The International

4th Year Study Abroad Project at the Pantheon Institute in Rome, Italy

Professor: Andrew Kranis

Site Location: Porta Portese Gate, Porta Portese Street - 00153 Rome

Designing for: transition, modularity, community involvement, landscape rehabilitation, urban regeneration, stitching the urban fabric

The Masterplan:

The Porta Portese is an ancient city gate along the Aurelian Walls that once served as an entryway and invitation to Rome. However, vehicular traffic and neglect have turned it into a chaotic and dysfunctional fringe. It is a barrier to the community, with architectures that are segregated, disjointed, and inaccessible. The International masterplan seeks to restore life to an area that has continually been disregarded and overlooked. Its architecture serves as the mediator between the community and history creating a material, tangible connection to the ancient city wall. Within an adaptable glass portico of modules, individuals will have the opportunity to navigate the path of the Aurelian Wall while partaking in commerce with local vendors in the community. By refining the existing urban environment this integration serves as a tool for unity between history, archetypes, and nature.

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BEFORE | AFTER

Architectural Quality:

This project enhances upon the wall of the Porta Portese through integration of transparent architecture.

Respect for the Environment

The portico is an adaptable and reversible intervention along the length of the historic wall structure which introduces a linear green roof to absorb rainwater and solar gain.

Quality of Social Life:

This project will animate these physical barriers bringing life and transformation to this previously neglected area.

Building Project

Program Space Allocation

The Building Project:

This proposal is located within the new proposal along the Aerial Wall which created a new centralized location within Rome that provides an atmosphere of submersion within the essence of Italian culture. Local communal interactions are crucial for students studying abroad seeking to experience and learn from all Rome has to offer. But it is also important abroad students are provided a place to succeed. Therefore the following project is a proposal for a community coworking cafe as well as study abroad apartment housing.

The plan consists of curtain walls so the ancient wall serves as the backdrop for both the interior courtyard and cafe where individuals can engage with the rich history of the site. The building’s upper-level cantilevers over the wall serving as a respectful penetration of the wall as a barrier and fringe. It is to symbolize the reaching out of studying abroad students not to stay within their safe box of home but encourage them to reach out and experience new things. To form a broader scope past the walls we build within our own minds. This proposal serves to create a coalescent hub of cultures and ideas from around the world. To create spaces where there is no longer division between cultures, learning, and adaptation, but easement within one another.