Investigating the “Altera Forma Urbis”, the secret structural urban form of ancient Rome, by applying a sustainable innovative architectural design methodology for the challenges of the contemporary built environment

Abstract

The enquiry is based on work by Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Lugli, architect Pier Maria Lugli and Professor Gianfranco Moneta about the “Altera Forma Urbis” of Rome as a hidden, “secret” structural urban form in the shape of a star, to reveal the interconnections with its contemporary form. Through a case study, the paper argues that applying Moneta’s Analysis-Design Interaction methodology (ADI), an historical-morphological process-based analysis to the “Altera Forma Urbis” can be an effective framework to correctly inform the sustainable evolution of the built environment, and consequently, a tool to design architecture which respects the identity of place