Monastero de Torcello Part 1 Project 2008 Moeko Yamagata University of East London London | UK “Monastero de Torcello” is a hostel + accommodation unit in Torcello Island, Venice.It is part of a new masterplan, which aims to create a place for meditation by making use of its monastic atmosphere. The proposed building is lifted from the ground to protect it from flooding. Building elements are prefabricated with light weight timber to eliminate damage to the surroundings. Visitors enter the communal space which opens out and immediately looks out onto the lagoon. The floor finish reflects the lagoon into the building. If this masterplan is successful, it can be used in other parts of Torcello. Moeko Yamagata’s project for her degree was both powerful and silent. The unit she was part of spent the year working on several islands within the lagoon of Venice.Her project ‘Monastero de Torcello’ is a sensitive rapport between place and building as a result of a precise site analysis.The building she designed shows a fine sense of structural and constructional components as generators of architectural form and atmosphere. Moeko has produced a strong and coherent building which speaks in a beautiful way about its use and its place, radiating its presence to the landscape.Jan Liebe