The masterplan for the San Berillo district in Catania is a territorial regeneration project. It is an important transformation, an urban philosophy, which sees in the recovery within the city the possibility of regenerating other tissues, other parts of the city, while respecting the memory and identity of the city. It is a project that looks to environmental sustainability, to the reduction of land consumption as a new strategy for cities.
The project is the beginning of a possible urban regeneration path, which sees for the first time the possibility of extending the city as far as the sea through the creation of a large public space, a linear park linking the heart of the city to the coast.
We have called it the Garden of Babylon because, terraced, it houses the new gardens and – inside – the new urban cultural, commercial, and service functions, as well as residential.
The project is the beginning of a possible urban regeneration path, which sees for the first time the possibility of extending the city as far as the sea through the creation of a large public space, a linear park linking the heart of the city to the coast.
We have called it the Garden of Babylon because, terraced, it houses the new gardens and – inside – the new urban cultural, commercial, and service functions, as well as residential.
The project is the beginning of a possible urban regeneration path, which sees for the first time the possibility of extending the city as far as the sea through the creation of a large public space, a linear park linking the heart of the city to the coast.
We have called it the Garden of Babylon because, terraced, it houses the new gardens and – inside – the new urban cultural, commercial, and service functions, as well as residential.
The project is the beginning of a possible urban regeneration path, which sees for the first time the possibility of extending the city as far as the sea through the creation of a large public space, a linear park linking the heart of the city to the coast.
We have called it the Garden of Babylon because, terraced, it houses the new gardens and – inside – the new urban cultural, commercial, and service functions, as well as residential.
L’intervento è l’inizio di un possibile percorso di recupero urbano, che vede per la prima volta la possibilità di estendere la città fino al mare attraverso la realizzazione di un grande spazio pubblico, un parco lineare che congiunge il cuore della città alla costa.
Lo abbiamo chiamato il giardino di Babilonia perché, terrazzato, ospita i nuovi giardini e – all’interno – le nuove funzioni urbane culturali, commerciali e di servizio, nonché residenziali.
The project, conceived first and foremost as a new public space, envisages the creation of a wide pedestrian boulevard, a green rambla in the heart of the city which, tracing the route of the metro under construction below the project area, articulates its structure.
Around the boulevard, varied functions animate the project volumes that compose an articulated system of loggias and terraces without interruption with the public space: buildings and boulevard merge into a single large garden, designed to regenerate the surrounding urban fabric through the quality of its collective spaces.
This creates a permeable passing space that contributes to reconnecting the elegant baroque centre of the city with the railway station and the port.
The rambla ends in a square that is fundamental for Catania because it is the transport hub of the region.
In addition to the east-west axis between the centre and the sea, the intervention intercepts and enhances several roads that cut through the area from north to south, reconnecting a large section of the city and connecting to it through a series of public spaces of renewed quality.
The project, conceived first and foremost as a new public space, envisages the creation of a wide pedestrian boulevard, a green rambla in the heart of the city which, tracing the route of the metro under construction below the project area, articulates its structure.
Around the boulevard, varied functions animate the project volumes that compose an articulated system of loggias and terraces without interruption with the public space: buildings and boulevard merge into a single large garden, designed to regenerate the surrounding urban fabric through the quality of its collective spaces.
This creates a permeable passing space that contributes to reconnecting the elegant baroque centre of the city with the railway station and the port.
The rambla ends in a square that is fundamental for Catania because it is the transport hub of the region.
In addition to the east-west axis between the centre and the sea, the intervention intercepts and enhances several roads that cut through the area from north to south, reconnecting a large section of the city and connecting to it through a series of public spaces of renewed quality.
The project, conceived first and foremost as a new public space, envisages the creation of a wide pedestrian boulevard, a green rambla in the heart of the city which, tracing the route of the metro under construction below the project area, articulates its structure.
Around the boulevard, varied functions animate the project volumes that compose an articulated system of loggias and terraces without interruption with the public space: buildings and boulevard merge into a single large garden, designed to regenerate the surrounding urban fabric through the quality of its collective spaces.
This creates a permeable passing space that contributes to reconnecting the elegant baroque centre of the city with the railway station and the port.
The rambla ends in a square that is fundamental for Catania because it is the transport hub of the region.
In addition to the east-west axis between the centre and the sea, the intervention intercepts and enhances several roads that cut through the area from north to south, reconnecting a large section of the city and connecting to it through a series of public spaces of renewed quality.
The project, conceived first and foremost as a new public space, envisages the creation of a wide pedestrian boulevard, a green rambla in the heart of the city which, tracing the route of the metro under construction below the project area, articulates its structure.
Around the boulevard, varied functions animate the project volumes that compose an articulated system of loggias and terraces without interruption with the public space: buildings and boulevard merge into a single large garden, designed to regenerate the surrounding urban fabric through the quality of its collective spaces.
This creates a permeable passing space that contributes to reconnecting the elegant baroque centre of the city with the railway station and the port.
The rambla ends in a square that is fundamental for Catania because it is the transport hub of the region.
In addition to the east-west axis between the centre and the sea, the intervention intercepts and enhances several roads that cut through the area from north to south, reconnecting a large section of the city and connecting to it through a series of public spaces of renewed quality.
Il progetto, pensato prima di tutto come un nuovo spazio pubblico, prevede la creazione di un ampio boulevard pedonale, una rambla verde nel cuore della città che, ricalcando il tracciato della metropolitana in costruzione al di sotto dell’area di progetto, ne articola la struttura.
Attorno al boulevard, funzioni variegate animano i volumi di progetto che compongono un articolato sistema di logge e terrazze senza soluzione di continuità con lo spazio pubblico: edifici e boulevard si fondono in un unico grande giardino, pensato per rigenerare il tessuto urbano circostante attraverso la qualità dei suoi spazi collettivi.
Si viene così a creare uno spazio passante e permeabile che contribuisce a ricollegare l’elegante centro barocco della città, con la stazione ferroviaria ed il porto.
La rambla termina in una piazza fondamentale per Catania perché è il nodo di scambio dei trasporti della regione.
Oltre all’asse est-ovest tra centro e mare, l’intervento intercetta e valorizza alcune strade che tagliano l’area da nord a sud, ricucendo un ampio brano di città e collegandosi ad esso attraverso una serie di spazi pubblici di rinnovata qualità.
The intervention develops mainly horizontally, preserving the scale of the urban fabric that hosts it. The buildings do not exceed the average height of the two urban fronts: three floors connected by a widespread system of ramps and staircases create a process of continuity rather than extraneousness. The decision to develop the required functions along interconnected slopes with sinuous aerial paths gives rise to a series of terraces and interstitial spaces to be allocated to green and socialisation areas, whose insertion stems from the desire to redevelop the intervention area and return an accessible and comfortable public space at the service of citizens.
The intervention develops mainly horizontally, preserving the scale of the urban fabric that hosts it. The buildings do not exceed the average height of the two urban fronts: three floors connected by a widespread system of ramps and staircases create a process of continuity rather than extraneousness. The decision to develop the required functions along interconnected slopes with sinuous aerial paths gives rise to a series of terraces and interstitial spaces to be allocated to green and socialisation areas, whose insertion stems from the desire to redevelop the intervention area and return an accessible and comfortable public space at the service of citizens.
The intervention develops mainly horizontally, preserving the scale of the urban fabric that hosts it. The buildings do not exceed the average height of the two urban fronts: three floors connected by a widespread system of ramps and staircases create a process of continuity rather than extraneousness. The decision to develop the required functions along interconnected slopes with sinuous aerial paths gives rise to a series of terraces and interstitial spaces to be allocated to green and socialisation areas, whose insertion stems from the desire to redevelop the intervention area and return an accessible and comfortable public space at the service of citizens.
The intervention develops mainly horizontally, preserving the scale of the urban fabric that hosts it. The buildings do not exceed the average height of the two urban fronts: three floors connected by a widespread system of ramps and staircases create a process of continuity rather than extraneousness. The decision to develop the required functions along interconnected slopes with sinuous aerial paths gives rise to a series of terraces and interstitial spaces to be allocated to green and socialisation areas, whose insertion stems from the desire to redevelop the intervention area and return an accessible and comfortable public space at the service of citizens.
L’intervento si sviluppa prevalentemente in orizzontale, conservando la scala del tessuto urbano che lo ospita. Gli edifici non superano l’altezza media dei due fronti urbani: tre piani collegati tra loro da un capillare sistema di rampe e scalinate creano un processo di continuità piuttosto che di estraneità. La scelta di sviluppare le funzioni richieste lungo dislivelli interconnessi con percorsi aerei sinuosi dà origine ad una serie di terrazzamenti e di spazi interstiziali da destinare ad aree verdi e di socializzazione il cui inserimento nasce dalla volontà di riqualificare l’area di intervento e restituire uno spazio pubblico accessibile e confortevole a servizio della cittadinanza.
