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Genova: Wings of the Ancient Harbour

Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Genova

Politecnico di Milano - ASA (Advanced School of Architecture)

ASA workshop, RPBW Genova, July 2015

Masterplan Porto Antico - Molo Vecchio Genova

Supervision: Renzo Piano, Shunji Ishida, Emanuele Donadel, Paolo Brescia, Manuela Grecchi 

Team: Kristina Azarić, Sahar Doustar

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The  port has always been the most important element and source of life and wealth for all Genoese, historicaly it was their first source, their big factory. RPBW approached revitalization of the Genoa’s harbour above all with the idea of the Port moving from the city and not vice versa, trying to enhance different industrial categories, while at the same time analysing urbanization in the delicate border between land and sea, between city and harbour.  Supporting the vision of RPBW for the Harbour of Genoa, an ideal, but not utopian, vision of a port that develops in harmony of the city was born. 

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Resulting proposal was defined with cutting of a part of the harbour, to create a canal in order to point the conneciton of the city with the harbour and its’ main element, water. 
Using the symbols of the harbour - existing cranes, end point of the pedestrian area with panorama view of the complete harbour is enhanced as a public space introducing the project ‘’Wings of the Ancient Harbour’’. Project for the wings of the harbour recalls memory of the people who trgically lost their lives after the cargo ship rammed into a control tower  during a night-time manoeuvre in 2013. 

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Project ‘‘Wings of the Ancient Harbour’’ represents a monument. It is materialized as a structure supported by big crane and cables. Crane as a domestic object, taken from the harbour enables transformation of the object, as it controls the angle of the structure through the system of cables supporting the wings. Depending on the weather condition, occasions and activities wings are moving, different space and atmosphere  are  being created to accomodate new scenarios (theatre, concert, piazza, landmark, monument). 

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As a levitating structure,  on the edge of the island, with its simple elegance, the raised wings are embodiment of sailing ships. On the other side,  lowered wings will always represent monument of all Genoa’s sailors, past, present and future, while at the same time providing space for urban events taking place at this specific, central point of the harbour.