2024 Archaeological Museum – Certosa di San Giacomo – Capri

PROJECT INFO

The Italian Ministry of Culture (MiC) promoted the creation of the first archaeological
museum located on the island of Capri, entitled “The Island of the Caesars. Capri from Augustus to Tiberius.”
The museum hosts 120 archaeological artifacts discovered on the island and, until now, preserved in various museums across Campania and internationally. The exhibition unfolds through eight rooms known as the “Quarto del Priore” within the historic Certosa di San Giacomo complex. In 2024, the entire museum complex was completed and inaugurated.

CLIENT REQUEST

In direct collaboration with the exhibition contractor, I was asked to design several display elements to furnish the rooms, properly support the archaeological artifacts, and ensure safe and effective visitor accessibility.
Starting from the architectural interior design scheme developed by B+S Studio, I carried out intensive technical design and engineering development of all required works over several months. This activity continued through workshop production supervision and on-site collaboration with Arguzia, the company responsible for the installation. Below is a summary of the main display elements designed and constructed:

Raised Platforms
Several rooms required elevated floor plateaus. These were constructed using multiple sections of press-braked sheet metal. Their large dimensions posed the main technical challenge, requiring subdivision into manageable architectural modules.

Large Glass Display Cases
The architectural design included large prismatic display cases with hinged openings and controlled air-tight characteristics to protect selected artifacts.

Marble Statue Bases
The presence of numerous marble sculptures required bases with high load-bearing capacity. These supports represented one of the most substantial portions of the installation due to their number and variability.

Supports for Fragmented Sculptures
Many statues lacked original bases or structural integrity. Dedicated support systems were designed to ensure stability and reconstruct visual completeness.

Large Exhibition Architectures
The architectural concept included large scenographic structures functioning as furnishing elements, artifact supports, and visual connectors throughout the visitor experience. These 12 complex assemblies were engineered to fully respect the original design intent while adapting to the challenging installation conditions.

LOGISTICAL AND CONTEXTUAL CHALLENGES

Capri presented a significant technical constraint. All materials must reach the island by ferry and are then transported using extremely small electric utility vehicles due to narrow roads, steep slopes, and restricted circulation. Additionally, the museum is housed within a historic architectural monument. This limited on-site construction activities and complicated the passage of large elements through narrow doorways. Finally, the tight schedule imposed by the Ministry of Culture and the Direzione Generale Musei further increased the complexity of the project.

SOLUTIONS

Given Capri’s severe logistical constraints, every large furnishing element was designed as a modular, demountable system to be reassembled on site.

Raised Platforms

The large plateaus were divided into multiple sheet-metal sections assembled onto substructures, themselves segmented and connected by mechanical joints. Continuity between adjacent metal surfaces was ensured through specially designed internal elastic bayonet connectors.

Modular Exhibition Architectures

Large articulated architectural structures were divided into independent modules and reconnected through concealed joint systems. These joints were carefully positioned to remain visually integrated within architectural undercuts and volume demarcation lines.

Structural Reinforcement

The weight of marble sculptures required dedicated structural analysis. Internal rib systems and tubular steel substructures were designed and integrated while respecting the architectural language, which included recessed volumes, stepped bases, and vertical grooves defining the compositional lines.

Parametric Meta-Design Approach

The high number and variability of supports posed a serious challenge under strict time constraints. This was addressed through a parametric meta-design strategy: instead of designing each object individually, I developed adaptable object categories using generative and adaptive modeling software driven by numerical input matrices. This approach allowed automated generation of bases with varying dimensions and characteristics after initial preparation of generative models.

Large Glass Cases

The glass showcases required special attention, particularly the design of multi-axis adjustable pantograph hinges and optimization of large laminated low-iron glass panels.

Adaptable Artifact Supports

Due to limited early access to the archaeological artifacts — with measurements available only during the final installation phase — support systems were designed with sliding joints and multi-directional adjustment capabilities to ensure adaptability on site.

MATERIALS

• Laser-cut and press-braked carbon steel sheet
• Laser-cut stainless steel sheet
• Plasterboard
• Phenolic plywood
• Laminated low-iron glas

DIMENSIONS

Length: 42000mm
Width: 9000mm
Height: 6000mm

CLIENTS’ WEBSITES

http://www.arguzia.it/

https://www.ballettisabbatini.com/

https://cultura.gov.it/