Location | Roma
Date | 2013-2015
Client | Arcidiocesi di Monaco e Frisinga
Design | Aka project

This project involved the reconversion of a historical 5-stored building into a residential neighbourhood in the north-west area of the city for the archdiocese of Munich and Freising. The building was signed by one of the most important Liberty architects of our country, Gino Coppedé. The refined restyling, run by AKA PROJECT, is the result of a strong will to separate the external restoration from the new realizations on the inside, completely avoiding the complex contamination of the nature of these two different interventions.

Devoto took care of the common areas and rooms furnishing. In the common areas, we have the lobby, restaurant and connection spaces. Among them, thanks to its high level of design and manufacturing complexity, the wooden staircase catches one’s attention. It replaced the old one and is characterized by broken geometric lines. It looks like a long, multifaceted ribbon that goes along with the visitor up to the roof terrace. The complex operations of joining, together with the difficulty of working on different floors at the same time, made this staircase a one-piece sculptural element.

Another interesting item is the chapel, designed by AKA as a building inside the building, a sort of ark where Devoto built its uninterrupted and different arches, getting an extremely rhythmic and dynamic effect. These arches create a sort of a shell that totally eclipses the original space and gives the worshippers a new way of enjoying space.

Photo credit: Alberto Novelli, courtesy of Aka Project