To the Limit

The three experiences that Ms Lupo presents in this book have the following in common: overcoming a limit, or we could say its project, as an act that profoundly triggers changes in the life of the city and its shape. All three cases deal with a limit being water. The projects for Antwerp, Venice and Copenhagen develop the concept of crossing a border. It is not simply a physical question. The limit of space is decisive but not the sole agent. The Oresund Bridge between two countries, the overflow space of Antwerp’s river and the MOSE machine in Venice’s inlets are atypical projects. They foresee the integration of different expertise and a multiple scale dimension that goes beyond traditional planning practices. Above all, they are ecological devices that focus their full attention regarding the project design on environmental and social questions. New architectural, urban and landscape forms spring from the organisation of this ecological structure. In a certain sense, these projects break (or develop) three different borderlines. One is a physical border. The others are immaterial and deal with borders according to their scale of intervention and various areas of expertise. Everything is integrated and goes through a rethinking process. These three projects show us how it is possible to produce qualities in the city and landscape by using new and unusual instruments. Fundamentally Elisabetta Lupo’s book discusses this idea. Beginning by researching the latest border situations, she describes the need for a newly integrated discipline approach to planning architecture and the city.