Scroll to project introduction

Open Monument

Type
Immigrant Shelter
Location
Tiburtina Station, Rome, Italy
Team
Lauren Franco (Cornell B. Arch '25)
Instructor
Prof. John Zissovici
Prof. Alberto Iacovoni
Prof. Tess Clancy
Year
2023

Open Monument explores Rome's ancient gates as both historical landmarks and entrances for migrants. On a former fish laboratory site near Tiburtina Station, six city gates are projected at their exact original scale and orientation. Scaffolding and mesh evoke their forms without rebuilding them in masonry, bringing the memory of Rome's gates into dialogue with contemporary migration and urban life.

A water-filled landscape connects two journeys: a more private route for shelter, food, and rest, and a public route linking the station to the bus stop and market. An aquaponics center and shared gathering spaces connect these everyday uses, extending the idea of the gate from a city entrance into a place of welcome and exchange.

Physical mapping study of Rome's city gates and their relationships with water infrastructure, housing, and markets
Mapping the Gates of the Aurelian Wall

Bridging Ancient and Contemporary Gates

The first mapping studies the sixteen gates of the Aurelian Wall, built between AD 271 and 275, through the activities and functions associated with them. It highlights Porta Maggiore's relationship with aqueducts, residential occupation in the towers of Porta Tiburtina, and the flea market associated with Porta Portese. The gates are understood not as isolated monuments but as entrances tied to water, dwelling, and exchange.

Six selected gates are transferred onto the site at their exact scale and orientation. Rather than reconstructing their masonry, scaffolding and mesh give their outlines a lighter, open presence that can accommodate new uses. The closed face of the folding board brings the historical mapping and projected gates together; opening it reveals how these inherited forms can frame contemporary life.

Open Monument interior with its center and two side panels
From Gate Images to Shelter and Public Life

Two Journeys Through Water

Water becomes the central landscape element, recalling the site's fish tanks and laboratory as well as the gates' relationship with aqueducts. Within this water-filled journey, the more private route serves migrants seeking shelter or food. The left-hand scenes, A1–A4, trace a sequence of entrance, shelter pods in the gate towers, planted places to rest, and shared dining, balancing connection with a more secluded realm.

The public route connects Tiburtina Station to the bus stop, converting the former fish tanks into market stalls along the way. On the right, C1–C4 show the bus-side entrance, places to sit, public passage, and the market. The two paths are distinct in their degree of privacy but meet at shared places for migrants and the public to relax and gather.

Water, Food, and Shared Life

The former laboratory is converted into an aquaponics center, designed to support the site's water circulation and grow produce for the migrants' dining hall. Cultivation is therefore linked to the daily routines of eating and gathering, echoed in the planted shared space shown in B1. Together, the two journeys turn the memory of the fish laboratory and Rome's gates into an inhabited landscape: a monument that recalls the past while offering new arrivals and the wider public a place of welcome.