MAXXI is no ordinary gallery. 

With 2,600m2 of glass, unmanaged daylight could have been harmful to the artwork and caused inefficiency in energy demand. The roof serves as an intricate array of shading devices and buffer spaces to manage daylight and heat gain to exacting standards. This connection to nature delivers dynamic spaces and a feeling of well-being inside the building.

In hot sunny climates, natural processes alone can't deliver the environment that artwork and people enjoy. High efficiency air-conditioning plant has therefore been integrated into the very fabric of the building, so nothing is on show. These systems allow the internal environment to change in response to the changing of the seasons, further reducing energy cost.

MAXXI won the 2010 RIBA Stirling Prize.