Nature and soft mobility on Rimini’s redeveloped seafront

The redevelopment of the sixteen-kilometre seafront that extends northwards and southwards from Rimini between the town and its long sandy beaches is eloquently named Parco del Mare (Sea Park) and represents a major multi-year public works project. It was launched in 2019 with the aim of remediating the functional and visual characteristics of this highly developed area alongside a busy road that has effectively formed a barrier between Rimini and the sea. In the new project, the seafront is envisaged as a connecting element that prioritises greenery, soft mobility and leisure spaces. The Rimini North Sea Park, a more than six-kilometre section running between Rivabella and Torre Pedrera, has already been completed, while work on the southern section is still in progress.
As the project coordinator, architect Filippo Boschi, explains, the figures for the northern section give an idea of the sheer scale of the intervention. „The project concerned a 6.1 km stretch of seafront extending over a total of approximately 90,000 square metres of public space,“ he said. „It involved the construction of 5.8 km of walkways and cycle paths, an 80,000 square metre pedestrian area, and 10,000 square metres of new green areas and so-called „rain gardens“ [flowerbeds with a central depression to absorb rainwater, ed.] planted with more than 700 new trees.“ Community squares have been created amidst the greenery as places where people can relax, work or study in the open air. Each element is designed to reconnect the town with its beaches on multiple levels. „The alternation of materials, solutions and formal languages used in the project creates different landscapes that connect the beach to the urban frontage and underscore the presence of the sea,“ explains the architect. „This ensures a significant improvement in comfort and caters for the needs of a wide range of users.“
Continuity and fluidity were also the guiding principles behind the choice of paving. „The choice of a continuous, step-free pavement created a flexible space that is perceived as a single long plaza,“ concludes Boschi. „Smoothed architectural concrete was used for the cycle paths and washed architectural concrete inserts in the more nature-inspired sections along with soft landscaping based on Mediterranean coastal dune vegetation. The exclusively pedestrian areas were paved with stone-effect porcelain tiles.“ A total area of 44,000 square metres was paved with multiformat porcelain slabs with a 20 mm thickness, a high-performance custom-designed solution from Cotto d’Este.
The effect is that of a sedimentary stone formed on the seabed, with a rough surface obtained using casts made from natural stone and a flame-effect treatment in which the surface is exposed to a high-temperature flame and then cooled with water. An alternation of the two pale, luminous shades Cream and Sand are used to create a vivid, dynamic and natural-looking pattern with a contemporary character.