La fenicia Venecia

La Fenice Venecia Preamble The city is old, broken and gets sold, part by part, to foreign persons. The inhabitants of the city move away and only empty old houses are left. To keep the city up, a lot of money is needed. Tourism which brings money into the city is blessing and bane at the same time. There are no Venice people in Venice, only tourists. It has become a huge Disneyland for grownups. You want to visit Venice? Why? Just visit Google earth and you are able to see the whole city. It will be the cheapest journey you are ever going to make!

So what can be done to stop this Disneyfication of Venice and give the inhabitants a better living quality?

It’s necessary to stop looking backward at the historical Venice. Now it’s time to start heading forward into the future. Otherwise the little rest of the social structures will break down and Venice becomes just another theme park. But how can the problems get solved? Only step by step!

The design concept

The city is old and dilapidated. Many buildings need to be renovated. But why should we conserve them? We say: “Just let them die!” Give new buildings a chance and stop cramping on the old ones. Our design concept doesn’t aim on the preservation of the old structures. In fact this design, recreates the whole city part by part. It will become a city floating on the sea, which reflects the new ways of thinking like the water which reflects the old town now.

So step by step the city gets a new face. It maybe become less interesting for tourists but it will be more attractive for the existing and new inhabitants. But not everything is torn down. Some of the really important old structure like the Doge’s palace or the Markus square could be kept up if it’s wanted by the inhabitants.

Space invaders

They can be seen as replacement for the new city development. They are the result of the non preservation process. These areas can be filled with new typologies of buildings. The objects accommodate a high variety of uses. Or the area is used as open space. For this reason some elements, which can be seen as starting point, were designed.

OPEN SPACE_ it’s the starting point of the recreation process. Open space can be found on the water between buildings, on the roof of buildings, in buildings and in the air.

TOP SPARK_ this element is a type of roof restoration. The roof gets an upgrade and new floors are built at the top of existing structures. This element has the main functions of living and working.

GROUND SPARK_ this are small buildings with 4 to 5 floors. Their functions are living and working but they also can be used as selling space for all kind of shops. To create larger objects just add some of these elements together. This object starts the recreation of the city and it can be seen as a reflection of the first building process.

FLYING SAUCER_ these are huge platforms, which are floating above the ground or the water. The object is carried of 3 to 4 columns in a height of 4 to 5m. It seems to float in the air. This element can be used as public space, as square, as a park, as farmland, as bridge and it can be useful for all kinds of activities and events.

THE VERTICAL LINK_ it’s a tower which connects the ground, the water and the air. They can be built with different heights but similar forms. The floor space can be used for living, working, vertical farming, schools, universities, libraries, film theatres, museums, hospitals or shopping centres. Some of them could also carry wind power stations. They are multifunctional little cities.

THE HORIZONTAL LINK_ these are bridges, which can be created between new structures. The existing bridges are leading over water. The new ones would lead over air and water. The medium has changed but it’s still the same element.

All this objects can be combined together to form new elements.

This concept doesn’t say “Let’s tear the whole thing down in one day”; it just recreates the city in very small steps, building by building and in the end there will be a new Venice, reborn from its ash like the phoenix.