“I can’t think of anything else but that bridge. I want to make sure that the new bridge has the traits of Genoa, of our qualities and a little of our parsimony,” Piano told reporters after a meeting with the regional governor of Liguria, Giovanni Toti where a new design for the Morandi Bridge was presented.
Renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano has offered to help design a new Genoa bridge to replace the one that collapsed, killing 43 people.
A native of the city, Piano was already involved in redesigning a 2km (1.2-mile) stretch of its waterfront.
Regional governor Giovanni Toti said: “We have gladly accepted the help, and he’s already made some proposals.”
A section of the 51-year-old Morandi bridge fell down on 14 August, crushing vehicles and buildings underneath.
It has since emerged the 1.2km bridge had been slowly decaying for decades.
Piano presented his idea to Mr Toti, governor of Liguria, and Genoa mayor Marco Bucci on Tuesday.
The 80-year-old insisted the new bridge should be constructed “soon, but not in a rush”, reflecting the “genuine nature and qualities of the Genoese”.
In an interview with Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper, the architect said what was needed was a beautiful and safe bridge that would provide a “rebirth and redemption” for the affected area.
According to Italian reports, Piano provided sketches to Genoa officials, showing the road sitting on pillars that each resembled the prow of a ship.
The other main feature would be 43 very tall posts illuminating the bridge at night in the shape of sails – one for each victim of the disaster, the Corriere website said.
The bridge would be built by engineers, but the project should be thrown open to all architects, engineers and landscape specialists, he said.
France 24 /BBC/Corriere
