Zaha Hadid architects, out of 273 candidates, won the architectural competition to design the building in 1998 with a design that responds to the form and arrangement of existing industrial buildings on the site. The program offers a flexible, interdisciplinary arena for the exhibition of contemporary art and architecture and for live events.

MAXXI stands for ‘Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo’ (National Museum of 21st Century Art).

The museum will become the joint home of the MAXXI Arts and MAXXI Architecture and Italy’s first national museum solely dedicated to contemporary arts.

It consists of galleries contained in long, narrow concrete forms that curve, overlap and weave around each other.

‘(…) it is all about an interior-exterior existence.’ Zaha Hadid

The concrete structure with glass roof will cover a surface of of 30,000 sq m in the Flaminio District, on a site that was originally occupied by a car factory and subsequently by army barracks that were turned into the first site of the museum.

The following information is from Zaha Hadid architects:

‘The new Institution has been established by act of parliament and the design of the building is the first concrete step in the creation of the institution. A large urban site in the Flaminia district on the northern edge of the historic centre has been allocated for the building. The centre comprises spaces for permanent, temporary and commercial galleries, an architecture centre, a conference centre as well as a library.

The concept for the project is based on the idea of ‘irrigating’ the large urban field with linear display surfaces, weaving a dense texture of interior and exterior spaces. The institution is thus rendered porous for the casual visitor, either providing en passe delight or enticing entry. Our design for the Contemporary Art Centre in Rome was awarded the 1st Prize in an International Design Competition in February 1999. We have been awarded the full contract for all architectural and engineering services.’

Work started on the 26,000sq m arts building, which is located in Via Guido Reni in Rome, in March 2003.

Notably the museum’s planning and construction spanned the ruling of three different Mayors and suffered a string of torturous stop and starts due to funding issues and, in 2001, the sudden classification of Rome as a seismic area which lead to a considerable amount of replanning and rebudgeting. But alas the site known as the ‘eternal building site’ is scheduled to close and the museum will be opening its doors in 2009.

For further information visit the architect’s website.