A different Venice

The Northern Lagoon is part of the world-famous Venetian Lagoon, but, in contrast to the well-known and exploited Central Lagoon, has managed to preserve its original landscape to a high degree. The future of this tranquil landscape, however, is anything but certain. Its further existence calls for landscape design interventions that consider the balance of three dialectical pairs: land & water, human & non-human and nature & artifice. A related comprehensive design strategy has to focus on the entire lagoon as one system where many environmental, morphological, and social singularities coexist. The Northern Lagoon should therefore be understood as a broad scenario in which to seek dynamic balance in social, productive, and natural processes. Over time these lead to a landscape heritage that must be protected, studied, implemented, and experienced through projects that will actively hold together both nature and artifice, just as has been the case since Roman times. Creating adaptable and flexible architectural devices that can function as useful systems for the control of environmental dynamics, the enjoyment of the lagoon and exploration of nature should be taken into consideration.