Laguna Palace Hotel Development

The Laguna Palace development comprises two six-storey buildings on either side of a newly extended and widened dock in Mestre, the mainland of Venice, Italy. The first building is 400 key luxury hotel and conference centre and the second an all-suite hotel, with two floors of parking that were constructed below the water level.

The two buildings are separated by a 56-metre-wide body of water which is bridged by the largest flat glass and steel roof in Europe. Spanning an area of almost two football fields, the tensile roof structure, designed in collaboration with Favero & Milan Ingegneria, is suspended from 49-metre-high angled pylons and tensile cables.

Inspiration for the structural supports was drawn from the vast floating cranes of the shipping yards silhouetted on the skyline beyond. The roof appears to hover over the buildings and the water, belying its weight and span. The roof creates an arch for boats as they enter the dock and was envisioned as a gateway that would re-establish the water link between Mestre and Venice.

• Client Alemagnauno
• Location Venice, Italy
• Year 2004
• Area 50 000 m²
• Status Built
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