The design of the new Lido di Genova is presented as a strategic opportunity for renewal of the waterfront of Genoa. This development triggers a pulsing organism capable of creating the conditions for a new opening of the city towards the sea and a correct ratio of natural interaction between the city and the sea.
Environmental restoration requires the re-naturalization of the shoreline through demolishing the current thick layer of cement, and subsequently the creation of a continuous garden.
Characterized by a progressive gradient of natural and artificial elements, the design of the gardens creates a continuum with the existing green from San Giuliano to Boccadasse.
The new garden is part of the “New Green Belt” between the city and the sea prefigured in the “Affresco” designed by Renzo Piano, strengthening the relationship of “green corridors” by Urban Lab.
So conceived, the garden is one of the main actions of the coastal re-naturalization: it increases the biodiversity and natural spontaneous processes in the environmental system.
The new garden provides the spread of native, naturalized and salt-tolerant species.
The project extends the promenade effect from Corso Italia to the sea, significantly expanding the public space through the new rooftops.
A panoramic promenade is articulated from Corso Italia down to the sea, becoming a commercial street and enhancing the vitality of the area during the whole year and not only in the summer season.
Inspired by the typical terracing of the Ligurian Riviera, the intervention is spatially configured through a physical modelling of the landscape. This reduces the impact of new functions, which are based in the gap between the city and the sea level.
The project includes a sailing centre, whose rooftop is configured as the natural extension of Corso Italia. It becomes the new public viewpoint towards the sea, urban collective device to encourage social interactions, spatial matrix adaptable to different functional configurations according to the changing demands of urban life.