The design of the roof aims to give continuity to the typology of the covered galleries and reinterpret it in a contemporary way, with the objective of creating an open space, freed from structural elements, completely transparent, inundated by natural light. The roofing, inspired by the structural model of the Miura Ori – invented by Japanese astrophysicist Koryo Miura – consists of a rigid glass structural system, which behaves as a continuous slab; thanks to its mechanical behavior of folds (mountains and valleys) along with its parametric vaulted shape, the new roof is able to cover the entire surface of the courtyard without any vertical supports.
The architecture of the glazed roof creates a free space, at the same time flexible, inclusive, and able to give continuity to the system of public and pedestrian spaces in direct agency to the Museum. The new courtyard aims to create a connection with the system of covered porticos and passages that runs through the Subalpina gallery, the San Federico gallery and the Umberto I gallery, establishing a new urban axis included in the system of soft mobility of the city.
The design of the courtyard of the Collegio dei Nobili, celebrates the Egyptian garden as the protagonist of the space: by reusing the two existing voids (now occupied by skylights), it is proposed to reinforce the presence of the Egyptian garden, imagining one on each side of the courtyard and integrating them into the system of circulation and access to the basement. The garden, integrated with two new amphitheatres, is thus consolidated as a moment of intimate connection with nature and knowledge of Egyptian culture.
The access path to the basement, is pervaded by the same sense of exciting discovery: alluding to Egyptian symbolism, light is the connecting element between the courtyard and the new display in the basement, accompanying the visitor in a total scenographic immersion that, through a stone gallery – whose architectural design al- lows to exhibit the many Egyptian artifacts in the collection – has its climax in the new multimediaroom.
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