Title

Author(s)

Anne Scheinhardt

Affiliation

Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM)

DOI

https://doi.org/10.65686/MCUX5472

Keywords

Industrial History, Italy, Museum Architecture

PP

849-856

How to Cite

Scheinhardt, Anne. “Too much context? Rome, its forgotten industrial past, and adaptive reuse.” In Proceedings of the International Conference on Adaptive Reuse. Volume 1, edited by Andrea Crudeli, Francesca Molle, and Emanuele Carrai, 849–856. Firenze: STH Press, 2026.

Abstract

This paper critically examines European reuse practices of the 2000s from a transdisciplinary perspective encompassing art, architectural, and urban history, using Rome as an often-overlooked example. Focusing on the transformation of industrial sites to changing needs, it analyzes the adaptive reuse strategies by Studio Odile Decq, formerly ODBC, and Zaha Hadid Architects for the simultaneously constructed MACRO – Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome (2000–2010) and MAXXI – National Museum of XXI Century Arts (1998–2010). The analysis addresses designs that juxtapose old and new, looking at interventions such as building within, extension, exchange, or infill. At the same time, it considers the related destructive aspects, suggesting that both architects sought to leave a lasting mark in “Rome of the Millennium”. By situating these projects within cultural and urban policies for Rome as an urban laboratory, the paper argues that they reflect an ongoing negotiation of cultural industrial heritage since the 1970s.

Edited by
Andrea Crudeli
Francesca Molle
Emanuele Carrai

Publisher
STH Press, Firenze

ISBN Paperback – 9791281661141
ISBN Ebook – 9791281661158
DOI – https://doi.org/10.65686/SISY7263

Year
2026

Proceedings of
International Conference on Adaptive Reuse
hosted by The University of Pisa, Italy
15-19 September 2025, at the Gispoteca di Arte Antica dell’Università di Pisa.