THE SPACE
The Metropolitano Urban Center is located at Viale Manzoni 34, within the building complex that houses the Galileo Galilei technical institute. The complex was built following a design competition won by Marcello Piacentini and works were completed in 1928.
The Urban Center extends over four floors, with a total indoor area of approximately 1,075 sqm, while the outdoor space covers 450 sqm. The external area integrates greenery with spaces designed for resting, meeting, playing, workshops, or simply reading a book. The building, owned by the Metropolitan City of Rome, was set up following a design competition held in 2024 in collaboration with the Special Superintendence for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of Rome and the Order of Architects PPC of Rome and Province of Rome, won by the Matrice Architetti architectural studio.
The spaces of Metropolitano can host events, forums, conferences, meetings, presentations, workshops and courses. Available facilities include the courtyard, a multifunctional hall, a study room, a bookshop, an immersive video room, a laboratory dedicated to children, and a space for temporary exhibitions.
In the study room and ground-floor spaces, around 500 volumes are available for open consultation, covering themes related to urban transformation, territory and participation. The collection includes recent specialist publications, scientific classics, popular science works, photographic and cartographic volumes, as well as a dedicated section for children and young readers.
PONTE
Opening up to the city
On the ground floor, the courtyard is conceived as a public space open to everyone, a flexible setting for debates, events, outdoor workshops and performances. The reception area, with a small bookshop, leads into a modular multifunctional space designed for conferences, meetings, screenings and public gatherings.
- A large LED wall screen (3.6 m × 2 m) introduces visitors to the Urban Center and its activities
- An artwall mosaic of screens presents key features of the Metropolitan City of Rome: natural elements, the territorial structure based on historic consular roads, settlement patterns, mobility infrastructure, land use and functional organisation
- An interactive totem allows users to explore projects, territorial information and digital maps, as well as GIS platforms supporting the interpretation and understanding of the metropolitan area
The conference room can host approximately 80 people and is fully equipped with audio and microphone systems.
CANTIERE
A place to work, study and design together
The first floor is the operational laboratory of Metropolitano Urban Center: a space where design, education and shared work intersect, fostering creativity and participation.
In addition to staff offices, this floor includes:
A laboratory classroom for educational and creative activities for all ages
A room for meetings and small participation groups
A study room with 20 workstations
PIAZZA
Immersing yourself in the city’s transformations
The second floor hosts an immersive room offering an engaging experience to learn about metropolitan city through four thematic videos:
- Major transformations: squares, streets and new public spaces in a changing city - the transformation of public spaces and strategic projects that enhance quality of life through culture, sustainability, innovation and inclusion.
- PNRR: Visions, projects and investments for urban, economic and social regeneration - a programme structured around five missions, large and small urban regeneration projects narrated through a multidimensional narrative ranging from physical space to intangible aspects.
- The Tiber river: A green and blue infrastructure through Rome - from the city’s geography shaped by waterways to the deep relationship between Rome and the Tiber, combining historical perspective and future vision.
- Urban planning for children: What is a city? An illustrated journey through the making of Rome - urban planning explained to younger audiences through a journey through time that retraces the urban evolution of Rome and invite children to imagine themselves as the designers of tomorrow.
A VIEW OF THE CITY
Observing the city and the territory up close
The third and top floor is dedicated to temporary exhibitions, featuring a flexible and reconfigurable layout equipped with digital supports. The 145 sqm hall, with a metal truss roofing that visually expands the space in three dimensions, allows suspended panels of various shapes to be installed via a grid system. Tables provide flexible support for models and documents, while a 65-inch screen enables video-based storytelling.
