"Mica Aurea" proposal by Palomero + KAL A + KRI + Paterna won the third prize (winner here) in the competition for the modernization and programmatic reformulation of the spaces of the Royal Academy of Spain located in the city of Rome. It also tries to incorporate public spaces and gardens that surround the entire complex.

The design is proposed to be developed in two different phases. The first of them is a viewpoint of Rome inside La Academia and to recover the original façade that overlooks San Pietro square. Added to this is the dignity of the original access to the Bramante pavilion. The second phase consists of a restructuring of the pavilion and expansion of workshops and garden studios.
Mica Aurea project, by Palomero + KAL A + KRI + Paterna, is inspired by the golden colour of the land near the Tiber, as an integrating idea of ​​the new extension and other elements related to both stone and ceramic walls, facilitating a dialogue with the colour tone of the main facades of the academy.

In the proposal, the monumental complex is valued by reordering the whole, concentrating on the routes and uses. Also, the terraces of the golden hill provide a new organization that would allow the enjoyment of a new proposal of the landscape on three different levels.
 

Description of project by Palomero + KAL A + KRI + Paterna

MICA AUREA
The monumental complex of San Pietro in Montorio has left, over the centuries, a characteristic imprint, written in the historical plans of Rome and responding directly to the morphological and urban traces of the Gianicolo hill. The coexistence since 1873 of two distinct uses, conventual and academic, as well as the successive partial modifications to the complex, has given rise to a differentiated variety of superimposed architectural elements that uniquely define each of its spaces.

The present proposal has as its main aspiration to reformulate and modernize the spaces of the Royal Academy of Spain in Rome, in addition to incorporating the public spaces and gardens surrounding the complex. The project is developed in two phases:

Phase I
A new viewpoint inside the Accademia. Recovery of the original facade overlooking the square of San Pietro in Montorio, dignifying the original access of Bramante's pavilion, connecting, and recovering the original views of Rome.

A new accessible topography. The morphology of Mount Gianicolo is taken as an opportunity to organize and design this new floor plan that homogenizes the existing differences in levels inside and outside the building.

Reorganization and enhancement of the monumental complex. The complex is reorganized by concentrating on the routes and uses that currently lack unity and appropriate order: Uses as differentiated as those of residents, visits to the historical complex, museums, administration, etc.

Phase II
An efficient engine for the future of the Academy. Restructuring of the pavilion and enlargement of the workshops and studios of the garden, giving value to a new flexible and versatile configuration.

The terraces of Monte Aureo. Following the strategy of the square of San Pietro in Montorio, a new organization that allows the enjoyment of a landscape proposal is disposed of in three different drainage levels.

Mica Aurea: the predominantly golden-coloured earth in the immediate vicinity. The golden colour of the earth near the Tiber is taken as the basis for integrating the new extension and other wall elements, both ceramic and stone, which will dialogue with the yellow colour of the main facades of the Academy.

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Architects
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Lead architects.- Jorge Palomero, KAL A (Miguel Sotos, Sofía Romeo), KRI (Gonzalo Peña), Adrián Paterna.
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Project team
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Local Team.- Od’A Officina d’Architettura. (Alessandra Fasanaro, Giovanni Aurino).
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Collaborators
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Francisco Pol, Gaetano Boccia.
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Client
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City of Rome.
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Dates
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2022.
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Location
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Rome, Italy.
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Visualitation
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Hapto (Sofía Romeo)
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KAL A is an architecture studio founded in Madrid in 2017, it is currently directed by Miguel Sotos Fernández-Zúñiga and Sofía Romeo Gurrea-Nozaleda.

KAL A combines the practice of architecture with carpentry, focused on providing solutions through a slow process, collaborating with small local industries, artisans and a wide production of details and furniture handcrafted in its own workshop. They believe that architecture is revealed through the connections we make between landscape, culture, heritage and materiality. KAL A is working on major projects, developing his practice through private commissions in housing, office and mixed-use projects. Actively participates in publishing projects through Calmo Editions, an independent publisher founded in 2020.

Awards
First Prize International Design Competition for the Construction of a Nursery in Bohinj with ARREA Arhitektura, Ana Jerman, Janja Susnjar, Studio AKKA, Slovenia. 2020.
Second Prize in the International Design Competition for the future network of Interpretation and Tourist Experience Centers in the Canary Islands with Adrián Paterna, Spain. 2022.
Third Prize in the International Design Competition for the Rehabilitation and Extension of the Royal Academy of Spain in Rome with Francisco Pol, Jorge Palomero, Gonzalo Peña and Adrián Paterna. Rome Italy. 2022.
Third Prize Competition for the rehabilitation of the old Aranjuez Matadero as a cultural institution with Gonzalo Peña and Adrián Paterna. Aranjuez, Spain. 2022.
Third Prize Competition for the rehabilitation of the General Archive of Ceuta with FRADE Arquitectos + Gonzalo Peña. Ceuta, Spain. 2020.
Honorable Mention Competition for the curatorial project and exhibition design of the Spanish Pavilion at the 18th Venice Biennale 2023, Spain. 2022.
Special Mention Competition for the rehabilitation of the Montealto Market in A Coruña with Miguel Betrán de Lis. To Coruña, Spain. 2017.
Special Mention Competition for the rehabilitation of the Plaza de Armas of Ferrol with Marta Sánchez García-Matres and Blanca Escrigas, Ferrol, Spain. 2017.
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Published on: May 31, 2022
Cite: "Reformulating the space. Mica Aurea by Palomero + KAL A + KRI + Paterna" METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/reformulating-space-mica-aurea-palomero-kal-a-kri-paterna> ISSN 1139-6415
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