TMCC. Torre Massimiliana Cultural Centre

Suspended between land and sea, the landscape of the project is the lagoon of venice. it is the landscape of a physical and mental journey through the lagoon territory. the project tries to tie together all the landscape elements: existing military constructions, traces of the farmland, the beach system and the infrastructure system which links the island to venice. the project aims to reconstruct the complex system defined by the massimiliano tower, its embankments, the docks, the public landing, the beach and the farmlands insinuated between these elements, with these primary ives: -the preservation of the monument as testimonial of a unique militart defence construction; -the construction of a system of infrastructures that today guarantee the functionality of these spaces assigning specific but complementary roles to all the new constructions. one has procedeed to re-establish the contact between tower and the landscape. a new volume has been designed and inserted in the missing part of the embankment; it may easily house the heatingand refrigerator units, as well as facilities for the beach. towards the exterior the volume is designed by a succession of horizontal lines: the roof in lead without gutter, the homogeneous spacing of the openings and, finally, the horizontal surface of the gravel. in the interiour the stone foundations are combined with a facing in larch boards, weathered by the sun, rain, fog and snow. where existing, the original traces have been recovered. in order not to cancel the beauty of brick construction, the interiour is left open, allowing wall to dominate the space. inside the court, the project outlines a transparent succession of lines of shade and light through massive panels in iroko wood. the original sections of the structure blocking the grass-covered embankments have been recontructed. the dock becomes the southern terminal of the island, but it is above all a place where land meets water. the borders in istria stone are interwoven with the bricks below, in a point where the commercial exchange of farming products headed for venice takes place. a pontoon in boards of yellow-balaw wood, necessary to slide kayacks into the water, is anchored to this point. a wooden path provides access to the beach, witness of the ancient shore vocation of the place. a vehicle road designed in white asphalt connects the south-western edge of the island to another point of its military structure: the bridge head that faces lazzaretto nuovo island. it is actually another area which serves toguarantee access, and it is rich in signs and structures that the project has aimed to order and underscore. the co-existence of military traces, even if weak, the new water-bus landing stage, the first aid point and a new small car terminal become the central nodes of the project. the pattern of the stones, both in the masonry and in the pillars, has served as formwork for the internal concrete structure. wood is used in the externals facings of the building that houses the first-aid point and overlooks the square. the larch boards are interrupted by two slender openings facing the sqaure, while the large window of the clinic is shaded by a wooden sunscreen in the same material as the facade. the square is brick designed.

Client: Magistrato alle Acque di Venezia, Regione del Veneto, Comune di Venezia through Consorzio Venezia Nuova
Actuator: Magistrato alle Acque di Venezia through Consorzio Venezia Nuova
General coordination: Consorzio Venezia Nuova

Architects, management and art directors: C+S Associati, Carlo Cappai, Maria Alessandra Segantini
General plan, structures and installations: Technital s.p.a.