WTW Flagship — Campo de’ Fiori, Rome

For the global WTW operation, Nir Sivan Architects was selected to design the new flagship in the heart of Rome’s historic center, on Campo de’ Fiori. Our brief was to translate WTW’s international brand language into a place Roman audiences could immediately enjoy and recognize—associating the brand’s values with refined design quality and Japanese tradition—while respecting a highly sensitive heritage context.

The store occupies a deep, linear space opening toward the piazza. We began with view-cone studies from the public square into the interior, mapping every primary and oblique sightline. These analyses structured the plan, lighting, and graphics so that key brand moments reveal themselves progressively from street to counter.

Materially, the concept balances “industrial yet artisanal”: durable, honest finishes composed with craft. Given the 17th-century fabric—and earlier substrata—we worked under strict conservation protocols. During refurbishment, we uncovered original materials along the lateral walls and a small fresco on the lower level. These findings were stabilized and integrated into the design narrative, allowing the Roman preexistence to converse with the contemporary Japanese identity rather than be overshadowed by it.

The result is a calibrated dialogue: ancient masonry and archaeological traces set against minimal, precise interventions; a quiet backdrop that amplifies brand rituals; and a clear spatial rhythm aligned to historic sightlines from the piazza. A modern Japanese flagship alive within the Eternal City’s memory—challenging, delicate, and ultimately coherent.

Place: Rome center, Campo de’ fiori

date: opening 2017

client: private

budget: confidential

area original planned: 200 sqm