MUDDY DREAMS 04

Type: Experimental Workshop

Iuav WAVe

Location: Pellestrina, Venice

Year: 2019

Tutors:

Kathrin Gimmel - JAJA

Rasmus Hjortshøj - Coast

Claudia Gallo - Iuav

The premise of Wave 2019 was that “Venice – with all its problems – has inherent traits of sustainability and that a coordinated planning practice can bring them to the fore”. As a response, our team elaborated the proposal “Muddy Dreams”, in which we valued the local traditions of Pellestrina island for the development of their own sustainability.

We took a field trip to Pellestrina, where we studied the landscape, architecture, mobility, and local activities. One element stood out, the “Cassone”. Ever-changing structures scattered through the lagoon and past through generations of local fishermen, were a valuable figure to base our project on, as they evidenced the reuse of materials, integrated to the landscape, and served for the socio-economic activity of the population.

We took them as study subject and architectural inspiration for their potential to be reinterpreted into formal structures that continue to serve the island in ways other than for fishing. Cassone could become public spaces or communal equipment that expressed the local identity and enhanced their knowledge of their labour and environment.