Ileana Wife

Thesis in Architectural Design

Cultural center on the Ostia Lido seafront

Thesis by Ileana Moglie
Contact Email: Ileana.Moglie@libero.it
Roma Tre University - Faculty of Architecture
Master's Degree in EU Architecture - Architectural Design
Speaker: Arch. Mario Panizza
Co-supervisor: Arch. Vittoria Crisostomi
Academic Year 2009 - 2010

The project includes a portion of the Ostia Lido seafront, in particular the area between Piazzale Magellano, the Caio Duilio seafront and Piazza Sirio. This area currently has many under-exploited potentials; the main ones are the direct contact with both the sea and the urban front, the proximity of the Castel Fusano pine forest, and its central position with respect to the town. 
Ostia could play a central role in the interest of the Capital, highlighting its many qualities. In recent years, various initiatives, projects, programs, try to bring back prestige to the "Lido di Roma", enhancing some aspects that can act as a driving force for the relaunch of interest and the local economy. The proximity of Ostia Lido to various sites of interest (Archaeological Site of Ostia Antica, Leonardo da Vinci Airport, UGC Center, New Fair of Rome, Tourist Port) could be one of the themes to keep in mind to bring back collective interest in the neighborhood.
 
The project, starting from these premises, wants to bring a new morphological and environmental identity capable of generating new interests. The area under consideration presents several evident problems: first of all the role that the seafront plays today. This is the preferential connection between the arrival of the Via del Mare and the head of the Via Cristoforo Colombo, thus becoming a large artery for vehicular traffic, but being out of scale for the human dimension.
The first study was therefore aimed at completing part of the internal vehicular road system, interrupted, to allow a shift of traffic towards other canals and recover the role of the waterfront as a promenade.
The entire project aims to be a single path that, from a lower point, the sea, rises via terraces to street level, to then continue with an urban park up to the highest point, the project building.

Particular attention was paid to the study of the vegetation used. Using shrub types typical of the Mediterranean scrub, therefore of the Lazio coast, the plants themselves recreate a microclimate favorable to their survival.
The cultural center project is inserted at the end of the lot and at the same time as a continuation of the urban park, providing functions that are currently not present in the Lido di Ostia or are exploited inappropriately.

The auditorium acts as a central hub, an urban reference point for events or concerts, around which the building develops. The other functions present are:

• a library (currently the XIII Municipio of Rome has a single Municipal Library)
• laboratories for study and art (currently hosted in high school classrooms)
• art gallery, with special spaces dedicated to local art/archaeology (no such space is currently present at Lido di Ostia)
• a restaurant
• bar

Two central squares, at different heights, offer the possibility of stopping and at the same time distribute the functions of the building.
The last topic addressed is that of increasing the parking offer since Ostia Lido currently does not meet the minimum requirements for this urban planning standard.
The entire project is aimed at exploiting the many local potentials that could bring new prestige to Municipio XIII.