The project inserts itself coherently into the context and respectfully towards the existing historic building and the important Punic remains, treating the whole area as archaeological and inserting the new elements as autonomous, recognisable and reversible structures. The intervention integrates the new volumes and upgrades the structures, systems and fire-safety provisions of the historic Palazzo Riso, in service of its function as a contemporary art museum.

The project provides for a steel and glass roof above the second court, and a hall for temporary exhibitions on the footprint of the west wing. From the entrance portal, crossing the first open-air court, one perceives the spatiality of the enfilade of courts, reaching the foyer with the ticket office. The project modifies the existing vertical connections to optimise the link between levels and the fluidity of the visiting routes.