According to the authors of the project: "the ancient structure of the Franciscan convent that has housed it since 1876 needs to be intervened in order to continue being used and face the new challenges of its future history. The atmosphere of the Academy, permeated by the light and history of Rome and Spain, undoubtedly marks a before and after in the lives of its residents who, accompanied by the solemn presence of Bramante's Tempietto, carry out their processes of artistic production and research in the best center of these characteristics that Spain has abroad. An avant-garde Academy that opens to the city of Rome and therefore to the world".
The jury valued that: "the proposal for the rehabilitation and organization of the existing spaces of the monumental complex, as well as the simultaneous management of circulation of residents and visitors, the recovery of the chapel of San Antonio as an access point to the Romantic garden and the opening of holes and views on the north façade. In addition, the strategy of expanding useful spaces is valued from the thickening of the perimeter walls both in via Garibaldi and in Porta de San Pancracio. The jury concludes that the intervention in the gardens must allow the preservation of the historic trees."
The second prize, endowed with €15,000 plus VAT, went to the motto “1748”, the work of Pereda Pérez Arquitectos, Massimo Cardone and Marco Petrangeli, and the third prize, endowed with €10,000 plus VAT, to the motto “Mica Aurea”, of the joint venture formed by Jorge Palomero, Sofía Romeo Gurrea-Nozaleda, Miguel Sotos Fernández-Zúñiga, Adrián Paterna Ferrón and Gonzalo Peña Sancho.
Additionally, two-second prizes have been awarded, each endowed with €7,500 plus VAT, to the mottos “Donato”, the work of Martínez López Santa-maría S.L., and “Sie Die”, by Estudio Arquitectura HAGO S.L.
Iñaqui Carnicero Alonso-Colmenares (Director general de Agenda Urbana y Arquitectura, Presidente), María Hilda Jiménez Núñez (Directora General del Servicio Exterior del MAEC), Mª Ángeles Albert de León (Directora de la RAER), Marta Callejón Cristóbal (Subdirectora General de Arquitectura y Edificación), Juan Bordes Caballero (Representante de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando en el Patronato de la RAER), Elías Torres Tur (Arquitecto), Margherita Guccione (Arquitecta), María Langarita Sánchez (Arquitecta), Elena Calama Martín (Subdirección General de Arquitectura y Edificación, Secretaria).
Project description by Jesús Aparicio and Donaire Milans
The architectural proposal presented under the motto Future Precedent, referring to a future rooted in the knowledge of history, aims to solve the various problems that the building presents in relation to its adaptation to Italian building regulations, acting and restoring those essential elements of its original structure and in its complex circulation diagram, even restoring some connections from the original convent to better link the two cloisters and, in turn, the Tempietto cloister with the garden. The proposal also offers an extension, which helps to solve the current lack of specific spaces for the good development of the creative and research processes of the residents.
It is also intended to functionally reconfigure some unique areas of the RAER by offering a series of multipurpose spaces that can meet the new production needs in the digital age and cultural expansion with the addition of new disciplines. Likewise, it is proposed to strengthen the museum circuit and create new studios for work. In particular, research residents are provided with a belvedere workspace above the library, a new heart, with the most impressive views of the city, located between the two towers and thus balancing the quality of workspaces for all residents. . All this economic effort must have visibility in accordance with the expectations that are offered to the eternal city, Rome, with a building with its windows and doors open to its citizens and its visitors. To achieve this, a master plan in three phases is presented parallel to the architectural proposal, which allows, in a very effective way, to give continuity to the life of the Academy during the works that will be carried out.
With this extension and functional restructuring, by intervening in the historic building, new public areas are proposed that open the building, even more, to the city of Rome, culturally completing the experience of visiting Bramante's Tempietto with a range of cultural activities and services typical of a prestigious center that represents Spanish and Latin American culture abroad (since the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development, with its scholarships, offers this possibility to artists and researchers from the Hispanic community).
