Torre Piloti
On 7 May 2013, the ship Jolly Nero, while manoeuvring out of the port of Genoa, struck and knocked down the pilots' tower. Nine people lost their lives in the collapse. Renzo Piano and the Renzo Piano Building Workshop were immediately involved in the design of the new structure: after a long series of discussions with all the relevant authorities and a consequent series of studies on its location, the tower found its place in the area of the new Waterfront. The new position was to allow a view of both harbour mouths for a faster and safer support service for ships entering and leaving the port of Genoa, and was not to get in the way of the port's development planning. New piers were built and existing piers reinforced to ensure total safety against ship collisions.
The Tower is like an imaginary sentinel looking at the horizon and shielding his eyes from the sun by bringing a hand to his forehead. The large cap at the top shadows the nacelle, home to the control cabin, and rests on a structure of steel pipes and cables, light to the eye, a pylon reminiscent of the old harbour hoisting cranes which, coloured white, matches the landscape of the masts of the sailboats moored at the surrounding piers. Inside the pylon, a pair of rack and pinion lifts and a safety ladder provide access to the control cabin. The height of the tower is 65 metres above sea level, rising to 95 metres if the antenna supporting the radars and antennas required for port traffic control is also taken into account.
A new signal for the City of Genoa
In addition to the Tower proper, the complex also consists of the Services Building: two small volumes raised from the ground to allow a view from the piers and floating docks towards the sea. The two volumes house the offices on the first floor and the pilots' cabins on the second floor. The Tower and the Service Building are connected by a pier at quay level and a footbridge at office level. The tower is clearly a port service structure, but given its shape, its height and its location in the new seafront, it is destined to become a new sign in the vision of the city of Genoa from the sea, a new conspicuous point as they say in maritime jargon that will flank and define the city together with the Lantern.
Project Details
Status
Client
Genoa Port Authority
Design Team
E.Baglietto, S.Scarabicchi (partners in charge), M.Giannini with E.Donadel, P.Pelanda, S.Russo and P.Carrera, A.Zanguio; G.Semprini (BIM co-ordination); G.Corsaro, B.Pignatti, A.Pizzolato (CGI); M.Abidos, F.Cappellini, D.Lange, F.Terranova (models)
Consultants
BUROMILAN (structure); Manens-Tifs (MEP); GAE Engineering (fire prevention); Studio E9A (BIM)
Technical Design
Techproject with Seteco Ingegneria and Alfonso Femia Design
General Contractor
Cimolai SpA
