Riva Waterfront Split

The city of Split, Croatia and its waterfront, the Riva, the embodiment of Splits history and character, are among the most interesting and most remarkable sites in the Mediterranean. The Split waterfront is an urbanized, open and accessible public space & it is, so to speak, the town's living room. It stands in front of Diocletian's Palace, the home of the Roman emperor more than 1700 years ago. Over the centuries the palace was transformed from a private residence into a town. In a related fashion its waterfront also underwent numerous transformations of material, form, finish and functional use. Considering its exceptionally valuable role in the city of Split, the competition guidelines for the waterfront restoration had very precise requirements for respecting cultural and historical heritage, taking particular care of the contact zone between the project area and Diocletian s Palace, a world heritage site protected by UNESCO. The waterfront is a focal point of community activity where the city meets the sea. 250 meters long and 55 meters wide, it is also the main public square, the space for all kinds of social events, promenade by day, parade by night, the site of sport events, religious processions, festivals, celebrations and political rallies. Project rearticulates the space for all the events referred to above, harmonizing them on a new integrated surface that adapts to all the usage scenarios while retaining the Mediterranean character of the city's socio-cultural symbol. The project's goal was not to simply add a new modern layer atop the earlier structure, but to free the existing surface of everything superfluous, establishing an infrastructure that meets the needs of contemporary life.

The project development starting point was a modular network of concrete floor elements 1.5 x 1.5m, the measure of a full stride of two steps in Ancient Rome, so called paces. The color of the concrete varies from white to pale gray and its arrangement and concept is conditioned by the notion that the elements seen from afar should make a pixel image of a rippling sea. The modular floor covering is the framework for all the current and future purposes and determines the arrangement and the positions of all the other elements of the public space: benches, green areas, outdoor cafés, sunscreens, and structural elements.

A very important design element of the new Riva, are the green elements that introduce the unexpected into the project with their flowering, growth and scents, forging an unbreakable bond with nature. The primarily Mediterranean but also aromatic, medicinal and spice plants chosen for their color and height: they are almost always short, not interfering with beautiful seascapes, and with adequate colors that make the gray and green leaves look from afar like the rippled sea, like the colored concrete elements. All urban elements were specially designed for the Riva and reinterpret the celebrated Mediterranean quality of idleness. By night Riva becomes an ardent lungomare with the light sources following the particularities of its different areas.