Dr Luciano Cardellicchio’s book entitled La nuova Bibliotheca Hertziana. L’architettura e la sua costruzione has just been published by Aracne.
Since 2013, Juan Navarro Baldeweg’s new Bibliotheca Hertziana has been placed on the site of the garden of Federico Zuccari’s house in the urban centre of Rome. This book presents the design of this example of contemporary architecture and, in detail, its bold construction process.
Given the certainty that no contemporary structure would ever have seen the light in a place so full of archaeological ruins, and whose sediments are scattered throughout every existing element, the architectural project has deferred to the cause of archaeology. This is the reason why the whole building sits on a transfer slab three metres high, with pre-stressed ribs, comprised the beams of a bridge system resting on just two strips of land outside the building. Under this sophisticated structural element the archaeology lies undisturbed. The environmental constraints of the site, sandwiched between busy roads and monumental buildings; the unusual technical difficulties; the original and cutting-edge structural solutions; the creative contribution of the professionals and of the building workers involved all contribute to a fascinating story about how an architectural challenge has enriched Rome with a new masterpiece.
The book is published by Aracne for the series ‘AID Monuments’ directed by Claudia Conforti and Vittorio Gusella.
Image: The new Hertziana library. Digital model of the structural system. (Author: Luciano Cardellicchio)