Margherissima articulates a wide-ranging new vision for the parcel of contaminated land in Marghera known as “I Pili”. It blends the vocabulary of Venetian architecture with that of its industrial legacy to envision a modern addition to the lagoon. Margherissima proposes a vibrant new neighbourhood alongside the soaring silhouettes of heavy industry on the fringe of the Venetian lagoon. The installation presents a bricolaged model that transforms this vast industrial hinterland into a new district for future citizens of a climate-conscious world. The Venetian municipality of Marghera is undergoing a gradual urban transformation in response to social and climatic change. Home to chemical factories, refineries and an industrial port, it sits within the precarious saltwater ecosystem of the Venetian lagoon, an area under pressure from both rising sea levels and the depopulation of Venice’s historical centre. Amid efforts to deindustrialise Marghera, Margherissima is a speculative proposal for a new piece of smart city that encourages collective living. It articulates a vision for I Pili that is neither utopia nor suburb but instead a provocation, demonstrating how a city might be built around its occupants.
Participants
NIGEL COATES, Malvern, UK, 1949. Lives and works in London, UK, and Florence, Italy.
ARCHITECTURAL ASSOCIATION LONDON, UK Ingrid Schroder, Washington, DC, USA, 1973. Lives and works in UK.
GRYMSDYKE FARM LONDON, UK Guan Lee, Malaysia, 1973. Lives and works in London, UK.
JOHN MAYBURY, London, UK, 1958. Lives and works in London, UK.
MICHAEL KEVERNE, Cambridge, UK, 1976. Lives in Guildford, works in London, UK.
JAN BUNGE, West Berlin, Germany, 1972. Lives and works in London, UK.
Authorial Collaborators
Christopher Pierce, Architectural Association; (ab)Normal Studio: Davide Masserini, Mattia Inselvini, Luigi Savio, Marco Piccoli; Adriano Berengo, Berengo Studio (President); Paolo Canevari (artist); Roberta Meloni, Centro Studi Poltronova (CEO); Madelon Vriesendorp (sculptor); Moritz Waldemeyer (electronics designer).
Technical Collaborators
Jan Bunge (collective intelligence engineer); Michael Keverne, Nina Sopp, and Alison Nicholson, Buro Happold (environmental engineers); Charles Jeffrey, Loverboy (creative director); Jane da Mosto, We Are Here Venice (executive director); Sheer Gritzerstein and Hiroaki Yamane, Architectural Association (project coordinators)
Team
Architectural Association Students: Yesemin Cengic, Laura Hepp, Béné Jakel, Maximilian Hohi Hyde, Taewoo Kim, Henry Morgan, Or Naeh, Selin Oktem, Yuval Steinberg, Pelin Tamay, NurshafikaTalib, Kitty Tsoi, Miharu Yamaguchi; Nigel Coates Studio: Paolo Cicatiello (Visualisation), Maria Cicirello (Administration)
Thanks
Mariana Callejas Mujica, Stefano Mondini
Supporters
Adriano Berengo, Berengo Studio; Architectural Association; Grymsdyke Farm
