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Ursus

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Feasibility Design for the recovering of Ursus crane

The technical-economic feasibility report for the placement of the pontoon Ursus within an exhibition itinerary in the museum hub of Trieste’s Porto Vecchio aims to systematize contextual, technical and economic considerations and on the specificity of the artifact, in order to make preliminary evaluations suitable for the identification of the most appropriate and sustainable musealization methods.

The optimal scenario is the transformation of the Ursus into a museum/monumental installation supporting the Porto Vecchio info point in Warehouse 26.

The solution enhances the crane as a symbolic element of the city and of the restoration of Porto Vecchio in particular, integrating its use for tourism-cultural purposes with functions of marketing and territorial promotion; in this sense, it seems logical to entrust its management to the forming URSUS consortium for the enhancement of Porto Vecchio.

This is by far the most intelligent and economical solution, in line with all the evidence of the comparative benchmark. Under this solution, essential conservation and enhancement works would be guaranteed (hull flotation, securing, adaptations of access and visitor routes, musealization of the structure itself) but the crane would remain in the water with the possibility of also being moved to temporary moorings according to needs/opportunities.

A first option involves a minimal set-up with interventions that highlight its history and role – from simple educational panels to interventions that can be traced back to the field of public art. Likewise, it could occasionally be used to host other cultural events: the Maestrale, a Genoese crane counterpart, still functioning and larger in size, is periodically used to perform concerts or live shows, as a floating stage.

A second option is to transform it into a museum structure, i.e., a visitor and documentation center, with functional autonomy and separate from the visitor route of the building Museum of the Sea.

Dedicated, for example, to the history of labor – similar to what has been done in Rotterdam -, it envisages the use for exhibition and educational purposes of the hull and the deck/pontoon and the creation of enclosed/covered spaces suitable for the display of photographic materials (on deck) and projection of audio-visual content below deck. This is an intervention compatible with the Ministry’s musealization obligations, but excludes the construction of panoramic elevators, which are expensive and a source of technical criticality.

In addition to structural conservation work, the necessary interventions should be planned and financed to:

– secure the deck (envisioning appropriate perimeter barriers and deck treatment) and construct a roof that would transform it into a covered exhibition space;

– set up the hull as an exhibition space, in compliance with the required standards and regulations, equipping it with heating, cooling and power systems;

– define and implement a museum route.

Entrance could be chargeable with a reservation requirement, as it is difficult to imagine that more than 15-20 people could be stationed in the hull simultaneously.