The founders of Italian practice Studio Fuksas have spoken to the Italian press about their designs for The Line mega city in Saudi Arabia, which are on display during the Venice Architecture Biennale.
Speaking to Italian newspaper La Repubblica in a rare interview by an architect working on the project, Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas said that the project aligned with the aims of the Venice Architecture Biennale they curated in 2000.
"It's like an urbanisation project that does not touch the poetry of the desert," said Massimiliano Fuksas.
"After all, the architecture biennale that we curated in 2000 was entitled: Less Aesthetics More Ethics. A motto that is now in the spirit of our time."
Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas (top) have spoken about their designs for The Line (above) Part of the controversial Neom development in northwestern Saudi Arabia, The Line is planned as a 170-kilometre-long mega city that will house nine million people. Studio Fuksas' designs are included in an exhibition on Neom titled Zero Gravity Urbanism that is currently on display in Venice.
Massimiliano Fuksas revealed that the studio is working on three modules for the city, which will consist of a pair of parallel 500-metre-high skyscrapers.
"You shouldn't think of the concept of tower or skyscraper in the classic sense," Doriana Fuksas told La Repubblica. "In our modules all the urban functions are present and integrated: homes, green areas, public space...