Venice. New architecture

Recent years have seen a proliferation of initiatives, programmes and competitions intended to draw the attention of international architecture to Venice and solicit the input of designers, planners and engineers in resolving crucial issues posed by the city’s new land-use plan. In a radical re-thinking of its forerunner of forty years ago, this new approach identifies a critical zone between Venice and its mainland (including the margins of the lagoon between terminals at Fusina and Tessera, the first industrial zone in Porto Marghera, and a few other key areas such as the island of the Giudecca, the commercial port in Santa Marta, the foot of the bridge at Piazzale Roma and the train station, the island of Murano and the Arsenale).
Comprehensive projects have been developed for these areas. The city has worked intensely with various public and private entities (the Port Authority, the development corporation responsible for the scientific-technological park, S.A.V.E., the city’s universities, the ‘Judeca Nova’ consortium and Edilvenezia). Its plans have incorporated the expertise of the many Italian and foreign architects who have participated in the numerous competitions held since 1996. The extraordinary ideas and projects that have come forth – some of which are already underway – have profoundly altered the complex relationship between historical preservation and innovative architecture, establishing Venice as a centre of contemporary architectural research.
Foreign architects who have played a vital role in this process include David Chipperfield (England), Santiago Calatrava and Enric Miralles (Spain), Frank Gehry (USA), Ben van Berkel (Holland), Boris Podrecca and Wilhelm Holzbauer (Austria). Italian architects include designers such as Vittorio Gregotti, Francesco Venezia and Giancarlo De Carlo as well as emerging talents such as Carmen Andriani, Alberto Cecchetto, Cino Zucchi and Carlo Magnani.
The exhibition, organised by the Giorgio Cini Foundation in collaboration with the City of Venice and the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Venice (IUAV), presents the most significant examples of this exceptional process. It strives to reach an audience that goes beyond the usual circle of experts and architects, documenting individual contributions alongside the broader series of transformations currently underway in Venice and its surroundings. The sites themselves – the real protagonists of this process – are revealed through the vast reportage undertaken by three Venetian photographers (Luca Campigotto, Alessandra Chemollo and Fulvio Orsenigo).

Venice, Island of San Giorgio Maggiore
26 March – 13 June 1999

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