Italian practice gosplan has actually revitalised a historical stretch of Camogli Harbour in Liguria, developing a thoroughly crafted public world that celebrates the withstanding relationship between the fishing town, its working waterfront and daily civic life.
Photos
Anna Positano|Studio Campo
Genoa-based practice gosplan has actually completed the redevelopment of a 350-square-metre section of Via Scalo al Porto in Camogli, on the Ligurian coast. Commissioned by the City of Camogli, the task reimagines a modest stretch of working harbour, presenting new public facilities while maintaining the website’s long-established maritime character.
Instead of dealing with the quay as either a traveler destination or a working port, the architect has actually welcomed both identities at the same time. The intervention carefully reorganises the public realm through new paving, seating and lighting, developing a more generous and coherent waterfront that enables the daily activities of the harbour to continue undisturbed.
The task is centred on a series of low, linear benches set up periodically along the edge of the quay. Constructed from white-painted galvanised steel with laminated Iroko wood, they are created to accommodate several methods of inhabiting the space. The benches’ rotating lumber back-rests permit users to deal with either the sea or the village, recline in the sun, or fold them flat so the platforms can work as work surfaces for repairing fishing internet. Hidden underneath each bench, a constant strip of light changes the seating into a series of gently lit up lanterns after dark.
The seating is deliberately woven around the harbour’s original timber posts, which continue to support fishing nets, ropes and mooring buoys. Rather than changing these working components, the architect integrated them into the style, reinforcing the coexistence of Camogli’s fishing customs and its public waterfront.
At one end of the quay, a light-weight screen formed from irregular Iroko lumber slats marks the edge of the intervention while keeping visual openness towards the sea. Increasing above it, an easy brass weather vane mounted on a white pole functions as both a practical marker and a regional landmark, catching the altering coastal winds and offering a modern recommendation point along the harbour.
Focusing on workmanship and everyday use over official expression, the restrained material palette consists of sandstone, timber, brass and pebble. The paving combines big Colombino sandstone pieces with rissëu, the conventional Ligurian pebble mosaic found in church forecourts and public squares throughout the area. This mindful use of local materials produces connection with Camogli’s architectural heritage without turning to historical replica, enabling the intervention to sit comfortably within its historic environments.