FONDACO INFORMAL MARKET (Venice, 2031)

RIGHT TO THE CITY: The medical emergency caused by the global pandemia has has led us to give greater importance to the crucial things in our life. Many essential professions, especially in the fields of health and in the food chain, are not considered anymore as minor occupations which are not relevant for the social-economic system; on the contrary, professions as the greengrocer, the cashier or the fishmonger are finally appreciated for their capacity of acting as a social capital able to connect the citizens by generating a strong sense of community. This particular situation led us to re-think the commercial spaces of our cities, giving more space to the small neighborood shops and local sellers and moreover questioning the shopping centre’s system. In 2031, the Venetian citizens started protesting against the constant commodification of their city, claiming their “Right to the City” and expressing their intention to re-appropriate the lost public spaces of the “Serenissima”. During the protests, some citizens peacefully occupyed a symbolic 12th century popular building which was turned into a commercial centre: the Fondaco dei Tedeschi. The Fondaco, indeed, despite the careful restoration made by the Dutch archistar Rem Koolhas in 2016, was then conceived as a big consumption centre, with exclusive shops and spritz bars.
After the occupation. following a new urban strategy on the local food chain, the Fondaco dei Tedeschi is finally converted into an informal market. The new informal market has revealed the lost historic identity of the Fondaco: a popular public space for local commercial exchanges and networks where the Venetians can express their identity.