Rome unveils New Ministry of Environment and Energy Security Headquarters

Open to the public, wood-framed, and energy-efficient Located in Rome’s historic EUR district, Nexus Terrae has been selected as the winning plan for the new headquarters of Italy’s Ministry of Environment and Energy Security. 

The project is a new form of government construction for Italy that highlights the nation’s sustainability goals and was created as a symbol of environmental leadership.

PLP Architecture was a member of an international team that won the public competition to create Nexus Terrae, together with GPA, Perillo Srl, OBLYK, Architetto Valentini, and Enser. 

The circular, energy-positive structure is intended to serve as a manifesto for sustainable architecture. The design reinterprets the district’s rational grid through the lens of sustainable architecture and modern environmental design. 

The development organizes about 30,000 square meters of workspace and public functions across two timber-framed volumes in cross-laminated larch (X-LAM), blending seamlessly into EUR’s orthogonal plan and monumental scale.

In order to create an immersive biophilic experience for guests and regular users, the ground floor, which is completely accessible to the public, extends the landscape inward, bringing greenery deep into the building. In this dynamic environment, spaces for exhibitions, discussion, and cooperation emerge. 

The project’s central feature is a vertical atrium that climbs through the structure and is filled with greenery and natural light. It offers moments of solitude and introspection while preserving visual coherence throughout thanks to a sequence of floating boxes that create concentrated workspaces and suspended terraces.

Above, high-efficiency solar panels embedded in a timber canopy shade a panoramic rooftop terrace that generates sustainable energy. These tactics allow the facility to generate more energy each year than it uses. 

The façade is a sophisticated glass and travertine composition that conveys the conversation between innovation and tradition. It communicates permanence and firmness during the day and turns into a softly lighting beacon at night. 

“The Ministry’s new headquarters will stand as a symbol of Italy’s environmental ambitions – not only in its performance but in its role in educating the public,” said Lee Polisano, President of PLP Architecture.

“It is a new model for civic architecture that we hope pushes the country’s environmental agenda forwards by setting an example of what is possible,” Polisano added.

After three significant changes in Milan, including Corso Como Place, the Parco Romana project, and PLP’s newly authorized designs for Building Zero in the Lampugnano redevelopment plan, Nexus Terrae is the most recent structure in PLP’s ongoing commitment to Italy’s urban transformation. 

The National Meteorological Center in South Korea, which will be the Korean government’s first net-zero structure and a representation of their environmental commitment, is the most recent of PLP’s designs that use architecture to promote sustainability at an institutional level.

PLP Architecture, which unites people, the environment, and technology, is a global leader in architectural and urban design innovation, with studios located in Tokyo and Singapore.

All images are courtesy of PLP Architecture. 

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