Waterfront S. Cataldo Taranto, Italy

The recovery of the pier S. Cataldo like waterfront, sets the objective to reintegrate the city of Taranto with the port. The multipurpose Service Center is a building that fits perfectly into the context of the pier, placing itself as a new “city gate” on the sea. The concept of the building is based on the idea of an architecture that comes from the ground and conforms as a path building that allows the articulation in various buildings. They are two and are designed to create a new “landscape”, dynamic and passable; slip and develop with a sinuous and organic, articulated around open spaces equipped, a Mediterranean garden and a hortus conclusus. The whole takes on a fluid shape, a volume-path that reaching out to the sea involves the terminal part of the pier with the statue of S. Cataldo, emerging element, incorporating it in a new stepped base. The integration between the Pier and the building becomes concrete with an architecture full of belvedere walks, paths at high altitude and volumes that, like telescopes, frame the surrounding landscape, making the new Multipurpose Service Center become a new attraction not only for the city of Taranto but for the entire Gulf. The aim of the project is to promote new meeting spaces and new centralities and opportunities for redevelopment and enhancement of the city.

 Credits: Design Architects: Tstudio – Guendalina Salimei |Urban Planning: arch. R. Pavia, arch. M. Di Venosa |Structure and MEP: COOP Progetti, Ing. Valter Filippetti |Contractor: Christian Color s.r.l, Cardinale s.r.l., Antonacci Termoidraulica s.r.l. |Construction Supervision: arch. Guendalina Salimei; ufficio D.L.: E.Costa, M. Di Venosa, B. Nutile, G. Tonti

 Published in: Recupero del molo di San Cataldo, Ottagono n. giugno- luglio 2009 • Centro Servizi Polivalente del molo San Cataldo, Arketipo, 31:2009 • Metamorfosi Quaderni di Architettura n.4, Lettera Ventidue edizioni, Siracusa 2018, pp. 42-45 – ISSN 1590-1394 – ISBN 9788862422659 • SALIMEI G. (2012- 2° ed. 2014), City Landscape. Bari: Ilios Editore ISBN 9788890802430 pp.62-69 • De Candia M, Taranto sceglie il gruppo guidato da Pavia, Archiportale 2 febbraio 2009 www.archiportale.com • di Venosa M., Pavia R. Waterfront dal conflitto all’integrazione From conflict to integration, List Lab, Trento 2012 p. 226-233 ISBN 9788895 623481 • Pisani M. (a cura di), Architettura e Paesaggio. Atti del congresso di Genzano, Il Formichiere, Foligno 2015, p. 66 ISBN 9788898428519.

The retrieval of the S. Cataldo Pier as waterfront has the goal of reintegrating the city of Taranto with its port. The multipuropose Service Center Building, in its integration with the pier structure, establishes itself as the new “city gate” onto the sea. The concept is based on the idea of an architecture that starts from the ground and takes shape as a building path that allows an articulation into two architectural bodies, designed to create a new, dynamic, transitable “landscape”; easing and developing with a sinuous, organic gait, articulated around the open, service-equipped spaces, a Mediterranean garden and a hortus conclusus. The whole takes on a liquid form, a volume-path that, stretching out towards the sea, engulfs the end of the pier with the Statue of Saint Cataldo, the main point of the site, incorporating it into a new terraced base. The integration of the pier and the building is made concrete with an architecture replete with panoramic walkways, sloped, volume-forming paths that, like telescopes, frame the surrounding landscape, making the new Multipurpose Service Centre into a new pole of attraction not only for the city of Taranto but for the entire Gulf.

Credits | design architects: T-Studio | urban planning: R. Pavia; M. Di Venosa | engineering: Cooprogetti soc. coop. | sustainability: C. Nava