P2 Project Description

Project 2:  (2.25 weeks)  

Island-Canal-Bridge-Campo: The Venetian Lagoon

Exploration of urban fabric and detail in Venezia.

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Our study of Vicenza focused on the protective wall as a primary force in the formation of the city. The protector and definer of Venezia is the lagoon.

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Non Strong Form

The centro storico of Italian cities that developed first in medieval period is typified by dense building fabric which makes manifest the development of property definition over time. The morphology of these old centers reveals the primary forces of path and trade on formation of edge and therefore on the whole shape of the city. In Venezia the unique edge is canal. Crooked, bending lines and edges, overlapping, indistinct terminations/beginnings, with boolean tendencies of union. These traits contribute to the privileging of urban experience (the whole) over the space created by any one building (part). The formal facade is the one attempt to create singularity in fabric so strong.

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The bridges of Venezia exist in many types (forms, configurations, etc). Some remain distinctly separate constructions, objects in the city. Some exist only for a specific door or pair of doors. Some are both a bridge and an entrance. You know some of them from you visit(s). Find out more.

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Explore and understand the form-making, space-making potentials of the tectonic vocabulary specific to Venezia. You must react to the ways that architectural elements exist peculiar to Venezia, further peculiar to a particular area of Venezia. These peculiarities are tectonic, spatial and material. They are typically not isolated elements. When examined in situ they work together as systems, even loosely, to make places.

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• Foundations
• Bearing walls
• Post and beam
• Long-span methods
• Balconies
• Stairs
• Bulkheads
• Seawalls
• Walls
• Railings
• Openings (human scale to urban scale; windows, doors, gates, sottoportego...)
• More...

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"React to" does not mean mimic. Reacting requires having a position, and having a position requires having an understanding.

Our goal is not necessarily to have your projects become seamless with Venezia. Ultimately, ideas are imported to places and become integrated by intelligent adaptation or fortunate misinterpretation, among others. Most integrations are products of translation. Often, it takes time for this integration of externalities to take place. By encouraging you to use your years of design education and examples like the projects of Scarpa and Faresin (architects who through exposure, study and position developed ways of building new in this fabric), we are expecting you to make a jump. You will bring new things to Venezia but you will attend to the poetry of Venetian making.

Hybrid Bridge

Public to public-private?

Ground to second floor?

On the way or destination?

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Site

The weather is very bad this week. We will not require you to go back and visit now. You may rely on your observations from last week's visit. Use Google Canal View to explore places that you might not be able to get to otherwise. If it clears up next week you can go back and visit.

1. Choose a site: After reading your Venezia research posts we have tried to find sites that make use of some of your ideas and energy. We have located three site choices. Check them out and choose one. (https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zjTB7i9BEHyw.kz8AThPDthfM)

2. Construct the site: Use whatever resources you can to construct drawings of the site. Specifically; site plan, and site section elevations. These shall function as your working backgrounds. They shall be measured and have scale . You may also build a digital model of the site.

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Elements

Concerning architecture, your bridge must address these.

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Landing - Calle, fondamenta, canal, rio, campo, building... The ends of the bridge are important thresholds. Occupants must engage the water and the built fabric (down to the water, up and into to the structure). What about acqua alta?

Facade - Historically, facades are organized around principals, order, logic. These logics are different whether buildings are medieval or renaissance. Yours therefore may also be different.

Trajectory - the path of the bridge in plan, but equally as important in section. What points must you hit and how is it possible and with what shape and elements.

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Program

Similar to our first project we will address program as the job of the architecture more than by what it contains. Also similarly, you will propose a small program to be housed on your intervention. Your bridge must contain something.