Commissioned: concorso internazionale progettazione
Period: on going
Country: Italia
Thetis, together with prominent Swiss landscape architect Paolo Bürgi (head of ATI and signatory of the project), Glass Architettura Urbanistica, Laut Engineering, and architect Stefano Alonzi won the international design competition for “Carso 2014+”, a project promoted and supported by the Province of Gorizia that aims to enhance the historical, scenic and environmental value of the Karst region (located in Italy and Slovenia).
The project was initiated in anticipation of the upcoming centennial of World War I (1914-1918) in 2014. This region, a border territory during the war but now “borderless” as Slovenia is a member of the EU, was the site of crucial events and bloody battles.
The project to convert the Karst region into an ”open air museum” – a site having both historical significance and value as a unique natural and scenic area – became a reality in 2009 when the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region agreed to provide funding.
The plans for the open-air museum include the remodelling of the small existing museum on Monte San Michele and the construction of a new museum on the man-made hill. The new museum will feature a two-storey tunnel enlivened with a play of lights and shadows.
In addition, a scenic viewpoint overlooking Lake Doberdò will be built, a section of an existing trail will be improved and a trail leading to the viewpoint will be cut from the rock.
Finally, the area above the Redipuglia War Memorial will be improved by restoring the cypress forest on Sant’Elia Hill and constructing an area where visitors, arriving from the viewpoint, can rest – a large shady area that goes beyond mere commemoration and looks to the future.
Thetis will contribute its expertise to these three areas of the project by designing the building services for the new museum on Monte San Michele and for the exhibition areas in the museum’s galleries, managing the financial aspects of the different projects and overseeing the various activities relating to the Scenic Viewpoint and the War Memorial. In addition, the company will be in charge of formulating safety guidelines and evaluating risks relating to the construction work, and will manage the construction sites for the entire project.
