I've experienced Rome since I was a student there in 1955 and at the American Academy in 1976. It is a place that I have spent time in, loved and absorbed. It never occurred to me that I would someday build in Rome. It didn't seem that it was in the realm of possibilities.
As there hasn't been any new modern architecture built in the historic center of Rome since Mussolini's time I think the Ara Pacis Museum became a lightening rod for issues that were not directly related to the building itself.