Maintaining ancient connection

Exhibit of Italian architecture titled Verona Waterfront Project relevant to city of Toronto

Toronto is setting out on a long journey to revitalize its waterfront and a recent downtown exhibit of Italian architecture underscored the importance of maintaining a connection between a city's built environment, its people and waterfront lands.
Architecture and Water: Verona Waterfront Project, presented earlier this month at the Toronto Dominion Centre, is an overview of building proposals and ideas by two Verona architects whose recent work has been inspired by the diminished relationship over the past century between the city of Verona and its historic Adige River. Architects Gabriello Anselmi and Bonaventura Romano have designed bridges, a park and proposed a restoration of a riverfront customs house in their bid to bring the Adige back to life for a majority of Veronese. The exhibition was a co-presentation of the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Toronto and Design Exchange.
Verona featured vibrant waterfront activity until the end of the 19th century, when the city built protective walls along the Adige. "The thing that fascinated me the most were the old prints and photographs of the city that show how, at one time, its buildings were perfectly integrated with the river flow and how important life on the water was to the Veronese," says architect Bonaventura Romano, who specializes in restoration projects. Romano and Anselmi, who also works as an artist, proposed a restoration of an abandoned customs house in the Filippini neighbourhood of Verona. The riverfront building, constructed in the 18th century, is reborn with the architects' plan for a main floor piazza and adjacent landing pier and top floor exhibit space lit by skylight.
The Veronese experience of being separated from local waters is not unlike the experience of Torontonians of recent generations, who have had to contend with the physical and psychological barrier of the Gardiner Expressway along the city's waterfront. Romano noted this in a recent interview with Tandem, but the quiet-spoken and diplomatic Verona architect was not about to suggest that he had solutions to Toronto waterfront planning issues. Architecture and Water does, however, serve as a cautionary tale for citizens who see a link between quality of civic life and a city's relationship to its natural surroundings.
In addition to the restored customs house, Gabriello Anselmi has proposed a series of bridges along the Adige River to enhance Veronese awareness of the historic waterway. The proposed San Francesco bridge at Galtarossa is seen as a meeting place for people, as well as serving as a transition point between the old city and outlying parklands. The architect's Small Woods Park bridge is a fanciful arch design inspired by an amusement park.
Not all of the projects of Architecture and Water are simply proposals and ideas. The city of Verona is proceeding with Romano's plans for a park at San Giovanni Lupatoto, which will include a restaurant, bar and outdoor theatre. The architect, who has completed building and church restorations in the province of Rovigo, is nearing approval of a North American project - the restoration of a train station and bank building on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Romano's restoration features an atrium, which includes a cascading water fountain. "In all of my projects," the architect says, "the presence of water is an important element as the idea of flowing liquid represents the flow of our existence."
A nurtured connection between a city's buildings, its people and its waterfront is not only good for commerce and leisure, Romano says, it is also fundamental to our existence and a humanistic response to city planning.

Publication Date: 2004-10-03
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4452