The Italian government has approved plans designed by architecture studio Labics and Fabio Fumagalli with engineering firm Milan Ingegneria to create a remote-controlled, retractable floor within the Colosseum arena in Rome.
The retractable floor will replace the arena's original floor, which was removed in the 19th century to restore the vision of "ancient times".
"Realisation of the arena resumes the thread of time, finally restoring to the public the same vision that was had in ancient times from the stage of the monument, restoring its integral reading, highlighting the needs of protection and conservation with the use of highly technological structural construction choices aimed at long-term eco-sustainability," said Alfonsina Russo, director of the Colosseum Archaeological Park. A retractable floor will be installed at the Colosseum amphitheatre
Labics, Fumagalli and Milan Ingegneria's design will cover the arena's entire floor and would allow visitors to stand in the centre of the arena and performances to be held within the Colosseum. It will be installed by 2023.
The arena's floor will be supported on the building's existing structure and will be retractable so that the elaborate hypogeum ? the complex of lifts to bring animals and gladiators directly into the arena beneath the stage ? can be viewed.
...