Ever since its founding, Rome has been vulnerable to the swelling waters of its Tiber River. This river was so important to the city that it was a defining character in Rome’s history for over two thousand years. However, this river-city relationship would be suddenly severed in the late 19th century as Rome was declared the Italian capital. And, with the creation of the capital, came the creation of the river walls. While this new infrastructure safeguarded the city from future flooding, it razed the relationship between the city and its river. It lost its use as a commercial trade route, transportation system and leisure landscape, and before long the Tiber was forgotten. This thesis proposes a design intervention at Rome’s historic river-city site, the Porto di Ripetta. Once the physical and symbolic gateway to the city, the Ripetta is presently the most disconnected site along the Tiber River. Not only does the proposed project aim to synergistically unite a series of complex archaeological layers from antiquity to present-day, it also aspires to reconnect the city to its historical relationship with its river, introduce another layer within Rome’s transportation network, and expand the city’s cultural agenda along its underutilized continuous corridor. The introduction of river-based programme is logical when created within a series of design solutions that both recognize and address the temporal nature of the riverscape. Through in-depth historical analysis, this thesis examines the complexities of the Tiber River’s existence and analyzes its sociological, physical and political importance to the Eternal City. This understanding of the Tiber River’s unique qualities reveals tangible opportunities for new public spaces connected the potential of the Tiber as part of an expanded network of new public transportation, leisure landscapes, and cultural institutions.

Ever since its founding, Rome has been vulnerable to the swelling waters of its Tiber River. This river was so important to the city that it was a defining character in Rome’s history for over two thousand years. However, this river-city relationship would be suddenly severed in the late 19th century as Rome was declared the Italian capital. And, with the creation of the capital, came the creation of the river walls. While this new infrastructure safeguarded the city from future flooding, it razed the relationship between the city and its river. It lost its use as a commercial trade route, transportation system and leisure landscape, and before long the Tiber was forgotten. This thesis proposes a design intervention at Rome’s historic river-city site, the Porto di Ripetta. Once the physical and symbolic gateway to the city, the Ripetta is presently the most disconnected site along the Tiber River. Not only does the proposed project aim to synergistically unite a series of complex archaeological layers from antiquity to present-day, it also aspires to reconnect the city to its historical relationship with its river, introduce another layer within Rome’s transportation network, and expand the city’s cultural agenda along its underutilized continuous corridor. The introduction of river-based programme is logical when created within a series of design solutions that both recognize and address the temporal nature of the riverscape. Through in-depth historical analysis, this thesis examines the complexities of the Tiber River’s existence and analyzes its sociological, physical and political importance to the Eternal City. This understanding of the Tiber River’s unique qualities reveals tangible opportunities for new public spaces connected the potential of the Tiber as part of an expanded network of new public transportation, leisure landscapes, and cultural institutions.

La construction à Rome du musée de l'Ara Pacis, conçu par l'architecte américain Richard Meier, suscite depuis plus de dix ans de vives polémiques. Celles-ci dénotent un malaise évident face à l'intégration d'une architecture contemporaine, qualifiée de « générique » par certains, dans le centre historique de la Ville éternelle. L'argument principal des détracteurs du projet repose sur la thèse selon laquelle la complexité des strates historiques et la diversité étonnante des monuments érigés jadis qui composent cette ville-palimpseste se trouveraient soumises à de trop importants changements nuisant à l'intégrité du patrimoine bâti. En effet, dans le cas étudié ici, ils affirment que le musée de l'Ara Pacis constitue encore un autre cas de structure inapte à rendre justice à l'image historique et patrimoniale de Rome. Il en résulte la question qui est au coeur de la problématique abordée dans ce mémoire: le contact d'une architecture contemporaine, qualifiée de « générique » par ceux qui dénoncent le culte des « archi-stars », avec un monument de la Rome antique, peut-il enrichir l'esprit de ce lieu complexe? Par une analyse du pôle de la réception du monument, ce mémoire vise donc à comprendre les impacts, à différentes échelles, de cette construction par rapport à son contexte urbain. En appliquant une approche inspirée du modèle systémique formulé par l'urbaniste Paolo Colarossi et en recourant notamment au concept de « contemporanéité anachronique » développé par l'historien d'art Daniel Arasse ainsi que celui de monument tel que défini par Jean Davallon, entre autres, nous proposons une piste de résolution de l'opposition entre conservation et innovation. Le discours affectif sera donc dépassé par une analyse plus globale. L'approche systémique utilisée transforme ainsi un cas statique et isolé en événement. Bien encadrées, nous soutenons que les nouvelles architectures peuvent actualiser un bien patrimonial tout en faisant surgir de nouvelles valeurs à transmettre dans le futur. Le débat provoqué par la construction du musée de l'Ara Pacis peut aider à approfondir les réflexions menant à un meilleur encadrement pour des projets futurs. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Architecture contemporaine, Paysage urbain historique, Patrimoine, Mise en valeur, Rome, Ara Pacis, Musée de Richard Meier, Approche systémique.

Québec Université Laval, Bibliothèque 2013