Nuovo Istituto Svedese - filial till Svenska Institutet i Rom

Sammanfattning: This degree project examines how Scandinavian architecture can meet antique and classical architecture in a contemporary architectural design within the brief for a new, supplementary building for the Swedish Institute in Rome in Italy. The project is based on a study tour to Italy undertaken during the autumn of 2018. The Swedish Institute of Classical Studies in Rome, founded in 1926, is a research institute with academic interests in archaeology and art studies. The institute is located in the outskirts of the Villa Borghese gardens in a building designed by Swedish architect Ivar Tengbom in 1941. The proposed new building is situated in Rome’s historical city centre and offers public spaces for art and culture, supplementing the institute’s existing activities. The study tour to Italy acts as point of departure and buildings visited during the tour came to initiate the design process. By studying different spatial sequences of three older buildings in Rome using cast models, spatial qualities were analysed and reinterpreted within the new proposed building. The three typologies of the “courtyard”, the “arch” and the “arcade” where then translated into new models based on the new building design. Recounting the history of study tours to Italy starting from the grand tours and onwards to 20th century architects, this work is following and participates in the tradition in the architectural eld of studying examples from classical antiquity. Consequently, exploring works carried out by Scandinavian architects in their home countries after their study tours, inspired by their journeys, has been a part of and has influenced the design process. Thus, the proposed building is an interpretation of both classical and Scandinavian architecture. By studying specific spatial situations in older buildings and reinterpret them to new settings, a design based on qualities observed in historical references can contribute to and enrich a contemporary architectural design.