"ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS" continued~ 2nd Work

MAXXI: MUSEUM OF XXI CENTURY ARTS

Rome, Italy
1998–2009

PROGRAM:
Contemporary art and architecture centre, temporary exhibition spaces

CLIENT:
Italian Ministry of Culture, Rome, Italy
Fondazione MAXXI

SIZE:
30000 m²

CONCEPT:

MAXXI stands for Museum of 21st Century Arts. It is the first Italian public museum devoted to contemporary creativity, arts and architecture. The idea of building a centre for contemporary architecture dates back to early 1998 with Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage desire to ensure the great cultural traditions of Italy's past should not be denied a prospect for continuity in the future. Intended not only as a place to exhibit art, the MAXXI was also planned as a research workshop for different contemporary languages of design, fashion and cinema to establish a dialogue with art and architecture - its cultural mission inspired by three key words: innovation, multiculturalism and interdisciplinary. The design concept for the MAXXI was to move away from the idea of the museum as 'an object' and towards the idea of 'a field of buildings' accessible to all. The research evolved into the concept of the confluence of lines, where the primary force of the site is the walls that constantly intersect and separate to create both indoor and outdoor spaces.