Rafael Moneo and The National Museum of Roman Art

One of the projects that came to mind this week was Rafael Moneo's National Museum of Roman Art in Merida. In my opinion it is a great example of how an architect has taken the essence and ideas behind a way of building and reinterpreted them in such a way that they are appropriate for the present. He did not copy from the past but rather learned from those ideas and blended them with the project's modern context and program. 

I would say that this project falls somewhere between critical regionalism and romantic regionalism. The project does have tones of a previous history, but the way they were implemented responds to local contextual influences. For this particular project, I believe he struck just the right balance.

Cellular plan organization with an open center

Upper floor balcony with a three layer arch