Geno(v)a: Creating New Perspectives for Harbour Cities

by John Hannigan, Giuseppe Marcenaro, Antonio Pizza

In 1996 the north Italian port city of Genoa invited a team of internationally renowned architects including Rem Koolhaas, Manuel de Sol -Morales, Marcel Smets, and Bernardo Secchi to draw up a master plan for the city. Four years later a competition was held to redesign an ancient pier in the city's port. The brief for the Ponte Parodi brought another gallaxy of stellar architectural names to town, among them MVRDV, UN Studio, Foreign Office Architects, OMA, Arup Associates, David Chipperfield, Dominique Perrault, and Bernard Tschumi. UN Studio eventually won the competition to design the three-dimensional plaza as a center for leisure and technology, a new heart for an old port city. Presenting and analyzing the various projects involved in both phases of Genoa's redevelopment, this publication paints a picture of some of the most important architects working today, and contextualizes Genoa within the larger scope of branded cities, Europe, and the world. Published in conjunction with The City of Genoa and the Porto Antico.

280 pages, Hardcover

First published June 2, 2003