Rari Nantes

Site Description

The project area is made up of urban entities generated by overlapping infrastructure built at different times over the centuries. One entity, a swimming pool built in the Grand Canal (and part of the site) was founded in 1920, active until 1970 and owned by the Raris Nantes Sports Club. Today the site is confined between the railway line and the moorings for large freight boats. A second entity consists of a small triangular-shaped lot, resulting from the construction of roads linking the Ponte della Libertà to Piazzale Roma and Tronchetto – here, there is an important group of buildings that includes the old headquarters of the Marsilio publishing house. The final entity consists of a circular fort located under the Ponte della Libertà, here, a space for the storage of the boats of the nearby rowing club is found.

Site Opportunities

A project could consider reconnecting the isolated entities with the urban form of the city and expand the site’s strategic position by connecting it to the mainland via the three primary transport nodes nearby: Venezia Santa Lucia railway station, Piazzale Roma and Tronchetto. The site is a significant node relative not only to the commute between Venice and the mainland, but to its proximity to important canals.