Rome's 'Ugliest Building' Gets Green Makeover with Europe's Largest Solar Facade

The Centro Direzionale Argonauta in Rome's Ostiense district, long considered the city's ugliest building, has undergone a major energy-efficient renovation. Designed by Isabelle M. Rizk of Agenzia di Architettura, the 75,000-square-meter multifunctional complex now features 657 silicon photovoltaic modules on its south-facing facade, producing 137.62 MW annually and saving an estimated 170 tons of CO2 per year. This is likely the largest facade photovoltaic system in metropolitan Rome and one of the biggest in Italy. The project also includes interior improvements to circulation and systems without disrupting daily operations. Additionally, the property owner Valle Giulia Srl, under the art direction of Thirtyone Design's Claudia Campone, launched the 'Argonauta – Design Crew per Roma' program, inviting quarterly site-specific artworks. The first artist duo, Motorefisico (Lorenzo Pagliara and Gianmaria Zonfrillo), known for tape art in Berlin, Ibiza, Bordeaux, and Miami, will begin work this month. A contest and scholarship for architecture and design students in Rome will be announced by September, with awards in June 2020, funded by the forthcoming Fondazione Valle Giulia. CEO Massimo Tarquini emphasized the need for collaboration to advance public discourse on creativity's role in urban development. Claudia Campone cited two motivations: promoting private-public space sharing and valorizing existing buildings over unsustainable cementification.