Carrara Coast Regeneration through Marble, Mobility and Public Space
Location: Carrara, Italy
Type: Landscape and public-space strategy
Scale: Coast, port, industrial edge and urban connections
Team: Yijing Zhang, Shuyi Zhang, Huaxu Wang, Xinyi Chen, Rahima Rahdari
Tools: Mapping, masterplanning, sections, public-space design, material reuse strategy
Description
The Value of Waste reimagines Carrara’s marble landscape by transforming industrial traces, discarded material and fragmented coastal spaces into a connected public landscape. The project begins from the identity of Carrara as a marble city, where extraction, production, waste and cultural memory are deeply embedded in the territory.
The strategy connects the coast, port, industrial areas and urban green fragments through cycling routes, pedestrian spaces and marble-based public interventions. Rather than treating marble waste as a leftover material, the project uses it as a spatial, cultural and ecological resource. Marble fragments, gravel and powder become part of new meeting points, coastal edges, shaded structures, planters and public-space elements.
The proposal works across multiple scales: from the reorganization of mobility and green connectivity to detailed interventions along the waterfront. Key actions include transforming disused railway infrastructure into a cycle path, creating marble meeting points, improving coastal access, activating abandoned corners and introducing public spaces that allow people to interact with Carrara’s material heritage in new ways.
Project focus
Material reuse · Coastal regeneration · Marble landscape · Public space · Mobility · Industrial heritage