The proposal aims to preserve the Galeazze at the Venetian Arsenale by unveiling the wooden piles that support the building’s foundations, by creating a public circuit that allows visitors to observe and interact with the historic layers deposited in the stratigraphic layers of the soil and raise consciousness about the implications of climate change for the historic built environment.
Inspired by Gordon Matta Clark´s and Dennis Oppenheim´s creative practice, the actions taken over the building look at the preservation at outreach of a historic constructive method by doing selective excavations next to different specific historic walls within the building, unearthing its bases and exposing the rotten elements that have to be replaced. Larger excavations at various levels are done to create an interior landscape, which also uses a mix of historic foundations and new wood to create walk paths and connect the different spots in a single circuit.
Additionally, this experimental preservation installation seeks to tell the story of the city’s water levels concerning historical events, by including records of various flooding and drought levels to raise public awareness about the impacts of climate change.
