modi di essere
Master’s Thesis 2021
Sesta Venexia
Cat. 2 [4]
“Venice
is a fluid place where what matters is the dynamic experience of space [inside
and around]. One experiences the time of space and the space of time. What is
the common thread? Meaning and proportions?”
Giovanni Leone
Giovanni Leone
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Sesta Venexia
Venexia once was one of the most powerful maritime republics. Numerous ships were docking at her ports, exchanging treasures from across the entire world. With time, the modern shipping industry reached a scale not pertinent to the morphology of the lagoon and to the scale of the city. Man started to change the lagoon bed by dragging deeper canals. Enormous ships were increasing the erosion, endangering the whole biotope and the city. One of the biggest threats were the monstrous cruise ships – floating temples of the consumerist spirit. They were damaging the ground and jeopardizing the city t
remendously with a scale way bigger than the one of the surroundings.
For years, different scenarios were developed. The docking of the ships at Porto di Marghera was dangerous by reason of its industrial nature. Following the commercial route but then taking the shallow Vitorio Emanuele III Canal to finally reach Marittima was a great threat to the ecosystem, as the dragging of the canal would have released unknown accumulated toxic matter as a result of the industrial activity. It was decided to build a new port outside the lagoon, an artificial island located at the entrance of the Lido inlet.
The Cittadini constructed the island on the basis of a regular tetragon. Two of the sides were meant to serve as docking stations of mid-sized cruise ships [1.500-2.499 passengers]. In the middle of the island, the Builders situated a three story-high central structure. Each one of the upper two floors sheltered 1520 cubicles with a diameter of 1.64 yards and height of 3.28 yards. In the middle of the building, a column with a diameter of 1.09 yards was attached, to which all the cubicles were connected. This central column enabled a connection to the Control System of the Cittadini - the Matrix and the Brain - via magnetic impulses.
Each one of the passengers, once arrived on the artificial island, received a message with a code, which indicated the sector towards which he or she had to proceed and respectively the exact location of a cubicle. Two 3.28-yard-wide plat
forms on each side were leading to the central structure and therefore to the cubicle zones. If a passenger arrived at docking platform 1 his or her possible sectors were A or B. Two symmetrical staircases lead to the exact location. After reaching the prescribed floor, one had to search for the cubicle. The numbering of the cubicle’s rows was indicated on the floor paving. The code was also to be found engraved on the door of the cubicle. If the cubicle was unoccupied, the door was open. In the moment of entrance, the system activated and slid the door closed. The individual had to take position inside the circle indicated on the floor. Immediately after that, the cubicle-system started scanning the person inside, accessing all his or her electronic devices. The scanner was able to catch brain impulses which was crucial for the accuracy of the data. The information was transferred to the central column and thr
ough it to the Matrix and to the Brain, which made a selection of those who were to be allowed to enter the lagoon. The Brain created a precise profile for each visitor with a personalized route inside the city. Once the selection and the profiles had been made, every passenger received a blue coloured graphene-based bracelet with a chip. After putting it on, it connected to the peripheral nervous system and therefore to the central nervous system. It allowed the Venetians to control the movement of the visitors inside the city. Each visitor had to follow the route designed by the Brain.
After the selection, the individuals had to take the stairs leading to the departure platform. The stairs were located in the central part of the structure. The chosen ones were to be transferred inside the lagoon on silent vaporetti with artificial intelligence. There were 3 vaporetti for each cruise ship each with a capacity of 300 passengers. The maximum visitors allowed to enter the lagoon each day was 3.600. Each departure platform sent its boats at a specific hour. The vaporetti left the island in two groups of 3 apiece respectively at two different times in the morning and came back in the same manner – in two groups of 3 apiece at two different times in the evening. The vaporetti were guided by the Matrix and barely touched the water while crossing the lagoon. The fourth side, which was facing the entrance to the lagoon, was open and formed a gate through which the boats were leaving to Venice. For the chosen ones, the silhouette of the Floating
city was slowly emerging between the passages of small lagoon islands.
The Cittadini planned the island with the thought that all the restrictions they put were to force the cruise companies to leave the city forever. One day, when this happened, the island would be transformed into a beautiful floating garden at the entrance to the lagoon similar to what Alvise Cornaro had once imagined for the Basin of San Marco.
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