New Ways to Live Venice
UNIVERSITY ISLAND Competition for Poveglia Art University
Honorable mention
Venice was built on the water and the process of the human action over the lagoon created one of the most amazing landscapes in the world.
A simple and clear shape embraces the island of Poveglia and hosts the new residential neighborhood, taking care of this incredible natural scenario.
The residential project results in a three storeys circular building. The water level floor works as the entrance and also as a private boat parking spot.
The first floor is carachterized by a free space that could be used as atelier for artists, storage for fishermen or even playground for families. The second floor hosts flats of different typologies. All of the floors are linked by a spiral staircase, that ends on the rooftop. This space becames a tool for the connection of the whole structure, with its linear park that creates a green belt made of grass and trees. The whole roof can be crossed by walk or by electric bikes.
When the building touches the soil becames empty in order to host the main entrance and create a mirador from where it is possible to contemplate Venice and the entire lagoon.
The water courtyard fenced by the ring building works as a playground with different tools, such as football yards, water-culture and greenhouses.
The island becomes a productive and public space, divided into differents areas. On the northern island we localized agricultural fields surrounded by a forest.
On the Poveglia island, acting on the redevelopment of what already exists, in relation with the idea of maintaining the original buildings; all of them are refurbished, in order to create farmers markets, spaces for the fish manufacturing, cultural and exhibition spaces and services such as kindergardens and eldery centers. These elements are linked by a path and a system of squares and green spaces.
Thus the Ottagono embodies the idea of the classical italian square and becames the ideal centre of this system.