The MAXXI (National Museum of 21st Century Arts)
Rome, Italy
Zaha Hadid Architects
The MAXXI (National Museum of 21st Century Arts) in Rome, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, is a seminal work of contemporary architecture that acts as a profound counterpoint to the city's ancient and classical heritage. Winning an international competition in 1998 and opening in 2010. The museum was awarded the United Kingdom's most prestigious architectural award the RIBA Stirling Prize in (2010) the building is celebrated as a masterpiece of Deconstructivism and Parametricism, defining a new architectural language for a modern cultural institution in the Eternal City.
Hadid's design rejects the traditional museum as a static, "object-container" or a series of boxed galleries. Instead, it is conceived as an "urban field" or a "campus for art," where spaces flow, overlap, and intertwine.
Located on the site of a former military barracks in the Flaminio district, the MAXXI cleverly integrates with its urban context. Its geometry maintains an indexical link to the existing city grids and structures, with its lines often parallel or perpendicular to the surrounding streets. This design choice prevents it from being an isolated object, instead becoming an "urban graft" that binds the old and the new.
