M9 New Museum for a New City

The design responds to the challenge of the competition brief with a solution which achieves a good balance between the preservation of the former barracks for commercial activities and the construction of the new museum. The originality of the new museum’s design is aimed at creating a memorable place which has its roots embedded in the city.
The museum will comprise 16 towers of varying shape and size, nine of which provide the main functions stipulated, with seven housing the vertical circulation systems of staircases and lifts. The square-plan towers are arranged so as to create complex and interesting spaces between them, similar to those we can admire in every historic centre, like Mestre itself.
The plan is framed on the north and west sides by two walls which are conceived as Cartesian axes regulating the relationship of the new complex with the surrounding urban area. The other sides are delimited by stone benches and a narrow strip of water. While the two walled sides constitute a formal relationship with the square plan of the old barracks and stable blocks, the two open sides allow visual and functional penetration from outside into the new complex. The bases of the main towers are locked into a two-tiered, quadrilateral block, which houses the entrance lobby and the other public facilities and also provides spatial and functional continuity with the ground floor.
From the fourth to the sixth floors, the towers will be interconnected by a network of transparent walkways, allowing visitors to admire the views and see into the centre of the complex. Their transparency acts as a visual counterpoint to the heaviness of the towers, which will be built of reinforced concrete and faced in smooth brick. The construction characteristics will ensure the building’s longevity without the need for costly maintenance. At the same time, the varying dimensions of the spaces will provide great functional flexibility, even over the long term.
A ramp, sheltered by a glass roof, will allow access to underground parking and to the museum’s technical facilities.
The design guarantees inter-relationships with the city: two 12-metre high porticos on the perimeter walls function as entrances for visitors coming from Via Brenta Vecchia and Via Pascoli, leading them to the covered piazza. This is located in the space formed by the two wings of the wall and represents the convergence point of the museum and shopping centre; these are linked on the ground floor by various openings, and on the second by a broad walkway.
Pedestrian access into Corte Legrenzi will be provided via Piazzale Donatori di Sangue and Calle Legrenzi. The access will be covered with glass suspended between the two former stable-blocks; these will be converted for use as a bar and restaurant.
A supplementary proposal to the competition requirements involves the creation of another entrance from Via Poerio, along the east side of Santa Maria delle Grazie church.
This would require the demolition of a small building attached to the side of the church, to erect a portico which would extend to the L-shaped wall behind the museum.
Regarding the intervention on the former barracks, it should be appreciated that its qualities are found in the grid of perforated, load-bearing walls and by the network of wooden joists of the various floors up to the roofs, which are supported on timber trusses of varying dimension. Our approach to the restoration is based on rigorous conservation principles and would involve consolidation of all the wooden structures with minimal compensation, according to methods which have been tried and tested over decades in countless restoration projects.
To accentuate the entrance to the historic convent, we propose to open the small stretch of wall between the church and the convent loggia, creating a space three times larger and allowing the structure to be visually penetrated through to the open courtyard. Rooms looking onto the courtyard are linked via the current principal stairway, which will be properly conserved and integrated into the complex by means of a large, transparent elevator.
On the first floor, and especially on the second with its distinctive trussed roof, the main load-distribution is on the east side of the courtyard with an articulated sequence of transparent diaphragms in brass and glass, like an immense, continuous shop window; these are to be attached to the perimeter walls by a horizontal, transparent roof, which will not intercept the wooden structures. By contrast, the larger spaces designed for commercial activities comprise carefully-arranged transparent boxes made in brass and glass.
A glass arcade will be installed in the courtyard, it will be half-elliptical in section and structurally independent. Two canopies projecting from the sides will shield open areas of the cloister from rain, but allow natural ventilation. Lighting will render the arcade visible after dark, both from the within the complex and from central areas of the city, like a great lantern.