Lessons from Venice

A lifetime of seeing Venice feature in film, travel photographs and hearing friends’ stories of the city’s unique charm meant that I went on last week’s short break with such high expectations, I wondered if it might be an anti-climax… I needn’t have worried.

Unlike many of the world’s major cities, I quickly learnt that planning an itinerary is almost pointless: the joy of the place is in innocent and unplanned discovery. From the patina of age that tells Venice’s long and compelling architectural story, to the waterways that render the city gloriously car free, every turn produces another “wow” moment. From dawn until darkness comes again, the changing light radically transforms the city. Being something of an early riser (my body clock doesn’t understand ‘holiday’) means that I frequently experience new places without the crowds. Witnessing sunrise over a wonderfully tranquil, empty Venice is something that will always live with me.

Put quite simply, the city is truly unique, and frankly, as close to perfection as could be attained in the built environment. As a heritage professional, it was wonderful to visit a city that is in many ways an exemplar in the preservation and appreciation of historic buildings. It is heartening to see buildings sensitively adapted and productively utilised in new ways to ensure their on-going conservation.

It would be easy to dismiss Venice as a monument in stasis: a city scale museum that has no transferable lessons for the wider world, but I think this is simplistic – and dare I say it, lazy. As an urban designer, I am always looking for inspiration on my travels and I believe that in spite of Venice’s undeniably unique nature, there are some key messages that we can learn that are more widely applicable.

Firstly, respecting local heritage is paramount in defining a place’s distinctive character. True, not every city is blessed with having spawned an architectural movement, but there will be place specific materials and features that define every area’s distinctive character: think Manchester’s red brick warehouses, Birmingham’s terracotta and (dwindling) Brutalism, Essex’s timber churches. These features should be preserved at all costs for a continued understanding of place.

Secondly, it’s not just about the ‘big ticket’ items. Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco are in reality just one facet of Venice: arguably the real joy is in the everyday buildings and quiet streets that make up the rest of the city. This is true of every place: we should not underestimate the importance of everyday buildings in reinforcing local character. In the UK, conservation area designation and more recently, neighbourhood plans, provide an important means of providing control over the character of an area, rather than simply identifying individual ‘special’ buildings through listed building designation.

Thirdly, consistency of the more controllable visual messages provide an opportunity to reinforce the character of the built environment: the gondolas, gondoliers’ uniforms and water taxis that appear across the city are as Venetian as the palazzos that line the Grand Canal. Every city could consider and control their visual message in this way, from their public transport services to lighting, signage and wayfinding right through to planting strategies to create ‘signifiers’ that are truly representative of the place.

Finally, it may be stating the obvious, but there is really no clearer way I can put this: removing cars is good for people. Walking, cycling (although not in Venice) and using transportation means other than private cars provide a far greater engagement between people with their surroundings, not to mention that they are far more environmentally sustainable. I would argue that the creative use of waterways for movement and for pleasure is a much underused asset in this country. Birmingham notoriously has more canals than Venice (35 miles to Venice’s 26), yet our streets are straining with congestion. Has there been a thorough enough investigation into utilising our waterways for genuine transportation means rather than just leisure trips?

Clearly the trip made a huge impact on me personally: I haven’t stopped talking about it since! How can I adequately sum up Venice? An immersive experience that begins the moment you arrive, magically by water – and ends sharply with a return to the real world, much like the end of a dream, leaving you wondering if it could possibly be real… I will simply have to go back to find out!