Reading Rome - Beth Hicks John

I was lucky enough to be chosen from S+T to be part of 'Reading Rome', an intensive architecture program organised by the British School at Rome (BSR), that allows students to study the physical environment of Rome, including its landscape, urban design, and heritage. This year, the program was led by the inspiring Niall McLaughlin and Yeoryia Manolopoulou, who pushed us to be ambitious while remaining open to our discoveries and were clearly as inspired as their students by the rich environment of Rome.

We began in the heart of the city with the incredible Chris Siwicki, an ancient historian and Research Fellow at BSR, observing and drawing Roman gates, openings, and thresholds on (not-so-small) chalkboards, occasionally pausing at Fassi Gelateria to refuel! This process became almost performative, as curious passers-by watched us carry these large boards around the city, pausing to layer the geometric forms we were observing. 

One portal that particularly spoke to me was Porta Pia, designed with two different facades: one facing the city and the other, at the time of its construction, facing the surrounding countryside. The city-facing side felt emotive, like a symbolic threshold welcoming one into the heart of Rome. 

Each evening, we gathered as a group to draw on large blackboards at the BSR, swapping partners each night. Using unique clay pigment palettes inspired by ancient Roman wall paintings, we completed 12 large chalk drawings for a final exhibition and dinner, which Mike Stiff (Chairman of Stiff+Trevillion) attended.

Over the week, I came to understand that Niall and Yeoryia’s group work was less about the outcome and more about the process — the layering of people, chance, and observation. As a group of 11 who started out as strangers, we became remarkably close, spending long days together from early morning till late into the night, sharing meals, ideas, and glasses of wine, united by the desire to create meaningful work together. 

I hope to return to the oasis of the British School at Rome one day to pursue further research, but until then, I am deeply grateful to Mike Stiff, the wonderful staff at the BSR, and all my new friends now back in London for an incredible week that I will never forget.

Beth Hicks John

For more information about Reading Rome and the British School at Rome, please visit: https://bsr.ac.uk/call-for-applications-reading-rome-architecture-summer-school-2025/

Stiff+Trevillion is proud to support this initiative that gives students of architecture an unrivalled opportunity to immerse themselves in the history and architecture of Rome.