The Cenci, home to RISD Global, is situated in the multifaceted, dense urban fabric of Rome. Rome shows a marked fluidity in arrangement of spaces: narrow streets progress into wide piazzas and every street has a different experience in terms of functionality and use of space, with shifts in scale and spatial order to provoke constant curiosity, discovery and change in orientation. What was particularly noticeable to me was the disconnect between this urban character and the linear, repetitive circulation inside the Cenci. The project was developed in consultation with RISD Global.

The basis of my design lies in creating a new circulation pattern throughout the public spaces in the Cenci by mimicking instances from the city. A single module is presented at multiple scales to offer diverse dynamics of use; it begins as a shelf, becomes a bookrack, develops into a pedestal, grows to form individual seating, and eventually culminates as shared seating. These meandering experiences function together to evoke the Rhode Island School of Design identity of collaboration and community interaction within the Cenci.