IN SHORT
Calatrava's master plan for the campus — conceived with conscious reference to the Circus Maximus — is designed as a long promenade, bordered along its entire length by a double row of cypresses. The new Sports City at one end and the Rectorate of Tor Vergata University at the other end. A large urban park linking the University and the Sports City will become a forum for meetings, social and cultural events. Other buildings to be developed later will ultimately line the avenue and provides accommodations for students and houses new university faculties. The Sports City, to be developed in an area close to the Torrenova with access to the Rome- Naples highway, comprised of two symmetrically arranged identical fan-shaped pavilions and a series of external infrastructure works to complete and complement the development.
One of the pavilions will house the multi-purpose arena, Palasport; the other will accommodate the swimming pool, Palanuoto. The buildings are functionally independent and allow different events to be host simultaneously. The Palasport-Palanuoto complex will also include gymnasia, laboratories, classrooms, teaching facilities, a fitness and rehabilitation center as well as offices and shops. A track-and-field and an outdoor swimming pool will rounded off the external sporting area. The essential element of the Rectorate tower is configured as a spiral winding around itself to produce an unified space that appears to stretch upward.
The tower's vertical profile is accentuated by metallic columns, which both constitute the structure and mark its shape. A transparent design that draws light from the surrounding glazed surfaces and also becomes a light source in itself when illuminated at night. The presence of water, which will be a constant feature around the buildings and throughout the park, harmonizes the campus as a whole. All architecturual aspects along the central promenade will be characterized by the transparency of the buildings with alternating solid surfaces and glazed sections creating softly diffused light in the interiors and striking lighting effects externally, accentuated by reflections from the water. The landscaping will create a familiar setting with the use of Mediterranean species such as cluster pines, false acacias and olive trees.
YEAR
2005 -
ADDRESS
Via Orazio Raimondo,18
00173 Roma
Italy