4. Gabriele Basilico 3 1 Inside the great glazed parallelepiped, designed by the group of architects ABDR Associates of Rome. View of the entrance void on Via Milano. 2 Side fronting on Via Milano. The façade in plates of layered hardened structural glass is split horizontally and devoid of frame 3 Entrance from Via Piacenza. It is the main front of the new initiative 078-089 ABDR.indd 81 The complex equilibrium between past and present is a predominant component of the urban and architectural structure in the city of Rome. Within this intricate context distinguished by the presence of constructions from different epochs, a project for upgrading and architectural adaptation of Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Via Nazionale, and in particular of the former Serra Piacentini, is now being carried out on the existing reality. The ancient/modern duality is assumed as objective aimed at valorizing the new architectural element inserted in Palazzo delle Esposizioni, designed in the late 19th century by Pio Piacentini. The project, by the group of Roman architects ABDR, provides for rebuilding the former greenhouse in a contemporary key, in compliance with the requisites of the Salvaging Plan approved by the Municipal Administration. In the design, the accent is placed on functional, technological and formal integration, especially of the glass, predominantly used as material, combined with the light metal structure, with travertine, and with wood, to create an effect of transparency and intangibility. The other aspect of contemporary interest regards the study of environmental feasibility and in particular bioclimatic performance and energy savings. In planimetry, the project involves the terminal part of the building, consisting of a three-part rectangular section destined to the services and kitchens, a restaurant area and an entrance void lateral to the exhibition area distinguished by a spatial and three-dimensional play of wooden surfaces that emphasizes the double height and leads the gaze upward. Three different levels are determined by the three sectioned areas. From the height of the exhibition level and the entrance, iron stairs lead to the restaurant, then on to the terrace above the wooden dado of the kitchens, looking to the outside. The bearing structure consists of a trilithic system of nine steel columns per side with diameter ranging from 120 to 200mm on the short sides, and arriving at 400mm on the long side. The facades of the great parallelepiped are split horizontally, modularly defining in height the new volume of the greenhouse, whose ceiling arrives at the stringcourse of the existing structure. The minimal language adopted identifies elementary spatial figures that do not contrast with the purist forms of the exhibition building. The intersection of several elementary forms, of different material consistency, establishes a hierarchy of weights and measures recognizable according to five volumetric typologies. The great glazed parallelepiped, the ceiling defined by big metal arches, the block containing the services, the cube containing the kitchens and the volume of the exhibition area and the entrance from Via Milano, located 19-12-2007 9:38:56