Rome’s pasts and the creation of new urban spaces: brecciation, matter, and the play of surfaces and depths

In this paper I look at how the discovery of remnants contributes to creating new spaces in the city. I use the geological metaphor of brecciation drawing upon the work of Sigmund Freud to elaborate on how materials from the past and the present are jumbled in a nonlinear fashion to enable spatial multiplicity. I then illustrate these ideas through the case study of the Sala Trevi/Mondadori building in Rome which exemplifies the ongoing dynamics of the play of surfaces and depths when remnants are featured as part of the design. This is done by outlining ways in which the building unfolds spatial and material juxtapositions, and by elaborating on three elements that are indicative of the metaphor of brecciation. I conclude that when material and spatial entanglements occur, the metaphor of brecciation goes further than the metaphor of the palimpsest in facilitating spatial transformation in the city: spaces can be modified and create new possibilities with the past, enabling tensions to coexist in the present whilst not limiting reconfiguration in the future