Irene DeSimone

Thesis in Architectural Design

New Commercial Port of Gaeta

Thesis by Irene De Simone
Contact email: i.desimone@libero.it
University of Rome "La Sapienza"
Faculty of Architecture "Valle Giulia" - EU Architecture
Speaker: Prof. Franco Purini
co-supervisors: prof. Francesco Menegatti and prof. Dina Nencini
Academic Year 2009 - 2010

The project proposal aims to design a new face for the northern seafront of Gaeta (LT) that allows the spatial unity of the seafront itself to be recomposed in the stretch between the municipalities of Formia and Gaeta. The project intends to relaunch the entire territorial area through the architectural, environmental and urban redevelopment of its seafront, the expansion of the commercial port, the creation of a new residential-commercial area and a large fish market.
The expansion of the port area includes the creation of two new piers for the mooring of large container ships; at the same time, the objective of re-establishing a new relationship with the hinterland and the waterfront is pursued through the creation of a long green promenade, created following the doubling of the coastal road, and a new residential district, made up of row houses and towers, structured on the basis of a regular grid (60x60m) that fits directly into the existing fabric.
The market consists of two partially connected buildings: one rectangular in shape, in which all the administrative functions are relegated, and the other, the large square-plan parallelepiped, which houses the actual market, conceived as a place not only for buying and selling fish, but also for tasting, refreshments and entertainment. Both buildings are cut diagonally; this sign, which on the ground floor marks a pedestrian path as a natural continuation of the road that directly connects the market to the port, is reflected on all levels of the building until it becomes a groove in the roof. The structure of the building is based on a regular grid with a 10,80 metre module, and is configured starting from 4 large technological "totems", which seem to represent 4 large pylons of the square slab, inside which are placed services, stairs, elevators, hoists, technical systems. Inside the slab, a double sequence of partitions breaks up the pillar structure and highlights a wide band, the central part of which - the large wholesale sales room - is full-height and characterised by a particular covering, which allows for a singular filtering of light that seems to underline the industrial aspect of the building.