Umberto Napolitano on MAXXI Hub+Green: Architecture, Carbon, and Urban Space
The MAXXI museum in Rome, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, is moving forward with its MAXXI Hub+Green expansion. They’ve just kicked off the bidding process for a new multifunctional building and urban park. This project, which was granted to LAN (Local Architecture Network) along with a group of collaborators in 2022, is expected to wrap up the first phase by late 2025 or early 2026, with the full completion aimed for 2027. In a chat with Artribune, LAN co-founder Umberto Napolitano emphasized the importance of the museum’s role in the community and the need for sustainable architecture, while also touching on other projects like the Wood Up tower in Paris and a school in Germany.
Key facts
- MAXXI Hub+Green expansion tender launched for multifunctional building and urban park on Via Masaccio.
- Project won in 2022 by LAN with Susanna Nobili, Ludovica di Falco, Bollinger + Grohmann, ESA Engineering, Franck Boutté Consultants, Bureau Bas Smets, Folia Consulenze.
- First lot construction expected late 2025 or January 2026; full completion by 2027.
- Building will have a publicly accessible terrace and garden with external stairs and two elevators.
- Umberto Napolitano cites carbon regulation as key difference between France and Italy.
- LAN completed Wood Up timber tower in Paris and is working on a school in Germany and a retrofit near Gare de Lyon.
- Exhibition 'LAN. Espaces sans espèces' concluded at Politecnico di Milano in July 2025.
- Napolitano describes the project as essential and minimal in construction and materials, not in language.
Entities
Artists
- Umberto Napolitano
- Susanna Nobili
- Ludovica di Falco
- Zaha Hadid
- Maria Emanuela Bruni
- Francesco Stocchi
- Margherita Guccione
- Georges Perec
- Valentina Silvestrini
Institutions
- MAXXI
- Zaha Hadid Architects
- LAN (Local Architecture Network)
- Bollinger + Grohmann Ingegneria
- ESA Engineering
- Franck Boutté Consultants
- Bureau Bas Smets
- Folia Consulenze
- Provveditorato Interregionale per le Opere Pubbliche per il Lazio, l'Abruzzo e la Sardegna
- Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti
- Artribune
- Politecnico di Milano
- Complesso Museale Santa Maria della Scala
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- Via Guido Reni
- Via Masaccio
- Tevere
- Flaminio
- Paris
- France
- Germany
- Gare de Lyon
- Belgium
- Milan
- Siena