Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza"
Facoltà di Architettura
P47 | CULTURAL CENTER. Urban renovation in Heraklion: The Martinengo Bastion.
by Martina Dedda
The area concerned is that of the Martinengo Bastion, a defensive bulwark centrally situated along the extension of the walls. Moving beyond the traditional idea of a place for only academics, the planned new “Nikos Kazantzakis” library is included within the larger cultural complex where there are exhibition rooms, a conference room and commercial activities in the adjoining buildings, all linked by a series of passages and meeting points. The planning strategy is therefore based on the graded structuring of a system of walkways and squares which accompany the visitor from the historical city into the heart of the bastion, mediating their transition from a very urban environment to a delimited public space, leading them to the various buildings of the Cultural Center. The integration in the plan and the functional use of both the lower platforms and the underground passages ensure that the buildings become part of the bastion, sharing the main architectural features. The east wing of the complex is excavated entirely inside the bastion so as to leave the surface space free and in so doing to accentuate the visual bond with the modern city. The west wing is instead composed of two volumes emerging forcefully from the ground, one towards the other.
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Martina Dedda was born in Rome on September 12th, 1986. She graduated from the University "La Sapienza," Faculty of Architecture in Rome with a Master of Science in Architecture degree (5UE single-cycle) in 2012. Her thesis titled Renovation of the urban fabric and the walls of the city of Heraklion (Crete) earned a final grade of 110/110 cum laude. The thesis has become part of the publication Urban Renovation in Heraklion (2012) of M. Petrangeli, Rome: Mancosu. In 2009 she joined the studio Architecture+Engineering as a collaborator subsequently covering the role of technical manager. In addition to numerous project experiences in Italy, she has participated in international competitions including the International Competition arturbain.fr 2009/2010 -the design of an urban center in Long Lake Trevignano Romano, Rome and the Competition of Ideas Designing in Tehran in 2009, designing a building for commercial and residential group for Benetton.
Facoltà di Architettura
P47 | CULTURAL CENTER. Urban renovation in Heraklion: The Martinengo Bastion.
by Martina Dedda
The area concerned is that of the Martinengo Bastion, a defensive bulwark centrally situated along the extension of the walls. Moving beyond the traditional idea of a place for only academics, the planned new “Nikos Kazantzakis” library is included within the larger cultural complex where there are exhibition rooms, a conference room and commercial activities in the adjoining buildings, all linked by a series of passages and meeting points. The planning strategy is therefore based on the graded structuring of a system of walkways and squares which accompany the visitor from the historical city into the heart of the bastion, mediating their transition from a very urban environment to a delimited public space, leading them to the various buildings of the Cultural Center. The integration in the plan and the functional use of both the lower platforms and the underground passages ensure that the buildings become part of the bastion, sharing the main architectural features. The east wing of the complex is excavated entirely inside the bastion so as to leave the surface space free and in so doing to accentuate the visual bond with the modern city. The west wing is instead composed of two volumes emerging forcefully from the ground, one towards the other.
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