Rome's MAXXI

Museo nazionale delle
arti del XXI secolo

On looking at Zaha Hadid’s building from the outside…

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Zena: What’s nice about concrete is that it looks unfinished. She said that.

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Eva: She said that?

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Zena: In Italy, that fits. Tiles that develop a patina. Rome, the eternal city. Construction going on among the ruins. Perhaps that was one of Zaha’s messages here.

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Eva: But the tree?

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Zena: Make of it what you will.

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Eva: Who invented concrete?

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Zena: Like everything else, we Romans.

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Voice-over

The Romans invented concrete but what Zaha Hadid could do with concrete surprises even Italians.

And the museum has curated three great architectural exhibitions. Tel Aviv: The White City, Home Beirut: Sounding the Neighbors, and Bruno Zevi’s commentaries on Italian architects 1944 to 2000. A seamless passage from building to exhibitions.