Beneath the Pavement, The Lagoon

The title is a play on the Situationist International phrase:

“Beneath the Pavement, the Beach”

which encompassed their aspiration to expose those underlying elements, absent of capitalist forces, of which our cities are built upon and how these are the details that hold the value of the space.

From early in my research, I believed this notion rang true through the city of Venice and is demonstrated by the nature of tourism throughout the city.

This thesis aims to reverse the salt marsh depletion by attenuation of the wave force generated in the lagoon by cruise ships. A new proposed port terminal within a wave attenuating barrier and artificial reef forces passengers to follow an analog of the attenuation process as they travel through the terminal. This experiential journey is intended to confront the cruisers of the ecological consequences of their actions.