Italians would like to have the opportunity to enjoy their holidays by the sea, as they traditionally do every year. This year, however, we are faced with a problem caused by Covid-19 and the security issues related to social distancing.
Various proposals have been offered up to address this problem, but these proposals themselves have proven to be difficult to implement, because they cause a feeling of estrangement that does not go hand in hand with the relaxation that holidays should provide.
The problem can be solved by spacing beach parasols at the correct distance, but this drastically cuts the number of available spaces for customers and, consequently, leads to great losses of revenue for beach properties. On some very narrow Ligurian beaches, it is even impossible.
To resolve this situation, my proposal is to equip the various beaches with temporary floating structures that are already being used in the nautical environment. These modular floating HDPE platforms are equipped with a parasol and ladder, and moored to an access pier that extends from shore out into the open water.
These cubes are very safe under all conditions, including waves. They are designed for quick and easy assembly and disassembly, transportation, and installation.
The idea was inspired by Floating Piers, the site-specific 2016 work of art by Christo and Jeanne-Claude based at Iseo Lake.
The daily renting of these islets, ideally 2.5 square metres each, gives users access to the sea by means of a fun and non-oppressive solution that makes it easy to maintain the necessary distance – it is sufficient to anchor the platforms at the correct distance from each other.