Architect Renzo Piano has put forward designs for a replacement for the Morandi suspension bridge, which collapsed on 14 August killing 43 people.
Piano, a Genoa native known for his work on the Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Shard in London, told The Observer the collapse was like “a shadow that stays with you”, and that the replacement should reflect a “positive moment of unity and cooperation”.
Giovanni Toti, president of the province of Liguria, said: “Renzo Piano offered, as a competent Genovese, to give this new bridge project as gift to the city.
“We happily accepted the help, and he’s already made a few proposals.”
Speaking to The Observer, Piano said: “I’m a senator for life in Italy’s parliament and so it is one of my duties to respond to such a disaster in some way.
“It must be a design in which people can recognise the tragedy in some way, while also providing a great entrance to the city. All this must be done without any sign of rhetoric – that would be the worst trap.”
Following the bridge collapse, Italy declared a state of emergency and blamed bridge owner Autostrade per l’Italia for the incident.
Image: The Morandi bridge in Genoa after the collapse (Fotoclipge/Dreamstime)
