I remember visiting Venice for the first time as an architecture student - arriving by train from Florence and taking the vaporetto to Piazza St. Marco along the sinuous curves of the Grand Canal. It was an unforgettable first encounter with the birthplace of Marco Polo - my childhood hero. Today, more and more tourists are arriving by plane. The city’s airport has been undergoing rapid expansion. To make the contemporary arrival experience as memorable as my first impressions of Venice was a formidable architectural challenge.
The site for the new ‘Venice Gateway’ master plan is adjacent to the existing international airport, located to the north of the city on the outskirts of Venice’s growing mainland industrial counterpart - Mestre. As historic Venice becomes increasingly congested as a tourist destination, Mestre and its neighboring settlements have emerged as the main centers of the region’s urban population. The ‘Venice Gateway’ master plan aims to develop a new urban center adjacent to the airport, to meet the ever-growing demand for accommodation by both businesses and short-term transit passengers.
Situated at the water’s edge adjacent to the existing airport terminal and at the head of the key waterway connecting the area to Venice proper, the ‘Venice Gateway’ project intends to provide some 30,000 SM of new floor-space - including a 300-bedroom hotel and a 5,000 SM conference center complex – each to be developed adjacent to a new boat terminal for vaporetto and water taxis.
As the centerpiece of the ‘Venice Gateway’ project, the design for the new boat terminal is inspired by traditional Venetian vessels and the playful artistic tradition of the Veneto region. This new boat terminal will provide enlarged, state-of-the-art facilities for vaporetto and water taxis, incorporating efficient tourist ticketing and information services and retail spaces.
We envisioned a quay-side animated by boat traffic, under a monumental canopy structure that would protect the arriving tourists from both the hot summer sun and winter rain. The office collaborated with German engineering firm Schlaich-Bergermann to develop a lightweight structural system for the canopy. Supported by only four pylons, the canopy would hover above the boat terminal like a monumental parasol.
Aided by 3D computer modeling techniques, we evolved the surface articulation of the canopy based on the requirement of its geometry and materiality. We envisioned a soft metal (such as copper) cladding the areas with acute curvature, and stiffer metal (such as stainless steel) being applied to areas with more gentle curvature.
If realized, we hope that the ‘Venice Gateway’ project will be a new form of public space for the Veneto - for both tourists and local communities; as well a landmark to be seen from taxiing planes and vaporetti. For many visitors to the area, the scheme will constitute both the first and last impression of Venice.
Although the future of the project is currently uncertain as a result of the continuing difficulties with the Italian economy, I still consider the project as a once in a lifetime opportunity. I dream that perhaps some day, a future generation will arrive in Venice to discover our colorful canopy floating above a misty lagoon.
The projects in this section were designed and executed during my time at Gehry Partners LLP (the office). I am grateful to Mr. Gehry and the team at the office for their generosity and support over the years. All intellectual property rights of these projects continue to be owned by the office unless otherwise mentioned. The narrative texts on the projects are entirely personal, they do not represent the views or opinions of the office, its clients or any other third party or organization.