Maritime Oasis

maritime oasis Che Liu & Franz Bittenbinder

Table of Contents

Venetian Desert

Oasis Poveglia

Scholar Shelters

Introduction

1

The Lagoon as Desert

4

About Mirages & New Oases (?)

8

Utopia of Venice

14

Which Venice? Why Venice?

16

Operative Principles

18

The Island as Oasis

25

Multidimensional Island

26

Obscure Past, Dubious Future

33

Mapping of Status Quo

37

Alternation & Decay

52

Isolation & Exposure

55

Valorisation Strategy

56

Idea of the Shelter

66

Beyond the Primitive Hut

67

Shelter Typologies

68

Self-Sufficient Island

Cognitive Campus

Smartgrid & Performance

85

Overview of Results

86

Energy Balance

88

Heating & Cooling

90

Energy Demand Distribution

92

Energy Supply by Photovoltaic System

94

Introduction

97

Cognitive Architecture

98

Case Study UNIBS

101

Cognitive Poveglia

104

Bibiliography

108

Image Credits

112

Fig. 01 I Venice Aerial View

maritime oasis introduction

Introduction

The reuse of formerly abandoned islands in the lagoon of Venice is a socially polarizing movement. Some people view it as the way of the future development while others see it as a danger for speculation and irreversible damaging interventions. Over the past three decades the municipality of Venice has encouraged endeavours to privatise many islands with longterm lease contracts. In this way they hope that investment would bring positive effects for the city. In recent years, however, awareness of the detriments of such developments has increased. Activist groups and non-governmental organizations have put increasing scrutiny on the economic and social consequences. The increased presence of sold islands in local and national media has intensified the debate on architectural operations as well. Close analysis of proposals - in particular entries from recent international competitions - show that there are many potential solutions. The hypocrisy of decision-makers as well as the difficulties of the local conditions, however, have prevented the valorisation of abandoned islands so far.

The context of the lagoon is highly complex. In fact, scientific research confirms the necessity of treating the lagoon as a whole beyond the classical Venice-centred studies. With every new discovery we witness the interrelated effects of an immense but also fragile system. The lagoon can be best described as an ecological framework which features a substantial human influence. ‘Opposed to nature, however, ecology has nothing to do with stability – and especially not with balance.’1 It can be argued that the lagoon is in a ‘no-equilibrium state’2: In order to keep it ‘running’ manifold aspects need to contribute to its persistence.

1 I Gorny, A. Shift Happens: A Prologue to Gestaltungsgesellschaften, 2013, 56 2 I Ibid.

The point is that architecture and urbanism are both crucial factors in this overall framework even though their importance seems to have decline for a considerable time. Due to a missing, active involvement many problems stay unsolved: architecture does not offer solutions for geographically peripheral but contextually central issues. The exodus of citizens in many parts of the lagoon indicates that there is a need to find new strategies for the abandoned islands.

I1

The project ‘Maritime Oasis’ consists of three major objectives. The first is the assessment of existing architecture on relevant islands in the lagoon which are not only of historical value but also of immense potential for place-making. The aim is not to fetish ruins, rather to give continuity to the old without falling into conservative concepts. The second one concerns the balance between privatisation and the appropriation of spaces for the public. Indeed, we can observe that many recent developments enhance the detachment from society rather than its unification. The third major objective is to confront site-specific difficulties and offer elaborated, handson approaches which can be exemplified by the transformation of Poveglia island.

The thesis is structured into five chapters, all bound together by a common fil rouge which is the analogy between the lagoon and a desert scenario. This analogy, however unusual it may sounds, serves as an important source to reveal more about the character of the context. It provides useful implications and becomes the story-telling device. The first chapter (Venetian Desert) is the prelude where the analogy of the Lagoon as Desert is put in the spotlight. It deals moreover with Venice as the incubator of urban mechanisms that shaped the lagoon and gives a relevant glimpse into its history.

The following two chapters (Oasis Poveglia, Scholar Shelters) introduce the architectural project. The island of Poveglia is hereby taken as pars pro toto for the widespread phenomenon of abandoned islands in general. The decision to choose Poveglia as project setting was significantly influenced by our participation in an international design competition (March 2016) which dealt with the reuse of the island as university campus. Whereas Oasis Poveglia contains an extensive view on the present conditions of the ex-quarantine, Scholar Shelters presents the architectural intervention.

The fourth chapter (Self-Sufficient Island) is dedicated to the question of self-sufficiency in terms of energy. It is arguing in favor of onsite energy production combined with the concept of a ‘smartgrid’.

The fifth chapter (Cognitive Campus) concludes with the issue of future optimisation of the campus by means of enhanced interactions between buildings and users. This part also includes the findings of a case study carried out in collaboration with University of Brescia, which has recently lead to the publication of a scientific paper.

maritime oasis introduction

‘Everything that “goes on” possesses the same metastable dynamics between the resolution of tensions, temporary imbalances, impact of external forces and internal dries as walking does. Even when seemingly “standing still”, stasis needs to be actively held.’1 - Alexander Gorny

Fig. 02 I Wild Poveglia

Fig. 03 I Wild Poveglia

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Venetian Desert The Lagoon as Desert

In the past centuries many metaphors and analogies have been made in order to point out one or more essential features of Venice. These, however, limited their imagination to the city or its direct environment. When we speak about the lagoon as a whole, we need a reference to an equally vast system that is characterised by a continuously transforming, ‘no-equilibrium’ state.

The ecological system that seems to suit best is unexpectedly a desert which elimates 90% of the lagoon’s physical substance.

1

1 I Koolhaas, R. The Surface, 1969

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It proves to be an adequate analogy thanks to many similarities. Among the more obvious ones there are: the agglomeration of human life in very few spots and the overall low density of urbanisation. In this terms, the lagoon becomes what has been the ‘city’ for Koolhaas: ‘A city is a plane of turmuc with some red hot spots of urban intensity. (...) These red hot spots radiate city-sense. If not taken care of properly, it tends to quickly ebb away.’1 As examples for these spots there are Venice, Chioggia, Jesolo as well as major islands like Murano.

The geographically imposed obstacles that alter the relation between time and distance resemble moreover the conditions of a desert: Moving in space is generally limited to vaporetti (5, 7, 10 or 20 km/h), motorboats (ca.

25-45 km/h) and car traffic on a single stripe of land along Lido. It is not only the restraint of transport but also other aspects that create difficulties for displacement: firstly the constantly changing weather condition (strong wind, fog and storms) causing heavy waves; secondly the varying navigation depth which limits transportation routes; last but not least the proximity to islands/buildings which requires speed limits to avoid erosion. As a result, the perception of distance is by no means proportional to actual distance.

Tellingly, there are no stated time estimations of a trip crossing the whole lagoon whatsoever on touristic websites.

The supply with resources, moreover, is similar to a Saharan scenario: the lagoon is limited to a few gains from local ‘production’ (fishery or smallscale agriculture) and is characterised by a scarcity of potable water. These aspects point out that the challenges in economic terms are similar to a desert since shortage of local products lead to dependency on import.

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Fig. 04 I Lagoon as Desert

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Fig. 05 I Méharée to Redentore

There is another intriguing parallel which is the nomadic ‘colonisation’ of certain parts of the lagoon: for instance, fishermen built temporary constructions as intermediate stopovers on their main routes and used them for some years.

Often such constructions (also known as casoni) would have been abandoned and reused later on.

Furthermore we can witness the phenomenon of temporary settlements by convents that established clerical centres on remote places in the lagoon.

These convents often lasted for centuries before vanishing due to further relocations. In the case of Sant’Angelo della Polvere something rather surprising happened: the convent turned into a getaway from morality far from family, society and church. Fishermen enjoyed the intimate company with the domiciled nuns. In the 16th century the authorities got informed by the outraged wives about the frivolous practices and decided to suspend the convent relocating the nuns to Giudecca to keep them ‘better under controll’.2 Less controversial and more recent nomadic trends could be experienced in the last decades: shallow waters, especially close to the ‘Bocca di Lido’, have been occupied in summer times by the inhabitants of the lagoon as ideal spot for sun bathing; uninhabited islands have been used by families with children for camping. This behaviour changed significantly in the last two generations.

In the course of time the islands became mostly inaccesible due to urgent security measures.

Shallow waters where deepend for ships or for the construction of the MOSE project.

2 I Travelpage Le isole perdute della laguna di Venezia

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About Mirages & New Oases (?)

The most miraculous phenomena to be found in the desert are mirages.

The optical phenomenon occurs because rays of light are bent when they pass through air layers of different temperatures. These mirages appear in the distant horizon promising a saving resort from the heat of the sun.

Where we imagine a settlement or a standpost there is nothing but sand - a deception, an illusion only. Indeed also the lagoon amazes us with mirages of similar kind: leaving behind the densely populated parts like Venice we encounter places that from far seem to bear cultural significance but turn out to be abandoned quarantines, convents, fortresses etc. The scattering of similar disused artefacts is symptomatic for many islands. The islands became less and less accessible in the course of time due to their severely damaged buildings. The abundance of this phenomenon is considerable: San Giacomo in Paludo, Santo Spirito, Sant’Andrea, Isola del Lazzaretto Vecchio, Madonna del Monte, Sant’Ariano, Sant’Angelo della Polvere and San Francesco del Deserto are just the most known examples. These cases share one important similarity: the strong stratification originating from a heterogeneous superimposition through different centuries.

In the past decades Venice witnessed many dramatic changes especially the shift to become a major destination for mass tourism. It introduced new dynamics fuelling a highly specialised economy of hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops and so on. The sheer amount of tourists (nearly 24 million a year) dominates increasingly future developments. At the same time real estate value went up exponentially. Accompanied with the fact that Venice offers little or no space for new constructions the speculation expanded towards adjacent islands. Investors showed specifically growing interest in abandoned and unused ones. Many of them happen to them post-industrial or historical sites. The municipality decided to sell or to lease on a long-term basis in order to alleviate the public debts. However, most developments of purchased islands ended up in critical situations that made the sellout of the lagoon generally questionable.

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In order to illustrate the above described stratification we would like to refer to San Giorgio in Alga as representative example: it was settled in the thirteenth century by Benedictine monks becoming a popular stopover between Venice and the mainland. During the Renaissance it gained importance thanks to its extensive library, the monastery and its precious church.

Ambassadors and foreign dignitaries resided here before entering Venice. In 1782, for instance, the Doge Renier accommodated Pope Pius VI. on San Giorgio. Where once noble figures and prominent personalities stayed has become the habitat of ducks and pigeons. Archways and stairs can only adumbrate former periods of great splendor which are left to nature as ruins. The most recent human presence left another severe sign behind: during the German domination an enormous anti-aircraft bunker has been erected on the island.

‘To buy in the lagoon has always been a failure, almost a curse.’ (‘Insomma, comprare in laguna è sempre stato un fallimento, quasi una maledizione.’)4 - Sandro Orlando

Fig. 06 I The Mirage of San Giorgio in Alga

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Abandoned Islands (1) Isola di Tessera (2) San Giacomo di Palude (3) Sant‘Andrea (4) San Giorgio in Alga (5) Sant‘Angelo (6) Isola Lazzaretto Vecchio (7) Santo Spirito (8) Poveglia New Oasis (?) (a) San Clemente (b) Sacca Sessola (c) Santo Spirito (d) S. Maria della Grazia (e) San Biagio (f) Poveglia maritime oasis

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Fig. 07 I Relevant Island in the Lagoon

a. San Clemente One famous example for a recently transformed island is San Clemente, located next to Giudecca. It is about 6,7 hectars big and features a convent from the 11th century which was later turned into a mental home. The Manicomio Centrale Femminile Veneto functioned from 1873 until 1992.3 Benetton obtained a concession in 1999 for about 10 million euros passing it over to the developers Beni Stabili who transformed it in a 5 star resort hotel in 2003. In 2005 the whole complex passed on to the Thi di Armando Remodetti e Guilio Lera group for 82 million euros. This is where the difficulties started: ‘fiscal acrobatics’, bankrupcy, imprisonment and even the ‘ndrangheto at a certain moment casted an eye on San Clemente. It ended in placing the island under judicial supervision. In 2015 the island went to the Turkish Permak group after an unsuccesful sale at auction.4 Permak Group is active in the construction, machinery, tourism, technology, chemistry and retail sectors.5 In 2016 the San Clemente Palace Kempinski Venice reopened.6 b. Sacca Sessola Another case of the sellout of the lagoon is the artificial island of Sacca Sessola (about 16 hectars) which was sold in the end of the 90s for 14 million to the CIT group that launched the transformation of the existing sanatorium. Unfortunately the venture of a luxury hotel failed and passes over to the management of Marriott. It took them until 2015 to open it with 266 rooms and suites designed by Matteo Thun & Partners. Additionally there is a congress centre which adds up to a total surface of 1200 m2.

3 I SIUSA. Sistema Informativo Unificato per le Soprintendenze Archivistiche, 2006 4 I Orlando, Sandro (Corriere della Sera) Venezia e la maledizione delle isole svendute, 2014.

5 I Persuitist. Venices Newest Private Island Resort San Clemente Palace Kampinski, 2016 6 I Hurriet. Turkish Firm buys Island Hotel in Venice, 2013 7 I Orlando, S..

2014

c. Santo Spirito Santo Spirito was sold in 2011 for only 350.000 Euros. A certainly not congruent amount considering the size of 2,4 hectar and the proximity to San Marco of about 10 minutes boat ride. A developer company from Padova conceived a residential complex of 70 apartments, transforming barracks of Napoleon times. After many years apart from barriers and scaffolding there has been no sign of construction. Consequently the island nourished scepticism towards such kind of interventions.

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8 I Pincella F., Veniceland, 2016 9 I Giavazzi, Francesco.

Non un soldo per questa Venezia, Corriere della Sera, 2006 10 I Koolhaas, R. Delirious New York - A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan, 1994 11 I Ganz, B. (Il Sole 24) Venezia prepara l‘isola multimediale, 2013 12 I Corriere della Sera. Se A Venezia arriva il re delle giostre, 2013

d. Santa Maria della Grazie The island was sold to Giovanna Stefanel for 10,5 million and again the idea was to establish a luxury resort on the 4 hectars area of La Grazia.

In former times it featured pilgrim quarters which was later reused as quarantine. Before the sale there were already plans for reuse in terms of a residential area. The project stopped in the initial phase when a retaining wall collapsed and the comunal supervision took up work. It was followed by many lawsuits and, after 7 years, by the withdrawal of the purchase and the assignment to its new owner Marino Congedo.

It seems almost as if there is a certain resistance of the city to withstand the transformation of its islands into purely touristic sites. What remains is the persistent doubt if incidents happen by coincidence or are deliberate comunal calculatio? The threat to turn into ‘Veniceland’8 accompanies most public discussions and provokes emotially conducted arguments: its topics are the inability to ban cruise ships, overstrained vaporetti, and the desertification of the centre by its current inhabitants. There are about 58.000 Venetians registered, tendency decreasing. e. Isola Sacca San Biagio The case of Isola San Biagio represents an especially radical example for those who object ongoing investments in tourism. The idea of Alberto Zamperla: a luna park in the centre of the city between Guidecca and the harbour area. Would it be a capitulation to the tourism industry or a selfinsight admiting that Venice has already become Veniceland? Economist Francesco Giavazzi synthetised this debate in his provocative article for Corriere della Sera where he suggests to hand over the city to Disney Corporation for at least 30 years to ensure the best for its visitors.9 The island of San Biagio represents an artificial extension of the harbour area which served as waste collection and utilisation plant. The business man who is in charge for the project is vice president of Finmeccanica S.p.A Alberto Zamperla. He is commonly refered to as re delle giostre (king of the fairgrounds): among others, he was comissioned to take over administration of the legendary luna park in New York called Coney Island of which Rem Koolhaas presented an extensive analysis in his book Delirious New York.10 In Venice, Zamperla plans11 an amusement park with reference to the Venetian history investing 80 million euros. According to his estimations the park would attract about 11.000 visitors every day. This would certainly be an additional burden for the public transport. The positive effect would be the generation of 500 new jobs. The estimated construction time is 2 years.12

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Fig. 08 I Sant‘Angelo delle Polvere

Although the main investments are focusing on tourism there are also completely different projects emerging more silently: in Mozzorbo and Sant’Erasmo two entrepreneurs (Gianluca Bisol and Michel Thoulouze) who got famous as founders of Pay-TV in Europe, set an alternative plan: The idea is to bring back the local agriculture by recovering ancient wine grapes. Surely a different approach, maybe even a sustainable one.

‘If the only objective of Venice consists in profitable tourism let‘s confide the city to the Walt Disney Corporation.‘’ (‘Se l’unico destino di Venezia è il turismo a buon mercato affidiamo la città alla Walt Disney Corporation.’) 9 - Francesco Giavazzi

Fig. 09 I Project San Biaggio

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Utopia of Venice

13 I Doglioni G. La città di Venezia con l‘origina et governo di quella, 1594,5 14 I Howard, D. The Architectural History of Venice, 2002, 3 15 I ibid., 5

In order to understand the phenomenon of the abandoned islands better, it is crucial to have a closer look at the leading authority in the Lagoon.

The dogal power of Venice has determined most of the socio-economic and political dynamics. Throughout the centuries it steered directly and indirectly land use and urban development. As Venice has become more and more powerful over centuries, its origins remained more and more obscure.

No wonder why its mythical genesis appears to be a utopian adventure - a tale from 1001 Nights, so to say.

‘Being an impossibility by itself, Venice is placed in the impossible. Founded in the sea, the city is far from the ordinary of all other cities.’ (‘Essendo adunque Venezia una impossibilità, viene anche a essere posta nello impossibile, essendo fondata del mare, perch’ella in questa cosa è fuir dell’ordine di tutte l’altre città.’)13 - Giovanni Niccolò Doglioni It is based on incredible faith right from its beginnings: waters yielded nothing but fish and salt. High tides, sandy subsoil, scarcity of farmland and a lack of freshwater were rather unpromising signs for a future settlement of the area. ‘Local agriculture was confined to gardens and vineyards on the archipelago itself’. At early times ‘refugees joined the native fishermen, preferring to remain under Byzantine domination rather than to submit to barbarian rule’. In the course of several centuries the fathers of Venice were able to turn an inhospitable, muddy swampland towards the end of the sixth century AD into a prospering maritime power by Renaissance times.14 Nowadays, we take the positive outcome of this utopian project for granted, even though there are less fortunate cases that departed from similar conditions. One of them is certainly Torcello which represents an often untold episode of the Lagoon that could easily be considered as an alternative ending for Venice. As recorded in the historical references rather prosaically, ‘it was here that the bishop of Altino transferred his seat in 638 when forced to flee from the mainland in the barbarian invasions. ...

[Becoming] a flourishing centre of wool manufacture as well as an important episcopal centre ... the island declined ..., and was eventually devastated by malaria and abandoned’. This certainly tragic ending of Torcello, ‘reminds us of the bleak, hostile nature of the terrain on which the city of Venice was founded.’15 The turning point of the utopia was the stamina of early Venetians to whom many myths and descriptions are addressed. Goethe, for instance, stated in his ‘Venezianische Epigramme‘ the following:

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Fig. 10 I Plan of Venice traced after the 14th century drawing of Fra Paolino by Albert Camesina Ritter von Sanvittore (1870)

‘necessity taught them to find safety in the most unfavourable location. Later, however, this turned out to their greatest advantage and made them wise at a time when the whole northern world still lay in darkness; their increasing population and wealth were a logical consequence. Houses were crowded closer and closer together, sand and swamp transformed into solid pavement. The place of street and square and promenade was taken by water. In consequence, the Venetian was bound to develop into a new kind of creature , and that is why, too, Venice can only be compared to itself.’16 That is so say that Venice ‘had her own law, determined by the uniqueness of her origins.’17

16 I Goethe Venezianische Epigramme, 1797 17 I Concina, E. A History of Venetian Architecture, 1998 18 I Howard, D. The Architectural History of Venice, 3

For almost two centuries ‘the island of Rivo Alto, or Rialto, which was eventually to form the nucleus of the city of Venice itself, remained a centre of little significance’. At the end of the 7th century a new paradigm of power has been manifested in the lagoon by the first military unit under a dux (doge) located in Ravenna i.e. on the terra firma. The relocation to Malamocco (situated at a strategical opening of the Lido) was due to a major defeat against the Lombard invaders. Shortly after the doge had to flee from the ‘invasion by Charlemagne’s son Pepin in AD 810’ and ended his odysee by erecting the administrative centre in Rivo Alto.18

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Which Venice? Why Venice?

19 I Stoppani, Teresa.

Paradigm Islands: Manhattan and Venice Discourses on Architecture and the City, 2011, 15 20 I Ibid., 97.

21 I Romanelli Venezia 1500.

In a volo d‘uccello.

Jacopo de‘ Barbari e le rappresentazioni di città nell‘Europa del Rinascimento, 1999, 18 22 I Stoppani, 85

The complexity and multiplicity of Venice has triggered fascination but surely also bewilderment in the course of history. The difficulty to find rational access to it has often been subject to mystification especially in literature and art. In the 20th century however mystification turned into cluenessness provoking Le Corbusier to state that ‘Venice remains an impenetrable and inexplicable whole.’19 This statement may be rooted in the city’s attitude, that ‘resists the separations and classification that the modernist project imposes on architecture and urban space because it is intrinsically indivisible. At the attempt to divide and to compartmentalize the modern project fails to comprehend its complexities.’20 Talking about complexity it can be argued that Venice has many different faces which are resulting from century-long stratification. Its uncountable layers are all interwoven with each other and created a dynamic system that has often been compared either to a complex machine or an organically evolving organism. Romanelli expressively uses both metaphors in his book ‘Venezia 1500’: ‘[Venice] is the diagramme of a huge mechanical apparatus, an open heart analysis performed on a dynamic living organism’21 - Giandomenico Romanelli In fact, it is difficult to find representations of the city that treat it as a whole instead of focusing on certain fragments. It seems almost as if Venice ‘never produces a faithful representation of itself.’ Around 1330 Fra’Paolino’s interpreation has become one of the most important, but also most ancient exceptions of this rule. It is ‘of fundamental importance in the conceptualization of the city because it represents the land, the built city and the lagoon as one system.’ Every effort, after Paolino, aimed at exalting the fragment, at denying the existence of a whole, that ‘vast, tentacular and composite complex that Venice was’22 and still is.

In all its complexity, it is crucial to pose the question, which Venice we want to dissect further? Tafuri sees in his introduction to ‘Venice and the Renaissance’ manifold options: ‘The official one, of “myth” and apologies, satisfied with the fullness of her own representations, or the Venice increasingly shaken by internal conflicts, marked by anxieties that obliquely cut across classes and groups?...the Venice that has preserved as a valuable heritage the institutions and mentality of the late Middle Ages, or…the city that partakes of the new mental universes under construction?’23

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The Venice we aim to examine is the paradigmatic Venice, the one of urban resilience achieved by transformative capacity; Venice as a ‘place of paratactic discontinuity that grew by consolidating, adjusting to the moving topography of its lagoon, but also [as] place that continuously connects, adapts and incorporates.’24 Especially the aspect of adaptation is highly intriguing for us, because it demonstrates a unique way to absorb otherness, and newness: incoming stimulus arrives, becomes modified and finally is recreated in a ‘digested newness’ that is inserted in the way of space making.

Tafuri traces this phenomenon in his book ‘Venezia e il Rinascimento’, where he investigates the reaction of Venice’s mediaeval structure and mentalities to the imported ‘novitas’ of Renaissance architecture.25 His research (further developed in ‘Ricerca del Rinascimento’) is however not intended only in historical terms but to detect anxieties which he considers as anticipation to the contemporary ones.

The effect of this ‘inclusion’ can be seen as a timeless attitude of Venice which is revealed in the ‘reconciling of contrasting forces without pacification’ and the holding together of these forces ‘without unifying them’. Here, we could apply the term chorality that constitutes a concordia discors that hold together in tension different elements and different styles, absorbing or marginalizing the new for the construction of a cohesive city body.’ The urban resilience is both ‘in the sense of a continuous physical micro-remaking, ... and in the sense of functional adaptations for survival in the age of global tourism and commoditization.’26

23 I Tafuri, M, Venice and the Renaissance, 1989. ix.

24 I Stoppani, 52.

25 I Tafuri, M. Venice and the Renaissance, 1989 26 I Stoppani, 41&42.

27 I Stoppani, 13.

28 I Tafuri, M. & Foscari L‘armonia e i conflitti, 1983. 5.

Working on the Venetian lagoon presents a great opportunity to point out the crucial paradox between transformation and continuity. On the one hand the aspect of transformation is so strongly provoked by the extreme physical exposure to nature. On the other hand the lagoon seems to withstand change by its generative process of ‘urban inclusion’ and its unbowed illusion of stable endurance. There is much to the idea that the city and its lagoon are better understood as process instead of a static configuration. Within such process multiple operations keep performing in a complex but recurrent scheme. That is to say, that ‘the rules of making space and their flexibility allow for an adaptation in which the process of making and its structure prevail over form.’27 For the architectural project this process means that ‘an icredibly large number of decisions and revisions overlap in formulating intellectual political agendas, functional programmes and design briefs for the same project.’28

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Operative Principles

Dissecting Venice as an ongoing process it is possible to state certain operative principles. In juxtaposition to the regulating structure of a grid they can be considered as operations of a ‘grid effect’, which produces recurrent elements that are quite specific like rioterà (landfilled canal), salizzada (paved with stones, important pedestrian artery), rii (internal canals), fondamenta (paved canal bank), calli (streets) and uncountable bridges. However, the more general principles that mainly constitute the generative power are the tentacle and mat expansion, the nucleus of the campo, and the normative chorality.

‘Tentacle’ and ‘Mat’ Expansion

29 I Stoppani, T., 83

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In the macroscale of the lagoon we can point out two general operations which are producing morphological patterns. These have been first suggested by Giorgio Bellavitis who identifies in the forms of Venice a ‘synthesis of a “tentacle” morphology - today still visible in the structure of the island of Murano – and a “mat” morphology – clearly exemplified by the structure of Chioggia.’ In the central islands of Venice we naturally do not find one or the other in its pure form even if they are still readable.

The effects of inclusion have been already at work and generated many versions and variations. They often clash and form hybrids, so that a clear distribution would be senseless. As tendency Bellavitis states that ‘[t]he tentacle structure organises the sequence of parishes that line up along ... the canal of San Marco, the Guidecca Canal, and both sides of the Grand Canal.’ The mat structure performs in an elongated pattern, that is cutting in on both sides of the Grand Canal with a depth of about 300m from the canal banks.’ 29

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Tentacle Expansion The built fabric of the first follows the natural meander of the waterway and organises it ‘like an inflected comb.

Regulated by the waters, the system remains widely open to the external waterway (canalis major) that flows in from the lagoon and from the sea. ’

Fig. 11 I Murano

Mat Expansion The second structure ‘is a linear organisation along a central rectilinear canal’. It is often accompanied by a strictly orthogonal lining up of the buildings along the artificial canals.

The ‘mat’ structure appear in most cases more as secondary ordering process.

Fig. 12 I Chioggia

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Fig. 13 I Campo San Polo 1905

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Nucleus of the Campo A further major principle is the Venetian Campo which is derived from an open space. It is commonly surrounded by buildings on all of its sides. In some cases a water canal is substituting one side of the buildings. The only clearly visible incisions (cut into its perimeter), are connecting elements as bridges or calli (narrow streets). Reinforced by entrance markers (e.g. decorated arches) it is physically determined by its boundary condition to which the urban fabric can aggregate in manifold ways: it can be buildings of different heights and depths or so called corti (tiny courtyards) which are seperated from the Campo by a wall. The additive game of campo, building and corte introduces endless variations which are nevertheless always subordinated to the ‘radiance’ of the campo.

At this point it is important to underline the early economic dimension of the campo, which initially covered existential needs: in the centre there was usually a green meadow or vegetable gardens, sometimes even graveyards (like in the case of Campo Sant’Angelo). In addition, there was in most cases a waterwell providing potable water. Those wells assigned a life-giving importance to the Campo which persisted even though morphed drastically in the course of time. A commonly performed configuration is the liaison of two campi of different size which are linked by a building of major importance, mostly a church. The campo assumed an important religious function over time as focal point for processions and ceremonies.

The religious aspect is, however, only a part of the social interaction that made the campi a rich, and very urban place. After abandoning the use of the meadows and gardens, the campi were sealed with paving stones.

With the progressive centralisation of services within the city the role of the campo started to decline; by introducing in 1884 an alternative water supply, the wells have been closed.

Fig. 14 I Water Well on Campo

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Fig. 15 I Scuola Grande di San Marco

Normative Chorality The term chorality can be defined as a form of concordia discors meaning a tension that holds together all the different elements30 which colonise the urban space. Most dominant are the buildings which impose a strong physical presence and introduce various languages and styles. The term of style is hereby less restrictive in the cityscape of Venice since it is characterised by a high degree of eclecticism. According to Eisenmann there is not only variety among the buildings but even ‘each façade is not one but multiple.’

He explains that a façade, ‘displays partial traces of possible, alternative, contradictory orders.’31 What Eisenman is pointing out here is that Venice is able to generate a simultaneity of several superimposed layers. The diversity is the common ground that links everything together and can persist in its legitimation as operative principle. Eisenman claims that Venice is ‘beyond the classic and beyond the modern, the Venetian façade becomes for him the antecedent of the decompositive process of the post-modern condition: Venice, as it were, as an a-classical, a-modern, a-dialectic space.’32

30 I Stoppani, 106 31 I Eisenman, P. The futility of objects: Decomposition and differentiation, 1984 32 I Stoppani, 113.

(3) addition of missing AB fragment on the right (4) substraction of AB fragment of ABA bay on left, producing a symmetrical condition about two axes (5) showing two roof pinnacles as a datum defining two different axes of symmetry (6) showing movement of right pinnacle

Fig. 16 I Studies of Palazzo Minelli in Venice. Peter Eisenman I 23

Fig. 17 I Poveglia - the New Oasis

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Oasis poveglia The island as Oasis

As seen in Venetian Desert there are numerous islands which are about to be transformed. These cases clearly show the general interest revitalising neglected spots in the lagoon. Although such efforts have had only little success it is important to highlight that there is a crucial reason for serious investments beyond the sheer value of land: The relevant islands have all a strong potential for place-making derived from historical stratification. The layering process altered coastline, geology, topographic features, landscape elements and of course buildings.

To clarify the strength of this aspect it is helpful to relate to the theories of French anthropologist Marc Augé. He described the difference between ‘places’ and ‘non-places’ in his work about ‘supermodernity’. The basic concept can be easily transferred to the Venetian islands: Augé stated that ‘places’ are ‘relational, historical and concerned with identity’1 whereas ‘non-place(s) creates neither singular identity nor relations; only solitude, and similitude. There is no room for history unless it has been transformed into an element of spectacle, usually in allusive texts.’2 This means that the islands went through the articulation of many past processes. These provided them with intertextuality to which future users can relate to. It is all codified in spatial configurations, symbolic meanings and physical materialisations. Applying strategies for reuse combined with adequate modern interventions can have big potentials for abandoned islands which feature existing building ensembles. The transformation of Poveglia aims at maximising this idea of place-making by turning the illusionary mirage of abandonment into a vital oasis. A new oasis in the lagoon which is first of all productive (both in physical as well as in metaphorical ways), mainly public (with a big offer of open spaces and accessibility for visitors) and pleasent (offering a high comfort level in all aspects with exceptional views to nature and the lagoon).

1 I Augé M. Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity, 1995, 78 2 I Ibid, 103

I 25

Multidimensional Island

‘Venice, ... built gradually, island by island, in the mobile territory of its lagoon, is a city that rebuilds its body on its own physical traces, “reusing itself”’3 - Teresa Stoppani 3 I Stoppani, 9 4 I Fazzini, Gerolamo.

Poveglia - Lazaretto Nuovissimo, 2014 5 I Ibid.

6 I Venedig Informationen Insel Poveglia.

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The origin of Poveglia‘s name is according to different hypothesis either derived from the name of a Roman family Popilia or Pupilia, the strong presence of poplar (lat. pioppo) trees, or from the proximity to an important trading road closeby, called Popilia Annia, linking Rimini and Aquileia.

Popilia later morphed into Poveggia o Povegia as documented by early maps.4 Its first significant settlement started 421 when it hosted refugees mainly from Padova but also from the east. They arrived to Poveglia due to the ‘Lombard Invasion’ of the terra firma in the 5th century AD. However, after some centuries (809 AD) this first population had to leave the island again.

This time they fled from the troops of emperor Pepin (son of Charlesmagne) who occupied the lagoon from the eastern end.

After almost a century of abandonment the doge decided to send again people to colonise Poveglia resolving this time another of his pressing problems: In 864, the previous doge Pietro Tradonico was murdered during a revolt that destabilised the political power of the ruling dynasty. To avoid further problems the new doge offered the followers of the revolt the island of Poveglia together with many privileges. In this way he could hold them on distance and reinforce his power. In the 12th century the sum of the dwellings increased to 800 and became economically stable thanks to prospering effects of fishery and salt production. By growing in importance the inhabitants established a local tribunal which later become a Podestà (administrative entity). Subsequently the church of San Vitale was erected in the 13th century. Caused by the war of Chioggia in 1379 between the Genovese and Venetian powers, the inhabitants had to be moved to Giudecca leaving the island abandoned again. Giving up its residential character Poveglia was fortified for military defense by adding an octogonal fortress, the ottagono. From the 15th century, Poveglia became a place to isolate infected victims of plagues just like other islands in the lagoon (Lazzaretto Vecchio (1423) and Lazaretto Novo (1468)). The use as a quarantine, as we will see, represents an important theme in Poveglia‘s history until the 20th century. Countless people passed away lacking of sufficient medical knowledge and treatments; among those victims famous Renaissance painter Giorgio da Castelfranco (1477/78 - 1510) who died in Poveglia due a pestilential infection. He used to be a student in the painting workshop of Giovanni Bellini in Venice together with Tizian.6

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Fig. 18 I Poveglia Birdview

Fig. 19 I Poveglia seen from the Water

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th

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Until 1571 Fig. 20

until

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Archivio di Stato Venezia 16th century Illustration

1 church San Vitale with garden 2 2 ‘teza di calafai’ 1

church San Vitale with garden of the monks ‘teza di calafai‘

1 2 3 4 5

vineyards church San Vitale osteria ‘tezon‘ e ‘teren‘ ‘fortin‘

1717

1 2 3 4 5 6

Savi ed esecutori alle acque, Disegni, Atti (secc. XV-XVIII) -- b. 54, dis. 7 anno 1717

offices & housing quarantine closed canopy deposit graveyard graveyard plague victims

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1881 Fig. 22 5 4 4

1 3

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3 5

Archivio di Stato Venezia 16th century Illustration

1717 Fig. 21 1 2 3 4 5

1 vineyards 2 church San Vitale 3 osteria 4 ‘tezon’ e ‘teren’ 5 ‘fortin’

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3 1

after 1922 Fig. 23

1881

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 housing 2 prison 3 insane asylum 4 hospital 5 bridge

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4 5 6

Savi ed esecutori alle acque, Disegni, Atti (secc. XV-XVIII) -- b. 54, dis. 7 anno 1717

4

2

1. offices, housing - 2. building3 for the people under 2 contumacia - 3. conopy for transit goods - 4. deposit - 5. closed 1 canopy - 6. chapel - 7. oratory - 8. graveyard - 9. six barracks to host the most critical contamination cases - 10. laundry - 11. four wood baracks for plague victims - 12. nurse homes 13. kitchen and home of the guards - 14. dwelling for the doctors and the chaplain - 15. sewer to desinfect excrements - 16. graveyard - 17. small powder magazine - 18. ‘finance police’ 1 offices & housing 2 quarantine barracks 19. green spaces 3 closed canopy

1881

vineyards church San Vitale osteria ‘tezon‘ e ‘teren‘ ‘fortin‘

1717

5 4

Plan of the Lazzaretto in Poveglia.

Giovanni Bussolin, Trieste 1881

offices & housing quarantine closed canopy deposit graveyard graveyard plague victims

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Plan of the Lazzaretto in Poveglia.

Giovanni Bussolin, Trieste 1881

after

deposit graveyard graveyard plague victims

It was only in 1745 that Poveglia got new stimulus. The campanile of San Vitale was renewed and complemented by a new clockwork by Bartolomeo Ferracina (1692 - 1777).

In the following decades new ideas arouse for the future of the island: in 1782, the Magistrato alla Sanità, decided to open a check point for all goods and people entering the lagoon. In the newly established Lazzaretto Nuovissimo the authorities intended to protect Venice from plagues by introducing a system of ‘contumacia’. Contumacia consisted of certain expurgation procedures that prepared goods and people before entering the city. At that time chlorine steam, as well as inhalations of sulphur were applied.

Some decades later steam and smoke of medical after 1922 herbes substituted previous practices. From 1793 it took up again its function as quarantine station due to a severe pestilential plague.

1 2 3 4 5

housing prison insanisylum hospital bridge

1 2 3 4 5

1922

housing prison insanisylum hospital bridge

Between 1797 and 1805 the island was affected by a dramatic shift of political powers: after the official end of the Venetian Republic with the abdiction of doge Ludovico Giovanni Manin, the Lagoon became part of the Austrian Empire (1798-1805).

Shortly after it was conquered by Napoleon Bonaparte for the French which initiated a time of secularisation. This led to the demolition of the church of San Vitale whereas its belltower was kept to function as lighthouse. Subsequently Poveglia became a military basis with a deposit of arms. During its military use the island was extended significantly. In 1808, sea ooze from previous excavation of canals was used to fill up the new northern part of the island. By the return to Austrian sovereignity Poveglia retook its function as lazaretto and expurgating check-point in 1814. The controling institution was the Magistrato di Sanità Marittima.

A quite bizzare chapter in the history of the island is the arrival of a girafe on Poveglia in 1828. Austrian emperor Franz I. brought it from Africa and left it on the island where they executed the common expurgation procedures. Having survived the contumacia, the animal stayed enough time on Poveglia to aclimatise to the rough conditions of the lagoon.

By the arrival of many European aristocrats to visit the exotic animal Poveglia was brought back temporarily to public attention. With the deportation to Vienna the animal died7 and Poveglia returned being a phantom of the lagoon.

In 1922, a new chapter in the island‘s history opened with the establishment of a retirement home and a mental hospital.8 Sources talking about those times are full of terrifying details even though many of them are scientifically not sufficiently proven. A recurrent story talks about a doctor that was experimenting on a cure for insanity by very dubious surgeries: he apparently conducted lobotomies using primitive tools like hand drills, chisels, and hammers. ‘According to the lore, after many years of performing these immoral acts, the doctor began to see the tortured plague-ridden spirits. It is said that they led him to the bell tower where he jumped (or was thrown) to the grounds below.’9 In 1968, Poveglia was abandoned completely apart from some minor agricultural projects in uncovered spaces. Plans, like the one of CTS (Centro Turistico Studentesco e Giovanile) to bring student housing to the island had never been realised.

1999 The Ministero del Tesoro took Poveglia off the list of cultural heritage to prepare a public auction.

7 I Fazzini, 2014 8 I Archivio Fotografico delle Isole Lagunari.

Poveglia 9 I Slightly Warped.

Island of Madness

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Socio-Political Dimension 10 I Harvey, D. The Right to the City, New Left Review, 09/10 2008, 53 11 I Ibid.

12 I Lionello J. and Lang T. Crowdfunding gegen Massentourismus?

Die Zeit Online, 2014

The imminent sale by auction initiated a massive discussion about Poveglia.

Its fate had little or no interest until that point, the island was only scarcely visited by Venetians. Suddenly it was in the middle of attention and raised not only questions about Poveglia’s future but also generally about the social and political status of such an island. Indeed it was the threat of loosing it which brought public consciousness back. The crucial issues concerned the antagonism of public vs. private, tourism vs. cultural heritage and capitalism vs. society. Taking into consideration the case of Poveglia together with other islands it can be argued that the mentioned questions revolve all around similar discrepancies: should the state be legitimated to sell public goods to private investors? What is the importance of islands as public goods? How does private interests effect them? These questions are closely related to the dynamics described by David Harvey, distinguished professor of anthropology and geography. Harvey relates neo-liberal politics with the prioritisation of income generating private ventures over collective projects in favour of citizens i.e. wider public.

‘We live, after all, in a world in which rights of private property and the profit rate trump all other notions of rights.’10 - David Harvey What Harvey claims is that there is a immense lack of a particular human right in our contemporary society, which he denotes as ‘the right to the city’. His notion is specified in his correspondent essay as following: ‘The right to the city is far more than the individual liberty to access urban resources: it is a right to change ourselves by changing the city. It is, moreover, a common rather than an individual right since this transformation inevitably depends upon the exercise of a collective power to reshape the processes of urbanization.

The freedom to make and remake our cities and ourselves is, I want to argue, one of the most precious yet most neglected of our human rights.’11 The claim articulated by Harvey coincides in many aspects with the open call (manifesto?) of the organisation ‘Poveglia per tutti‘ which is fighting for a public administration of the island to avoid another island-hotel in the lagoon. In spring 2016 they launched an initiative with the provocative name 99 years of Poveglia at 99€. - crowdfunding against mass tourism?12

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99 years of Poveglia at 99€13

13 I Poveglia per tutti, Message in a Bottle, 2016.

We want to compete for the 99 year lease. We want it to remain public, and open for use by all. If you like this idea please consider participating with a 99 € quota. If our offer wins, the community of subscribers, acting as the “Associazione Poveglia”, will manage the island democratically and for public purposes.

These are our 4 founding principles, we ask you to embrace and improve them: 1. The green area of the island will become public gardens and a park freely accessible to all.

2. The built part of the island will host activities and businesses whose ethical boundaries will have to be coherent with our principles. It will be used to pay the running costs of the island as a whole.

3. The management of the island is non-profit and environmentally sustainable. All profits are to be reinvested on the island itself.

4. Should we win the auction, your quota will allow you to participate equally in decisions regarding the fate of Poveglia. It is not to be understood as a form of profit sharing or shared ownership, or a source of any privilege for any members. (...)

It is a challenge: to unite and reclaim a piece of the city and manage it for public use.

This cause deserves a shot. Let’s not let the whole lagoon, piece by piece, be sold from under our feet and boats.

Subscribe. 99 years of Poveglia at 99€.

A utopian bargain.

I 31

14 I Lionello & Lang.

2014

15 I Orlando, S. 2014 16 I Agence FrancePresse. How much - Haunted island near Venice Lido sells for €513,000, 2014 17 I Orlando, S. 2014.

The general polemic of the situation is expressed in a statement of Lorenzo Pesola, architect and active leading member of the initiative. He states that ‘it is paradoxical, that we have to collect money, to buy something, that we already own.’14 The president of the organisation, Giancarlo Ghigi, underlines that technically in the case of Poveglia ‘it was not really an auction but a manifestation of possible offers. The state reserved itself the right to decide on base of the public interest and not only considering economical convenience.’ The different members of Poveglia per tutti (PPT) are certainly united but also highly sceptical. Pesola, for instance, has his doubts about the relevance of public interest among politicians. He generally questions the congruity of the auction process with the treated issue by posing the question: ‘what is the convenience of alienating an island departing from zero euro offers? With half a million nowadays you can buy an apartment of 60 m2 in the historical city centre.’15 In the end, it seems that Harvey’s prediction about the right of private property suceeded: the winner of the state auction was Italian businessman Luigi Brugnaro, owner of an employment agency who has been elected mayor of Venice in 2015. He topped the amount of PPT, bidding with 513,000 Euros. Brugnaro’s spokesman Alvise Sperandio said to The Guardian that Brugnaro had not yet decided what to do with the island but that he would ‘ensure its “public use” and invest 20 million Euros to restore derelict buildings.’ He went on saying that Brugnaro ‘wanted to do it for Venetians to stop the Arabs or the Chinese from buying it for themselves’, adding that Brugnaro would meet (previous) mayor of Venice and consult the community on what to do.16 He specified to Corriere della Sera that he is not interested in speculations involving expensive hotels, instead he asserted that ‘there are way too many of them in Venice anyway.’ In this interview he reinforced his will for collaboration saying that we would ask PPT to join the project (unirsi al progetto).17

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Obscure Past, Dubious Future

The abandonment of the Island brought decay and deterioration to Poveglia. Precious buildings have perished. Not only the physical image was literally ruined but also the presence in the collective memory as being a meaningful place. At this point we can trace certain leitmotif reappearing in the history of Poveglia.

Firstly there is the role of the island as symbol of ‘white hope’. That is to say that Poveglia served as last resort, a place of cure and rehabilitation in critical times. By that it assumed a significant social relevance serving the common good of the whole city. The fatal connotations of illness and death triggered its presence to be commonly suppressed. It can be argued that the claim to keep the island public alludes to a strong anxiety: losing Poveglia for the public is put on a level with losing its social value.

The second important fils rouge is the slow but constantly expanding stratification i.e. many heterogenous layers. The newer parts relate back to the existing ones by means of reinterpretation and recomposition. Powerful examples are the artificial infill of the northern extension beyond the canal and the octogon in the south which completely changed the appearance of the island. Furthermore we find a successive addition of buildings with different languages, materials and construction techniques. The heterogeneity is reinforced by a broad spectrum of diverse facades reaching from rather austere to highly decorated, neogothical ones. The tower that we find on the island is a perfect example of the historical superimposition of older and newer layers. Among the newer layers there is also the vegetation which has grown literally to a dominant and considerable extent.

This brings us to the third recurrent theme which is the persistent struggle between nature and men. It has become constant companion of Poveglia enhanced by the strong exposure to the weathering and tiding forces. The expansion of its solid ground can be considered a Sisyphean task that tries to affirm Poveglia’s right to exist. The struggle to keep up with nature is bound to its survival in the lagoon.

In terms of the future, there would be many possible scenarios for Poveglia. Even though they are restrained by complex socio-political and economic issues we can however assert that there are generally three recurrent concepts: reanimation by agricultural cultivation, recovery by touristic uses like hotel and restaurants or the implementation of new public institutions.

I 33

2 Shipyard

1 Chapel

3 Porch Edifice

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4 Corner Building

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5 Embrace

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7 Double Court maritime oasis

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8 Roofed Slab Fig. 24 I Poveglia Current State 1_2500

9 Palazzo

6 Jetty

Mapping of Status Quo

The project Maritime Oasis is based on a deepened study of the current state of the building on Poveglia. For the purpose of obtaining a profound assessment various materials have been consulted including historical maps, drawings, literature up to contemporary photos, technical drawings and video documentaries. The collection of sources has been re-elaborated to provide the readers with a concise impression of the setting.

Fig. 25 I Birdview of Poveglia

I 35

Poveglia’s first significant settlement started 421 when it hosted refugees mainly from Padova but also from the east. They arrived to Poveglia due to the ‘Lombard Invasion’ of the terra firma in the 5th century AD. From the 15th century, Poveglia became a place to isolate infected victims of plagues just like other islands in the lagoon.

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Fig. 26 I Poveglia Waterview

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Fig. 27 I Courtyard of Palazzo

It was only in 1745 that Poveglia got new stimulus. The campanile of San Vitale was renewed and complemented by a new clockwork by Bartolomeo Ferracina (1692 - 1777).

I 39

Fig. 27 I Double Court The vegetation has taken over completely. Some buildings are not even visible anymore behind the dominating green.

Whereas formerly there was a generous open space, nowadays we only see a dense, impenetrable thicket of bushes and trees.

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Fig. 28 I Canal and Bridge Seperating the northern and southern part of the island, Poveglia features a small canal. It was mainly used to bring the ill patients to their last destination. The bridge connecting the two parts was added in the 20th century.

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Fig. 30 I Entrance from Canal

Fig. 29 I Jetty

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The jetty belongs to one of the buildings is destroyed to a high extent. Therefore It is not only difficult to have a clue about its past but also makes its preservation almost impossible.

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The ruins belong to a building that has been built along the perimeter wall of the complex. They have been partially demolished leaving the formal system only recognisable in the plans.

Fig. 31 I Ruins

Fig. 32I Bathtub in the Wild

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Fig. 33,34 I Chapel Since its abandonment in 1968, buildings started to deteriorate progressively due to missing maintenance and the vandalism of occasional visitors. The major factors for decay have been the exposure to weathering and the high level of humidity in the lagoon. Over the years many roofs have partly or completely collapsed. Finishings disintegrated and exposed brick or concrete surfaces directly to the rough conditions. Decomposing windows and doors enhanced the decay further on by allowing vegetation to enter.

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Poveglia is highly heterogeneous with a broad spectrum of diverse facades reaching from rather austere to highly decorated, neogothical ones.

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Fig. 35,36 I Corner Building

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Fig. 37 I Corner Building Interior

Sources talking about those times are full of terrifying details even though many of them are scientifically not sufficiently proven. A recurrent story talks about a doctor that was experimenting on a cure for insanity by very dubious surgeries: he apparently conducted lobotomies using primitive tools like hand drills, chisels, and hammers. ‘According to the lore, after many years of performing these immoral acts, the doctor began to see the tortured plague-ridden spirits. It is said that they led him to the bell tower where he jumped (or was thrown) to the grounds below.

Fig. 38 I Corner Building Interior

I 49

Alteration & Decay

The current composition of the built environment shows a heterogeneous result. There are, however, common materials like brick and wood which has been used throughout different times. In regards of the brick the major difference is perhaps the finishing which can reach from plastered surfaces to exposed brick facades. Whereas 80% is built with masonry there are buildings which have been constructed in concrete. Timber roof constructions are often covered with reinforced staff (rabitz) ceilings and most spaces feature tile pavements. The wooden window frames and wooden doors are almost all destroyed hence many openings have been consequently closed with masonry.

Since its abandonment in 1968, buildings started to deteriorate progressively due to missing maintenance and the vandalism of occasional visitors. It was however a matter of time until the built fabric would give in to both alteration and serious decay. The major factors for decay have been the exposure to weathering and the high level of humidity in the lagoon.

Over the years many roofs have partly or completely collapsed. Finishings disintegrated and exposed brick or concrete surfaces directly to the rough conditions. Decomposing windows and doors enhanced the decay further on by allowing vegetation to enter. In addition, the soil has been chemically contaminated due to accumulation of waste and orphaned items. Signs of decay reach, moreover, from biological colonisation such as lichens, mosses and ferns, rust stains up to delamination and cracks in wood pieces, as well as spalling, efflorescences on both brick and concrete. Given this broad amount of decay and the restraint of evaluation sources we decided to implement a simple but sound classification to assess the potential for reuse: The idea is to apply a 3-step grading system to both roof and facade.

The three steps determine the current condition reaching from intact over damaged to destroyed state. By the combination of these two parameters we arrived to the conclusion that there are some buildings (such as the Jetty) which cannot be restored witout disproportional measures. The case of complete destruction applies, however, just to a small amount of buildings.

The condition of the remaining ones will be the basis to articulate different strategies for their reuse.

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Fig. 39 I Graffitti & Peeling - Alteration vs. Decay

ROOF CONDITIONS INTACT DAMAGED Fig. 40a I Roof Conditions

DESTROYED

FACADE CONDITIONS INTACT DAMAGED Fig. 40b I Facade Conditions

DESTROYED

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Fig. 41 I Foggy Lagoon

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Isolation & Exposure

Poveglia is characterised by two main features that significantly determined its past: its isolation as island in the lagoon (1h by boat from Venice) and its direct exposure to nature. Those have been major obstacles to the development of the island but do not exclude the possibility of viable solution with intensive use. To get a clear idea about its potential in general terms, it is useful to juxtapose underlying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats: Concerning the strengths of Poveglia there are first of all the precious existing buildings which are not only a living witness of the past but can also host new functions that benefit from the strong identity of the architectural features. The island is, furthermore, the perfect place for retreat because of its high degree of privateness and its relatively small area and manageable scale.

S W

O T

Restricted by its natural boundaries one of the key weakness is the remoteness which complicates transport, construction and maintenance.

The advanced state of decay and deterioration has moreover decreased the chance of investments which can be seen as further downside. In addition, there is the direct exposure to the weather as well as the dubious reputation to be haunted by ghosts, both implying possible difficulties. Among many opportunities for the future of Poveglia one of the central ones is surely the creation of new spaces for the public that could reactivate the given heritage without being limited to exploitative privatisation. Furthermore the island could become a role model for the reutilisation of other abandoned islands.

The major threat could be the funding shortage and bureaucratic paralysis in case of public appropriation. Last but not least there is also the aspect of widespread superstition which could handicap the valorisation process.

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Scholar Shelters Valorisation Strategy 1 I Allen, J. Point of Balace in Coservation of Modern Architecture by Susan McDonald, Kyle. 2007 2 I The Getty Conservation Institute Values and Heritage Conservation Research Report, 2000, 8

‘I have come to see the architect’s role as one of trying to bring (the factors of modern preservation practise) into a valid and viable point of balance. This is both more elusive and more controversial than it might seem...’ 1 What architect John Allen describes applies to many cases in preservation practise. Especially in the case of Poveglia - where we find many conflicting objectives - finding the right balance can be complicated. In fact, the aim to keep the existing buildings is by nature diametrically opposed to pure contemporary requirements. Values are not universal and depend on the point of view: preservation is a matter of appreciation for historical objects, an attitude and by no means absolute necessity.

Differentiating between value and valorisation can be hereby a first step to get the situation under control: whereas the term ‘to value’ implies the appreciation of existing, ‘valorising’ is intended as ‘giving added value’.2 That is to say that the specific values of the project are supplemented by ‘added values’ that should enhance the first ones instead of diminish them.

The reuse starts with the cure of the existing buildings. Phenomena of innocuous colour and material alterations will be preserved since they are part of the material authenticity and can trigger age value. Internal partitions will be considered for the new layout, existing flooring and roofs kept were possible. These measures are indispensable to guarantee the aspired historical continuity not only as idea of the old but as tangible physical fabric. The crucial point is to render Poveglia’s architecture readable to the users which will enable the buildings to acquire and then to maintain sufficient appreciation for continuous care and future preservation.

The second pillar of the reuse strategy is the accesibility of the given buildings. This can be achieved by offering spatial conditions that favour new functions. The overall idea is to extend the offer for public institutions by a new university campus that can benefit current and future citizens of the lagoon. Poveglia becomes a place of intellectual retreat with accomodation options onsite. Whilst the island will become more densely built, certain existing buildings will get extended.

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1. Urban vs. Wilderness

1

2

Based on the existing formal system of the island there will be a strong contrast between urban condition and the wild part in the north and north-east. The existing nature is hereby preserved as authentic layer of the past.

The campus is a densified evolution of old buildings, extensions as well as completely new constructions.

The housing units will be scattered in nature and linked between each other by slightly elevated pathways, These are made with metal grids that do not seal the ground.

Moreover they give vegetation the possibility to merge with the new and keep walkability during different weather conditions.

Fig. 42 I Urban vs. Wild

2. Generative Campo The heart of the university will be a precisely circumscribed open space serves as a ‘trading zone’.

A trading zone is a space for crossing, gathering and interaction. The reference for this spatial element is the Venetian ‘Campo’: the presence of wells is transformed into a landscape of water, stone and benches that provide the setting for intellectual exchange. The campo seperates and connects the neighbouring building at the same time and refers to historical traces.

1

2

1

2

Fig. 43 I Generative Campo

3. Spatial Sequence The perimeter of the urban form is reinforced by a spatial sequence. It accomodates different urban qualities that reach from ‘intimate retreat’ to ‘generous representation’.

Above all they connect different realms such as the outside world with the island, the wilderness with the urban and the northern with southern part. Different pavements distinguish campo and perimeter spaces: whereas the campo is paved with traditional masegni stones, the others feature wood block surfaces that allow water to infiltrate into the ground.

3

3

1

1 2

1 2 2

Fig. 44 I Spatial Sequence

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Fig. 45 I Spatial Sequence

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60 I Siteplan

Fig. 46 I Groundfloor 1-1000

Fig. 47 I Maquette Birdview

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The perception of the island will be fundamentally changed: the former overgrown ruins are turned into a vital university campus that brings together the legacy of the past with contemporary influences. The new island inhabitants as well as visitors are offered spaces of high comfort and distinguished aesthetics.

Seen from the outside Poveglia will be a visible example of revitalisation.

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Fig. 48 I Poveglia at Dawn

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Fig. 49 I Auditorium

The main auditorium is located right next to the edge of the water where the canal enters the island. It is almost entirely made in wood and can host up to 350 people at the same time.

Its distinctive feature is the generous loggia on the first floor that offers additional space for studying and pastime between lectures. It can be rented to external institutions or corporates during idle times. This makes the building more efficient and enhances moreover Poveglia’s connectivity to the lagoon.

The Double Court hosts most of the aulas for teaching which can easily reconfigured for studying during the exam periods. The existing building is hereby covered with a transparent second skin that seals the edifice thermally and gives extra space available for different partition systems.

Fig. 50 I Double Court

I 63

Idea of the Shelter

3 I San Rocco #8,.

What’s wrong with the Primitive Hut 4 I Ivica Brnic. Was the Primitive Hut actually a Temple.

2013, 37

There is something to the setting of the island. The abandoned ruins and the dominance of nature, they make one think about the essential things in life, the struggle for survival and the most basic needs for a primitive shelter. It is most probably the hostile exposure to rain, wind, fog and the isolation from the outside world. In this sense, Poveglia brings us back to an old tale. The story of Laugier’s Adam as described in his Essay on Architecture published in 1755:

‘Let us consider man in his first origin without any other help, without other guide, than the natural instinct of his wants. He wants an abiding place. (...) nothing he wants, he desires nothing; but presently the Sun’s heat which scorches him, obliges him to seek a shade. He perceives a neighbouring wood, which offers to him the coolness of its shades: he runs to hide himself in its thickets and behold there content. (...) thick clouds obscure the air, a frightful rain throws itself down as a torrent upon this delicious forest. The man badly covered by the shade of these leaves, knows not how to defend himself from this invading moisture that penetrates on every part. A cave presents itself to his view, he slides into it, and finding himself dry applauds his discovery. But new defects make him dislike his abode, he sees himself in darkness, he breathes an unhealthful air; he goes out if it resolved to supply by his industry the inattentions and neglects of nature.

The man is willing to make himself an abode which covers but not buries him. Some branches broken down in the forest are the proper materials for his design.’3

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venetian desert

Fig. 51 I Laugier‘s Primitive Hut

Beyond the Primitive Hut

In Laugier’s tale we are confronted with nothing less than the question about the origins of architecture. The Abbé argued with his ‘Primitive Hut’ in favor of a man-made shelter that served as a meteorological defence in a solitary, individual experience. ‘Houses come before temples. (...)

Pragmatism comes before ritual. Structure comes before space.’4 Compared to our case there are intriguing parallels to Laugier’s primordial scenario. Most notably there is the necessity of creating shelters for human activity in a difficult environment. The powerful imaginary of such a quest suggested the idea of shelter as guiding theme in the development of the architectural language. Whereas in the tale everything is made ex-novo, Poveglia raises an additional question: what is the role of the existing, the ‘found-spaces’, as shelter?

At this point there are some useful indications to be found in the work of Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto: during his lecture at the GSD Harvard (2012) he presented the idea that human dwelling is determined by the dichotomy between two main notions: the nest and the cave. The nest implies a ‘space that has been specifically prepared for human habitation. A cave is the opposite of this: a naturally formed space, which requires a creative act on behalf of human.’5 In more general terms, the nest stands for a designed environment, whereas the cave identifies a creative act of appropriation.

The described dichotomy helps us to deal with the situation on the island where the appropriation of the existing building is crucial.

The project in Poveglia aims at introducing the idea of the shelter as leitmotif for the project corresponding to the different conditions of the buildings i.e there will be three types of interventions. All the three types have a different approach to the existing and vary in materialisation, programme, spatial concept and aspired atmosphere.

01 CAVE TYPE

5 I Willard R. Primitive future: The Improvised spaces of Sou Fujimoto

1

2

The first approach deals with the buildings which have preserved both facade and roof. Making full use of their potential main appearance and most of its physical fabric is preserved. The intervention consists of an insertion of a new nucleus inside the shell of the existing. The interference of the housein-house principle creates a layering of spaces which is enhanced by the mediating function of the generated tresholds. Decisive openings allow more light to enter and mark the renewal of the building also on the exterior.

02 TENT TYPE

1

2

The second approach remedies the situation for the buildings which suffered the most: a second skin will create a covering layer all around the old parts and encase them completely with a transparent closure. The formerly collapsed roofs will be substituted with intermediate ceilings which can be easily regulated according to visual and acustic comfort. The extension by the second skin increases the amount of usable space for academic activities.

03 HUT TYPE

1

The third approach provides another type of shelter which applies for all new constructions made on the island. It is mainly built in wood offering a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

It can easily adapt to a wide range of spatial configurations reaching from housing units up to big gathering spaces for lectures, assemblies and large scale events.

2

Fig. 52-54 I Type Allocations

I 65

Shelter Typologies

Fig. 55 I Groundfloor Mensa 1:250

Fig. 56 I First Floor Mensa 1:250

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sholar shelters

01 CAVE TYPE

Fig. 57 I Elevation Mensa 1:250

Fig. 58 I Section Mensa 1:250

I 67

Fig. 59 I Groundfloor Library 1:250

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sholar shelters

02 TENT TYPE

Fig. 60 I Elevation Library 1:250

Fig. 61 I Section Library 1:250

I 69

Fig. 62 I Groundfloor Auditorium 1:250

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sholar shelters

03 HUT TYPE

Fig. 63 I Elevation Auditorium 1:250

Fig. 64 I Section Auditorium 1:250

I 71

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CAVE TYPE

TENT TYPE

Fig. 65 a-b I Cave Visualisation, Exploded Axonometric of Mensa

Fig. 66 a-b I Tent Visualisation, Exploded Axonometric of Library

sholar shelters

HUT TYPE Fig. 67 a-b I Hut Visualisation, Exploded Axonometric of Auditorium

66 I Cave Tyoe Render

I 73

The mensa building has a central position between the landing stages and the Campo offering both students and visitors sufficient space distributed over two floors. On the upper level the interior shell opens to a terrace which is protected by the old walls and covered by the exposed historical timber roof. The facade has been preserved widely whilst two openings were cut into the masonry: One giving the entrance major importance, the other opening the terrace letting in more natural light.

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Fig. 68 a-b I Mensa Close-up

The two realms of new and old start to oscillate and create an intriguing game of inside, outside and inbetween where the treshold gives a precise distinction between existing and new intervention.

I 75

The interior of the mensa recalls the spatial experience of being in a naturally formed cave.

It surrounds you entirely with a solid shell which gives you an unanimous tactile experience: rough, unpolished and primitive.

The impression of an edgy space is obtained by triangle-shaped panels which unify ceiling and walls to a unique architectural language. Sun rays infiltrating a cave through narrow slots are simulated by stripes of light which are built in the joints of the panels to generate a diffuse illumination.

Fig. 69 I Mensa Interior

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I 77

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Fig. 70 I Detail Cave

I 79

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Fig. 71 I Detail Tent

I 81

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venetian desert

Fig. 72 I Detail Hut

I 83

eBus Mestre

Isola S. Spirito

algal biomass plant Termoelettrica Marghera Levante

Venice eVaporetto

Hydrogen Plant eVaporetto

Chioggia

Poveglia San Giacomo di Palude

eLidobus

Contro Center

Malamocco

Lazzaretto Vecchio

Termoelettrica Fusina eVaporetto

Intake from Grid Output to Grid

San Giorgio in Alga

Bi-directional

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venetian desert

Fig. 73 I Smartgrid

Self-Sufficient Island Smartgrid & Performance The main challenge regarding an architectural intervention on Poveglia is definitely its remoteness to the mainland. It requires additional efforts compared to conventional settings. Such efforts include first of all infrastructural measures to connect the island to water and electricity supply, sewage and IT systems besides the transport of construction material by boat and the necessity for extra strong piled foundations.

It is of high importance to consider strategies that ensure a certain degree of self-sufficiency. In this way, initial high investment can be amortised by low expenditures during the life-cycle of the project. Our major concern is the energetical matter which constitutes one of the most important factors.

We set high standard for all buildings to attain excellent performance.

The general approach to the energy concept can be divided in two main parts: (1) the reduction of the demand side by high performance of components and (2) the onsite generation of energy from renewable sources.

For the first we designed the buildings to meet good volume-surface ratios and low energy trasmittance, for the second we implemented a groundwater heatpump system. This system uses the temperature difference between earth (highly saturated with water) and the liquid in the heating/cooling system. To cover the energy demand during most of the year photovoltaic panels have been installed on the roofs of the Tent type which features the biggest available flat surface.

The calculation of heating and cooling has been simulated by using the software ‘BestEnergy’. To consider the effect of natural ventilation the airchange rate was set to a high value in the HVAC system. Additional to heating and cooling, the total demand is constituted by domestic hot water and the electric energy from lighting and equipments.

Self-sufficiency does not imply, however, that the island should stand on its own. Quite the contrary; it should be connected as much as possible so that the island can provide benefits far beyond its own boundaries. To utilise the full potential of the island it is necessary to feed the grid with the energy surpluses especially during summer. In this way Poveglia becomes a productive part of the lagoon and can be role model for other islands that enter into the grid in the future. The decentralisation of the energy production is commonly referred to as ‘smart grid’. This term highlights the manifold positive implications of having variety of operational and energy measures including smart meters, smart appliances and renewable energy sources. The direct benefits are among others the quicker restoration of electricity after power disturbances, the reduced operations and management costs for utilities, and ultimately lower power costs for consumers.1

1 I smartgrid.gov.

US Department of Energy

I 85

Overview of Results Poveglia’s energy model provides us with an overall picture of results from different aspects: heating and cooling simulations of each building (both in real and fractional values), calculations of energy needed for electricity, equipments and Domestic Hot Water (DHW) and predictions of energy supply by photovoltaic systems. The visualised data highlights three main observations: 1. in general the project has a low value of energy demand (47 kWh/year x m2) which in many EU building codes fulfills high performance criteria; 2. the energy demand of heating is much higher than the cooling; 3. annually speaking the energy supply onsite by renewable sources (1.8 Mio. kWh/year) is greater than the energy demand (0.65 Mio. kWh/year).

The positive result from the first observation shows the competitiveness of Poveglia project, especially considering that we are dealing with preservation. The project benefits from climate conditions and high performance buildings. Venice lies in Mediterranean climate zone which implies relatively dry summers and mild winters. Well-designed building envelopes and well-sought materials result in low thermal transmittance.

The absolute energy needed for heating or cooling is consequently low (between 11kWh/ year x m2 and 32kWh/ year x m2). Additional measures help to improve the energy performance. The campus is closed during the hottest month (August) and is optimised with usage schedules (as low occupancy would be detected/predicted the facility manager closes some of the rooms).

The second observation has surely many causes.Regarding the Cave and Hut types (see Fig. 76/77) the percentage of heating energy has a much bigger share in the overall energy demand. This can be traced back to high opacity in the case of Hut (given by the auditorium function). In the case of Cave the existing building works as a second skin and reduces solar heat gain.

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venetian desert

15% Equipment

Electricity

Heating

41%

1.8 Mio. kWh/m

18%

2

annual supply

15%

21% Electricity

5%

41%

18%

0.65 Mio. kWh/m

2

Cooling

DHW 21%

average annual demand

5%

47kWh/m

2

average annual demand

Cooling

DHW

50

100 100 491 491

NOV DEC

77 024

77 024

OCT

41 957

NOV DEC

SEP

41 957

AUG

OCT

33 740

JUL

33 740

JUN

SEP

Closed

MAY

Closed

MAR APR

AUG

43 247

JUL

43 508 43 247

FEB

JUN

43 508 36 131

JAN

MAY

36 131 44 100

MAR APR

44 100

FEB

74 253

0JAN

41258 41258

78 230 78 230

104 067

161 979

104 067

161 979

224 852

224 852

265 963

259 022

241632

241632

151 555 82 421

192 970

192 970

151 555 82 421

100

69 485

0

150

46 963

50

200

74 253

100

250

84 620

150

300

46 963

200

350

69 485

250

10³ kWh

84 620

300

259 022

350

265 963

10³ kWh

Fig. 74 I Demand & Supply

I 87

Energy Balance

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Fig. 75 I Building Specific Results

I 89

Heating & Cooling 01 Library 10³ kWh

1196 m²

1196 m²

SEP

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEZ

DEZ

DEZ m² 02 Auditorium 1510

OCT

NOV

OCT

NOV

DEZ 36 068

1510 m²

SEP

OCT

NOV

1510 m²

DEZ

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEZ

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEZ m² 1418

45 10³ kWh JAN 40 50 10³ 35 kWh 45 50 30 40 kWh 10³ 45 25 35 50 40 20 30 45 35 15 25 40 30 10 20 35 25 5 15 30 20 0 10 25 15 JAN 5 20 10 0 15 5 JAN 10 0 10³ kWh 5 JAN 50 0

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

33 221

29148 MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

511

OCT

29148 29148 29148

15 112 SEP

511

AUG

NOV

DEZ

OCT

NOV

DEZ

OCT

NOV

DEZ m² 1350

OCT

NOV

511

JUL

511

JUN

15 112 15 112 15 112

14531

2 231

5 904

2 404

APR

2 231 2 231

MAR

MAY

2 231

FEB

2 404 2 404 2 404

APR

APR

14531 14531 14531

MAR

15 234 15 234 15 234

MAR

FEB

5 904 5 904 5 904

2 847

FEB

765

APR

765

2 847 2 847 2 847

MAR

765

FEB

765

9 517

15 234

1418 m²

DEZ 32 925

1350 m²

19 485

350 350

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

1350 m²

NOV

DEZ

NOV

DEZ

NOV

DEZ

NOV

DEZ 824 m²

350

MAY

19 485 19 485 19 485

3 101

14 379

2 130

6 471

3 101 3 101

MAR

APR

3 101

FEB

2 130 2 130 2 130

MAR

14 379 14 379 14 379

17 213

MAR

FEB

17 213 17 213 17 213

FEB

6 471 6 471 6 471

MAR

3 002 3 002 3 002 955 955 955

3 002 955

14 307

OCT

350

14 307 14 307 14 307

16 955 16 955 16 955 16 955

FEB

32 925 32 925 32 925

1350 m² 04 Double Court

27 007

824 m²

26 280 17 813 3

80 26 280

18 141

824 m²

1

22 487

824 m²

2 487

27 007 27 007 27 007 231 30 231

30 231

45 10³ kWh JAN 40 50 10³ kWh 35 45 50 30 40 10³ kWh 45 25 35 50 40 20 30 45 35 15 25 40

NOV DEZ 03 Embrace 1418 m²

1418 m²

9 517 9 517 9 517

33 221 33 221 33 221

47 255 47 255 47 255

889

FEB

5 714

AUG

36 068 36 068 36 068

5 714

25 198 25 198 25 198

25 198

889 889

JUL

5 714 5 714

JUN

1 387

MAY

1 387 1 387 1 387

APR

889

6 699

MAR

6 699 6 699 6 699

FEB

25 398 25 398 25 398

11 625

25 398

1510 m²

FEB

47 255

JAN

11 625 11 625 11 625

15 997 JAN

45 10³ kWh JAN 40 50 10³ kWh 35 45 50 30 40 kWh 10³ 45 25 35 50 40 20 30 45 35 15 25 40 30 10 20 35 25 5 15 30 20 0 10 25 15 JAN 5 20 10 0 15 5 JAN 10 0 10³ kWh 5 JAN 50 0

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NOV

JAN

50 0

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OCT

22 666 22 666 22 666

AUG

1 258

JUL

10 890 10 890 10 890

JUN

1 258 1 258 1 258

4 251

10 890

16 024

MAY

1 312

2 308

1 604

APR

1 312 1 312

MAR

4 251 4 251 4 251

FEB

1196 m²

1 312

JAN

16 024 16 024 16 024

MAR

9 189

17 975 MAR

FEB

17 975 17 975 17 975

FEB

JAN

9 189 9 189 9 189

JAN

2 308 2 308 2 308

MAR

1 604 1 604 1 604

5 445 5 445 5 445 5 445

FEB

22 666

1196 m²

25 277 25 277 25 277 25 277

37 086 37 086 37 086 JAN

15 997 15 997 15 997

45 10³ kWh 40 50 10³ 35 kWh 45 50 30 40 10³ kWh 45 25 35 50 40 20 30 45 35 15 25 40 30 10 20 35 25 5 15 30 20 0 10 25 15 5 20 10 0 15 5 10 0 10³ kWh 5 50 0 45 10³ kWh 40 50 10³ 35 kWh 45 50 30 40 kWh 10³ 45 25 35 50 40 20 30 45 35 15 25 40 30 10 20 35 25 5 15 30 20 0 10 25 15 5 20 10 0 15 5 10 0 10³ kWh 5

37 086

50

DEZ

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEZ

JUL

AUG

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

OCT

824 m²

45 0 10³ kWh

26 280 26 280

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

2 887

DEZ

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEZ

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

229 m² DEZ

APR

MAY

JUN

MAR

APR

MAY

MAR

APR

MAY

251

4 443

JUL

JUN

10³ 0 kWh 2 10 1

26 280

17 813

4 132

NOV

4 132

17 813

4 132 OCT

580

1 676 1 676

1 006

SEP

1 676

06 Cafeteria JAN FEB

1 006

MAR

AUG

1 006

5 455

FEB

JAN

5 3

APR

229 m²

JUL

MAY

2 938

MAR

0 10 4

17 813

18 141

22 487 FEB

15 5

3 802

JAN

5 455

0 10 20 6

5 455

5 176

5 15 25 7

823

10 20 30 8

18 141

30 231

15 25 35 9

18 141

20 30 40 10

824 m²

22 487

25 35 kWh 45 10³

22 487

30 40 50

824 m²

30 231

35 45 kWh 10³

30 231

40 50

DEZ

17 813

SEP

JUN

32 925

NOV

AUG

MAY

26 280

19 485 OCT

JUL

APR

19 485

SEP

SEP

JUN

19 485

3 101

DEZ

AUG

MAY

350 350

3 101

14 379 14 379

17 213 17 213

6 471 6 471

3 101

MAR

350

FEB

2 130

JAN

2 130

MAR

2 130

FEB

14 379

JAN

NOV

4 132

50 5

OCT

JUL

APR

824 m²

NOV

JUN

1 676

MAR

MAY

17 213

FEB

APR

1 006

JAN

0 10³ 10 kWh

3 002 955

14 307 MAR

6 471

5 15

14 307

FEB

3 002 955

JAN

0 10 20 05 Mensa

5 455 3 002 955

5 15 25

18 141 14 307

16 955 22 48716 955

16 955

2 27 007 27 007 30 231

25 35 45 10³ kWh 20 30 40 50 15 25 35 45 10 20 30 40 5 15 25 35 0 10 20 30

32 925

1350 m²

30 40 50

DEZ

229 m²

9 0 kWh 10³

JAN

FEB

4 443 MAR

4 443 4 443

SEP

OCT

NOV

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

NOV

APR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUN

JUL

JUL

AUG

AUG

SEP

SEP

OCT

OCT

NOV

NOV

35 45 kWh 10³

MAR

FEB

DEZ

JUL

AUG

APR

MAY

JUN

APR

MAR

17 796

17 796

12 811 NOV

DEZ

OCT

NOV

DEZ

SEP

OCT

NOV

SEP

OCT

NOV

1 043

57

36

481

662

625 m²

17 796

AUG

JUN

MAY

3 256

1 272

809 JUL

MAY

APR

OCT

12 811

FEB

SEP

JUL

JUN

3 256

JAN

AUG

JUN

MAY

3 256

MAR

SEP

JUL

APR

0 10³ 10 kWh 50 5

DEZ

1697 m²

236

FEB

1 272

JAN

AUG

1 272

MAR

809

3 969 3 969

FEB

809

5 15

12 811

13 637

18 236

JAN

0 10 20

3 969

5 15 25

277

0 10 20 30

13 637

5 15 25 35

13 637

23 618

10 20 30 40

1 051

15 25 35 45

18 236

23 618

20 30 40 50

DEZ

1697 m²

1697 m²

18 236

25 35 45 10³ kWh

23 618

30 40 50

DEZ

17 796

251 MAY

OCT

12 811

APR

2 887

AUG

823

JUL

1 492

40 50

MAR

2 887

FEB

2 887

JAN

580

50 5

45 0 kWh 10³ 07 Faculty

JUN

580

MAR

MAY

251

FEB

10³ 0 kWh 10

APR

3 256 580

2 938 MAR

1 272 251

JAN

1 15

FEB

809

0 2 20

823

JAN

1 3 25

18 236

23 618

0 2 4 30

1697 m²

3 969 823

3 802

1 3 5 35

2 938

2 4 6 40

2 938

5 176

3 5 7 45

3 802

4 6 8 50

229 m²

3 802

5 7 9 kWh 10³

5 176

6 8 10

FEB

5 176

JAN

7 9 10³ kWh

13 637

8 10

625 m²

DEZ

45 0 kWh 10³ 40 50

JAN

625 m² DEZ

35 45 kWh 10³

08 Houses 30 40

625 m²

50

OCT

NOV

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

27 208 236

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

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NOV

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

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08

987 119 987 119 987

4 233

57

FEB

36

JAN

10

APR

1 043

SEP

236

AUG

140 180 kWh 10³

80 120 160

76 171

60 100 140

1

100 140 180

55 356

120 160 200

900

160 200

936 120 936 120 936

180 0 10³ kWh

1 492

1 043 1 043 119 987

236

57

36

277

JUL

NOV

0 10³ kWh 40 200 20

JUN

57

MAR

MAY

36

FEB

APR

277

051 1 051 1201936

MAR

31277 900

JAN

FEB

1 051

5 60

481

JAN

48155 356481

5 15 100 0 10 80

0 10 20 120

662 76 171 662

5 15 25 140

662

10 20 30 160

1 492171 743

7190 m²

15 25 35 180

DEZ

1 492

20 30 40 200

kWh

DEZ

7190 m² DEZ

171 743 171 743 171 743

25 35 45 10³

7190 DEZ m² 7190 m²

Fig. 76 I Heating & Cooling

I 91

Energy Demand Distribution 01 Library Equipment Electricity

9% 9%

27% Cooling 27% 27%

56%

Heating

56% 56%

Heating Heating

02 Auditorium

Equipment

Electricity Electricity DHW DHW DHW

Maximum Capacity

Equipment 13% Equipment

Electricity

11%

75%

Heating

2% 2%

75% 75%

Heating Heating

03 Embrace

Equipment

Cooling Cooling Cooling

Maximum Capacity

Equipment 9% Equipment

Electricity Electricity

18%

9% 9%

18% 18%

65%

Heating

65% 65%

Heating Heating

04 Double Court

Equipment Electricity

Equipment 9% Equipment

Electricity Electricity

9%

DHW DHW DHW

Cooling Cooling Cooling

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8% 9% 9% 8% 8% 19% 19% 19%

200 200

Maximum Capacity Maximum Capacity

8% 8% 8%

300 300

Maximum Capacity Maximum Capacity

13% 13%

2% 11% 11%

Electricity

150 150

Maximum Capacity Maximum Capacity

8% 8% 8%

Cooling Cooling

Maximum Capacity

Equipment Equipment 9%

Electricity Electricity

Maximum Capacity

150 150

Maximum Capacity Maximum Capacity

9% 9% 55%

Heating

55% 55%

Heating Heating

83%

Heating

05 Mensa Equipment Equipment Equipment

Maximum Capacity Maximum Capacity

150 50

Electricity Electricity ElectricityEquipment Cooling Cooling Cooling 2% 2% 2%

Electricity

7% 7% 7%

8% 8% 8%

Heating

12%

10% Cooling

2%

83% 83% 83%

Heating Heating Heating

06 Cafeteria Equipment Equipment Equipment Equipment

Maximum Capacity Capacity Maximum

50 100

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Fig. 77 I Energy Demand Distribution Equipment Equipment Equipment

I 93

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Cognitive Campus Introduction

‘(...) any planning must take into account that any future order by its nature, cannot be a constant or static entity. It must rather be thought of as continuous, and capable of accepting growth and change. Any notion of a future order in absolute terms would be open to the criticism that is a romantic-utopian.’1

1 I Eisenman P. The Formal Basis of Modern Architecture, 1963, 31

- Peter Eisenman The presented project for Poveglia can be surely considered an immense valorisation of the current state. We must, however, bare in mind that it is just another step of transformation in the course of time. Change will always happen, use patterns will change and ultimately also the destination as university will change, too. Therefore it is crucial to evaluate future adaptation right from the start of the design and not to restraint spaces too much to specialised functions. Moreover there must be space for optimisation strategies which can improve the performance of the design over the years.

In the case of the Poveglia Campus we decided to implement a promising pioneer concept which is commonly known as ‘Cognitive IoT’. The basic idea is to integrate the users and their behaviour into an overall self-managing system. To illustrate the basic concept it is helpful to employ analogies to the human body: stimulus from the surrounding world are detected by senses and translated into purposive information. This information is passing through an appropriate infrastructure up to the computation centre that organises and evaluates the incoming data. According to the objective e.g. the supply of oxygen in the human body, the computation centre triggers the actuators i.e. the muscles to breathe air into the lungs.

The aim of Cognitive Architecture is to implement computing into the physical world of our built environment. In a future scenario buildings are capable to steer complex processes. Architecture will be able to improve more dynamically the comfort of its users. Devices can be integrated in the course of time. Installed actuators will respond in real time with incoming commands which have been deduced from sensors, user and external data.

Virtual reality devices will help to simulate architectural interventions and help to improve maintenance. By means of mobile applications end-users can receive live feeds in order to get access to processed information.

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Cognitive Architecture

2 I Global Standards Initiative, 2013 3 I McKinsey Global Institute, The Internet of Things: Mapping the Value beyond the Hype June 2015

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‘The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it.’

- Mark Weiser Indeed, when Mark Weiser introduced the notion of ubiquitous computing to the world, just few people could really envision how a computer in the 21st century will be. The image of computers as big calculators, however, vanished back in 1991 when Northgate, Dell, Everex, Acer, HP, Compag, IBM and Apple started to introduce them to the commercial realm. Who would have thought that after only 25 years Internet would become a powerful tool to mediate between various digital devices? Weiser’s vision anticipated moreover what we call the ‘Internet of Things’. Commonly refered to as IoT, can be defined as a ‘global infrastructure for the information society, which enables advanced services by interconnecting (physical and virtual) things based on existing and evolving interoperable information and communication technologies.’2 The basic concept dates back as early as 1982 when the first ‘intelligent’ device has been installed at the University of Carnegie Mellon: A coca cola machine has become the first Internetconnected appliance that was able to report its inventory and to give notice whether newly loaded drinks were cold enough.

The major benefits for IoT are, in more general terms, the optimisation of processes as well as the possibility to track/collect the behaviour of users.

The second aspect led naturally to many discussions on privacy and safety of personal information since all the data is sent to centralized processors.

In terms of privacy, end-user agreements are one way to regulate personal data. It stays, however, as major challenge of the future how much integration into the system is socially acceptable. Despite important concerns the ‘big data’ keeps growing on a daily basis: by the sheer amount of data, computation ways and overall power are becoming therefore an increasingly urgent issue. The trend of IoT has been introduced to many fields so far. Architecture has been hereby discovered as one of the most suitable study subjects with immense potential for optimisation. This has been widely attested by recent reports of McKinsey & Company3 about IoT in the built environment. According to the latest statements of the IBM research team it is possible to distinguish the growing union of technology and buildings in three main steps:

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1) Automated Buildings Era (1980-2000) The Automated Buildings Era has witnessed first examples of electronic devices which could monitor and manage building activities. By introducing simple ‘commands’ users were able to regulate certain parameters which have been steered by the centralized controlling system: facilities, such as heating, air-conditioning, mechanical shutters etc. could be easily turned on or off by the controlling computer and its connected interfaces. A famous example for this kind of building is the 1997 built mansion of Bill Gates4.

4 I Digital Trends.

Technology Inside Bill Gates Mansion 5 I WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, Definition of Smart Buildings

2) Smart Buildings Era (2000-2015) During the Smart Buildings Era the possibilites of user commands were extended to everyday objects that comunicate with mobile devices. Those could regulate the buildings independently from the location and amplify the range of interaction. The technology behind this step has been the Internet of Things and the increased computation power of data analysis.

With decreasing costs more affordable solutions came up on the market and many items have been equipped with WiFi interfaces. Routers are able to report about occupancy and coffee machines can automatically order necessary resources. So called ‘Smart Home Kits’ extended hereby the spectrum of controllable parameters: hot water, air temperature, ventilation, illumination, video-surveillance etc. can be monitored from any mobile device.

3) Cognitive Buildings Era (from 2015) The subsequent possible scenario suggested by the IBM research team is the Cognitive Buildings Era. This scenario consists of the integration of many ‘Smart Buildings’ into a common network. Their potential are maximized by the ubiquitous computing agent which analyses all the data (both structured and unstructured) that has been collected by sensors and devices in the IoT network. All the users involved in this network will be able to send their feedback directly to the agent. This feedback is taken into consideration for the building automation. The system can deduce certain patterns of behaviours. Throughout forecasts the system can predict the necessary changes for the performance of the building and consider external factors such as weather conditions.

The third step generated an advanced notion of smart houses: At the most fundamental level, smart buildings must deliver useful services that make occupants productive at the lowest cost and environmental impact over the building lifecycle. Smart buildings look beyond the building equipment within their four walls. They are connected and responsive to the smart power grid, and they interact with building operators and occupants to empower them with new levels of visibility and actionable information.5

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DATA EXPORT

BUILDING

COMMAND

NOTIFICATION

BIM & SENSORS

FEEDBACK & BEHAVIOUR

USERS

BRAIN

SMART DATA IFTTT PRINCIPLE

Fig. 81 I Cognitive Principle for UNIBS

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Fig. 82 I Smart Phone Application UNIBS

Case Study UNIBS

The new relationship between users and assets through mobile service is changing the way to deliver services by smart devices. The research developed for the project SCUOLA – Smart Campus as Urban Open LAbs introduced the idea of creating an app to include the users’ feedback into the information chain of a pilot smart building. The project describes the early-stage of implementation and evolution of this concept, which define a dialogue between building and users, by realizing a bi-directional interaction via a newly developed mobile application. The app – Smart Campus UNIBS - mediates, as part of a complex system, between the two entities using the connectivity of Smart Living and the process of Data Analytics. The Smart Campus Demonstrator building at the University of Brescia, Italy, is equipped with sensors to monitor and control comfort, indoor air quality and HVAC parameters, such as hygro-thermal parameters, illuminance, CO2 and volatile organic compound (VOC), power of HVAC fans and environmental external factors. The sensors aim at providing data to develop adaptive, dynamic as well as predictive controls virtually incrementing the smartness of the building. The step further is to include the behavioral perspective linking the users to the previous framework.

By exchanging different kinds of processed data, including BIM models, sensors and user feedbacks, it is possible to achieve an interaction between the built environment and the social landscape.

Excerpt from the scientific paper produced in collaboration with University of Brescia and the SCUOLA project

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Home Screen

Sign Up Page

Main Menu

Sidebar Menu

Overview Rooms

Class Schedule

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Fig. 83 I Mockup - Application UNIBS

Room Performance

Community Page

Personal Profile

Feedback Page

Building Overview

Performance Check

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Cognitive Poveglia

Filippo Aggeggio has just started his studies in the cognitive campus Poveglia. He’s a 21 years old Milanese student whose passions include technology, artistic photography and philosophy. In an interview he recounted one of his days in the cognitive campus: ‘I was having my morning coffee when Smart Campus app sent me a notification with my daily report: the chance of rain around 10am is high and it suggested me that I should take my umbrella. The book that I pre-ordered from Venice International University library with “eLibrary” function of the app has just arrived at Poveglia library. I’m planning to pick it up before my first lecture. My lecture schedule together with the special menu from the mensa were also in the daily report. As I crossed the bridge to get to the library, the app sent me a push notification that the lights I forgot to turn off have been turned off already by the smart home kit.

The moment I approached the premise of the library, a QR code appeared automatically on my smartphone screen with my identification for entering the library and borrowing the book.

‘I’m running a little bit late, and I’ve never been to the classroom for the first lecture. So I opened the app and in the part of “Lectures + Lecture Halls” I found a map with my geo-location that helped me to reach it in time.

The rain seemed to begin when heavy clouds covered the campus, I saw the lights in the surrounding buildings automatically got brighter. The lecture has been very inspiring and as soon as it was over the app reminded me to leave a feedback on my comfort using the classroom. During coffeebreak I ordered for lunch salmone con piselli in the section of “Mensa + Cafeteria” in the app and paid for it. The app saved a QR code with which I can pick up my meal later.

‘I always find it interesting to know about the built environment around us and how modern technology change our way of using the buildings, the app is genius, it also gives me information about the “Green Campus”: how sustainable the buildings are and how much energy we’re using in real time.’

The experience of Filippo is one of the countless scenarios users can have with cognitive architecture. As technology bring more and more sensors and actuators to architecture, the potentials are getting widen day by day.

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Fig. 84 I Mockup UNIBS Mobile App

Fig. 85 I Cognitive Principle Poveglia I 105

VIU San Servolo

IUAV

Accademia

Ca’ Foscari - Venezia

Ca’ Foscari - Treviso

Ca’ Foscari - Poveglia

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Fig. 86 I Mockup - Application Smart Campus

Landing Page

Home Screen

Login

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Main Menu

I 107

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http://thisisrealarchitecture.blogspot.it/2012/08/primitive-future improvised-spaces-of.html I 111

Authors Che Liu & Franz Bittenbinder Graduate students of Architecture at Politecnico di Milano with international academic career at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Technische Universität München and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Professional experience at Progetto CMR and Herzog & de Meuron.

Co-authors of ‘Bi-Directional Interactions between Users and Cognitive Buildings by means of Smartphone App’ as contribution to IEEE Second International Smart Cities Conference (ISC2 2016). The collaboration with University of Brescia has been featured at the BIM World conference (Paris 2017). Freelance graphic designers dedicated to Architecture and Communication.

Supervisors Angelo Luigi Camillo Ciribini Professor of Construction Management at University of Brescia, BIM researcher and chairman of ISTeA (Italian Society of Science, Technology Engineering of Architecture) Lavinia Chiara Tagliabue Research fellow at University of Brescia and Adjunct Professor at Politecnico di Milano (Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering). Her research focuses on cognitive buildings and smart connection with a user-centered design approach.

Stefano Tropea Architect and owner of Studio B22. Award winner of the Gold Medal for Italian Architecture Special First Work Award and Gold Lion award Best national participation at Biennale di Venezia

Image Credits Young Architects Competition - Fig: 2,3,18, 27-39 / NASA - Fig: 1 / TEDOC Politecnico di Milano - Fig: 7 / Blog - Eddyweb - Fig: 8,26 / Doge Sviluppo - Fig: 9 / Albert Camesina Ritter von Sanvittore (Wien, 1870) - Fig: 10 / Venipedia - Fig: 13 / Courtesy of Davide de Martin - Fig: 14 / Canadian Centro for Architecture - Fig: 15 / Courtesy of Peter Eisenman - Fig: 16 / Blog - Oliaklodvenitiens Fig: 19 / Il Fatto Quotidiano - Fig: 25 / Niels Devisscher - Fig: 41 / Essay sur Architecture - Laugier - Fig. 51 / © Franz Bittenbinder & Che Liu - Table of Contents, Fig: 4,5,6,11,12,17, 20-24, 40, 42-50.

52-86

Layout and design: Che Liu & Franz Bittenbinder Edition: April 2017, Milano Paper: 140g/m2 Freelife Vellux Recycled In close collaboration with Riccardo Giannetti & GIDA srl

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new campus for poveglia island The reuse of formerly abandoned islands in the lagoon of Venice is a socially polarizing movement. Some people view it as the way of the future development while others see it as a danger for speculation and irreversible damaging interventions. Over the past three decades the municipality of Venice has encouraged endeavours to privatise many islands with longterm lease contracts. In this way they hope that investment would bring positive effects for the city.

In recent years, however, awareness of the detriments of such developments has increased.

Activist groups and non-governmental organizations have put increasing scrutiny on the economic and social consequences. The increased presence of sold islands in local and national media has intensified the debate on architectural operations as well. Due to a missing, active involvement many problems stay unsolved: architecture does not offer solutions for geographically peripheral but contextually central issues. The exodus of citizens in many parts of the lagoon indicates that there is a need to find new strategies for the abandoned islands.

The project of ‘Maritime Oasis’ consists of three major objectives: The first is the assessment of existing architecture on relevant islands in the lagoon. The second concerns the balance between privatisation and the appropriation of spaces for the public. The third major objective is to confront site-specific difficulties and offer elaborated, hands-on approaches which can be exemplified by the transformation of Poveglia island. Poveglia is hereby taken as pars pro toto for the widespread phenomenon of abandoned islands in general. The project presents a detailed scenario where the island is turned into a university campus.

Franz Bittenbinder I Che Liu