
- 27 Aug, 2021
- Urban Regeneration
The Eastern Waterfront project, designed and donated to the city by the architect Renzo Piano, is changing the face of the former Fiera di Genoa exhibition area by giving back the city a view over the sea and creating a living space for all its citizens, a new urban quarter scheduled to be completed in 2023.
The quarter will comprise a nautical district, a new-look Palasport, or indoor sports stadium, an urban park and a residential zone complete with services, accommodation facilities and commercial activities. Disused buildings in an area of about 100,000 square metres will be turned into a veritable città del mare, a “city of the sea” connecting Genoa with its natural boundary, the sea itself.
The master plan embodies a vision of the Genoa of the future, a city that is reshaping itself through processes of wide-ranging urban regeneration according to advanced criteria of environmental sustainability.
Summary
The demolition of some of the old fair pavilions will make it possible to develop a series of new infrastructures, such as the park, offices, services, houses, hotels and a students’ residence.
The old Palasport, a building that has left its mark on the history of the city, will be completely renovated to restore it to its function as a sports hub and a venue for major events.
Alongside it, a canal will be opened to offer hospitality to pleasure craft and act as a yachting hub.
Two new blocks will be built to house a total of 300 residential apartments, a new Torre Piloti, or Pilots’ Tower, will be erected and a park, a new green lung for the city, will be installed.
The new Waterfront will be connected to the city by extending the bike and pedestrian path, which will also join the area with the tourist village of Boccadasse.
The aim is to create an attractive new public space with an abundance of services, to “take” the city onto the sea via two entirely new canals. Looking onto them, like an island, will be the new area around Jean Nouvel’s historic trade fair pavilion.
The citizens of Genoa and visitors will thus be presented with a regenerated area, a space open to use, packed with planning and social potential, and connected to the urban fabric by bike and pedestrian paths.