Pierre Cardin cancels Venice skyscraper

Pierre Cardin's Palais Lumière axed

News: public and government opposition has forced fashion tycoon Pierre Cardin to cancel plans for his futuristic Venice skyscraper.

Pierre Cardin and his architect nephew Rodrigo Basilicati have axed plans for their 60-storey, three-finned Palais Lumière (Palace of Light) skyscraper, due to criticisms about how the building would fit into the Venetian landscape.

Speaking to Italian media, Basilicati said: “The decision was inevitable after over two years since presenting the initiative we could not get formal approval on a deal with all public bodies involved.”

Pierre Cardin's Palais Lumiere cancelled

Cardin’s Palace of Light was to be built on Venice’s mainland in the former industrial area of Porto Marghera and was to boast swimming pools, gardens and ponds on the upper decks and a helipad on the roof.

Opposition and criticism over the glass skyscraper began in 2012. Locals have been concerned over the impact the 245 metre-high structure would have on the Venetian landscape and its medieval city.

“Venetians and Italians are tired of seeing Venice abused by the vast cruise ships and mounting examples of the crudest commercialism,” reported Anna Somers Cocks in the Arts Newspaper.

Pierre Cardin's Palais Lumiere cancelled

Originally set for a 2015 completion, to coincide with the Milan Universal Exposition, the glass palace was to include housing, hotels, cinemas, restaurants, research centres as well as educational and sports facilities; totalling an area of 250,000 square metres. The skyscraper’s three towers and 60 floors were to be connected by six horizontal disks, located 35 metres apart.

Pierre Cardin's Palais Lumiere cancelled

Earlier this year, Dezeen reported on Rem Koolhaas’ OMA plans to transform a building on Venice’s Grand Canal into a department store and public event space. See more architecture in Venice »

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Palais Lumière by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Palais Lumière is a 245 metre skyscraper proposed for Venice by fashion designer Pierre Cardin.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Construction is scheduled to begin this year on the 60-storey building, which will comprise three fin-shaped towers connected horizontally by six huge steel discs.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Located on the mainland in former industrial area Porto Marghera, the building will provide a shopping centre, a hotel, a theatre and conference centre, offices, restaurants and over 284 apartments.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Swimming pools, gardens and ponds will be located on the upper decks and a helipad will be positioned on the rooftop.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

The tower will be more than twice the height of St. Mark’s Basilica, which at 99 metres is currently the tallest building in Venice.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Cardin designed the building with the help of architect nephew Rodrigo Basilicati and is reported to be “fed up with the delays” that have been holding up construction.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Other skyscrapers making the news recently include the Shard in London and a new district of skyscrapers in South Korea.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

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Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Here’s some information from the project website:


The objective of Palais Lumière is to bring together everything that a person needs in a space conceived as a unified whole, where every location within the complex can be reached by foot in just a few minutes.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

To this end, the building features floors for residential or office use that alternate with floors having public spaces or that are open to the public, where large numbers of people can gather.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level -1 plan

This results in a building whose value index – the relationship between the functions that the building must perform and the total cost of the project – is positive.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Ground floor plan

In addition to striving for optimal efficacy and efficiency in the construction, the project emphasizes functionality – with structural and building services solutions that address the environmental sustainability problems relating to energy consumption that are inherent in tall buildings – while also paying close attention to safety aspects.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 1 plan

The unique shape of the building was conceived from a desire to create a structure that is destined to become a symbol of the ongoing transformation of the area.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 2 plan

This sculptural architectural work was created using the capabilities of morphological-structural calculations, increasing the scale of the object and moulding it into a complex form of such uniqueness that it produces an unparalleled increase in the market value.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 4 plan

The building consists of three towers having a similar shape but differing in height.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 5 plan

The total height is 245 metres, with a maximum of 60 habitable floors and a ground area of 30,000 m2.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 6 plan

Each of the three vertical elements, arranged in a radial pattern 120° apart from one another, has a maximum width of 20m, creating an interior layout that is ideal for both residential and tertiary sector uses.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 15 plan

The three towers are positioned around an open central area that houses 21 panoramic lifts, which provide direct access to the large circular floors destined primarily for commercial and recreational uses.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 16 plan

These circular floors, six in all, are spaced 40 m apart and have a lens-shaped cross section to optimize aerodynamics and limit the pressure exerted by the wind on the structure.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 25 plan

The complex features 284 private residences (approximately 45,000 m2), hotel space (34,000 m2), as well as office space, commercial and service activities, applied research facilities, a conference centre, higher education facilities and restaurants (130,000 m2).

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 26 plan

The shopping centre is located on the first two floors of the three towers and the circular underground level, where there is also a large combined conference centre and thea- tre/auditorium with 6,200/7,000 seats, which can be subdivided by an ad hoc system into six rooms having 600/700 seats each and two rooms having 1,300/1,400 seats.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 34 plan

These rooms are acoustically insulated, allowing them to be used as conference rooms, theatres or university lecture halls.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 35 plan

Finally, there are more than 4,000 parking spaces and garages located on two floors beneath the building.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 36 plan

Each tower has 17 lifts, 14 of which hold 7 people, two of which hold 15 and one of which holds 50. The lifts are contact-free (except during emergencies), running along electronically-controlled magnetic guides that eliminate friction and noise.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 45 plan

Thanks to the Palais Lumière’s 72 lifts, it is be possible for 650 people to reach the panoramic restaurant on the sixth circular floor or disc (at a height of 225 metres) in just over a minute, and for 1,600 people to reach the cinema/multiplex area on the second disc (16th floor) in less than 5 minutes.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 46 plan

The building’s six discs feature more than 4 hectares (44,000 m2) of hanging gardens, as well as public and private ponds and swimming pools.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 55 plan

The “green space” found inside this structure more than doubles the area occupied by the building’s foundation.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 56 plan

In addition, the building is situated in a 250,000 m2 oasis-like park that is energy self-sufficient (including lighting), as it uses excess power that the building generates from solar, and more importantly, wind sources.

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