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Venice, street, Kostof
Citation preview
Name: Minh Duc Le
ID: 10042812
Humanities Assignment:
City visited: Venice, Italy
Street as public space - Investigation and speculative study of Venetian conception
Group members:
Jing Wendy Wen
Jonathan Wong
Le Minh Duc
Ahmad Hakym Ahmad Hilmy
ChaiYun Chung
Shenpei Ha
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1
An Introduction of a conclusion to Venice
Venice needs no introduction, it has inspired many artists, directors, dancers, etc… the
list goes on; and as for those who are world weary, the city is an expression of
melancholy and disillusionment, a possible escape of the recent economical past; and as it
has been for the past by a generation weary of the wars of the post-Revolutionary and
Napoleonic era. The city also the centre for many scholars travelling the Grand Tour,
primarily exposing themselves to classical antiquity, Renaissance and the arts; however –
turning back to modernity, a reason for us to pay a visit to Venice is as simple as its
magic: being a floating city.
Viewing the city from afar, many would agree that the floating city is the epitome of
purity and beauty; giving off an image that is foreign once we have returned to our own
bust city streets. As such, the diversity of architecture style and unique mode of
infrastructure that Venice displays that enable the city to operate as a piece of art lures
scholars of today to study its urbanism and architecture.
So as to why we choose Venice to explore, the reason is the same and simple: we also
have our version of Venice in our minds. And since childhood, the group collectively has
preconception of what Venice is. We see it through our own eyes our dream and image of
Venice. And standing in Venice provides that opportunity. However, though the course
of the travel, we soon see a disparity of our preconception and what Venice is actually is.
Namely, the disappointment that some of us had – and tourists also – experienced when
the city is filled with stalls, and at every corner, a souvenir merchant are willing to
ambush you with gifts and trinkets. Though some of us had also had good experiences,
way finding in Venice is absurdly easy and the food in far from being just ‘okay’. These
2
contrasting experiences soon find itself a good discussion point for us, and raised up
many heated debates in our hotel rooms.
The following collection of essay attempts to understand this disparity, however each
using a unique eye in viewing this dream filled city. Following the framework of
established architects, theorists, builders and urban planners, each of these essays will
explain Venice in its build ups, how did it come about? What makes it now? And is it still
– as we know it now – still a dream filled city?
The first essay will highlight about is the streets, the collective space you will find all
over the world; streets are the main component of any urban being. They present the
organization on which intertwine the "complex interaction of architectural fabric and
human organisation" (Celik, Favro and Ingersoll, 1994). Being the creative result of
design and convergence of social activities at the same time, streets present a wide
spectrum of questions on urban spaces to historians and theorists. Their conception
ranges from the most incremental and unplanned urban interventions to the technically
manufactured civic works, which involve complicated engineering and landscaping
(Celik, Favro and Ingersoll, 1994). The case study of streets in Venice is particularly
intriguing and challenging to scholars not only because the urban form of Venice presents
a pattern that is seemingly spontaneous and unprecedented, but also because that the
conception of Venetian street was never fully documented. Taking Spiro Kostof's
approach and analyse what he referring as 'Urban process', the short essay by Minh Duc
Le will explore Venice's formation through the observational and theoretical studies of
three unique types of street in Venice, namely; Calle ( small, narrow back alley street),
Fondamenta (long street that runs along canal) and Campo (open field or square ) . By
3
exploring these urban spaces and the urban processes, which take place within their
bounds, he attempts to hypothesise the conception of Venetian urban form and
subsequently answer the question of what makes Venice what it is.
In support of that, Hakym Hilmey's part of essay took inspiration from how John Ruskin's
excitement towards seeing Venice on his first sight, which made him so curious, leading
him to a very thorough investigation on each and every details of Venice’s fabric through
3 volumes of Stones of Venice. Although however it led to a disappointment to him
knowing that the city's treasury of buildings so abused and neglected that it would melt
into the lagoon, "like a lump of sugar in hot tea", it is still undeniable that every soul who
put their feet in Venice will mesmerize with the beauty of what they are seeing.
Concentrating on Gordon Cullen’s method of looking at small towns appeared as
sequences of spaces and analysing serial perspectives, in this investigation, Venice was
assessed through the list of qualities shown in Cullen’s article Place in the his book The
Concise Townscape. With his methodology that involves visual analysis, we can identify
the elements that resemble the impression of Venice as beautiful. In the essay, Hakym
applied the three concerns that relate with the elements that composed as the townscape
of Venice which produced emotional reactions towards the individuals namely; OPTICS
concern, PLACE concern as well as CONTENT concern as what outlined by Cullen in
the book. Through these concerns we can identify on how Venice townscape become
closely related to the meaning of beauty. The third essay by Jonathan Wong would view
Venice though a modernist’s eye, comparing closely the city to Utopia schemes of
modernist masters such as Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright; interrogating the
disparity of these utopian schemes as well as modern cities to Venice.
4
A common debate point that came across us is the amount of ecology that is available to
the local residence. Some sides with that Venice has very little ‘open ecological space’
due to the amount of parks, whereas some sides with that Venice is abundant in its
ecological space – it is a city built of open waters after all. Many architects and urbanist’s
dream of build another version of Venice as part of their eco-polis projects, a city that is
surrounded by sufficient amount of green space and the water, that runs by pollution-free
power generation facilities, that breathes with all the other species in its ecosystem.
Venice; the city that successfully designed against the nature and survived for centuries,
still the land of inspiration, the oldest floating city and the heritage of UNESCO; was in
fact a self-sufficient city in the past. However, given the condition Venice has to grow on,
and the rapid climate change that makes extreme weather more frequent, it can be said
that Venice is limited on its ecology. Chai Yun Chung explores the past and present
ecological issues below using the residence’s eye: closely examining it in a various scale.
As such, the city rides on these popularity is has built up over the centuries, giving the
city its romanticised status. Though Venice has starting to become to what we know as a
‘Tourist Trap’; certain objects of the city are unavoidable in what seemingly tourists have
a choice over. In what Venice has become soon became an artificial experience of
Venice, almost orchestrated by tourist boards. The short essay by Shenpei ha examines
the Life – how Venice gain its identity – and death – how the city destroys this identity –
of Venice through dissection of photos and section, following the framework of Jane
Jacob’s essay on the life and death of Great American cities.
Going back on point of discussion of ecology, similar conclusion can be drawn from that
Venice is a city constantly facing challenges such as flooding and tourism. Thus, there is
5
not yet a clear answer to the further ecological challenges that the city is facing. The only
thing that is guaranteed is, it will need full cooperation of the local’s working towards
sustainability in broader scale. Undoubtedly, the city is turning into a museum city that
drives the residence away. The formal glory and the beauty of the city only contributed to
its degrowth which further accelerated city’s decay. A life that is mostly dependent on
service industry with extreme profit oriented mentality will not bring the city’s ecology
back. The geographical and ecological challenges that they are facing will require its full
support from communities. The empty houses and population needs to be distributed for
sustainable territories that can be micro managed. The city needs to promote and reclaim
other industries like universities, not the cruise ships that invade every inch of city’s
ecology and sustainability. But then again, it was the Venetians that challenged the
boundary of human limitation. They are the one that created sustainability most
effectively onto the nature’s instability. Perhaps, they will go through this crisis wiser
than ever and teach another lesson to all of us and maybe the project MOSE will perform
another miracle as he once did in bible. Whatever the consequences, we will learn from
her again.
Arriving from the sea is the most popular way tourists get to Venice. Beneath their path,
it is the same journey that commerce enters the city centuries ago, making Venice the
way it is. Strip of water piercing through centre of Venice, bring it fortune and fame,
presents a similar image of Las Vegas, the glamorous hotel by the side, ready to hop on
transportations (gondolas). Indeed, Venice presented a lot of similar footsteps by Vegas.
To be appeal to tourist, Venice quickly equips itself with modern shopping district and
high end hotels. Besides the water bed, Venice also introduced in land "strips" to attract
6
more visitors. These "strips"(Venturi, 1977) were quick developments, tourist focused
and local unfriendly. The new business has driven local business and local life further
away from the "strip", hidden away from visitor's sight. The quick conversion is leaving
the shell of the city the only left behind symbol of Venice, leaving Venice a
"duck"(Venturi, 1977), something that is symbolic form of an appearance with distorted
un-functioning system within.
As such, we will end this introduction to the conclusion of Venice. And hopefully by the
course of reading this essay, questions – rather answers – are raised in what Venice really
is, and perhaps it has not become what we may initially perceive.
7
Street as public space - Investigation and speculative study of Venetian conception
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"This is that city that astonishes the whole world ... From that desire to return to her that
all who leave her carry with them she took the name of 'Venezia', almost as if she were
saying with inviting sweetness to the departing guest: Veni etiam, return again" - These
are the words by an old unknown Venetian writer expressing his undying love towards
his city of Venice ( Lorenzetti, 2007). Just as Concina put it, " The Venice of Renaissance
myth deliberately built up an image of herself as miracolosissina city, born as though
from nothing"; a magical island that thrived throughout the Renaissance period to
become a powerful independent state without any influence from even the mighty Rome
(Concina, 1998). The story of Venice continue to be relived by the whispering of young
lovers, poets or even tourists yet her actual conception has long been a fascinating case
study for architects, theorists, builders and urban planners. Of all exciting aspects that
conjure Venice magical essence, urban space in the form of public street remains under-
explored and under-appreciated. Streets are the central component of any urban
existence. They present the organization on which intertwine the "complex interaction of
architectural fabric and human organisation" (Celik, Favro and Ingersoll, 1994). Being
the product of design and, at the same time, convergence of social activities, streets
present a wide spectrum of questions on urban spaces to historians and theorists (Celik,
Favro and Ingersoll, 1994). Their formations range from the most incremental and
unplanned urban interventions to the technically manufactured civic works, which
8
involve complicated engineering and landscaping (Celik, Favro and Ingersoll, 1994). The
case study of streets in Venice is particularly intriguing and challenging to scholars, not
only because the urban form of Venice presents a pattern that is seemingly spontaneous
and unprecedented, but also because that the conception of Venetian street was never
fully documented. As time went by and the Republic of Venice faced its declination, the
essence of the city yet lived on and the city continued to leave a intense memory in the
heart of its visitors. Be it the artistic or architectural work, the brilliant musical
performance or simply a conventional daily walk through the city, the city seems to be
able to maintain its unique quintessence against the flow of time. While artistic and
architectural works are the culmination of ideology and craftsmanship during their
respective periods, they however hold little direct value to the constantly changing
present apart from being the physical proof of the city’s former glory and her people’s
genius. Instead, it is in the rich experience as one entering, occupying, crossing and
embracing the three-dimensional urban space that gives us the answer for what these
experiences imply in the modern day. Taking Spiro Kostof's approach and analysing what
he referring as 'Urban process', this essay will explore Venice's formation through the
observational and theoretical studies of three unique types of street in Venice, namely;
Calle ( small, narrow back alley street), Fondamenta (long street that runs along canal)
and Campo (open field or square ) . By exploring these urban spaces and the urban
processes within their bounds, an attempt will be made to hypothesise the conception of
Venetian urban form and subsequently answer the question of what makes Venice what it
is.
9
As Zeynep, Diane and Richard - the editors of Street - Critical perspective as Public
Space - put it, " Street are the primary ingredient of urban existence. " (Celik, Favro and
Ingersoll, 1994). The immediate role of street comes straight to our minds as a daily
basic mean - to provide access to building and passage through urban context - simply
because it is deemed to be a common sense (Kostof, 1992). Yet the fundamental nature
of any street, like any other public spaces hold more underlying values than just a mere
transitional ground (Kostof, 1992).
Street creates a framework in which the complex relations between human and the urban
fabric take place - a place of rituals and events; public squares and piazza in cities like
Rome and Milan present a platform on which human actions and congregation take place,
serving as a backdrop for events and subsequently cultivating the cultural essence of each
respective city (Celik, Favro and Ingersoll, 1994). The way, which streets are conceived
and formed, sometimes reflects and structures the very community that it holds; an
example of Islamic culture in which the street is constructed in such a way to ensure the
seclusion of Muslim women from the public eyes and to shelter the host privacy, or an
example of Chinese society in which streets tend to be filled with housings having open
ground floor for commercial purposes (Kostof, 1992). In this case, the culture of the
people who live on the street at time, is the key determining factor that characterises the
street. On some other occasions, the street serves as a political tool for the upper and
privileged classes to show case their power and to promote an supreme image with
among the people (Kostof, 1992).
The famous Perspective Plan of Venice in 1500 by Jacopo De Barber proposed a rough
witness as to what the city development and the street of Venice was like then.
10
(Lorenzetti, 2007). By comparing the original plan and nowadays map, it is shown that
the original expansion of Venice took place mainly in the northern shore , "on the side of
the Fondamenta Nuove and against it along the series of long parallel canals that mark
the city in this side" (Lorenzetti, 2007). The development of the city is a slow and
difficult process that took place over the course of centuries (Lorenzetti, 2007). The
fundamental process of construction started with congregation of the population
(Lorenzetti, 2007) . The canal, which was filled with muddy water, was subsequently
cleaned up before construction of little streets for movement along the two banks were
carried out (Lorenzetti, 2007). Afterward, building would be raised on rafts of larch wood
over piles (Lorenzetti, 2007). This became the way which Venice was built up over
centuries, gradually creating the uniqueness in Venice (Lorenzetti, 2007).
Venice comprised of 100 islands, 150 canals intersecting and connected up by almost 400
bridges (Lorenzetti, 2007). Many locations of the interior city can only be reached by
penetrating the complex maze of its alley ways. The street of Venice is very unique
beyond the traditional definition and given the diversity of the types of streets, this essay
will focus only on Calle ( small, narrow back alley street), Fondamenta (long street that
runs along canal) and Campo (open field or square )
Fondamenta- The pavement of Venice
"It is by wandering about in these parts on the outer edges of the city that one comes
upon the picturesque aspects of Venetian life, gathers the most fluent and witty
expression of the dialect, listen to the lively chatter and heated quarrel of the housewives
11
and discover the characteristic types of the old fishermen or of the dark skinned Venetian
women..."
- Giulio Lorenatti's remarks on the
experience of Venice on
Fondamenta
Of all the unique types of street in Venice,
Fondamenta is probably the first to be constructed and
the foremost location where one could catch the
glimpse of Venetian life. Being one of the oldest types
of streets in Venice, Fondamenta flanks the two banks
of the city canal, running close to the foundation of
buildings and serving as a linking ground between
lives of the inner city and lives on the water. Slightly
slanted down to the canal to prevent water to spilled
the bottom along the banks, the close proximity to the
water body grants Fondamenta a role as a transitional
ground, where goods are loaded off the commercial
boats to be stored in shops along the canal or to be
transferred towards the market street of Rughetta.
The Renaissance Venetian housing in the poorer di
over the edge, with wooden piles pierced deeply into
strict
Typical Fondamenta
was designed in such a way that the greater part of the
Fondamenta Sketch
12
day was often spent outdoor (Kostof, 1985). As such, during the best time of the year,
Fondamenta assumed the importance of Venetian life- to be a place, "outside the door of
the poor house, damp and unhealthy", where the women get together to sew, the men
discuss matters of their own and groups of children run around and play (Lorenzetti,
2007). Here, the life of Venice is set in motion.
Fondamenta - linking ground between lives of the inner city and lives on the water
Fondamenta Sketch Section study Fondamenta
13
Calli - The blood line of Venice (Calle: singular; Calli: plural)
To many, the fondest memory of Venice is not
in the grandeur of Piazza San Marco interior
nor the extravagant Gondola ride on the Grand
Canal, but the very ordinary stroll through the
Venetian maze of back alley street – Calle.
I spent most of my time in Venice Calli,
getting lost, wandering aimlessly in the urban
maze, while trying not to refer to the help of a
modern map. Most alley streets in Venice are
walled up by existing buildings, which rise up
to about two - three storied height and ensure
that the Calli will get abundance of shading
throughout the year. The
feature however prevents a
vantage point for any city
wanderers or explorers,
blocking any sight of high
landmarks or towers to
which one could use as a
reference point to navigate
himself through the
seemingly endless
Typical Calle
Calle sketch Calle sketch
14
labyrinth. Of course after a few days, the secret of orientation through the street of
Venice began to unfold.
While the alley streets of Venice appear similar with exposed brick works or
homogeneous tone of cheap plastered facade outside of each building, little clues are
sprinkled throughout the maze, allowing one to take perceptual notes and gradually
generate his own mental map. Every small turns where two different Calli meet, a small
name sign board is present either on the wall facade or partially hidden on the ground.
Being part of the city culture, heritage and , to a certain extent, vanity, different buildings
has unique distinctive ornamentations on walls, windows, main entrances or sometimes
the brass work lattice rounding a private loggia. ect. This forms the entire map, full of
symbols, that one would hardly miss if he was perceptive enough.
The private life on the street of Calli was probably first shredded light upon by the
drawings of John Singer Sargent - an American artist who recorded these street during his
early life training.
...map, full of symbols, that one would hardly miss...
In his oil painting ' A street in Venice ' (1880 - 1882), John depicted a scene of a quiet
alley street of Calle in the presence of two Venetians – the man in top coat and the
woman in warm wrap – both appeared to be having a chat in front of the woman’s house
entrance. Unlike the more spacious and open Fondamenta or Campo, Calli were usually
15
very small and narrow. Whether being the direct
product of the Venetian urban planning or the
unplanned residual space between two residential
buildings , the street of Calli is barely wide enough
for one or two people passing through at one time,
making it inaccessible to public vehicles or good-
transferring-carts. This inaccessibility of the public
on daily basis reserved Calli exclusively to the
groups of Venetians who live along that particular
Calli; not to mention that the lack of a complete and
accurate city map during the old days, further preventing people to travel into a new
neighborhood, which they were not familiar with. The line between private and public
spaces seemed to be distorted as Calli gradually became semi-private and occupied by
neighbours to be used as transitional ground and chattering space.
A street in Venice - John Singer Sargent
However, in the contemporary sense, under the new urban process, the function and
status of Calli has changed drastically. People no longer occupy the alley street for their
daily chattering. The invention of technology and virtual communication literally
irradiates the need to go outside and communicate, resulting in the people's withdrawal
from the street. .
Excessive tourism also plays a massive role in influencing the alley street of Venice.
Residential housing on ground floor is converted into souvenir shops that plague the city,
encouraging tourists to wander about and exploring the alley streets, along the way,
16
invading the space that was once considered belonged to the locals, subsequently
changing their behaviours indefinitely.
Tourists invading Calli
Campo - The public essence of Venice (Campo : singular; Campi : Plural)
Apart from the narrow Calli that plague the city or the designated Fondamenta that
locates only along the city canal, the public spaces of Campi are the primary locations of
public life in Venice, offering a rich continuum of a mixture of urban spaces and
shedding lights on the public activities of the Venice locals.
As stated previously, Venice is a city of cultures, trades, festivals and ultimately, of
human interactions. While trades and business are normally carried out along the canal
17
street of Fondamenta and while major
festivals and ceremonies are performed
within the context of Piazza San Marco, it is
on the ground of Campi that ordinary daily
activities between citizen of Venice take
place.
Dating back to the old days, these Campi
were open fields that interrupted the city
maze and were filled with grass and
vegetation (Lorenzetti, 2007). In modern
time, these open fields remain almost
unaltered with the surrounding buildings and
churches undergoing subtle and
carefully-planned maintenance. The
grass and plants on these field are
unfortunately gone and the Campi
original flooring is replaced with either
cement or stone flooring to serve
sanitation and convenience purposes.
Still certain larger Campi have plants
and trees providing sufficient shading
for respective sunny weather throughout Campo interrupting Calli
Campo
18
the year.
Going up to over a hundred in number, each Campo has its own unique and distinctive
individuality (Janson & Burklin, 2002). Each of these Campi communicates in a different
way, requiring us to look at it in a specific perspective - human movement, void-solid
relationship, spatial arrangement, ect. - to fully grasp its meaning (Janson & Burklin,
2002).
In contrast to the rigorously planned square that often seen in other city planning, the
space of Venetian Campi do not reveal a lucid image of a typical urban plan during the
time when they were conceived (Janson & Burklin, 2002). Although their functions and
programmes as public spaces were not documented fully, we are still compelled to
subscribed subsequently based on our interpretations of contemporary users' behaviors
and occasionally, on historical account in the form of arts and literatures (Janson &
Burklin, 2002).
...space of Venetian Campi do not reveal a lucid image of a typical urban plan...
19
As we turn our attention to Venice's figure and ground map, it is not hard to notice that
Venetian Campi interrupt the city labyrinth of Calli from time to time. The locations of
these Campi appear to be random as if someone have sprinkled a handful of seeds on the
ancient map and subsequently determine the Campi's definite spot. These Campi are
often bounded by the stretches of private housings and being surrounded, in a way,
suggests Campi's role of centrality in the life of Renaissance Venetian community. The
fact that these houses and Campi ( with exception of some major one) are situated deeply
within the city maze, far away from the commercial street of Fondamenta further implies
that these Campi themselves might have been used a trading ground where small shops
and temporary stores were set up, with goods being transferred manually from main
commercial street, serving and catering that specific region of locality. Among many
Campi, the presence of a Church or an institutional building is often prominent; leading
us to believe that in some other occasions Campi might also take up a role for religious
preaching sessions and public performances. It is these kinds of urban forces, physical
presences and urban catalysts that drive and invent the roles of Campi as public space,
formulating people's behaviour and activities that might have been carried on into the
modern day.
Campo section containing important features
20
Architectural case study of Campo Giovanni e Paolo
The individual Campo varies from one another because they present different types of
fundamental characters and extend an evocative invitation to investigate and re-enact
such characters. Given the sheer number of Campo that spread across Venice and the
limited amount of research time, the observational case study of architectural aspects will
focus mostly on Campo St. Giovanni e Paolo.
Located to the North of Venice, Campo Giovanni e Paolo is one of the largest and most
prominent Campi in Venice, housing two local landmarks, Colleoni Monument and the
Gothic Church of St. Giovanni e Paolo. However the brilliance of Campo Giovanni e
Paolo lies not at the sheer size but at the masterful interplay architectural characteristics
of mass and void or lightness and heaviness
At first glance, the Gothic Church of Giovanni e Paolo
appears to dominate the Campo. A closer study using
ground and figure map indicates that solid mass took up
almost the same ground space as the open field (Janson
& Burklin, 2002). The design of the church form and
solid mass is inversely related to the 'void' and 'open
space' making them a mirror image of one another with
the church facade acting as a imaginary boundary
(Janson & Burklin, 2002).
Surrounded by the mass of housing and the Gothic
Church, the space of Campo Giovanni e Paolo remained
unaltered and underdeveloped with its simple geometry (Janson & Burklin, 2002). The
void vs solid
21
facade of the church rises to the height above the nearby dwellings, effectively 'pushes'
the 'ceiling' of the campo upwards, enhancing the lightness character of the campo and
countering the solidness and heavy mass of close by buildings (Janson & Burklin, 2002).
Campo Giovanni e Paolo plan
Campo Giovanni e Paole
22
Urban process of Campo - Speculative origin and the generation of Venetian Urban
plan.
One of the most essential questions in regard to Venetian Campi is that of their origins,
conceptions and assemblies. The urban process study requires us to gather information -
from direct on-site observation to the urban clues and records that lying obscure in many
other forms or mediums - to eventually come up with an explanation for what or how the
urban is constructed; in this case, this means the order to which different elements on
sites came together and materialised into Campi as we know it.
The unavailability of a concrete urban planning together with the ambiguous drawing of
Venetian Perspective Planning in 1500 by Jacopo De Barber suggests that maybe the
urban planning and development of Venice was in fact very unconventional even for its
own time.
As mentioned before, Campi are
speculated to serve as trading,
gathering and preaching ground.
Without any reference or
guideline, like the grid system, it
is almost impossible to pinpoint
the geometrical pattern of how
these Campi come about.
Looking across the board of Campo and Campiello ( a smaller version of Campo that
holds many similar characteristics), each of these open public fields houses a particular
important feature towards the people of Venice: a church, an institutional building, a
Campiello
23
water well, a water body rii. In consideration of how medieval Churches chose the site on
which they would be on, it could be speculated that during the very early day of Venice
conception, within the marshy lagoons, these Campi were once the highest and most
stable grounds. Occupation of these open spaces, over a long period of time, gradually
became a custom and traditional routine, which were carried forward into the time when
Venice started to transform into a city. Depending on the scales and sizes of these open
fields, a landmark in form of a church, an institutional building, a sculpture, or in the case
of Campiello, a water well, was added. Afterward, all the authority needed to do is to
pass a law or policy for housing construction, setting a definite perimeter from which the
houses had to be away from these landmarks as well as from other adjacent buildings.
The development of Renaissance Venice thus became a unexpected morphology,
growing constantly outward of each Campo and Campiello, achieving the urban pattern
which seems to be absolutely spontaneous as we see in the modern day.
Speculative generation of Venetian urban form
The unique case study of Fondamenta, Calle and Campo continues to be one of the most
fascinating studies of public space. These streets and their stories evokes emotions and
curiosity, driving us, from theorists to tourists, to wander about and explore the wonder,
24
that never seems to fade. Yet our very own actions and interference may have change
Venice's urban process, influencing the city and her people's behaviours in the most
undesired way. Some people imply that Venice's wound is self-inflicted - full of money-
driven minds and overrated story. But that's the way the contemporary world works. Though
our study and research can never directly influence the way of Venice and her people, at least
we can apply the knowledge gained through the course of this study to move closer to
exploring the true identity and the origins of what makes up the exceptional essence of
Venice, thus manipulating yet preserving Venice in a way that it stays true as the magical
city, with which the world falls in love.
25
Conclusion to Venice
The trip to Venice has satisfied the group in searching our version of the city. Much
discussion has spawned in celebrating its origins and its romance it brings. A debate
spawned on a topic of ecology of Venice, another on the streetscape of the city in terms
of its private and public boundaries – leading to ask where the front doors to their houses
are. As much discussion goes, it provided more questions rather than answer. A similar
conclusion can be said on how our views have changed about Venice after the visit;
providing more questions than answers.
After all, Venice is a city built on water – with many conventions being unfamiliar to us,
and with many new additions that seemingly familiar to us, such as the department store
at Venice called Coco highlighted by Jing Wendy Wen’s essay on tourism. It is no
wonder why we as a group came to this predicament.
After the debates and discussions, we all came to realise this: The form of Venice is the
image we all perceive from films, post-cards, and advertisement. They are indeed the
symbolic and almost only image of Venice that the city has left. Some on us concluded
especially highlight by Jing Wendy Wen’s essay that going beyond the beautiful Rococo
styled facade; we can no longer sense the Venice, what it used to be. Like putting on a
masque, Venice put on her best ancient – or so called authentic look to greet us, and
because of that, we thought this is Venice, a city with feather and pearls. In fact, Venice
is more than a city with listed cityscape, it is a city living on top of water. Their life
strongly tied with water beneath and sprawling around them, not to the decorated facade.
Venice's function as a city is slowing being replaced by shopping and photography which
is not directly feeding the city itself. To truly admire a city, Jing thinks one should admire
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its daily life line; how people living within the city grow with it, and adapt to changes.
The beauty of Venice to Jing, is the flags of blanked hanged between houses on river, is
the smile of local constructor trying to explain direction with Italian. Venetians not only
own this city of heritage, also has Venice within. When Venice complete become a
"duck" (Venturi, 1977) with inner system deteriorate, that will be the time we lose Venice
as a whole.
Le Minh Duc pointed out the fact of Venice has a unique naming system for its streets, all
having its names in relation to canals and lagoons such as ‘Rivas’ and ‘Fondamenta’
(streets facing the grand canal, and streets that runs parallel to the canal respectively), the
fact of the unique naming system exists tells volumes of how the waters of Venice is
fundamental to Venice’s growth. Thus, the unique case study of Fondamenta, Calle and
Campo by Le Minh De remains one of the most fascinating studies of the street;
concluding in this view of Venice that each of these streets revolves around the life of
Venetians, constantly influencing and reflecting their behaviours in the contemporary
world. Urban process, within the spaces of Venice will continue to intrigue "conflation of
social, political, technical and artistic force that generates the city's form." (Celik, Favro
& Ingersoll, 1994, p.1) The urban process can be proactive or it can be reactive;
sometimes it can be self-triggered, others it can respond to many factors within the urban
context (Celik, Favro & Ingersoll, 1994, p.1). By understanding this urban process, we
move closer to exploring the true identity and the origins of what makes up the
exceptional essence of Venice. Though a complete story of how Venice was conceived
can never be fully revealed, given the lack of documentations, evidences and witnesses,
we can apply the knowledge gained through the course of this study to manipulate yet
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preserve Venice in a way that it stays true as the magical city, with which the world falls
in love.
Analysing this ‘love’ comes Jonathan Wong’s conclusion of looking at the Genius Loci
of Venice. The spirit of the place given by the world, the spirit of the place it actually has,
and the spirit of the place’s effect in gaining new roads and bridges: A soul of Modernity
embedded into the body of this medieval city; audacious, elegant, or perfection would be
words to praise her. The genuine form of beauty enshrines unto her architectural heritage;
a gift enacted over centuries of external influences. The taste of Venice-ness, however,
radiates through her infrastructure differentiation from other cities; channelled
persistently towards the genius loci of her. This spirit, as though it senses the future of
modern cities; embrace the nature of her lagoon, adapting and dependent on water
transportation. Studying the infrastructural network of Venice provides an insight into
problem and possibilities of the two way transportation system. Bridges are as important
as roads in many cities, besides supporting daily domestic activities; it commutes
pedestrians across the fragmented island. Therefore, this uniqueness attain from the
infrastructure network builds up the core identity of Venice-ness. Besides that, implying
principles from Plan Voisin, and superimposed onto the urban environment of Venice;
apprise the fact that, dual- infrastructure interface of Venice is able to prioritize and
enhance individual experience, and civic aspect. By supporting these intricate interactions
of people within the framework of Venice’s complex urban environment, it not only
showcase as a model, moreover, it is a system that could be adopted into future cities or
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hopefully, a utopian dream. Venice proves to be an undying gem of today’s post-modern
world, and it will perpetually adapt unto the paradigm shifts of tomorrow.
Going back on the discussion point of ecologies; Venice also has seen its fair share of
ecological challenges, floods of tourism and water, limited residential spaces for real
venetians, over time, Venice has become a vehicle of uncertainly, prone to change. The
only thing that is guaranteed is - it will need full cooperation of the local’s working
towards sustainability in broader scale. Undoubtedly, the city is turning into a museum
city that drives the residence away. The formal glory and the beauty of the city only
contributed to its degrowth which further accelerated city’s decay. A life that is mostly
dependent on service industry with extreme profit oriented mentality will not bring the
city’s ecology back. The geographical and ecological challenges that they are facing will
require its full support from communities. The empty houses and population needs to be
distributed for sustainable territories that can be micro managed. The city needs to
promote and reclaim other industries like universities, not the cruise ships that invade
every inch of city’s ecology and sustainability. . But then again, it was the Venetians that
challenged the boundary of human limitation. They are the one that created sustainability
most effectively onto the nature’s instability. Perhaps, they will go through this crisis
wiser than ever and teach another lesson to all of us and maybe the project MOSE will
perform another miracle as he once did in bible. Whatever the consequences, we will
learn from her again.
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As such, the image of the city today was developed with an extraordinary continuity and
unity over the centuries; it emerged, from a mass of divergent detail, as a genuine, living
work of art. ‘Venice as a work of art’, then, is the historically determined, aesthetically
definable object of our analysis: as though this were gradually formed structure that had
moved towards an ideal perfection, predetermined by an inner conviction, by its own
formal reality. Even today, deep in the real Venetian, there is an echo of the civic pride of
a people whose world existed for them within the perimeter of the lagoon. Today’s visitor
of Venice is offered a unique and fascinating opportunity: to go back into the distant past.
With a minimum of imagination we can eliminate violent lights and noises; walking
along the calli and small canals before dawn, we can go back centuries, to the atmosphere
of the old city, re-creating the space and time of a Venice that is alternatively medieval,
Renaissance or Baroque, depending on the visual angle from which we happen to be
viewing it.
Closing the essay, we then asked ourselves would we recommend our friends, family and
acquaintances in visiting Venice for their honeymoon, holiday or art experience trip. We
came to a conclusion similar to Shenpei Ha’s conclusion of his essay. The answer would
be yes and no. ‘No’ to the fact that Venice has lost its own identity in its own right, and
may be permanently like this; and ‘Yes’ to the fact that to visit Venice for what it has left.
As such, let us learn from Venice, let us learn how to protect our cities in preventing
becoming another Venice/museum for tourists – because as architects - we build and
design, our modern cities will soon become relics for our great great great grandchildren,
and would you want your great great great grandchildren pay an entry fee just to see what
we created for them?
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Bibliography:
Individual Reference
Books
Janson, A. Burklin, Thorsten (2002) AuftritteScences Interaktionen mit dem
architektonischen Raum: die Campi Venedigs/ Interaction with Architectural
Space: the Campi of Venice. 1st Ed. Basel, Switzeland: Birkhauser - Publishers
for Architecture
Spiro, K. (1985) A history of architecture settings and rituals. 1st Ed. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, Inc.
Celik, Z. Favro, D and Ingersoll, R (1994) Streets Critical Perspectives on Public
Space. 1st Ed. California: The Regents of the University of California.
Concina, E (1998) A History of Venetian Architecture. 1st Ed. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press
Spiro, K. (1992) The city assembled: the elements of urban form through history.
1st Ed. London: Thames & Hudson
Lorenzetti, G ( 2007) Venice and its Lagoon Historical Artistic guide. 2nd Ed.
Italy: Edizioni Errecdici Padova
Internet sources
[A Street in Venice] n.d. [image online] Available at: <
http://www.jssgallery.org/paintings/A_Street_in_Venice.htm#Pic > [Accessed 18
April 2013]
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Group Reference
Celik, Z. Favro, D and Ingersoll, R (1994) Streets Critical Perspectives on Public
Space. 1st Ed. California: The Regents of the University of California.
Venturi, Robert, Brown Denise Scott, and Steven Izenour. 1977. Learning from
Las Vegas: The Forgotten Symbolism of Architectural Form. Cambridge, MA:
MIT, Print.
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Appendix
Private space invading Public space
Midnight drifters
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