The project for the new exit of the Medici Chapel Museum attempts a mediation between technical and aesthetic needs.
The previous green layout served well as a diaphragm between two buildings made with very different languages and proportions.
However, re-proposing a similar solution would not have been possible because a reinforced concrete “box” was built under the area.
So, we imagined extending the stone floor of the square and lifting it at the underground exit. We have in fact designed a cantilevered steel and stone shelter. The cladding of the shelter’s estrados is made of sandstone, the same as the square one; the cladding of the intrados is made of mirror-brushed stainless steel sheet, to reflect the external light inside the underground environment. The load-bearing structure uses a honeycomb steel beam-pillar system, a solution that allows for greater lightness and resistance compared to traditional carpentry. The exposed metal carpentry is painted in the same shade of red as the nearby Central Market. Ventilation ducts are positioned in the thickness of the structure for mechanized aeration of underground environments.