Suspended in the struggle between sea and soil, Venice is an ambiguous place prone to mystification. For centuries, vedutisti left a vivid visual record of the city that was by turns a reflection of real and imagined space. As a result, the tourist-oriented city has seen the birth and growth of an industry of nostalgia, in which preservation efforts to protect the city&;s historic brand sometimes displace its local livelihood. In addition, Venice now battles rising water levels that are having a fundamental impact on local communities and living conditions.
Venice Lessons is a project of Laba, or Laboratory Basel, founded in 2011 as a satellite studio of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. The book presents the studio&;s proposals for the city in three parts. Part One, &;Territory,&; presents an interdisciplinary reading of the lagunary territory of Venice. Part Two, &;Field,&; documents Laba&;s fieldwork in Venice in 2015. Part Three, &;Architecture,&; features twelve designs produced in response to the core concerns of Venice.
