Existing as something between landscape and architecture, the Ponte Parodi project in Genoa, Italy is set to be a prime experience-based attractor for the city and its alpine surroundings. Designed by UNStudio, the multi-functional waterfront piazza exists in three dimensions- not just placed upon and within a city setting, but digging down and building up to provide something extra to its site.
courtesy of © UNStudio
Featuring a program centered around wellness, culture, and leisure- the project will include a cruise terminal which, acting in conjuncture with its other varied functions, will bring a new vitality and liveliness to an aging harbour. As part of the added three-dimensionality of the project, the ‘roofs’ of the programs below feature a park with sporting fields, as well as beaches and other sites for public gathering and activity.
courtesy of © UNStudio
Built around several layers of circulation, the site’s 36,000 m² will incorporate some 76,000 m² of floor space. Designed as a series of rhombic volumes rotated against each other and layered, the Ponte Parodi will not only be a site of leisure, but will also include educational and knowledge-building functions, a bridge between the two functions being an open-air amphitheater incorporated into the above-mentioned public park.
courtesy of © UNStudio
project info:
Architect: UNStudio
Project Year: 2009
Location: Genoa, Italy
client: altarea italia progetti s.r.l.; (competition) porto antico di genova spa
programme: public attractor with a 3-dimensional piazza and mixed use: cruise terminal, wellness experience, knowledge experience, commercial experience, public park with amphitheatre.
Engineers: ARUP, Grootint
gross floor surface: 76.000m²
volume: 160.000 m³
site: 36.000 m²
total project area: 132,200 m2
internal activities: 49553.82 m2
public urban park on roof: 18838.04 m2
parking area: 36437.08 m2
technical areas: 8356.81 m2
outdoor areas (quays, north piazza): 18929.94 m2
unstudio: ben van berkel, caroline bos, astrid piber with nuno almeida and (design development/building permit) mirko bergmann, margherita del grosso, veronica baraldi, kristin sandner, abhijit kapade, chiara marchionni, cristina ferreira, casper damkier, rainer schmidt, adrien leduc, lorenzo vianello; (schematic design) cristina bolis, paolo bassetto, alice gramigna, michaela tomaselli; (competition) cristina bolis, peter trummer, tobias wallisser, olga vazquez-ruano, ergian alberg, stephan miller, george young, jorge pereira, mónica pacheco, tanja koch, ton van den berg
advisors: structure: d’appolonia, genoa
building services: manens, verona
traffic: systematica, milan
project coordination: studio augusti, genoa
(competition) infrastructure and structure: arup, london; off-shore construction: grootint b.v.
visualisation: rendertaxi, aachen
Matt Davis is a Virginia Tech graduate and one of the founding editors behind Arch2O. Launching the platform in mid‑2012 alongside fellow Hokies, he helped shape its identity as an international hub for design innovation and critical dialogue . With a foundation in architectural education and a passion for uncovering unconventional design approaches, Matt has contributed significantly—both editorially and strategically—to Arch2O’s growth, ensuring that emerging architects, academics, and creatives have a space to question, explore, and elevate the built environment.