Half an hour drive from Catanzaro, the capital of the Italian region of Calabria, in the comune of Curinga, one can find a small site with a ruin that is considered to be the remains of a complex of thermal baths from the Roman era. Our intention on this project was to protect the Ruin, to reload the site and realize its potential for visitors and for the local community.
The project implementation process can be divided into three stages.
• The first stage involves providing access to the Ruin for visitors and primary protection from ground and surface water. Concrete retaining walls are erected around the perimeter of the ruin, upon which the surrounding landscape (berm) is hilled. The ground strip between the Ruin walls and the retaining walls is leveled and prepared for a reverse slope topping of stabilized earth or recycled crushed fines. A lightweight bypass path made of galvanized steel grid is attached to the retaining walls and floats above the ground. Special islands are positioned along the key axes for the thermae architecture on the visitor's way: along the frigidarium apses and opposite the natatio portal. Passages to the observation path through the hill from the surrounding territory are oriented along the same axes. This solution allows the surrounding landscape to visually protect the monument while providing a more private and focused interaction between the visitor and the monument.
• In the second phase, a multifunctional building, referred to as The Driver, is constructed on the southeastern border of the site. The multifunctional program includes an information center, inclusive visitor services, an exhibition area, and a workshop for researchers of the monument (archaeologists, historians, students, architects, artists, etc.). We named it Driver because we believe that it will not only "reload" the site of the monument but also become an important cultural institution for the community of nearby communes and towns. A small window oculus is placed in the reflective facade wall of the Driver on the side of the Thermae, shifted from the central axis of the building and aligned with Axis_A of the apse. This window allows visitors to view the monument from above while visiting the exhibition. In contrast to the blind main façade, the back façade of the Driver is fully glazed, opening onto the small picturesque garden HORTI DI CURINGA.
• In the third stage, the Driver itself becomes the supporting structure for the translucent roof, which is stretched over the thermae by means of cable-stayed structures. The roof is assembled with U-shaped fiberglass elements with a general slope towards the supporting Blue Beam. The rainwater is collected in a gutter and discharged into the drainage system.
Thus the roof over the Thermae extends from one 'sky' represented by the sky-blue beam to another sky, the Calabrian sky reflected in the facade of The Driver.
From the driveway and small parking lot, a main path leads off into the site, leading around the Thermae toward the main entrance to the Driver. At the corner of the building the path splits in two. A trail along the site border leads visitors around the site past HORTI DI CURINGA to reach the rectangular ALTER-NATATIO ground, which is oriented along the axis of the original natatatio and reflects its plan proportions. This area, as well as the circular glade in the garden, can be used as an exhibition space for temporary artistic interventions and events.
The roof over the Thermae extends from one ‘sky’ represented by the sky-blue beam to another sky, the Calabrian sky reflected in the facade of The Driver building.
