The Maxxi Museum

Zaha Hadid’s Maxxi Museum is located in Rome, and was completed in 1998.  It is certainly a unique building that stands out among its surroundings.  When we visited Rome as a studio, I was expecting to see many ancient structures such as the Coliseum, but I did not expect to come across a modern piece of architecture such as the Maxxi.  It was nice to experience some modern architecture in the midst of all of the old structures.  When we first arrived at the Maxxi, I really loved it.  The concrete walls and use of glass made the building feel clean and superior to the ones that surrounded it.   However, once I went inside the museum, it seemed as if Hadid paid more attention to the outside than she did to the interior.  It was simply a confusing space.  The whole time I was in the museum, I felt like I was going around in circles in the same spaces.  I was never led to a new exhibit by the building itself, instead I had to find my way by walking around and looking for something new.  I believe that a well-designed museum should lead the visitors around to the different spaces.  In fact, there was a whole side of the museum that I missed during our visit because it was a confusing space.  

In most aspects, the interior of the building did not live up to the appeal of the exterior.  However, my favorite part about the Maxxi, would have to be the ceilings.  I found myself looking up almost the whole time I was in the museum watching the way the ceiling became almost like a wave.  Hadid used the ceiling to allow natural light to enter the spaces because there are almost no windows in the entire exhibit space.  I think that the ceilings were a very successful part of this building.  If she had not designed the ceilings the way she did, the spaces would have felt incredibly cold and dark.  

I chose to focus my analysis of the Maxxi on the ceilings, because in my opinion they were the one element of the structure that made me truly enjoy the interior space.  I thought it was really interesting how normal windows were not the source of natural light in this building, and instead the ceiling was.  The concrete elements that were used to break up the glass are very successful in creating an interesting rhythm.  They give an organic feel to a very cold structure, and I think that is key to making this an enjoyable space.  In my cutting and drawings I wanted to portray this organic feel among the rigidity.

ceiling sketch

ceiling sketch

ceiling sketch