UNStudio: ponte parodi

‘ponte parodi’ by UNStudio, genoa, italy all images courtesy of UNStudio

aspiring to revitalize the industrial waterfront of genoa, italy, ‘ponte parodi’ is a residential, retail and cultural center designed by amsterdam-based firm UNStudio. replacing one of the many currently vacant sites due to the gradual relocation of industrial activity from the coastline, the masterplan will attract visitors and residents to the harbor creating an extension of the city center. positioned between porto antico and the historical district, the area will become a location for gathering of students and inhabitants as well as tourists from cruises. a combination of indoor and outdoor spaces, the development will create 130,000 square meters of public venues within a 20-meter tall structure which responds to the scale of the nearby urban fabric.

northern piazza

the three-story building contains an amphitheater, cruise terminal, cafes and restaurants accessible through carved corridors and rooftop park. pedestrians are circulated through and atop the complex via branching paths which begin at the site boundary and ends at the water with a sea-side promenade. plazas on the ground and upper levels create points of interest amidst the occupiable volumes and gardens.

elevated promenade overlooking central piazza

retail center

lower gallery

view from the harbor

complex visually integrates into the industrial character of the coastline

aerial view of the complex

interior circulation diagram

rooftop circulation diagram

public spaces circulation diagram

study models

project info:

client: altarea italia progetti s.r.l.; (competition) porto antico di genova spa programme: public attractor with a 3-dimensional piazza and mixed use: cruise terminal, wellness experience, knowledge experience, commercial experience, public park with amphitheatre. gross floor surface: 76.000m²
 volume: 160.000 m³
 site: 36.000 m² total project area: 132,200 m2 internal activities: 49553.82 m2 public urban park on roof: 18838.04 m2 parking area: 36437.08 m2 technical areas: 8356.81 m2 outdoor areas (quays, north piazza): 18929.94 m2



unstudio: ben van berkel, caroline bos, astrid piber with nuno almeida and (design development/building permit) mirko bergmann, margherita del grosso, veronica baraldi, kristin sandner, abhijit kapade, chiara marchionni, cristina ferreira, casper damkier, rainer schmidt, adrien leduc, lorenzo vianello; (schematic design) cristina bolis, paolo bassetto, alice gramigna, michaela tomaselli; (competition) cristina bolis, peter trummer, tobias wallisser, olga vazquez-ruano, ergian alberg, stephan miller, george young, jorge pereira, mónica pacheco, tanja koch, ton van den berg

advisors: structure: d’appolonia, genoa building services: manens, verona traffic: systematica, milan project coordination: studio augusti, genoa (competition) infrastructure and structure: arup, london; off-shore construction: grootint b.v. visualisation: rendertaxi, aachen