Forte Bravetta

Location:
Rome, Italy

Date
2015-2016

Purpose
Academic

Software:
SketchUp + VRay
Revit
Photoshop 
Illustrator

Project Summary:

This project was my bachelors degree thesis. It was an adaptive re-use in Rome, Italy, focused on revitalizing an earthen fort built in the 19th century. The project was spurred on by an architecture competition, which looked at ways they might repurpose the fort to bring new life back into it.

My approach was to take something integral to Italian culture - wine - and use it as a catalyst to get people to the site to experience the unique location. The fort has a perfect setting for a winery, since half of the site faces rolling hills for growing grapes and the other half faces housing developments which could sustain local business. With this, it could be both a tourist destination and a neighborhood hotspot.

For entering the site, the current entrance faces the hills rather than the adjacent development. There was a unique existing turret on the east side of the fort facing a major road which had clear potential as a new entrance to the site, creating a stronger connection to the neighborhood. I proposed a new plaza at the road as a place marker, with a path leading down into and across the moat into the turret and up into the central courtyard. I decided to include a memorial along the path, just before crossing the moat into the fort, to honor the lives of those lost due to executions at this location during WWII.

Maintaining and enhancing the historic character of the location while also designing something contemporary and engaging was an interesting challenge. I took a minimalist approach of developing only a portion of the site, leaving the rest to be freely explored by visitors. Wineries are often set up to allow visitors to wander the vineyards. In a similar way, I wanted to encourage visitors to wander the fort.

The actual tasting room is perched on the fort ramparts, atop an existing building turret. This location offered many opportunities, such as amazing views, a unique approach, connection to the ramparts, and strategic placement of program. It is the main architectural feature of the project: a contemporary tasting room floating over historic remnants.