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

The two buildings are separated by a 56-metre-wide body of water. This is bridged by a flat glass and steel roof, which at the time was the largest in Europe. The bold tensile roof structure was designed in collaboration with Favero & Milan Ingegneria.

Our inspiration for the structural supports was the vast floating cranes of the shipping yards silhouetted on the skyline beyond the site. 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. It was envisioned as a gateway that would re-establish the water link between Mestre and Venice.