Italian practice gosplan has revitalised a historic stretch of Camogli Harbour in Liguria, creating a carefully crafted public realm that celebrates the enduring relationship between the fishing village, its working waterfront and everyday civic life.
Genoa-based practice gosplan has completed the redevelopment of a 350-square-metre section of Via Scalo al Porto in Camogli, on the Ligurian coast. Commissioned by the City of Camogli, the project reimagines a modest stretch of working harbour, introducing new public infrastructure while preserving the site’s long-established maritime character.
Rather than treating the quay as either a tourist destination or a working port, the architect has embraced both identities simultaneously. The intervention carefully reorganises the public realm through new paving, seating and lighting, creating a more generous and coherent waterfront that allows the everyday activities of the harbour to continue uninterrupted.
The project is centred on a sequence of low, linear benches arranged intermittently along the edge of the quay. Constructed from white-painted galvanised steel with laminated Iroko timber, they are designed to accommodate multiple ways of occupying the space. The benches’ pivoting timber backrests allow users to face either the sea or the village, recline in the sun, or fold them flat so the platforms can serve as work surfaces for repairing fishing nets. Concealed beneath each bench, a continuous strip of light transforms the seating into a series of softly illuminated lanterns after dark.
The seating is deliberately woven around the harbour’s original timber posts, which continue to support fishing nets, ropes and mooring buoys. Rather than replacing these working elements, the architect incorporated them into the design, reinforcing the coexistence of Camogli’s fishing traditions and its public waterfront.
At one end of the quay, a lightweight screen formed from irregular Iroko timber slats marks the edge of the intervention while maintaining visual openness towards the sea. Rising above it, a simple brass weather vane mounted on a white pole acts as both a functional marker and a local landmark, catching the changing coastal winds and providing a contemporary reference point along the harbour.
Focusing on craftsmanship and everyday use over formal expression, the restrained material palette comprises sandstone, timber, brass and pebble. The paving combines large Colombino sandstone slabs with rissëu, the traditional Ligurian pebble mosaic found in church forecourts and public squares throughout the region. This careful use of local materials creates continuity with Camogli’s architectural heritage without resorting to historical imitation, allowing the intervention to sit comfortably within its historic surroundings.
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