Traditional Knowledge across centuries: the requalification project of Saxa Rubra in Rome (I)

Saxa Rubra is a 75 hectar site, located in the Northern outskirt of Rome. The site enjoys an important historical heritage from the Roman times but is also experiencing a dramatic development mainly due to the growing presence of major commercial and business centres. Free from formal intervention, the place is still a wild location where native ecosystems, key infrastructures, archeology and business activities can operate without interference. The project design approach melds industrial site reclamation – and the adaptive re-use of on-site materials – with ecological restoration through the use of green technologies. By thoughtfully re-purposing found industrial artifacts and incorporating green technologies into newly created buildings that work in concert with the existing architecture and the greater landscape, the project aims at creating spaces that interpret the area’s historical uses while fostering business opportunities for the future. The local pedestrian network connects all recreational, residential, commercial and institutional resources. Careful integration of vehicular and architectural transition zones, multiple user needs, spatial and visual clearance – for reasons of safety and aesthetic experience – and a degree of finish aimed at reusing materials already in place and appropriate to the context – have been driving the network design. Associate signage and lighting contribute to local identity and character of the pedestrian experience. Multi-levered paths, structured according to local climate and topographic characteristics to maximize bioclimatic comfort, invite people towards the Tiber, thereby reconnecting Saxa Rubra with its river, thus creating the sense that the traffic and noise of the expressways are left behind.