Rome Launches International Competition for New Science Museum

Rome has launched an international architecture competition for the Museo della Scienza di Roma (MSR), a new science museum to be built in the Flaminio district. The competition, announced on November 4, 2022, and open until January 23, 2023, is part of a larger urban regeneration project for the former military barracks area on Via Guido Reni, opposite the MAXXI museum. The project, initially awarded in 2015 to a group led by Studio 015 Viganò, stalled for years but was revived in early 2022. Nobel Prize-winning physicist Giorgio Parisi heads the Technical-Scientific Commission guiding the museum's concept. The two-phase competition will select five finalists in the first phase, with results announced on May 22, 2023. The winner will receive €150,000 and the commission for the definitive and executive design. The museum will feature 5,000 sqm of permanent exhibition space, 2,000 sqm for temporary exhibitions, 1,000 sqm for external proposals, a 1,000 sqm foyer, an 800 sqm auditorium, a 600 sqm restaurant area, a 400 sqm bookshop, and 2,000 sqm of outdoor green spaces. The total investment is €75 million, with construction potentially starting during the 2025 Jubilee. The jury is presided by architect Daniel Libeskind, with members including Benedetta Tagliabue, Alessandro d'Onofrio, Maria Argenti, Francesco Cellini, Ernesto Dello Vicario, and Fokke Moerel. First-phase results are expected by March 30, 2023.