Tiber Reuse Center

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The Tiber Reuse Center reinvents the way Rome looks at recycling, it first looks towards the items themselves, then their materials. The center prac- tices its innovation on its site, including the use of the abandoned 17th century arsenale building in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood.

Items that are brought to the site are sorted by artisans and craftsmen and then stored under the main piazza for redistribution. Visitors can come to site to find materials, replacement parts, or other items. The arsenale is connected to the main building and used as a gallery of work. The center encourages the re-use of materials for their original purpose or for inventive new life as sculptures, installations, and recycled building materials.

The building form and vocabulary attempt to give the center an iconic im- age. The perforated copper skin varies in opening based on programmatic and bioclimatic requirements, giving the cladding a unique pattern. Light enters during the day and shines outward at night connecting with the urban fabric.