Florence Redux

Ex-Monasterio Sant' Orsola, Firenze, Italia

Fall 2017 | Prof. Luca Ponsi | Arc 408 - Florence, Study Abroad

In Design Collaboration with M. Starr

All images by Maddie

Ex-Monasterio Sant' Orsola, built in 1309 as a Franciscan Convent, was built, rebuilt and added on to since then. Abandoned and sold by a handful of owners, its a piece of Florence that has not been forgotten. In collaboration with the possible arts center proposed by the city council, the Marino Marini Museum will complement the program and create a new home for more of Marini's works in Florence. 

Centering around the idea of nesting and carving, the object of the museum is placed inside the existing exterior walls of the street and courtyard keeping its presence intact with its surroundings. With the insertion of this new object, an interstitial space is created  as a threshold between old and new, as well as a dynamic exterior, public space in Florence. On the interior, the carved form of each gallery space derives from generalized sectional shapes of monastic spaces. Giving each room its own character allows for the convent to still read through the new.