Project image

Sustainable Smart Marina

Smart Spine on the Lagoon

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Location

La Certosa Island - Venice, Italy

Typology

Masterplan

Year

2025

Status

competition

Client

M3 Monaco & VDV S.r.l. Venezia Certosa Marina

Size

22 ha - [7 ha masterplan, 15 ha protected landscape]

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Certosa Smart Marina is conceived as a model for the next generation of waterfront development: using less land, operating without fossil fuels, adapting to future sea-level rise and improving the ecological condition of the water it occupies. The first-prize design concentrates all new functions along a single Smart Spine—an elevated, modular structure integrating movement, infrastructure, energy and logistics. By building where Certosa Island is already occupied and intensively used, the proposal reduces the affected footprint by approximately half, protects sensitive landscape and archaeological areas, and creates a resilient, all-electric district designed to produce more renewable energy than it consumes.

The project begins with restraint. Certosa’s value lies in its open landscape, mature vegetation, historic fabric and relationship to the Venetian Lagoon. New construction is therefore kept away from undisturbed areas and consolidated along the active waterfront. Prefabricated buildings, reversible foundations and demountable connections minimise intervention in the ground and allow structures to be adapted, relocated or removed. The masterplan is not a fixed final image, but a flexible system capable of responding to changing environmental conditions and future needs.

Location

La Certosa Island - Venice, Italy

Typology

Masterplan

Year

2025

Status

competition

Client

M3 Monaco & VDV S.r.l. Venezia Certosa Marina

Size

22 ha - [7 ha masterplan, 15 ha protected landscape]

Read more

Enhanced by AI

Enhanced by AI

The Smart Spine gives the project its spatial and operational clarity. Running along the existing waterfront, it combines energy distribution, clean water, waste management, data, logistics and access within one maintainable armature. Raised above projected flood levels, it provides continuous dry access to the island’s principal functions during acqua alta and under future sea-level scenarios. Its modular kit of parts allows the development to expand or contract in phases without repeatedly disturbing the island.

At the same time, the Spine operates as a linear renewable-energy infrastructure. Photovoltaic surfaces extend across its roofscape, supplemented where appropriate by discreet micro-wind generation and battery storage. Together, these systems support Net Zero+ operation, supplying the buildings and marina while providing surplus energy for electric boats and charging infrastructure. Passive design, high-performance envelopes, heat pumps, heat-recovery systems and intelligent controls reduce demand before energy generation is considered. No fossil fuels are used on site.

The Smart Spine gives the project its spatial and operational clarity. Running along the existing waterfront, it combines energy distribution, clean water, waste management, data, logistics and access within one maintainable armature. Raised above projected flood levels, it provides continuous dry access to the island’s principal functions during acqua alta and under future sea-level scenarios. Its modular kit of parts allows the development to expand or contract in phases without repeatedly disturbing the island.

At the same time, the Spine operates as a linear renewable-energy infrastructure. Photovoltaic surfaces extend across its roofscape, supplemented where appropriate by discreet micro-wind generation and battery storage. Together, these systems support Net Zero+ operation, supplying the buildings and marina while providing surplus energy for electric boats and charging infrastructure. Passive design, high-performance envelopes, heat pumps, heat-recovery systems and intelligent controls reduce demand before energy generation is considered. No fossil fuels are used on site.

Enhanced by AI

Hospitality, housing, marina services and public amenities are gathered along this compact framework. The hotel is elevated above the future flood line, ensuring uninterrupted operation and opening panoramic public terraces towards the lagoon. Lightweight modular housing is arranged around existing trees and important view corridors, with passive cooling and cross-ventilation reducing operational energy use. Small ateliers, training spaces and community rooms activate the waterfront throughout the year. The marina extends seaward through floating platforms and event pods that can be added, rearranged or removed as needs change. This approach reduces permanent construction along the shoreline and limits disturbance to the seabed. Above water, the platforms support promenades, gatherings and cultural activities. Below, their textured, reef-friendly structures create new habitats for marine organisms, increasing biodiversity and contributing to the natural improvement of water quality. This principle is central to the design: every intervention should not only reduce harm, but improve the environment it enters. By concentrating development, the project releases more land for dune-like edges, reed beds and native planting. These landscapes stabilise the soil, strengthen habitats and reinforce the island’s character. Dark-sky lighting limits disturbance to fauna, while artificial reefs increase ecological complexity beneath the water. The added architecture becomes environmental infrastructure. Movement across the island is deliberately simple and quiet. Deliveries, maintenance and emergency access are organised through an electric micro-mobility loop and a small number of rationalised waterfront nodes. Continuous step-free routes, gentle gradients and clear wayfinding ensure universal access. By reducing roads, vehicles and dispersed service infrastructure, the proposal allows landscape and water to remain the dominant experience.

Enhanced by AI

Hospitality, housing, marina services and public amenities are gathered along this compact framework. The hotel is elevated above the future flood line, ensuring uninterrupted operation and opening panoramic public terraces towards the lagoon. Lightweight modular housing is arranged around existing trees and important view corridors, with passive cooling and cross-ventilation reducing operational energy use. Small ateliers, training spaces and community rooms activate the waterfront throughout the year. The marina extends seaward through floating platforms and event pods that can be added, rearranged or removed as needs change. This approach reduces permanent construction along the shoreline and limits disturbance to the seabed. Above water, the platforms support promenades, gatherings and cultural activities. Below, their textured, reef-friendly structures create new habitats for marine organisms, increasing biodiversity and contributing to the natural improvement of water quality. This principle is central to the design: every intervention should not only reduce harm, but improve the environment it enters. By concentrating development, the project releases more land for dune-like edges, reed beds and native planting. These landscapes stabilise the soil, strengthen habitats and reinforce the island’s character. Dark-sky lighting limits disturbance to fauna, while artificial reefs increase ecological complexity beneath the water. The added architecture becomes environmental infrastructure. Movement across the island is deliberately simple and quiet. Deliveries, maintenance and emergency access are organised through an electric micro-mobility loop and a small number of rationalised waterfront nodes. Continuous step-free routes, gentle gradients and clear wayfinding ensure universal access. By reducing roads, vehicles and dispersed service infrastructure, the proposal allows landscape and water to remain the dominant experience.

Enhanced by AI

Enhanced by AI

Enhanced by AI

Enhanced by AI

Enhanced by AI

Low-carbon and circular construction support the project’s long-term adaptability. Timber-first structures, low-carbon composites and cradle-to-cradle components reduce embodied emissions. Reversible connections make repair, reuse and eventual disassembly possible. Prefabrication shortens construction time on the island, reduces noise and disruption, and limits the risks associated with building in a sensitive ecological and historic context. Certosa Smart Marina is not conceived as a gated resort, but as a shared part of Venice. Free waterfront promenades, shaded public decks, cultural spaces and learning programmes open the island to residents and visitors. Activities focused on lagoon ecology, maritime culture and boating safety connect the development to its specific place, while local employment and training are integrated into construction and long-term marina operations. The future of waterfront development cannot be based on occupying more land and defending static buildings against a changing climate. It must use less, remain adaptable and work with water rather than against it. Certosa Smart Marina concentrates, elevates and gives back: less land take, lower carbon emissions, reduced shoreline impact, flood-ready infrastructure and new habitats for marine life. The result is a resilient and reversible piece of Venice—one that protects the island’s identity while demonstrating how architecture can leave both land and water in a better condition than it found them.

Low-carbon and circular construction support the project’s long-term adaptability. Timber-first structures, low-carbon composites and cradle-to-cradle components reduce embodied emissions. Reversible connections make repair, reuse and eventual disassembly possible. Prefabrication shortens construction time on the island, reduces noise and disruption, and limits the risks associated with building in a sensitive ecological and historic context. Certosa Smart Marina is not conceived as a gated resort, but as a shared part of Venice. Free waterfront promenades, shaded public decks, cultural spaces and learning programmes open the island to residents and visitors. Activities focused on lagoon ecology, maritime culture and boating safety connect the development to its specific place, while local employment and training are integrated into construction and long-term marina operations. The future of waterfront development cannot be based on occupying more land and defending static buildings against a changing climate. It must use less, remain adaptable and work with water rather than against it. Certosa Smart Marina concentrates, elevates and gives back: less land take, lower carbon emissions, reduced shoreline impact, flood-ready infrastructure and new habitats for marine life. The result is a resilient and reversible piece of Venice—one that protects the island’s identity while demonstrating how architecture can leave both land and water in a better condition than it found them.

Enhanced by AI

Low-carbon and circular construction support the project’s long-term adaptability. Timber-first structures, low-carbon composites and cradle-to-cradle components reduce embodied emissions. Reversible connections make repair, reuse and eventual disassembly possible. Prefabrication shortens construction time on the island, reduces noise and disruption, and limits the risks associated with building in a sensitive ecological and historic context. Certosa Smart Marina is not conceived as a gated resort, but as a shared part of Venice. Free waterfront promenades, shaded public decks, cultural spaces and learning programmes open the island to residents and visitors. Activities focused on lagoon ecology, maritime culture and boating safety connect the development to its specific place, while local employment and training are integrated into construction and long-term marina operations. The future of waterfront development cannot be based on occupying more land and defending static buildings against a changing climate. It must use less, remain adaptable and work with water rather than against it. Certosa Smart Marina concentrates, elevates and gives back: less land take, lower carbon emissions, reduced shoreline impact, flood-ready infrastructure and new habitats for marine life. The result is a resilient and reversible piece of Venice—one that protects the island’s identity while demonstrating how architecture can leave both land and water in a better condition than it found them.

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