This thesis aims to understand how the city of Venice will continue to function as sea levels rise due to global warming and how its relationship to tourism will inevitably change as a result. Is it best to preserve Venice, or let it decay into an elegant ruin; a poignant monument to the devastation of climate change? We believe the answer lies in between these extremes. Where Venice acts as a relic and a repository in which are stored all the trinkets and tokens of civilisations whose lands, like Venice have been reclaimed by the sea. Whilst some buildings decay, others are preserved, reinforced against the ocean, curated as a museum of sorts and housing a facsimile of the Mediterranean world, unravaged by climate change.
A BRIEF JOURNEY THROUGH ST. mARK'S SQUARE in the wake of sea level rise
The Pillars of St. Mark act as a gateway
Approaching the port
The library facade as you disembark
An underwater tunnel to the Campanile San Marco
The Doge's Palace courtyard kept dry by a concrete caisson
The relics of Egypt next to the Giant's Stair
The sea wall protects the Doge's Palace from wave forces
The giant sphinx of Amenemhat III
The relics housed in St. Mark's square with the water removed
DRAWINGS
Axo
Doge's Palace Facade
Procuratie Nuove Facade
Library Facade
VISUALS
The Library FACADE AS VIEWED FROM THE NEW PORT
THE INTERNAL COURTYARD OF THE DOGE'S PALACE REMAINS DRY DESPITE BEING BENEATH SEA LEVEL DUE TO THE CONCRETE CAISSON PROTECTING IT
ST. MARK'S SQUARE FLOODED, THE COLOSSUS OF SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS STILL VISIBLE ABOVE THE WAVES
ST. MARK's SQUARE with the water removed, revealing the relics submerged beneath the sea