The multifunctional building ASTRA is located in a strategic site: where the two main axis of this Adriatic city meet: Corso Nazario Sauro (east-west) , Via Orsini-Trieste (north-south). This is also the place where the main square is located: Piazza Martiri Fosse Ardeatine. The area is situated on the east side of the square: the project redefines all this border of the square with a strategy that emphasizes both the volumes and the voids.

The site of this mixed-use project is situated within the urban extension related to the long and diffuse conurbation of the Adriatic coast.

The building lies upon a rectangular lot along the east-west direction, bordering the sea. The project’s location and functional requirements could have been perceived as disadvantages at first sight.

The morphological aspects of the site, stretched along a longitudinal axis with the presence of a very high building bordering the southern side. The program called for the use of the ground floor for equipment and services for the cinema, resulting in the need for a completely free connection to the ground.

Photographs by Alessandro Ciampi