Fractal Armatures

Porta Maggiore, Rome
4A Rome Studio
December 2007

FRACTAL ARMATURES is a proposed mixed-use development just outside the Aurelian Walls at Porta Maggiore, in Rome. Here, the urban fabric unravels from San Giovanni in Laterano and Termini station to the unsavoury fringes at the edge of the site. Using new programme to complement existing cultural programme adjacent or near the site (staggering in its untapped potential: the Museum of Musical Instruments, Museum of Military History, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, the Aurelian Wall itself, and partially excavated Roman ruins, including an old amphitheatre), the project aims to create a new destination, while at the same time remaining sympathetic to the neighbourhood and its residents.

The project attempts to transcend these scales by using fractal geometries. Surface patterns grow to become spaces that are layered with narratives—the enchanted forest, pop-up market, the 'board game' (a multi-sport pitch), the library/urban beach, and the labyrinthine community garden—in order to foster a relationship between the city, neighbourhood, and individual through shared experiences.