PROGRESSIVE ARCHEOLOGY

spring_2010

the moretta site connects the tiber river to the cheese nuova across four major traffic thoroughfares in the city of rome, italy. the church and the river embankment are the anchor points, two bodies, separated by empty space, as presented in the "creation of adam" painting at the nearby sistine chapel. the monolithic embankment and the church are destinations connected by active public space and a pedestrian network. the community will be able to inhabit the newly imagined site at multiple strata. sublimated paths connect subterranean civic spaces and columnar tectonic spaces. the anticipation of crossing space and the implied paths between disparate points inspired an exploration of void and mass through reveals. the reveal is an architectural derivative of the archaeological practice of preservation through isolation. voids and reveals separating earth from building didactically preserve the integrity of the archaeological layers and the new architectural structures. this project was submitted under the title <progressive archeology> as part of the 2010 robert auzelle seminar international competition: art urban. the project was sited one half mile from our rome studio, and the design was completed by the team of: jared edgar mcknight, michelle ouellette, and tyeler seagren.