Bathing Green – Revitalizing Baths of Caracalla with Biodiversity and Art
Team
Name: Emily Moore
Institution / Company: Kansas State University
–FINALIST of Re-Nature Rome Competition
Bathing Green represents a movement of transforming archaeological sites throughout Rome from popular tourist destinations to biodiverse and social hotspots. The Baths of Caracalla were once an integral part of the everyday life, full of social opportunities, entertainment, lounging, education, art, and luxury, that became disconnected from Rome.
Bathing Green revives the Bath’s grandiosity and function as a public amenity and reimagines it as a botanic and sculptural, exploratory park. The proposal transforms the interior into botanical gardens that create immersive experiences with lounging areas and interactive, naturalized water features. Enlarged, vegetated-living sculptures, modern sculptures, and remaining mosaics and ruins create a sense of wonder and awe. The previously formal gardens that encompass the baths are revegetated with distinct plant communities including grasslands, olive groves, shrubland, pine and oak woodlands, and wetlands people can explore. Paths meander through these communities for people to exercise, search for ruin fragments, stroll before a night at the opera, or relax and enjoy a book.
While archaeological sites are popular destinations for tourists, they have potential to provide numerous amenities for the local community and environment. Bathing Green is an image of the future of archaeological sites across Rome and the world.
#Reconnecting Archaeological Sites #Art & Nature #Botanical Display #Placemaking #Social Hub
