Located south of the city’s core, in the business district of EUR, the complex follows the simple orthogonal lines of the surrounding 1930s rationalist architecture. The spaces surrounding the centre will serve as two public squares. Integral to the new complex and the neighborhood, these new spaces will provide citizens with places for various leisure and outdoor activities, offering a new meeting area in this busy part of Rome. The New Rome/EUR Convention Hall and Hotel ‘The Cloud’ comprises three distinct architectural concepts: the basement, the ‘Theca’ and ‘Cloud’, and the ‘Blade’. The basement is accessed on Viale Cristoforo Colombo, via a staircase that leads into the building’s main foyer and information point.
The ‘Cloud’ is an independent cocoon-like structure that is covered in 15,000 square metres of highly advanced membrane fiber glass and flame-retardant silicone and is supported laterally at points by the ‘Theca’. It lies at the heart of the complex and is accessed by the ‘Forum’ – an artery walkway that fuses the two structures together. Inside the ‘Cloud’, five levels (supported by escalators and walkways) lead to an 1,800-capacity auditorium. In order to ensure that the ‘Cloud’ system does not interfere with the rest of the complex; the auditorium is clad in wooden cherry panels.
The building has been constructed from 37,000 tonnes of steel, the equivalent weight of four and a half Eiffel Towers. Additionally, 58,000 metres of glass has been used for the center’s exterior and interior design, which is enough to cover the surface of 10 football pitches. The centre is fully earthquake-proofed – the stiffness of its vertical structure can withstand both small and large seismic waves. This system can achieve high energy performances whilst reducing electricity consumption.
A natural ventilation system is also in place – with the cool water of the nearby EUR lake extracted and filtered into the system. When fully operational, the basic power load of the New Rome /EUR convention Hall and Hotel ‘The Cloud’ will be supplied by the power station of cogeneration as well as any power generated by the buildings’ geothermal and photovoltaic network.