The Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace) was built to celebrate the peace established in the roman empire by the emperor Augustus, after his military campaigns North of the Alps, in Gaul and in Spain, between the years 16 B.C. and 13 B.C. The altar was finished in the year 9 B.C. and was originally located in the Field of Mars, not far south from its current location.
Due to the fact that its original location was within the river Tiber’s flood plain, with the fall of the roman empire it got slowly buried by the floods and its location was forgotten.
It was rediscovered in the 16th century, below the foundations of a palace, but only in the 20th century was it brought back to light and, in 1938, reassembled inside a new pavillion Mussolini had ordered to be specifically built for that purpose by the mausoleum of Augustus.
After World War II and a subsequent period of neglect, the altar and the pavilion were restored, but it was found that the pavilion could not guarantee the long term conservation of the altar, due to high temperature and humidity oscillations.
In 1995 the municipality of Rome decided to replace the pavilion and the work was commissioned to Richard Meier.
The new building was finally inaugurated in the 21st of April 2006. It is composed of three main sections: the first one, a more enclosed space, houses the entrance, the bookshop and an introductory space (displaying a model with the original context within which the altar was placed); the second section is the central glass pavilion that houses the monument; the third section is a conference hall and an area for restoration work. It has a roof terrace that is supposedly open to the public (not when I was there). There is a lower level, below the main museum level, containing an exhibition space where fragments of the monument not used in its restoration are displayed, staff offices and service areas.
This project has been controversial from the day Meier was chosen to build it. There was even a candidate for mayor said if he got elected he would demolish it.
I’m not the biggest fan of this building (I know there are some Meier fans in our community) but, having been there, it seems as if the building is being slowly assimilated by the city and becoming a part of it. It’s kind of a paradox to see that, despite using Meier’s trademark language (not the most site sensitive one) it is rather contextualized and relates relatively well with its surroundings. Even if I would have preferred it to be different, this building seems quite successful. A proof of that is the huge quantity of people using both the building and the new public spaces it generated.

View from across the Tiber

Adress
Lungotevere in Augusta - 00100 Roma
Opening hours Tuesday-Sunday 9.00am-7.00pm; 24th and 31st December 9.00am-2.00pm (the ticket office closes an hour in advance)
Closed Monday, 1st January, 1st May and 25th December

How to find the Museum (information taken from the Museum’s website)

Using public transport, starting from Rome Termini station
Take METRO LINE A towards BATTISTINI for 4 stops
Get off at Flaminio
Walk about 850 metres down the Via di Ripetta

Using public transport, starting from Rome Ostiense station
Go to the OSTIENSE/MATTEUCCI stop
Take the number 716 bus (marked for TEATRO MARCELLO) for 7 stops
Get off at PETROSELLI bus stop
Take the number 628 bus (marked MARESCIALLO GIARDINO) for 9 stops
Get off at LGT AUGUSTA/ARA PACIS bus stop

On foot from Piazza di Spagna
Follow the Via dei Condotti to its end (about 700 metres)
Then continue down the Via Tomacelli until you reach the bank of the Tiber

Some web references

Ara Pacis Museum website (http://en.arapacis.it/)
Ara Pacis on Arcspace (http://www.arcspace.com/architects/meier/arapacis/arapacis.html)
Website dedicated to the Ara Pacis (http://www.ara-pacis-museum.com/) (with information, links and videos)
Ara Pacis on richardmeier.com (http://www.richardmeier.com/PROJECTS/AraPacis.html)
Europaconcorsi (http://www.europaconcorsi.com/db/pub/scheda.php?id=7218) (in Italian but with some interesting images)

Articles on the New York Times:
Richard Meier's New Home for the Ara Pacis, a Roman Treasure, Opens (http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/04/24/arts/design/24paci.html) (by Alan Riding, Published April 24, 2006)
An Oracle of Modernism in Ancient Rome (http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/arts/design/25paci.html) (by Nicolai Ouroussoff, Published September 25, 2006)

Google Earth Placemark

Here's a site plan, showing the museum on top and Augustus mausoleum in the center (the circular building). To the left, on each side of the museum's stairs, are the two churches of San Rocco and San Girolamo dei Croati

This is the pavillion from the Mussolini era. The huge stone base has the Res Gestae (a text describing the deeds of the emperor Augustus) engraved in it, and was kept in Meier's project

View from southwest, after crossing Cavour bridge. This road (Lungotevere) runs along the river bank and has lots of traffic. The long stone wall helps to isolate the space beyond it from the traffic

Another view of the wall and towards the museum, after crossing the road, with San Rocco in the background

The other side of the wall, at a lower level, has this pool and as you can see is a popular place to sit down and relax for a while. Water is used to create a more inviting atmosphere through its visual effect, and also for cooling and producing sound, helping to baffle the traffic noise (partially, of course)

A close up of the pool and its side, with massive stone slabs hanging over the water

Another view towards the pool. Note the water running down the wall on the right

View of the stair leading to the entrance. Their size is related with the space between the two churches and in the project there is a column at the top of the steps (visible in the site plan and in the Europaconcorsi model pictures)

Going up. The stone wall with water running down its side

Looking back over the wall

Now going around the east side of building, along Via di Ripetta

The ground is excavated along the first section of this facade, to give access and natural light to the lower level where offices are located. A library will occupy some of these spaces too

Another view. The narrow horizontal window is at the floor height on the main level

This is the second section of the building, the one that houses the altar

Another view. The base with the Res Gestae was from Mussolini's pavillion

Close up showing the way this wall is contained by the new construction

The last section of the building, that houses the conference hall

Looking back

The north side of the building. Behind the horizontal slot at the terrace level you can see part of a conical skylight

Close up of the stone wall at the base

Going around to the west side, facing the Tiber

View towards the central space, from across the road. You can already see the altar inside

Detail of the frosted glass louvres

Intersecting volumes. The stone wall has a subtle deviation from the orthogonal composition of the building

Looking at the entrance. The door on the right is to the bookshop

Entrance canopy - if you look carefully you'll notice it's detached from the walls, supported by just the two columns

The information and ticket desk are on the left upon entering, behind a massive travertine counter. Unfortunately they have too many things on display, resulting in this messy appearance. Nevertheless, this is a beautifully designed element

In this entrance space there's also the bookstore, with interestingly designed fixed elements barely visible below all the books and magazines (good ones by the way, mostly architectural)

Just entering the exhibition space we have the first clean view of the monument. It's a square enclosure containing the altar inside, with two entrances on opposite faces

The imperial family

Looking back at the entrance. In the foreground there's a model of the Field of Mars, showing the altar's original context. Note the partition separating us from the entrance, it's an exact offset of the front facade. And on the left side we can see the horizontal slot window at floor height

Another view towards the same space. There's an opening to the lower level on the left

Close up of the guard rail

The stone wall

The monument sitting inside the main hall

Ceiling of the main hall. This ceiling is supported by four huge cilyndrical columns

On the right side there's a stair leading to a raised space behind the monument

A view of the space behind the monument. The high stone wall separates this space from the access to the lower level

Stitched view of the monument

Close up of the stone benches surrounding this space

Another view of this same space, showing the ramp going down towards the left side of the monument. Three of the four columns holding the roof are also visible in this image

View towards the lower floor lobby

Another view

The lower level exhibition starts in a space displaying a model of the altar

Close up of the model

The opposite end of the lower level, below the opening I mentioned earlier. In the background you can see the thick core that holds the monument in its place

One final shot on our way out...

Awesome walkthrough vOid. You have great Photographic skills. Good work and thanks for sharing.
A suberb structure by Richard Meier. Very good use of Stone. And a clean, neat & strong design.

Great thread Paulo and beautiful pictures! :not worth
I'm pretty much sure Mr Meier wasn't too happy with this handrail... looks like it came at last minute for accessibility and security issues... weird... apart from that, nice and calm building. I recall there was a huge debate in italy about it.

Superb work vOid- extremely well described and photographed. The stone work is really beautiful...such huge slabs

:cheers:

I'm pretty much sure Mr Meier wasn't too happy with this handrail... looks like it came at last minute for accessibility and security issues... weird... apart from that, nice and calm building. I recall there was a huge debate in italy about it.

Makes you wonder why they didn't attach the second handrail to the stone wall, would have been much better. :wondering

Michel what was the debate about?

Seeing as we are picking fault I also didn't like this detail, these huge monolithic walls sitting on an iitsy weensy teeny weeny pink strip. :no no no:

Thank you for the images and review. The building materials remind me of the Getty in Santa Monica (stone detailing and open spaces). This project is head and shoulders above the Getty because of its context- accessible in an urban setting with open spaces for people not necessarily visiting the museum. I like the subtle water features and the bridge it builds between the surroundings and the museum.
Thanks again-

Michel, that handrail indeed looks like a last minute addition, someone must have forgotten to study italian regulations... still it could have been attached to the wall as gorgon suggests, would look a lot better. Another strange thing were the fire extinguishers lying around on the floor everywhere (they're visible in some of the pictures).

Michel what was the debate about?


It mostly had to do with 2 issues (1) Meier isn't Italian (2) there is literally only one other "new" building in the whole of "ancient" Rome, and many people (Italians) want to keep it that way. There were just a lot of Italian architects and critics who thought an Italian should have received this commission. I think a lot of the knee jerk criticism was just that - aesthetically one valid disturbing aspect of the project (in addition to the couple of others raised here) is the wall on the Lungotevere that does impede the view http://www.ara-pacis-museum.com/2006/11/ara_pacis_museum_on_google_maps.html of the 2 churches (San Girolamo degli Schiavoni and San Rocco). And I think signing the building is a little tacky - but that is a personal thing. I think Meier is on record also of trying to distance himself a bit for parts of the project that he really didn't want to include (like the theater) but I can't find the source for this.

Gorgon, check the WIRED NEW YORK FORUM (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9122). There's a good explanation about the project and the debate that comes along with it.

I really don't get why they chose to articulate the ceiling in the main hall as they did.
The round columns and the gridded ceiling dominate the monument rather than paying respect to it.
The building looks sober in some parts, but in the one part where it should be, it is 'all over the place'. :confused:
Look at #32: the white columns seem to come out of the Ara Pacis! And that's actually how you see it as you enter the space.

Just imagine a less articulated glass wall, a simple translucent ceiling and a more subtle structure. Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't doubt for a second if I had the choice..

(...) Meier isn't Italian (...)
aesthetically one valid disturbing aspect of the project (...) is the wall on the Lungotevere that does impede the view of the 2 churches (San Girolamo degli Schiavoni and San Rocco).
afinta, Thanks for your enlightenment.
About Meier not being italian: is anybody serious about this? I would have preferred a less "safe" choice - promoting a competition or - I admit - other architect to have been chosen, but I don't think being an italian is a reasonable condition these days. Nevertheless, starchitects are highly overrated. An open competition, where young teams could have participated, would be the best solution, and if an italian won it, better. Quality should be the deciding factor, not nationality.
About the wall on the Lungotevere blocking the view of the two churches, I think as it is it's a false problem (in a previous version the wall was much higher - see the white and blue model images in Europaconcorsi). I think the churches gained a lot with the qualification of the space in front of them (creating a separation from the traffic noise) and it's much more important that they can now be enjoyed by people on the new square than being seen by drivers speeding along the Lungotevere... besides, the lower level of the churches relatively to the Lungotevere meant that they already weren't completely visible before, and underlining them might actually enhance their presence. This kind of question is being raised all the time and it's really annoying. One of the biggest urban crimes commited in Rome was the destruction of the urban fabric in front of Saint Peter's square to build the Via della Conciliazione, by order of Mussolini. Imagine what it would be like to walk along narrow and winding medieval streets and suddenly arrive in Saint Peter's, not being able to see the square until you finally got there. All the buildings that were destroyed would be blocking the view. So what?
I really don't get why they chose to articulate the ceiling in the main hall as they did. (...) Just imagine a less articulated glass wall, a simple translucent ceiling and a more subtle structure. Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't doubt for a second if I had the choice..
I think you're right. I would have imagined the monument contained in a much more abstract and neutral box, and also having the entry point to that box more clearly defined - creating a more confined space, not so fluidly connected with the adjacent ones, where you would only have the monument, but that doesn't seem like what you could expect from Meier...

About Meier not being italian: is anybody serious about this? I would have preferred a less "safe" choice - promoting a competition or - I admit - other architect to have been chosen, but I don't think being an italian is a reasonable condition these days.

vOid, I think you underestimate Italian nationalism. The climate is certainly changing: Meier got the job, while isozaki was selected for the extension of the uffizi.
From what I heard in art history, not so long ago there was a tendency to keep Italian art to Italian art historians. It was not easy to get access and help as a foreigner, unless you had the right connections.
Things seem to have evolved by now - although I still wouldn't want to deal with the Italian administration as a foreigner... But from what Italians and foreigners who live there tell me, the 'superiority complex', the pride for their unique history, is still alive and kicking. For example, it's quite surprising how little uni students there speak a second language.

About the building: it's hard to judge the outside and its urbanistic impact from the pictures, I think you just need to sit and walk there for a while to judge that. So I trust your opinion on that.
But I am definitely disappointed with the way the interior looks in relation to its function. Missed opportunity if you ask me.

About Meier not being italian: is anybody serious about this?

Unfortunately I think the answer to that is yes. I am not saying that the people who are "serious" about it deserve our attention (nationalists, etc.) but it definitely was one of the issues that I picked up as the news came out. It may just have been grandstanding by a certain faction of Italians also - a hot button issue to get attention. We had a senator here in Florence who got plenty of attention for himself over a Da Vinci (http://www.florence-journal.com/florence/2007/03/more_on_the_ann.html) that was loaned to Japan - in the end he looked like a buffoon over it, but it got him in the headlines for days. This is a very media savvy country.

I like your take on the wall - much better thought through that what I had to say and I have to admit you changed my mind about it.

"Well-known artist Julian Schnabel on Thursday provided heavy ammunition for the many critics of Rome’s new home for the Roman Empire’s most famous peace symbol.
Speaking on the sidelines of a new show he is giving here, Schnabel called the Ara Pacis museum, designed amid fierce polemics by his eminent countryman Richard Meier, “an air-conditioning unit”.
“Modern museums are all the same, all glass and marble.
“They’re soulless,” said Schnabel, whose first-ever Rome show will be at the famous Palazzo Venezia from May 4 to June 26 before moving to Milan.
“People have to realise we’re just ghosts, we’re going to be leaving pretty soon, so we have to seek beauty in the present and use the things we have, not novelties,” said the 55-year-old New York artist and film-maker, whose works dot the world’s leading museums.
Schnabel was flanked by a delighted Vittorio Sgarbi, the outspoken art critic, now Milan cultural chief, who once urged students to bomb the building and accused the American architect of “knowing Rome like I know Tibet”."

http://www.italymag.co.uk/2007/news-from-italy/events/ara-pacis-is-air-conditioning-unit-says-schnabel/

While looking at the link on this post (http://www.pushpullbar.com/forums/showpost.php?p=88483&postcount=25) by Takesh, to the photographer Thomas Mayer's website, I found that he has dozens of amazing photographs of the Ara Pacis Museum, in case someone's interested.
LINK (http://thomasmayerarchive.de/categories.php?cat_id=1008&l=english)

Great thread Paulo and beautiful pictures! :not worth
I'm pretty much sure Mr Meier wasn't too happy with this handrail... looks like it came at last minute for accessibility and security issues... weird... apart from that, nice and calm building. I recall there was a huge debate in italy about it.

I thought the same thing - looks too out of place compared to the other railings shown in the images ( his office doesn't miss on things like this )...

Looks like the museum liked this thread
http://www.ara-pacis-museum.com/2007/04/pushpullbarcom.html#comments

Just a small correction: that's not the official museum site, but a site dedicated to the collection of references and news about the Ara Pacis museum, very extensive and interesting BTW. It's one of the web references given in post #3.
It's nice that they've now mentioned PPB2.

vOid - yes - thanks for clarifying that (I was going to but you beat me to it). I am the owner of the site, and we have no affiliation with the museum. My wife is an architect, and I am an artist and a architecture enthusiast. We live in Florence, and when we saw the museum last fall I was just very excited by the whole experience and put the site up.