Tourism has been a problem for locals in Venice, especially when it comes to cruise ships, which not only cause protests for the negative environmental impacts but the damage on the historic building’s foundations.
The proposed relocation of the cruise ship terminal satisfies the locals’ requests and brings a new opportunity for them to interact with the tourists. This project presents spaces such as a courtyard, market, soccer field, park, café, performance space, and more that serve the purpose to bring both locals and tourists together, this way forming a community.
Sea level rise is challenging the way we design buildings, in response to this problem, this building is designed to float by applying the same concepts of buoyancy that allow ships to float. If the sea level rises to extreme levels, this building will freely hover and will bring the possibility of expansion by connecting similar modules creating a floating community.
Invisible Cities
Describing Valdrada, Italo Calvino wrote - “The two valdradas live for each other, their eyes interlocked; but there is no love between them.” This was used as the initial concept which features the element of reflectivity. This initial concept is reworked into the idea of symmetry and transformation, where the image below makes an emphasis in transforming an individual into a community.
Structure
The main structural system used for this project is timber. This system was used since it is lightweight which is important because this building is designed to float for resiliency purposes. Recycled concrete was used for the base and some parts of the structure.
Function
This section shows the portion of the building that serves the boarding of the cruise ship, located on the third floor. The second floor is used as office and lounge spaces for the community. The first floor includes a kitchen that provides for the users in the community areas.
Shading System
To solve direct daylight conditions into the courtyard space; this project introduces responsive inflatable climateshading systems. It consists of inflatables restrained within cells that inflate or deflate depending on the daylight conditions allowing shade and/or daylight into the courtyard.
Site Transformation
The location for this project is currently a 1,918,160 sqft concrete slab that is unoccupied. Most of the slab was removed and reused throughout the building and surroundings to bring more water into the site and the coast, allowing locals and tourists to have a better experience.
Sea Level Rise
This building addresses sea level rise by elevating pedestrian and bike paths, allowing connection to boats, and by having the building float, which will allow the building to serve as a protective space for the community when needed. Conceptually, if required, the building can freely hover and grow over time with similar modules into a floating community.
From Concrete to Nature
A big step in the process was to convert the northern platform into a park that includes a diversity of Italian vegetation; making the site more sustainable and increasing vegetation close to 30% more than was existing, which can serve as a home for local birds and small mammals. Ultimately, this project becomes an example of how human-made features can easily transform into a more natural feature with simple sustainable design decisions.
Gallery
