Grazzini Tonazzini Colombo – Quintessenza

MAXXI | Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Rome

Architectural installation documentation, 2024

This series documented Quintessenza, a temporary installation by Grazzini Tonazzini Colombo in the square of MAXXI in Rome. The commission focused on how the vertical planes of galvanised steel, the reflections of water and the concrete architecture of Zaha Hadid’s building interacted with visitors, turning the forecourt into an inhabitable scenography for rest, play and the museum’s summer programme.

Exhibition text by MAXXI | Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo

Quintessenza (Quintessence) is the project by the Grazzini Tonazzini Colombo group, winner of the new edition of NXT, the MAXXI programme dedicated to promoting a new generation of architects and enhancing public space.

Designed as an abstract volume with strong plasticity, Quintessenza is a sequence of vertical surfaces in galvanised sheet metal, a scenography and device that shimmers and reflects through surprising plays of water. It is a place devised to welcome the Summer at MAXXI, as well as a space to relax, play and learn while visiting and spending time in the museum’s outdoor areas.

On the one hand, the silver tones of the cladding recall those of the concrete and pillars of Zaha Hadid’s structure; on the other, they reference the industrial history of the square that hosts it. The choice of materials, which either come from previous uses or are destined for reuse after the installation’s dismantling, minimises the project’s overall carbon footprint.

[Text source: MAXXI]