Fashion designer Pierre Cardin has bowed to pressure and scrapped his controversial plans to build a skyscraper in Venice.
Cardin – along with his architect nephew Rodrigo Basilicati – hoped to erect the 60 storey tower in the mainland district of Porto Marghera six miles from the city centre. The mixed-use glass structure was intended to comprise housing and leisure facilities including hotels, cinemas and restaurants.
The triple-finned building would also have housed educational and sports facilities along with swimming pools, gardens and ponds on its upper floors. The building would also have boasted a rooftop helipad.
However, opposition to the proposals emerged as soon as the plans were initially revealed in 2012. Locals were concerned about the impact of the 245 metre tower which would be clearly visible on the Venetian skyline. They were quickly joined by distinguished cultural and academic figures who condemned the plans as damaging to the World Heritage Site.
“Venetians and Italians are tired of seeing Venice abused by the vast cruise ships and mounting examples of the crudest commercialism,” Anna Somers Cocks said in the Arts Newspaper.
Despite this opposition Cardin’s plans had the support of Venice mayor Giorgio Orsoni, and president of the Veneto Region Luca Zaia, who hoped the development would lead to wider regeneration.
Zaia warned last month that cancellation of the project would discourage foreign investment in Venice and make it difficult for the council to balance its books.
Nevertheless, opponents of the plans managed to persuade ministers to rule that all construction within 300 metres of the Lagoon required special planning permission. A subsequent attempt by Orsoni to get this ruling overturned was unsuccessful leading to the announcement that the development has been abandoned.
Speaking to the Italian press Basilicati described the decision as ‘inevitable’ following the failure to get formal approval from the public bodies concerned. Opponents of the scheme are delighted with the outcome but the council must now budget without the £19 million it would have received from Cardin.
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