If the Venice Architecture Biennale can seem like a series of visual moments, this year’s collaboration between the Norman Foster Foundation Team and the innovation team at Porsche aims to be much more. The installation, called Gateway to Venice’s Waterway, has to be experienced to be appreciated.

Located at the Arsenale, beside the Armstrong Mitchell Hydraulic Crane, it provides a literal gateway to the year’s offerings and acts as a symbolic gateway to ideas of a sustainable, innovative future for mobility. Architect Norman Foster sees it as a reimagining of the struggling city’s transport infrastructure, though its form is inspired by Venice’s historic footbridges.

Deceptively long at 37 metres, it wears a kinetic, ‘aerodynamic’ cladding reminiscent of Porsche’s more recent models. Materials were sourced locally and assembled with modular fabrication techniques that could be scaled up. During the first week of the Biennale, it will serve as a zero-emission transport hub in what could be a citywide network in future. A fleet of Schiller water bikes will line up on one side, and another of Frauscher x Porsche 850 Fantom Air electric boats on the other. The latter incorporates modified Porsche Macan motors.

Foster himself has said, ‘This project pushed us to rethink our design philosophy to fully integrate circular economy principles.’ He says the design is meant to be inclusive, to ensure accessibility for all ages and abilities.

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