CLIENT
LOCATION
YEAR
LOCATION
YEAR
FANO, ITALY
2021
The waterfront is not just a project divided into functional phases, but a model of progressive and sustainable transformation of the territory and its relationship with the sea. Each part of the project will follow certain general strategies that allow the master plan to integrate seamlessly with the area's ties to the sea. This includes a strong presence of green spaces and natural elements that ensure better urban comfort, a focus on public spaces, diverse functions, and mobility options. The presence of green spaces, sustainable transport, and varied functions will characterize the design and ensure that the waterfront remains a dynamic, evolving connection between the city and its natural environment.
Road and railway infrastructures have disconnected the city from the coast, turning the areas in between into disconnected fragments of the city, uncertain and struggling to become central. As in other parts of the region, this has created a duality in the urban center between the city and the beach, two separate hubs that have difficulty interacting, erasing the memory of Fano's ancient walls that once faced directly onto the beach.
For this reason, the project aims to re-establish this ancient dialogue by extending the coastline, reconnecting it to the historic center or to the hills and surrounding areas. It proposes overcoming the barriers created by the railway and roads, bringing the spaces closer together and reconnecting them through sustainable mobility, creating a network of spaces and landscape elements that are currently disconnected.
The Fano waterfront is a complex system that responds differently to its context and the existing conditions. It is conceived as a series of "urban carpets" that reconnect the beach and the sea to the historic center, utilizing new paving and green spaces to integrate the existing activities in the area. A strong natural component will turn the waterfront into a true linear park by the sea. The coastline gains depth, incorporating spaces for rest and parking. The system of existing public and private services is linked by green areas and a large pedestrian esplanade, allowing the waterfront to become a genuine public space, a meeting point with a subtle and imperceptible boundary. The waterfront is a hybrid system of different landscapes: sometimes beach, sometimes natural space, and sometimes a square or urban area.
The Fano waterfront presents itself as a large system of interconnected public spaces. These urban areas, integrated with the surrounding context, become landmarks for both the community and visitors. The cross-sectional design of the masterplan in relation to the coastline, along with its division into spaces with different characteristics, ensures a varied and non-monotonous plan. Each point along the path provides orientation and opportunities to engage in various activities.
This approach is strongly tied to the Roman origins of Fano and its urban layout. In the section closest to the historic center, the masterplan’s design echoes the geometry of the town squares and streets, with a series of platforms made from different materials hosting various activities. The interplay of pavements, which incorporate the pebbles typical of the "Sassonia" beach, blurs the boundary between beach and city, as well as between paved areas and natural landscape.