New Chioggia Harbour

Water for Chioggia has always been of great importance, not only because it is essential to its very subsistence, but also because it is the foundation structure of its own cultural and human civilization.
We also recognize that this bond can also be a risk factor since water is also one of the main factors in the territorial, climatical and ecosystemical changes. Chioggia’s process of formation and transformation in recent decades -with sometimes incomprehensible urban dynamics and without proper governmentalization of densification and expansion processes- makes the urban scenario particularly fragile in its relationship with water. It is in need of a long term balance between the available resources and the overall growth and development needs of the city.
With this study we are focusing on the awareness that the only possible solution to these problems can be represented by a new paradigm in the relationship between the water resource and the city. We look at the harbour as a new infrastructure and architectural matrix that can adapt to the (predictable) evolution of the context and to the relationship between resources and needs.
We have rethought the relationship between man, water and territory through a Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), where many of the current and future critical issues can become opportunities to achieve a greater urban and environmental quality.