Archive and site: The ghost of Peter Eisenman's 1978 Cannaregio Ovest project in Venice

Lanuza, Felipe

Abstract

In this paper, I discuss Peter Eisenman’s unbuilt proposal for the Cannaregio Ovest district in Venice, and develop a speculative reading linking the project’s archive and the site. I account for different absences involved to visually represent the archive and site in a multi-layered and open-ended relation. Through a critical and creative reading of the archival material of the project and its underpinning discourse, in the light of the present of both its intended location and the debates around Venice’s built heritage, I reveal the potential of the archive as a tool to reimagine the experience of the city and to inform a critique of its conservation.



Dedicated to the memory of Jonathan Hill.

Citation

Lanuza, F. (2024). Archive and site: The ghost of Peter Eisenman's 1978 Cannaregio Ovest project in Venice. ARENA Journal of Architectural Research, 9(1), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.55588/ajar.389

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 10, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jun 24, 2024
• Publication Date: Jun 24, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jun 26, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 28, 2024
• Journal: ARENA Journal of Architectural Research
• Electronic ISSN: 2397-0820
• Publisher: Ubiquity Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 2
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.55588/ajar.389
• Keywords: absence, Venice, Cannaregio, Peter Eisenman, layering, discourse, photography, site, nostalgia, housing
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/36568548
• Publisher URL: https://ajar.arena-architecture.eu/articles/10.55588/ajar.389