Dome

West facade, glass doors into temporary exhibits gallery, white block on left; glass curtain wall surrounding altar to right, raking view looking south; In 1938 Benito Mussolini built a protective building for the Altar, as it had been reconstructed by Vittorio Ballio Morpurgo, near the Mausoleum of Augustus (moving the Altar in the process) as part of his attempt to glorify Fascist Italy. A new cover building, designed by American architect Richard Meier, now stands on the same site as Mussolini's. The new building opened in 2006 to controversy. Modifications are planned to reroute a busy road so that the large travertine wall is no longer needed to block the noise of the traffic; a a wide pedestrian area will be built along the river and the road (Lungotevere in August) will run underneath it. A predominating feature of the new building is a glass curtain wall measuring 150 feet long and 40 feet high. There is space for other exhibits, an auditorium and a rooftop terrace with cafe. Source: ArchDaily; http://www.archdaily.com/ (accessed 7/28/2012)