The completion of the New Rome /EUR Convention Centre and Hotel ‘the Cloud’ represents 18 years of work accomplished by Studio Fuksas, after winning an international architectural competition held in 1998 by the Municipality of Rome.

The New Rome /EUR Convention Centre and Hotel ‘the Cloud’ by Studio Fuksas, located in the the business district of EUR, comprises three distinct architectural concepts: the basement, the ‘Theca’ and ‘Cloud’, and the ‘Blade’; and hosts auditoriums, exhibition spaces and a hotel.
 

Description of the project by Studio Fuksas

Italian architecture practice Studio Fuksas has completed the largest building in Rome in over 50 years. Opened to the public in October 2016, the New Rome /EUR Convention Centre and Hotel ‘the Cloud’ is a €239 million earthquake proof complex that has taken 18 years of planning and construction. It will host auditoriums, exhibition spaces and a hotel - amassing 55,000 square metres in new public space. Through both trade and tourism, the convention centre is expected to bring in between 300 - 400 million euros annually to the city of Rome.

Located south of the city’s core, in the business district of EUR, the complex follows the simple orthogonal lines of the surrounding 1930s rationalist architecture.

The spaces surrounding the centre will serve as two public squares. Integral to the new complex and the neighbourhood, these new spaces will provide citizens with places for various leisure and outdoor activities, offering a new meeting area in this busy part of Rome.

The New Rome/EUR Convention Centre and Hotel ‘the Cloud’ comprises three distinct architectural concepts: the basement, the ‘Theca’ and ‘Cloud’, and the ‘Blade’.

The basement is accessed on Viale Cristoforo Colombo, via a staircase that leads into the building’s main foyer and information point. Past this area, a large concourse feeds into an expansive congress and exhibition hall that can host up to 6000 people.

The ‘Theca’ is the stunning outershell and façade of the convention Hall and Hotel, which has been made from a combination of metal, glass and re-enforced concrete. Inside the building, 7,800 square metres of new public space will play host to public and private conferences, exhibitions and large-scale events. Suspended inside the ‘Theca’ is the ‘Cloud’ - the interplay between these two spaces is essential to the complex – symbolising the connection between the city of Rome and the convention centre. The ‘Cloud’ is an independent cocoon-like structure that is covered in 15,000 square metres of highly advanced membrane fiber glass and flame-retardant silicone and is supported laterally at points by the ‘Theca’. It lies at the heart of the complex and is accessed by the ‘Forum’ – an artery walkway that fuses the two structures together. Inside the ‘Cloud’, five levels (supported by escalators and walkways) lead to a 1,800 capacity auditorium. In order to ensure that the ‘Cloud’ system does not interfere with the rest of the complex, the auditorium is clad in wooden cherry panels.

The final architectural concept is the ‘Blade’ - an autonomous building split into 17 floors and containing a new 439-room hotel built to provide accommodation to visitors to the centre and the city of Rome. Spread over 18,000 square metres, the ‘Blade’ will also include seven boutique suites, a spa and a restaurant.

The building has been constructed from 37,000 tons of steel- the equivalent weight of four and a half Eiffel Towers. Additionally, 58,000 metres of glass has been used for the centre’s exterior and interior design, which is enough to cover the surface of 10 football pitches.

The centre is fully earthquake-proofed - the stiffness of its vertical structure is able to withstand both small and large seismic waves.

In addition, the building’s insulators have a horizontal rigidity, which works against the movements of small earthquakes, whilst their low rigidity enables large oscillations with low accelerations during more violent tremors.

An eco-friendly approach underscores the design of the centre, with integrated air-conditioning that will be carried out by a reversible heat pump. This system is capable of achieving high energy performances whilst reducing electricity consumption. A natural ventilation system is also in place -  with the cool water of the nearby EUR lake extracted and filtered into the system. The roof's photovoltaic panels(glass and silicon wafer)help to produce energy and protects the building from overheating through the mitigation of solar radiation.

When fully operational, the basic power load of the New Rome /EUR convention Hall and Hotel ‘the Cloud’ will be supplied by the power station of cogeneration as well as any power
generated by the buildings’ geothermal and photovoltaic network. The mutual interdependence of these systems ensures that the complex is able to function in any instances of a technical failure.

The centre’s eco features also comprise a rain water harvesting system, where exterior panels collect rainwater and filter it into a storage tank. The water can then be pumped, on demand, from the tank to the internal water system.

Fuksas’ design for the complex was created with flexibility in mind –spaces are interchangeable and can be amended to accommodate large or small conferences, lectures and events with a maximum seating allowance of nearly 8,000 seats, divided between the auditorium inside the ‘Cloud’, (1,800 capacity), and large conference rooms in the basement (6,000 seats). The underground level of the building also has more than 600-place parking area.

Many of the complex’s Interior details have also been realised by Studio Fuksas. In the Auditorium, the red armchairs have been made by Poltrona Frau and specially designed by
Fuksas architects. The building’s bespoke ‘Cloud’ lamp has been produced by iGuzzini and conceived by the studio.

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Architects
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Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas



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Interior design
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Fuksas Design
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Collaborators
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Engineering: Plans: A. I. Engineering, Torino; Structures: Studio Majowiecki; Studio Sarti; Safety: Studio Sarti; Acoustics: XU – Acoustique, Parigi, A.I. Engineering, Torino; Lighting consulting: Speirs& Major Associates, Edinburgh, London
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General contractor
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Società Italiana per Condotte d’Acqua SpA
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Location
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Rome-Eur, Italy: At the corner of via C. Colombo and viale Asia
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Dates
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Competition (1st phase): November 1998; Preliminary Project: July 2001; Definitive project: February 2004; Executive project: March 2007; First stone: 11 December 2007; Works start: March 2008; Theca structure: May-June 2010; Cloud structure: February 2012; Opening: October, 2016
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Built surface
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55,000 sqm
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Final cost
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€ 239.000.000
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Studio Fuksas, led by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas, is one of the most outstanding international architectural firm in the world. Over the past 40 years the company has developed an innovative approach through a strikingly wide variety of projects, ranging from urban interventions to airports, from museums to cultural centers and spaces for music, from convention centers to offices, from interiors to design collections. With headquarters in Rome, Paris and Shenzhen, and a staff of 170 professionals, the practice has completed more than 600 projects and has worked in Europe, Africa, America, Asia and Australia, receiving numerous international awards.

Massimiliano Fuksas of Lithuanian descent, was born in Rome in 1944. He graduated in Architecture from the University of Rome “La Sapienza” in 1969. Since the Eighties he has been one of the main protagonists of the contemporary architectural scene. From 1994 to 1997 he was a member of the Planning Commissions in Berlin and Salzburg. In 1998 he was awarded for his professional career with "Vitruvio International a la Trayectoria" in Buenos Aires. From 1998 to 2000 he directed the “VII Mostra Internazionale di Architettura di Venezia”, Less Aesthetics, More Ethics. In 1999 he received the Grand Prix National d’Architecture Française, the following year he was named National Academic of San Luca and was decorated Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la République Française. In 2002 the Honorary Fellowship of the AIA – American Institute of Architects , Washington D.C. Three years later member of the Académie d'Architecture in Paris. In 2006 the Honorary Fellowship of the RIBA – Royal Institute of British Architects, London UK and was named Cavaliere di Gran Croce della Repubblica Italiana. In 2010 he was decorated with Légion d’Honneur by the French President. In 2012 the Medal of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in Italy, and the Global Lithuanian Award, Art and Culture category in Vilnius, Lithuania. The following year the Idea-Tops Awards, Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport-T3, awarded Best Transportation Space in Shenzhen, China. In 2014 Architizer A + Award and Architizer A + Pop¬¬ular Choice Award, Transportation-Airports category in New York. From 2000 to 2015 he was author of the architecture column - founded by Bruno Zevi - in the Italian news magazine "L'Espresso" and from 2014 to 2015 he was, with his wife, the author of the Design column in the Italian newspaper "La Repubblica". He has been Visiting Professor at a number of Universities such as Columbia University in New York, the École Spéciale d'Architecture in Paris, the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Wien, the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Stuttgart. Long since he is dedicating special attention to the study of urban problems in large metropolitan areas.

Doriana Mandrelli Fuksas was born in Rome where she graduated in History of Modern and Contemporary Architecture at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” in 1979. She has also earned a degree in Architecture from ESA, École Spéciale d'Architecture, Paris. She has done didactic activities at the Institute of History of Art at the Faculty of Letters and Arts and at Industrial Design Department ITACA at “La Sapienza” University in Rome. She has curated four “Special Projects” at the “VII Mostra Internazionale di Architettura di Venezia”, Less Aesthetics, More Ethics in 2000: Jean Prouvè, Jean Maneval, the Peace Pavilion and Architecture of Spaces, and the Contemporary Art section. She has worked with Massimiliano Fuksas in 1985 and has been director in charge of “Fuksas Design” since 1997.  In 2002 she was decorated Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la République Française. In 2006 Awards for Excellence Europe” ULI (Urban Land Institute), first prize awarded to New Trade Fair, Rho-Pero in Milan, Italy, Washington D. C. In 2012 Wallpaper* Design Awards 2012, EUR New Congress Centre, Rome, Italy awarded Best Building Site, London, UK. In 2013 she was decorated Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la République Française. The same year the Idea-Tops Awards, Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport-T3, awarded Best Transportation Space in Shenzhen, China and Designer Kitchen & Bathroom Awards 2013, Impronta wash-basin for Catalano awarded Gold Winner in the Innovation in Design, London.
From 2014 to 2015 she was, with Massimiliano Fuksas, the author of the Design column in the Italian newspaper "La Repubblica".
 
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Published on: February 20, 2017
Cite: "Completed New Rome /EUR Convention Centre and Hotel ‘the Cloud’ by Studio Fuksas" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/completed-new-rome-eur-convention-centre-and-hotel-cloud-studio-fuksas> ISSN 1139-6415
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