Project Team
Ing. E. Palmisani – Duferco Engineering S.p.A. (Client and Project Manager); Mr. C. de Piccoli – D.P. Consulting (Client); Prof. Arch. G. Cristinelli – Studio Associato di Architettura e Restauro Cristinelli&Cristinelli (Preliminary architectural design and Landscape Report); AD GEO Sistemi per l’Ambiente (geology, geotechnics, seismic analysis, and material characterization); Dr. L. Bonometto (sediment mitigation and planning); Catena S.p.A. – Fincantieri Group (PAX vessel and mooring study); D’Appolonia S.p.A. (Environmental Impact Assessment, Incidence Study, Archaeological Impact, Risk Analysis); Habitaria Sistemi S.r.l. (Mechanical systems); IPROS Ingegneria Ambientale S.r.l. (Hydrodynamics and morphodynamics); Pinceti Consulting S.r.l. (Electrical systems); RINA S.p.A. (navigation regulations); Studio ing. Ballerini (maritime works, dredging, and above-ground structures); Studio di Ingegneria Navale (pontoon design); University of Parma (meteorological and marine study).
Services Provided
Preliminary design (further development and refinement of the Feasibility Study), selection of main finishing materials, preliminary cost estimate for finishing works, zoning constraints analysis, and drafting of the Landscape Report.
The Project
The project involves the construction, at the Lido inlet, 230 m from the lagoon edge of Punta Sabbioni and positioned between the Porto Rifugio and the pine forest, of a pier with a quay measuring 940 m in length, 34 m in width, and rising approximately 2.5 m above water level.
Above this quay, a three-story building will be constructed, also 936 m long. The ground floor, intended for services and offices, is 10 m wide. The first floor, 12.10 m wide, contains the PAX gallery, from which passengers access the upper level hosting the gates and embarkation corridors, measuring 11.80 m and 3 m wide, respectively.
The ground floor has a height of 5.40 m, the first floor 4.20 m, and the second floor 3.5 m, for a total height of 13.10 m above the quay, in addition to the 2.50 m elevation of the quay above sea level.
The terminal will accommodate up to five large ships simultaneously. A marina is also planned for smaller vessels carrying passengers and goods to and from the Maritime Station and Venice’s historic center.
The terminal will be connected to the mainland by a drawbridge for emergency use only.
From a perceptual standpoint, the new construction will be “perceived” as a continuation of the Punta Sabbioni breakwater edge, repeating its form at a short distance. The structure’s strong longitudinal dimension creates a kind of “visual resonance” with the breakwater, exceeding its height by only a few meters.
From a “scenic” point of view, it can be seen as bringing the background closer to the viewer arriving from Venice or duplicating the landscape’s boundary line for those approaching from the sea.
The new structure will redefine the landscape of the port inlet—already altered by the MO.S.E. project—without causing additional visual disruption in the broader landscape context.
Design Documents
General plans, project floor plans, elevations, and sections at 1:5,000, 1:2,500, 1:500, and 1:200 scales; perspective renderings (photomontages); preliminary material schedule; preliminary cost estimate for finishing works; Landscape Report.
Design Timeline
30 days.