The third day in Rome seemed like it was going to be a bit of a let down since our first stop was the MAXXI Museum that was built by Zaha Hadid. I'll be the first to admit that I was wrong about that. Sure, I don't particularly Hadid designs (I'm a minimalist, what can I say), but in the general sense I think that this building was one that actually was successful in it's uses. Hadid had designed it as the sort of urban liveliness that the neighborhood needed, while also designing one of her abstracted shapes to still fit within the city block structure. That's not the part that I find successful (it's a bit subjective). The first part that I found successful was the courtyard in front of the museum. It's a paved surface, open to the public, and since we were there on a Saturday it was in use! It didn't matter that it was a paved surface, the children were running all over, playing on the outdoor art installations, enjoying the open space. It's probably even better that the space was paved because we saw children riding their scooters and skateboards, which isn't safe for the children to do over here like it is back in the states. It's a rarity that a space like that gets used for its intended purpose, especially since it was fenced it. Needless to say, that left me impressed.
The second part that I found successful was the interior of the building itsself. It's a very odd configuration with a series of floating staircases and bending walls, but in actuality, and this is purely my opinion, it got me moving throughout the museum. Not only because I'm a curious architecture student, but because it just visually did that. She didn't create complex viewing spaces, but ones that let you roam and then entice you on to the next. But unfortunately we didn't get to see the "best view" out of the large window jutting out of the facade, so we didn't get to see what the hype was about in its entirety.
I was only told after I took this picture that we aren't allowed to take pictures in the actual galleries. Oops. Also, if you decide you want to come to this museum note that they have a free coat check, and if your bag is deemed too big by their standards (as mine was, grrrr) then you have to put a €1 coin in a locker to keep your bag (you get the €1 back once you're done).
After the Maxxi Museum and lunch we headed just a few blocks over to Music Park Auditorium by Renzo Piano. It was designed with three interior halls and one outdoor theater space. Honestly speaking, the interior music hall look like three beetles, and not the famous band (that's funnier when said out loud). I wasn't too impressed by our tour, mainly because the guide continuously referred to everything as "perfect", such as the sound and shapes and use of materials, but I had no way to verify so I was just in a skeptical mood the whole time.
I did enjoy the way that Renzo created fantastic views to the city from essentially every spot in the complex. I also very much appreciated the use of materials through out, such as the cherry wood for the interior wall paneling and the 2mm thick lead that made up the shells on the 'beetles'. The intense amount of details put into these three buildings is also something to be commended. One of the halls actually was designed so that the seats on the floor level in the center can be moved to accommodate any type of even. Each seat has it's own AC/heating unit (while still being portable), plus the seats were from a company that designed them so that they have the same sound absorbency/reverberation when left empty as when someone is sitting in them, so that the reverberation time for the whole room remains constant continually. Details like this are so important in architecture, yet in schooling we rarely have the time to get down to these details because of the semester time constraints and number of projects to complete.
Regardless of my skepticism, the whole complex was gorgeous, and I wish I was able to see at least one of the halls in action to verify how "perfect" it's design is.
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