salvaged elements with newly introduced ones is taken to an extreme level and involves the entire building, from the load-bearing structures to the furnishings. The opportunity given to us by the client, to control every executive detail down to the design of the fixed and movable furniture allowed us to achieve an exceptionally elegant result.
After nearly 200 years of history and 17 years after the closure of its headquarters built in 1964, we are happy to be able to open the institute again to the city and the scholarly community. The recent renovation by insula architettura e ingegneria has allowed us to have a building that is structurally, plant and regulatory efficient by preserving its identity and projecting it into the new millennium. Ortwin Dally Director of the German Archaeological Institute
Insula Architettura e Ingegneria s.r.l. is a practice established in Rome in 2002 by architects Eugenio Cipollone and Paolo Orsini, and engineer Roberto Lorenzotti. Insula’s portfolio spans various scales of intervention, from urban design, emphasizing public spaces even in delicate archaeological contexts, to architectural and interior design for prestigious real estate complexes for residential, office, or hospitality use.
The firm manages all project phases in-house, from feasibility studies to detailed design, overseeing every stage of construction. With over 20 years of experience, Insula harnesses a wide array of in-house skills, enabling it to coordinate a broad network of technicians and specialists needed for managing the most complex projects.
Insula’s hallmark is particularly evident in redevelopment projects in historic urban areas, where changes in use or functional adaptations allow for a blend of experimentation, creativity, and land governance.
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