Experience As Mayor - Architetto Alessandro Ferro

From June 2016 to October 2021, for over 5 years, I had the privilege of administering my city as Mayor. Chioggia, which with almost 50 thousand inhabitants is placed at
seventh place for population density of the whole Veneto, surpassing even other provincial capitals.
It was a challenging, difficult but rewarding experience where I understood
the functioning of the administrative machine from the inside, the mechanism and the overcoming of the complex processes of a local authority, but also a place where I have matured and discovered other aspects of society and people
that I did not know before. The public space has a different dimension where it focuses on society and not the whole of many people.
During my mandate I managed to start and bring to finish many activities in all sectors and services passing through the Social, Commerce, State Property, tourism and finally with those
urban construction and public works that more than others have gratified me in the work.
The detailed plan of the historic center of Chioggia and Sottomarina has in fact been approved,
as well as the New Sustainable Building Regulations.

To administer does not only mean managing public affairs dragged by the will of the people,
but also to do what in one’s heart is believed to be “wise and courageous”, with a far-sighted vision over time, leaving posterity without fear of ruling their judgment.

In all ages, man has tried to improve the performance of their homes, both in terms of comfort and hygiene. To obtain these results, he first tried to make the most of what nature had made immediately available to him: sites suitable for building, natural shelters, soil protection, sunlight and heat from the sun, as well as materials to be used. construction (wood, stone, earth, clay, etc.).

This led, first on an intuitive level, then on an artisan level, an attention that constituted the ante-litteram “architecture”: the choice of the site for the building, the choice of the best orientation towards solar exposure and of the winds, the choice of building materials, the “project” of the housing typology and its structure.

Over time, the architectural project lost its artisanal character, to assume more and more a technological character. With the increase of knowledge and technological skills, man exploited in an increasingly complex way the possibilities offered by nature, creating artifacts that could improve the quality of his homes. The sites were thus modified, bricks, glass, sewage systems, insulation, etc. were made. Until the nineteenth century. however, attention to the sustainability of an architectural project was still fundamental, especially due to the limits deriving from the scarcity of the energy resources available.

Since the seventies, the need was felt to verify whether this condition did not hide problems. In fact, in that period occurs:

the development of ecological ideas;
the emergence of health concerns due to pollution;
the evidence of the problem of energy supply linked to the availability of fossil fuels.

What has undergone a great boost is the research on pollutants in the built environment, precisely because it is the one that has immediate health aspects. Then, with the cost of fossil fuels rising, the aspect that has begun to generate more interest is that related to energy saving. One of the effects of these new impulses is a return of the attention of the architectural project to nature and the resources it offers us.

Today, sustainable architecture strives to have a systemic vision, as broad as possible, which deals with the problem of the built in its whole “function-man-nature” relationship, considering buildings, not only as shelters, but as sustenance of life.

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