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Rome’s new Trade Fair stands off the trunk road from the capital to its Fiumicino Airport. It also runs alongside the railway, which is to provide a Fiera station of its own, and is within easy access of the motorway. The complex lies on a NE/SW axis and pivots around the nucleus of the Fair Headquarters, a five-story building providing 3000 sqm of floorspace. This will form the fulcrum of a ninety-two hectare (230 acre) Trade Fair zone complete with its own Congress Centre seating 4000. The terrain needed consolidating as a foundation and 1700 piles were used. Transversal access routes abut on the HQ building, while from it run the two lengthwise axes of the raised pedestrian walkway connecting up the arrangement of display pavilions standing at right angles to it. The project was coordinated by architect Tommaso Valle with consulting engineer Massimo Majowiecki for the steel and roofing components. It both highlights the technological features of the various structures and makes the most of what is a big opportunity for formal expression. The eye is immediately caught by the outline of the roof covering the connecting pedestrian ‘gallery’ which achieves a striking architectural and aesthetic effect. 1.6 kilometres long in all, and rising 6 m off the ground on a structure of perforated concrete columns and girders with a deck in pre-compressed slabs, it also serves to separate service vehicle traffic from the conveyor belt-assisted visitor routes with their access facilities from above. The walkway roof provides the whole complex with its unifying statement. The key to this composite structure is seven bands (or ‘coils’) of stainless steel plate, each 1250mm wide and running 300mm apart from one another. The bands are slung along a hanging chain arrangement, with supporting columns made of twin steel tubes and cross-spars, all painted white. The underside of the steel “coils” provides a reflecting inside ceiling. Stretched across the ‘coils’ is a polyester...
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Matteo Thun
Matteo Thun
For a whole decade Matteo Thun has been advocating Ecotecture, an approach to project design that is sensitive to both the ecology and the economy, cr...
River Aquarium
Promontório Architects
The Portuguese firm of architects Promontório have come up with a series of plans for a river aquarium, environmental research and conservation centr...
Ørestad College
3XN
The Ørestad College commissioned by the city of Copenhagen is the result of a restricted-entry ideas competition won by architecture practice 3XN in ...
