[IThomas]

Museum of the Mediterranean
Reggio Calabria | Calabria | Italy​

Design: Zaha Hadid with Patrik Schumacher - Project Architect: Filippo Innocenti - Competition Team: Filippo Innocenti, Michele Salvi, Roberto Vangeli, Andrea Balducci Castè, Luciano Letteriello, Fabio Forconi, Giuseppe Morando, Johannes Weikert, Deepti Zachariah, Gonzalo Carbajo - Design Team: Michele Salvi, Roberto Vangeli, Luciano Letteriello, Domenico di Francesco, Marco Guardincerri, Davide Del Giudice - Structural: Interprogetti; Adams Kara Taylor - Studio Prima: IngCost; Max Fordham and Partners - Environmental: Max Fordham; Macchiaroli & Partners - Cost / QS: Building Consulting - Fire: Macchiaroli & Partners; Building Consulting.

Located on a narrow strait, separating continental Italy from Sicily, the waterfront marks the city of Reggio Calabria as a Mediterranean cultural capital. Drawing inspiration from the radial symmetry of the starfish, the structure, housing the Museum of the Mediterranean, stands as a beacon visible from land and sea. The museum presents exhibition spaces, restoration facilities, archive, aquarium and library.

The project -winning of the international design competition- has been put in the city's drawer for some years, pending for funds.

 

[IThomas]

Draghi grants funds to Reggio Calabria: city will have Zaha Hadid's museum.

Calabria also has its place in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) thanks to which Italy hopes to restart after the Coronavirus pandemic. Among the interventions, there is also Zaha Hadid's project for the Mediterranean Museum of Reggio Calabria. Mario Draghi's government of national unity has decided to grant funds to the iconic project, which will revamp an area on the sea, integrating it with the existing waterfront.

lacnews.24.it / reggio.gazzettadelsud.it

Reggio Calabria Mayor, Giuseppe Falcomatà, on his FB account:

DREAM COMES TRUE
Now it's official. We managed, thanks to the willingness of the Government and in particular of Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, and thanks to the dialogue promoted by ANCI with the President Antonio Decaro, to obtain funding for the Zaha Hadid Museum. The project was considered strategic by the government for the development of the entire country, demonstrating how important it is to invest the resources of the Recovery, especially in the South. Because if the South starts again Italy starts again.

 

[IThomas]

Some informations about the city and the areas nearby the future "Museum of the Mediterranean", with a series of suggestions:

Reggio Calabria is Calabria region's most populous city. It's located at the centre of Mediterranen Sea, between the Strait of Messina (separating Italy from mainland Italy) and the Aspromonte National Park, full of naturalistic and historic-artistic heritage due to the presence of a series of towns and villages.

Reggio's existing waterfront presents a linear garden, with secular trees of different species. The main commercial pedestrian street with shops, restaurants and cafes is just behind. Nearby there are other cultural venues such as the Duomo, the Teather, the remains of the Castle and Roman ruins...

Recently, the waterfront also get a contemporary artwork by renowned artist Edoardo Tresoldi. See more here.

The area is served by Reggio Calabria Lido, that has also get funds from the Recovery and Resilience National Plan to be refurbished. Furthermore, there is the port nearby, with ships and hydrofoils that connect Reggio with the city of Messina (on the opposite side) and - in summer - the Aeolian Islands (one of the Unesco World Heritage Sites).

The National Archeological Museum is located on the waterfront too. The building is a work in Rationalist-style architecture, designed by Marcello Piacentini in 1930s. It was refurbished recently and contains lots of artworks and artefacts of ancient Greek and Roman times.

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[Manitopiaaa]

Gorgeous!! I wonder if it was actually designed by Zaha Hadid before she died, or it's just her architectural firm.

 

[IThomas]

It was Zaha who designed it in 2007. But I am sure that, when completed, she will look at her project from the heaven

 

[IThomas]

Zaha Hadid and Italy
The "Museum of the Mediterranean" of Reggio Calabria is going to become Zaha Hadid's 7th architectural project for Italy to be built.
Follow the completed projects in the country:

Lo Storto / The Twisted One, located in Milan's CityLife area. Housing the headquarters of Generali and an urban shopping mall.
The skyscraper is part of a trio to whose design collaborated Arata Isozaki and Daniel Libeskind and other local architecture firms.

And in the same area, there are also her CityLife residences.

MAXXI - The National Museum of 21th Century Arts in Rome's Flaminio neighborhood.

The Marittime Terminal of Salerno, the second-largest city in Campania region after Naples.

Naples-Afragola High-Speed Rail Station.

The little Messner Mountain Museum of Plan de Corones, (2,275 m above sea level) in Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tyrol region.

But there are another two projects designed by Zaha herself before to die...

The Nuragic and Contemporary Art Museum of Cagliari. This project still waits for financing from the Culture Ministry.

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Jesolo Magica, located in the beach town of Jesolo, nearby Venice.

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[brick84]

 

[IThomas]