macs

The event building for the Port System Authority (MACS) stands along the northern quay of the Ravenna dock, within an area undergoing extensive urban transformation. The project is part of the wider regeneration process of the waterfront, characterized by the recovery of former industrial buildings and the creation of new architectures that are redefining the port’s identity. In this heterogeneous context, the MACS presents itself as a simple and compact volume, designed to engage with the fragmented morphology of the dock through formal clarity and material unity. Its essential geometry makes it a recognizable and sober landmark, balanced within the surrounding urban landscape. The building establishes a measured dialogue with the existing headquarters of the Port Authority, reinterpreting its base–upper body composition and the central void as a unifying element. While the existing building frames the view toward the water, the new MACS reverses the perspective, opening its large central void toward the city. This “eye on the dock” makes the building visually and physically permeable, offering 180-degree panoramic views and asserting its role as a discreet landmark along the new urban frontage. The tension between volumetric simplicity and the monumental presence of the central void generates strong symbolic value: the MACS “observes and is observed,” becoming, especially at night, an urban lantern that illuminates the dock and expresses openness toward the city. The interior layout is conceived for maximum flexibility, featuring a large multipurpose hall for events and conferences characterized by spatial and material continuity. The façade is clad with high-performance precast concrete panels arranged in a regular 40x40 cm modular grid of tridimensional units, either solid or perforated depending on the openings. The seriality of the modules ensures cost efficiency, rapid installation, and high technical performance, while the sculptural texture gives the building a compact and contemporary identity. In summary, the MACS represents a strategic element in the transformation of Ravenna’s waterfront: a sober yet iconic architecture that dialogues with both city and water, symbolizing innovation and continuity between the port’s memory and the future of the dock.

project team: ETB with with Patscheider & Partner (Engeneering)
partner in charge: Alessandro Tessari
project: Event Building. Ravenna, Italy
status: International restricted competition
date: 03.2025
client: Port Authority of Ravenna