An Urban Villa
Students were asked to develop a design for a villa to house Classics scholars and its surrounding gardens on the Celian Hill of Rome, from which one can view the Arch of Constantine, the Colosseum, and the Palatine Hill. Built on the site of a former antiquarium, challenges included incorporating antique building fragments, pre-existing buildings, and a tram track which bisects the site, and, of course, dealing with the topography of the hill.
This design for the public gardens uses a series of terraces to navigate the topography of the hill, ending in viewing platforms and a theatre-like space which highlight various antique monuments and commemorate the emperors who ordered them built. Above the tram track, an olive grove and herb garden are proposed adjacent to the pre-existing Casino Salvi, along with a hippodrome which displays building fragments formerly housed by the antiquarium. The Villa’s private gardens include a set of parterres, orange and persimmon groves, and an aviary for entertaining and recreation.
This design for the public gardens uses a series of terraces to navigate the topography of the hill, ending in viewing platforms and a theatre-like space which highlight various antique monuments and commemorate the emperors who ordered them built. Above the tram track, an olive grove and herb garden are proposed adjacent to the pre-existing Casino Salvi, along with a hippodrome which displays building fragments formerly housed by the antiquarium. The Villa’s private gardens include a set of parterres, orange and persimmon groves, and an aviary for entertaining and recreation.