As you step into the Zaha Hadid designed MAXXI – National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome, you’re enveloped by something unexpected: a multispecies landscape designed by TAKK. Known for subverting traditional architecture, the Barcelona– and New York-based studio transforms the space with their project con-vivere. Vibrant signage, cascading vegetation under glowing grow lights, expansive circular sofas, and metallic structures supporting edible plants redefine museum entry as a communal garden.
This innovative installation is the second chapter in the ENTRATE program, curated by Martina Muzi. It frames ecology as a living, relational presence. Circular forms replace rigid structures, while greenhouse luminaires sustain both plant growth and human relaxation. Aromatic plant species infuse the air, inviting visitors to slow down and engage more fully.
Mobile installations encourage rejuvenation and community
Architects Mireia Luzárraga and Alejandro Muiño of TAKK utilize six mobile installations to encourage rest and community. Visitors might first notice The Fountain, where a former jacuzzi now serves as a shallow communal basin. Tiered seating encircles the structure, providing a space to pause, grounded by the sound of flowing water in the vast concrete museum hall.
Nearby, The Collective Sofa, a sweeping six-meter-wide circle, beckons for lying down, reading, or even napping beneath a canopy of aromatic plants. Here, visitors are invited to remove their shoes, altering the usual dynamic of museum circulation into one of personal connection and intimacy.
Agriculture meets architecture in shared spaces
The Tower transforms food production into an interactive ritual. Mediterranean plants like asparagus, peas, and cabbage grow on elevated platforms, nourished by overhead water reservoirs. Communal tables positioned beneath these crops host conversations on food sovereignty, drawing attention to the unseen systems that sustain urban environments.
In another corner, radical softness meets productivity at The Work Table. Inspired by bridge engineering, its exposed structural elements support a well-lit communal workspace, where collaboration flourishes alongside concentration.
Engaging with space through sensory experiences
The installation’s softer spaces—like The Wellness Bed—offer guided meditation accompanied by medicinal plants, scent diffusers, chromatic lighting, and soothing sound. This tranquil setting underscores the architects’ belief that care arises from interactions between bodies, surroundings, and living elements.
Throughout, TAKK utilizes lightweight, low-carbon materials to shape sensory dense environments where metallic frameworks coexist with vibrant foliage. The installation’s entry spot—often a place of hurried transitions—becomes a sanctuary of stillness, inviting visitors to linger and contemplate.
In a world marked by relentless pace, ecological strain, and hyper-productivity, TAKK posits that rest and care are not passive but active practices of public space. By transforming MAXXI’s entrance into an immersive environment, the architects remind us that coexistence is a spatial practice ripe for exploration.
This installation is part of the ENTRATE program, housed within the MAXXI National Museum, Rome. It involves collaborations with many talents, including photographers like José Hevia, whose images bring TAKK’s vision vividly to life.
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Source: designboom.com