Arsenale Maritime Museum

Building for Future, Increasing Building Capacity through Design

Masterarbeit von Saša Mujagić
Eingereicht: 2023

The last century has seen the decline and decay of Arsenale. Many proposals for its revitalization have been made, but until 1980 and the inauguration of the Architecture Biennale, little was actually done. This waste complex on the northeast side of the city has been mostly isolated, open to the public only during the events and mostly subject to entrance fees. Apart from that, it is still an isolated part of the urban fabric of Venice. The goal of the project is to enter new initiatives and possibly, through the introduction of new programs with the recycling, re-use and expansion of existing structures, bring new life all year round to the complex of Arsenale. Instead of expanding the fabric of the city or demolition of decaying space, much more can be achieved by re-purpose and reuse. The general impression of contemporary society is that we inherit the structures that don’t respond to the needs of the modern world and life. The inherited structures of the past are an unstable phenomenon in a constant flux and in need of change. By recycling, and reactivation of our heritage, as the complex of Arsenale had been doing for the whole of its existence, a new meaning can be created. Limiting the consumption of precious resources through adaptation, reuse, and restoration of inherited architectural heritage can be a new approach for future architects. In the case of Italy, especially here in Venice, where a considerable part of the built structure can be seen as historic, adding also the issue of conservation to increasing demands for sustainability, this becomes emblematic.