New Colosseum Arena Floor

The design competition for the new Colosseum arena floor, launched at the end of 2020, was born in 2014 from an idea of ​​the archaeologist Daniele Manacorda and was included in 2015 in the Great Cultural Projects Strategic Plan.
The project plans to restore the integral composition of the largest amphitheater in the ancient world which is estimated to have held up to 87,000 spectators. The internal arena measures 86 × 54 m with an area of ​​3,357 square meters. The new platform is placed at the height it had at the time of the Flavians and takes up the geometry of the original floor. The beams rest on the existing masonry, without mechanical anchors, without any invasive impact and it is completely reversible. The use of the new floor allows to fully understand its original uses and functions and the technological solutions will guide the visitor to the discovery of the complex organizational and scenic machine that governed the shows in Roman times.
The top is made up of movable panels with a carbon fiber core and covered in Accoya wood: a material that is obtained through a process of acetylation of the wood fibers to increase its strength and durability. The wood comes exclusively from certified forests, where the felling is planned according to the regrowth.
A sophisticated roto-translation mechanism of the panels, which are the components of the platform, allows you to view the basement, allowing ventilation and natural lighting. Along the perimeter 24 mechanical ventilation units control the humidity and temperature of the underground rooms: when the floor is completely closed, the entire volume of air is replaced in 30 minutes.
The new plan of the arena will therefore allow to increase the conservation and protection of the archaeological structures present in the hypogea, while allowing to reconstitute the original image of the monument and of the complex scenic machine of the hypogea, as well as allowing the re-functionalization compatible with the profound value archaeological, architectural and social of the Colosseum.

[@TheOtherGuys2]

Was the floor originally made from wood? I've been eager to see a restoration project on monuments like the Roman Colosseum for years, but I'd always thought it would be better to rebuild them in the way they're meant to be. Preserving an ancient monument shouldn't mean preserving it in a ruined state, I say. Imagine the Colosseum, but rebuilt into a fully functional structure in all its ancient glory.