PROJECT Convergence of Time and Memory: Activating the Florence Waterfront

LOCATION Florence, Italy 

PROJECT COMPLETION DATE  4/19/2018

PROJECT CATEGORY  Undergraduate / Upper Level Design

PROJECT TYPE  Studio

ENTRANT  Amalie ElFallah
TEAM MEMBERS  

SCHOOL  University of Maryland

FACULTY SPONSOR  Carlo Achilli, Professor / Architecture

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT

Students were tasked to redesign Piazza Poggi located in Florence, Italy. The piazza was originally completed by Guissepi Poggi during the urban renewal of the capital in 1865. However, today the public space remains absorbed by vehicular parking next to the tower of San Niccolo. The project aims to redevelop the existing piazza and connect the urban space to a museum that would commemorate 1966 flood.

STUDENT'S STATEMENT

The redevelopment of Piazza Poggi and museum proposal aims at connecting Florence back to the waterfront. The proposed site faces the Arno River just at the base of Guissepi Poggi’s descending procession from Piazzale Michelangelo. At the base of the hill, Torre di San Niccolo stands as a monument that defines the Oltrarno. The ruin, the only remaining thirteenth century tower that remains to its original height, was built by Arnolfo di Cambio. The gate once served as a threshold between the city and countryside but now has the opportunity to be interpreted as a historic threshold. The proposed piazza serves as the urban tissue connecting people back to the riverfront where the monuments, ruins, and river establish a unified memory of San Niccolo.

The Museum, located on the east side of the existing platform, aims at commemorating the 1966 flood. In the development process of the museum, I refer back to the Fabbrica della Aqua as inspiration for returning the forms of florence’s industrial past. The proposed program aims to provide adaptive space for the community and permeant space that educates the public about the historic significance of the site. The program consists of permanent exhibit space, temporary exhibits, conference space, a museum shop, and a cafe.

The use of rammed earth that divides the platform connects the “Beach” to the museum is a temporal landscape. Although rammed earth construction is a laborious task, the inevitable destruction from another flood would require the rebuilding of the landscape. The proposed temporal landscape remains purposeful for the sake of memory. The rammed earth is a notion to the park’s sculpture commemorating the people who helped save Florence in 1966, the “Mud Angels.”

IMAGE CAPTIONS & CREDITS 

IMAGE 1:  CONTEXT: FLORENCE

IMAGE 2:  FABBRICA DELLA AQUA - INSPIRED BY PAST SITE TYPOLOGY

IMAGE 3:  DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

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MEDIA FOR DOWNLOAD

Project PDF