words by Carol King
Fashion designer Pierre Cardin is to build an 800-foot-tall skyscraper in the Veneto region that he hopes will help boost the economy in his birthplace.
The French couturier was born in San Biagio di Callalta in Treviso, Veneto and his family moved to France when he was aged two. Cardin sees his ambitious design as a gift to what is an economically depressed area. The project is estimated to cost €2.4 billion, and is being funded by Cardin and the sale of luxury apartments prior to construction. Cardin is reported to have said that he wants the complex to be completed in time for the Milan Expo in 2015 and that it will provide jobs for approximately 5,000 people.
Called the Palais Lumière (Palace of Light), the structure will house a fashion university, conference centre, theatre/auditorium, shops, offices, apartments, hotels, restaurants and sports facilities in an aim to regenerate the area. Its three towers will be connected by six disc-shaped structures. Each of the three vertical elements will be arranged in a radial pattern 120 degrees apart from one another.
The site for the Palais Lumière is between the urban areas in Mestre and Marghera, and the buildings of the industrial and port zones. Existing dilapidated buildings will be removed and the Palais Lumière will be situated in a park. Cardin hopes that the complex will contribute to “mending” the urban fabric of Mestre and Marghera through related improvements to the road network that will reconnect districts in the south with those being redeveloped in the north.
However, the Frenchman’s plans have met with criticism because some Venice residents are concerned that the futuristic skyscraper will ruin the city’s skyline. Supporters counter that the Palais Lumière will not be visible from the city’s historic centre, will create jobs and opportunities for tourism, and that a polluted harbour will be cleaned during the construction process.
