VENICE PAVILION
Venice, Italy 2018
Venice to the World; an architectural competition entry for the renovation of an access roundabout that leads to the Marco Polo Airport, Venice, Italy.
Between it’s one of a kind canals, incredible historic and cultural significance, and beautiful architecture it goes without question that Venice holds a unique and distinctive architectural charm. It was imperative to conceptualize the proposed project by first and foremost identifying fundamental components of Venetian architecture, those key components which constitute the identity of Venice, and applying those components within the proposed project.
Inspired by Venice’s geographic location in the marshy Venetian lagoon, undoubtedly the most distinctive component of Venice and subsequently Venetian architecture, the proposed project is completely surrounded by a large body of water. It occupies 80 percent of the roundabout and denotes an ideal stage or platform. Suspended within this body of water is an abstract steel structure emulating Venice’s perceptually weightless and near floating architectural superstructures such as the Palazzo Santa Sofia and the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute.
This steel structure was conceived by extrapolating the city map of Venice and applying it to a flat surface, subsequently the façade of the structure. This imaginative map becomes a new calligraphy which represents the vivid Gothic, Byzantine and Moorish embellished facades of iconic Venetian structures. Realised in a bespoke aged gold screen, the structure continues the tradition of rich materials, textures and details. Simultaneously, and contrary to traditional materials such as marble and other precious stone, the screen opposes the static nature of the latter and represents a dynamic interpretation thereof.
Ultimately the proposed project denotes an iconic piece of architecture, something which imprints a lasting representation of Venice on travellers entering and departing via the Marco Polo International Airport.
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