The nuvola for the new centro congressi in rome

Abstract

In Rome’s EUR district, a new congress centre has opened recently, designed by the Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas. The project consists of three main elements, which the architect calls „Teca“ (theca), „Lama“ (blade) and „Nuvola“ (cloud). The central element located inside the Teca is the Nuvola. Almost floating only with few points fixed to the floor and to the building, it dominates the huge glass box. The Nuvola is a membrane cladded steel structure with a length of 126 m, a width of 65 m and a height of 29 m. It contains a café, foyers, meeting rooms and an auditorium for 2000 spectators. The paper is about this central element, the Nuvola from the geometry driven design process to the installation. It describes the design process, especially the very complex formfinding process in order to achieve the defined geometry derived from a nurbs shape. The analysis process with mock-up installations is presented, as well as the detailing and the automated process for the workshop design and the cutting pattern.