Devoto at Open House Rome 2022: the places to be

A little bit of Devoto at Open House Rome. This year too some of  the works we have delivered will be part of this event that will take place on May 21st and 22nd in Rome. 

OPEN HOUSE ROME is a yearly free event that in only one week opens the doors of hundreds of buildings in Rome, remarkable for their architectural features or history.” (source: Openhouseroma.org)

We thought we might point out the places where it is possible to find a little bit of Devoto:

• BIBLIOTECA Hertziana – Max Planck Institute
• ISLAMIC CENTRE – Mosque of Rome
• MAXXI Museum 
• UNIVERSITY HOUSING Valco San Paolo 

Ready to go for the tour? Good..

Devoto at Open House: let’s start with Biblioteca Hertziana

This library is one of the most renowned  research institutions for what concerns the Italian art history, specifically Roman and south-central Italian art history. It also has one of the most well-equipped existing photographic archives. 

THE BUILDING, designed by Studio Da Gai, has a total of eight levels, two of which are underground, for a surface of more than 2000 square meters. The discovery, during the digging works, of the remains of  the Roman patron Lucio Licinio Locullo’s villa led the designers to a change of the starting project, creating a big central trapezoidal court that lets natural sunlight come in and flood the library. 

For Biblioteca Hertziana Devoto delivered: reception and control desk, study stations, doors in crystal, bookshelves and cabinets, cloakroom.

THE FURNISHINGS are marked by a linear design that let them express their volume at their best. The main material is maple veneer, a bright wood with a delicate grain and vertical fibers. Maple is justaxposed to more aseptic materials to obtain a more contemporary image: white-painted metal and back-painted tempered glass. 

Visit the dedicated page on our website> 

Islamic centre – Mosque of Rome

Among the works done for this renowned project by architect Paolo Portoghesi: the entrance wooden doors (8-meters high), the public worship areas and the Interiors of the Studies Centre Library.

THE CHOICE OF THE MATERIALS deserved a specific analysis: exotic woods sided by local woods gave birth to furnishings with a pure geometry  and decoration details and colours with a suggestive power..

Did you know that the furnishings of the library have an insert of end-grain palm wood? At that time, palm wood would cost 4.000.000 liras (about 4.000 € today) per cubic meter!

Visit the dedicated page on our website>

The interiors and desks of the MAXXI museum

For the National Museum of 21st century arts Devoto delivered the custom furnishings designed by beloved architect Zaha Hadid. Desks, the cloakroom wardrobe, the café furniture, the vanity units, the 5-meter-high cabinet that hides the service elevator and of course the iconic archive room desk.

THE ARCHIVE ROOM DESK is no doubt the most complicated as far as size and finish are concerned: a big double-curving desk with variable-section and a consistent surface in milk white, equipped with a desk top and storage compartments and drawers.

Visit the didicated page on our website >

University housing Valco San Paolo

This new project has been recently reviewed in the Italian architecture magazine “L’industria delle costruzioni” that has dedicated an article to this Student Housing in Rome, Valco San Paolo (Roma Tre university) that Devoto contributed to fit out. 

IN THE LOBBY OF THE HOUSING there is a curving wall cladded in strips of oak wood where the lighting elements are inserted. The strips follow the curve of the wall but in some sections part from it to create some sort of pockets out of which the light comes out. 

For more information about Open House Rome 2022 #OHR22X

Visit the official website >

Download the programme >