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UNESCO World Heritage: A Contemporary Art Museum for Santa Chiara in Pisa, Italy

Part 1 Project 2013
Minghui Ke
Kingston University Kingston | UK
Pisa is famously known for its UNESCO World Heritage Site, Piazza dei Miracoli and the leaning tower. As one of the most popular attractions in the city, most of the tourists are dropped off by tourist bus at the coach station located Northwest outside the medieval city wall for taking few pictures of the monuments, however, never get a chance to go into the city centre to experience this famous historical city and its fascinated culture.

With the transfer of the Santa Chiara hospital from its original 13th century location bordering the Piazza dei Miracoli to its new home in Cisanello on the outskirts of Pisa, an unprecedented redevelopment opportunity has emerged. The project aims to translate the site into an appropriate planning and regulatory system, which give back to Santa Chiara its local functions, fitting in with the town centre and the development of its living, tourist and cultural potentials.

To reconnect this ancient hospital site and the UNESCO World Heritage Site with the city, some of the existing buildings have been suggested to be demolished and propose a new largo and other potential secondary roads that created by several different new design proposals.

The scheme proposes a new contemporary art museum that connected to the existing building and “completes” the existing courtyard system base on series studies of historical building footprint and courtyard spaces in Pisa. The concept of the building is focused on a new interpretation of the existing urban setting, familiar spatial typologies, materiality and construction which the new building could address the historic site and also converse with existing structures to transform the urban structure.

Minghui Ke

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2013
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