The opening of Zaha Hadid’s MAXXI(an acronym for Museum of the Arts ofthe Twenty-First Century) on November14 in Rome was a momentous occasionfor so many reasons. Although themuseum’s design is revolutionary andextraordinarily complex by any stan-dard, for a city that has long shunnednew architecture—and is subject tothe vagaries of Italian politics—its realization is something of a miracle.Completed ten years after the interna-tional competition at a cost of €150million (about $223 million), more thandouble the projected budget, Italy’s

first national museum of contemporaryart and architecture will encompasstwo institutions, administered jointlyby directors Anna Mattirolo andMargherita Guccione.

Not long after groundbreaking in2005, with only the foundations com-plete, the first installment of funds hadalready been spent and a governmentbudget crisis made it unclear that theMinistry of Culture would be able tocome up with more. Even so, theMAXXI has been largely immune to thetype of controversy surrounding otherrecent architectural commissions,

notably Richard Meier’s Ara Pacis,whichRome’s mayor made a campaignpromise in 2008 to dismantle.

The MAXXI’s sleek exterior concealsa baroque belly full of drunkenly tiltingwalls, undulating ramps that dissolveinto space, and vertiginous cantileversrotated around a soaring double-storyatrium. Hadid’s new Italian “creature,”as the behemoth 322,000-square-footmuseum has been called,was unveiledwith theatrical panache as moderndancers, choreographed by SashaWaltz, guided spectators through the pristine empty space. It was also a

creative way to inaugurate a museumsapped of the funds to mount a properexhibition, thanks to cost overrunsattributable mostly to the sheer techni-cal difficulty of the construction.

Hadid’s exuberant conceptual scrib-bles were transformed into concretestructure largely thanks to a structuralengineering team with expertise in the restoration and reinforcement ofancient monuments, an importantconsideration in such a seismicallyactive area. “The whole structure ismore or less floating; there are rela-tively few points that actually touch theground,” said engineering consultantFederico Croci of Studio Croci &Associati. “But the most impressivething about this building is the skele-ton—it is like a wild animal.” The criss-crossing horizontal strips of the structuretraverse inside and out, oscillating andtwisting so that walls seamlesslybecome floors, ceilings, and windows.

The last time anything of this scalewas constructed in Rome was underBenito Mussolini, who exploited theuse of monumental architecture as ademonstration of power. The Fascistdictator left a significant modernistarchitectural legacy, including the iconicPalazzo della Civiltà in the EUR quarter,and the neoclassical Foro Italico sportscomplex just across the river from theMAXXI. It is difficult to compete withthe sweeping efficiency of dictator-ships, especially under an epicallyunstable democratic government. ButRome’s monumental scale demands

an architectural statement of suitablygrand proportions, and MAXXI certainlyfits the bill. Arguably the most suc-cessfully realized building by Hadid todate, this explosive colossus of glass,steel, and concrete could also be the Eternal City’s first contemporarymonument, putting it back on thearchitecture map.

The question that remains iswhether the new museum will be a welcoming host to the institution’smodest collection of contemporary art and architectural drawings, supple-mented by an annual acquisition budgetunder $4 million. The response ofPaolo Colombo, the former director ofMAXXI who oversaw the commission,was clear: “I don’t care: The buildingitself is a masterpiece.”CATHRYN DRAKE

NEWS 10

THE ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 2, 2009

Click 258Click 143

DESIMONENEW YORK

MIAMISAN FRANCISCO

NEW HAVENLAS VEGAS

HONG KONGABU DHABISHANGHAI

w w w . d e - s i m o n e . c o m

DeSimone Consulting Engineersis a global leader providing

structural engineering services worldwide. We perform analysis

and design for all types ofbuildings at all project phases

and are committed to creating a better built environment.

With 40 years of experience, our firm’s breadth and diversity

are key strengths enabling us to best serve our clients’ needs.

100 11TH

Client ALF NAMAN REAL ESTATE

CAPE ADVISORS, INC.

ArchitectATELIERS JEAN NOUVEL

BEYER BLINDER BELLE

ROME’S NEW MUSEUM OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE IS BIG, BOLD, AND EMPTY

ZAHAMAXIMA

RO

LA

ND

HA

LB

E

A lobby

RIC

HA

RD

BR

YA

NT

AN_20_01_12_FINAL:AN_06_CLH_Mar25 11/23/09 5:00 PM Page 10