Ponte Leporello

PONTE LEPORELLO

The city of Rome is over 2700 years old. It is unique that so many layers of archaeological treasures from different ages have remained in such a good condition in such a vast area. It determines the character of the downtown and attracts a large number of visitors. Many of them start planning their comeback before leaving the city. They are fascinated by the palpable history of Rome and the thousand-year-old tales that the buildings have to tell. The city forms a homogenous and compact ensemble. In the downtown there are barely any buildings from the 20th century which could interfere with this harmony, or could overshadow the buildings of the historical ages. This is the reason why I am not keen on introducing characteristic high-tech or exorbitantly fluid forms here. In my opinion low-tech architecture blends better with the historical or at places antiquated surroundings.

It is important to emphasize, that the protection of ancient buildings is not always satisfactory, therefore their condition is constantly deteriorating. To prevent further deterioration one solution is to find a new function for them and to take them into everyday use.

To illustrate this I have chosen Ponte Rotto, which is located at the lower end of the Tiber Isle. This was the first stone bridge in the city, built in 174 BC. After some flood damage and restoration today only two piers and an arch have been left. My aim is to include the bridge, which deserves more attention, into the range of tourist sights and to place an info point and a cafe on the top of it, because the surrounding area is also very reach in historical sites.

The difficulty lies in reaching the platform, which is 45m away from the riverside and 13m above the water level. Architecture-wise I decided to plan a very basic form, so I have chosen the cube.

When this 6x6x6 square is closed, it looks as if it was there only temporarily. However when the tourist office opens at one side the closed arm starts to open like a fanfold and it reaches the riverside. Then a sidewalk turns horizontally, and the info point becomes accessible…