ACQUA ALTA, Italy, Venice, 2020

Public Space

The new space is in harmony between the existing architecture and the local ecosystems - it doesn’t oppose the natural dynamics, it plays along them. This project presents an alternative solution for Venice’s high tide threat – a different approach that plays along the natural elements and creates a condition that is beneficial towards the place, the city and the people. To deal with this issue, a new landscape was developed to keep the water away from the building, like the Basilica San Marco, and other key points of the urban tissue. This added topography reinterprets the existing streets and squares, by establishing paths and “islands” everytime the water rises and comes through the sewer system. Each 7 hours, with every tide change, a different landscape is created – a new harmony between nature and architecture.