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Romeo Roma Hotel

  • Rome, Italy
  • Romeo Gestioni spa
  • Complete

The classical interpretation of Rome as a palimpsest of architectural layers—Baroque buildings atop Renaissance and medieval structures, themselves atop their Roman predecessors—includes a final layer of verticality: ceilings of painted trompe l’oeil arches, heavenly vaults and celestial chambers populated with ascendant saints, martyrs and putti.

Rome’s palimpsest of architectural layers—Baroque buildings atop Renaissance & medieval structures, themselves atop Roman predecessors—includes a final layer of verticality: ceilings of painted trompe l’oeil arches, heavenly vaults and celestial chambers populated with saints, martyrs & putti.

From the beginning of her career, Zaha Hadid sited her buildings in the air, floating buildings on shadow, light and space, relating her work to another tradition—Rome’s. Hadid, and the city’s architects of the Renaissance & Baroque that preceded her, aspired to the air, the skies, and the heavens.

In designing the hotel conversion of Palazzo Capponi, Hadid and her team at ZHA started where Baroque architects ended their palimpsest—at the vaulted ceilings.

Romeo Group purchased the palazzo in 2012 with an existing tenant: a government institute INAIL had occupied the building since 1951.

While its core dates from the 16th century, the palazzo also includes wings added by the INAIL in 1950s, remodelling its interiors when converting to offices.

With little original interiors remaining, Romeo continued tradition custodians of Italy’s grand buildings have followed for centuries—commissioning the pioneering architects of their time to create captivating interiors showcasing the expertise of skilled craftsmen working in the finest materials.

If walls are not parallel, the vaults above distort. ZHA evolved this concept necessitated by the palazzo’s irregular geometries: vaults intersect at angles, generating moments of wonder.

The palazzo’s core and its later additions are listed as historical buildings—dictating its walls could not be altered to incorporate mechanical & electrical services.

A second skin has been meticulously crafted for the hotel interiors, creating a cavity between the existing structure and interior walls to house the services for each room. While only a few centimetres in width, this cavity extends centuries in time, continuing the palazzo’s 500 years of reinvention.

Architect

ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS

Design

Zaha Hadid with Patrik Schumacher

Concept Stage

ZHA Project Director

Paola Cattarin

ZHA Project Architects

Fulvio Wirz, Mariagrazia Lanza

ZHA Project Team

Christos Sazos, Daniel Fiser, Grace Chung, John Morrison, Konstantinos Psomas, Kyle Dunnington, Ludovico Lombardi, Melodie Leung, Monir Karimi Kakhki, Natassa Lianou, Ovidiu Mihutescu, Pasquale Lorusso, Peter Logan, Sofia Papageorgiou, Thomas Sonder

Schematic Design Stage

ZHA Project Director

Paola Cattarin

ZHA Project Architects

Fulvio Wirz, Mariagrazia Lanza

ZHA Project Team

Christos Sazos, Daniel Fiser, Francesca Gulizia, Gaganjit Singh, Grace Chung, John Morrison, Kyle Dunnington, Konstantinos Psomas, Marco Guardincerri, Pasquale Lorusso, Sofia Papageorgiou, Thomas Sonder

Design Development Stage

ZHA Project Director

Paola Cattarin

ZHA Project Architects

Fulvio Wirz, Mariagrazia Lanza

ZHA Project Team

Andrei Dino, Cristina Capanna, Daniel Fiser, Delfina Bocca, Diego Ariza, Dieter Matuschke, Francesca Filosa, Gaganjit Singh, Grace Chung, Gigi Ho, Hangyul Jeong, Ivo Ambrosi, Konstantinos Psomas, Kyle Dunnington, Leonid Krykhtin, Luca Melchiori, Luciano Letteriello, Marcello Maioli, Mattia Santi, Michael Rogers, Paola Salcedo, Pavlos Symianakis, Qiuru Pu, Ripple Patel, Roni Man, Ryan Anthony Szanyi, Shibani Choudhury, Thomas Sonder, Vincenzo Barilari, Ying Zhu

Artistic Supervision Stage

ZHA Project Director

Paola Cattarin

ZHA Project Architect

Mariagrazia Lanza

Client

Romeo Gestioni spa

Client Representative and Project Manager

Romeo Design – Ivan Russo

Structural Engineers

Studio Beta srl

MEP Consultants

Spring srl

Lighting

Corte Gherardi snc

Water Features

Fluidra Engineering Slu

Special Structures

EOSS Architettura

Interior Furnishings

ARTE+PARTNERS-BRAGA spa, Barretta srl, Devoto Design srl

Construction Company

Mannelli Costruzioni srl, Ga.Re.Co. srl