CASHMEREISSUE • n°33 • 2023
GENOA’S NEW FACE
The Ligurian capital will soon add the stunning new Waterfront di Levante to its list of attractions. This internationally important futuristic project embraces green building principles. It will also benefit and provide the Genoa International Boat Show with a welcome boost from 2023 by immersing it in a whole new setting
by Désirée Sormani
“We are creating a zero impact living space. A project that focuses on the urbanity of the place, something achieved by living it. There will be people working and living here. And that is very important because urbanity is connected to a mix of functions that have to make the area live 24 hours a day”. The words of Renzo Piano as he describes the radical Waterfront di Levante urban regeneration and transformation project that his Renzo Piano Building Workshop is currently turning into Genoa’s latest attraction and hub. A spectacular waterfront set like a perfect gem into the signature colours of its surroundings. Transparency, suspension, sustainability are the main themes of a project in which water and nature will reappropriate the surrounding space in harmony with the new buildings. “Water
makes things beautiful. Water has to get to where it can get to, and nature does the rest. There will be a connection between the Porto Antico and the Levante. It needs life and you get life when there is a mix of functions: shops, restaurants, homes and there are young people,” continues Piano. “Genoa is stunning and also attractive from a residential point of view. There will be young people’s start-ups and even student accomodation, tertiary services. An idea of Genova as a green city with clean air, much cleaner than other Italian cities”.
The Waterfront di Levante is a colossal undertaking spread over several different building sites at once. It is also an internationally significant and futuristic project that embraces green building principles to the point that it will hold NZEB and Leed Gold
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The Waterfront di Levante will be a new city quarter open to all. A place where people can congregate and socialise as well as live, thanks to a modern promenade with retail spaces, bars, restaurants, boutiques for shopping and marina services including a yacht club. And the Genoa Boat Show will also enjoy new jetties and canals as well as 200 extra berths!
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certification, the first residential complex in Liguria to do so. The buildings themselves will be low energy with zero CO2 emissions, thanks to the use of technologies of the likes of solar panels and OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion).
That said, the Waterfront won’t just be a single residential complex with exclusive services. It will be a whole new quarter open to all. A place for people to congregate and enjoy their leisure time. There will even be a modern promenade with space for various different activities: retail areas, bars, restaurants for sampling Italian foods of
excellence, boutiques for shopping and marina services, including a yacht club.
The Genoa International Boat Show will also benefit, as it will be surrounded by an entirely new world of ultramodern spaces, services and residential areas. From 2023, the Boat Show will enjoy a completely renovated and highly functional exhibition area too. This will inject new impetus and power into the event with new jetties and canals as well as 200 extra berths. A revolutionary marina that will relaunch Genoa on the world stage.
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