Looking at the Fiera di Genova site today, it is clear that it is one of the most sensitive areas of the city undergoing decommissioning and one of the most fragile stretches of the Genoese coast.
More than ten years after the realizable utopia of the Fresco and three years after the presentation of the ideal but not utopian vision of the Blueprint, the vision of the Levante Waterfront, donated by the Architect Renzo Piano to the Municipality of Genoa, aims to recreate a strong urbanity on the sea. It addresses the theme of the Port starting from the City, redeveloping the disused areas of the former fair district on the delicate border between land and sea, between city and port.
Developed in line with Renzo Piano's vision, the Levante Waterfront project developed by RPBW and OBR creates a new point of reference on the Genoa waterfront, with new urban and port functions, both public and private. These include a large urban park, a new dock, residences, offices, student accommodation, commercial facilities, apart-hotels and the new sports hall.
This is an urban regeneration project that transforms what was previously the back of the port into a new urban front on the sea, reconnecting East and West, Corso Italia and the Porto Antico, bridging the gap between the city and the sea caused by the development of the port in the post-war period.
By reducing the pre-existing volume by about two thirds and halving the built surface, the project seeks to enhance the quality of the intervention with great care lavished on the open spaces overlooking the sea. The view becomes a suture between the city and the sea. The Porto Canale and the Urban Park together become a condenser of energy, hosting multiple activities throughout the year, day and night.
Conceived as a superurban place, the Levante Waterfront is designed to generate new opportunities for aggregation and socialization, celebrating a renewed rite of urbanity on the seashore. It will have public, open and permeable spaces, capable of fertilizing the context, containing a wide range of attractions, preserving the characteristics of both the port and the city, where something will always happen, favoring inclusion and polyculture.