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The museum was born from a project for converting the area occupied by the former Montello barracks and was designed by the Anglo-Iranian architect Zaha Hadid. There will be two museum centres devoted to 21st century art and contemporary architecture as well as some spaces for live events and artistic experimentation. At present, the first 800 square metres of exhibition space (on a total of 26 thousand square metres envisaged) have been finished and opened to the public.
MAXXI Art has been conceived as the Italian point of reference on the international circuit of excellence in contemporary art. The collection and the exhibitions, reflecting the latest developments in art, but with a broad-based approach, ensure that the institution effectively legitimizes and acts as an international showcase for Italian art of the present.
In the museum’s cultural programming, Italian art will therefore receive particular attention and will be interpreted in relation to an international frame of reference.
The production of works on the occasion of exhibitions, commissions for site specific interventions and the programming of competitions connotate the museum as a place of experimentation and a true propulsive centre for the most up-to-date art.
Furthermore, MAXXI Art intends to act as the fulcrum of a coordinated programme and as a centre for exchanges with other Italian museum institutions as well as actively dialoguing with museums in other countries.

In line with MAXXI’s cultural mission, the Museum of Architecture is an open and dynamic international institution utilising the most advanced instruments in order to spread of knowledge of architecture and testify to its role in society. The activities of the museum develop along two distinct but complementary strands designed to present modern and contemporary architecture to the public and those working in the sector.
The first, of an historical-critical nature, is reserved for the architecture of the XX century, proposed through major retrospective exhibitions devoted to leading figures or specific themes in the culture of twentieth century architecture, launching research and studies that help understand and rediscover its value.
The second strand, of a more experimental and innovative nature, is entirely devoted to the current debate and the emerging themes of contemporaneity, paying particular attention to young designers and the international panorama in order to encourage the public and those working in the sector to confront the ideas and spaces of the future.
In order to communicate architecture, the museum programme features a series of scholarly and popular activities; among these the temporary exhibitions offer visitors ever different opportunities for fruition and research: Gallery 1 on the ground floor houses 20th century exhibitions while those concerning the architecture of the 21st century are installed in Gallery 2 on the first floor.

Educational Activities
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