The discovery of a Roman site at the bottom of a municipal building, a Domus on the edge of the wall, has made this adaptation project necessary to make it open to visitors simultaneously with the normal use of the building.
The space containing the site has been turned into a museum, and the ground floor has been redistributed to configure the spaces for approaching the site from the building's lobby. Spaces that have a dual use: circulation and building services during the week, and vestibule of the site when it is open to the public.
The approach takes place through a sequence of vestibules that refers to the system of articulation of the main spaces of the domus and villas. The halls, with sensibly square proportions and varying heights, are connected by thick, low doorways that refer to the massiveness of Roman architecture.
This sequence of spaces defines a circular route, with a strong theatric character, which incorporates elements of anticipation of the site's content. Each hall is located on a different stratum (outside the wall-wall-intervallum) which is manifested in different pavements and in bas-reliefs of Roman characters on the walls, accompanying the visitor.
Through stairs in the dark, like a tunnel, you can access a longitudinal loft like a lookout, raised above the site. The entire space disappears, painted black, revealing the archaeological remains and a large mural that had been on the ceiling of one of the rooms.
The loft is an enclosure with glass facings on the walls, floor and ceiling, which multiply the perception and expand the space. The walls and floor hide parts of the site and interpretive elements on display that appear behind the glass in a game of illusionism when the lighting is turned on.
