Credit: Photo by Gianmarco Chieregato

This will be a hill that connects the sea to the city, a vertical park that links to the transparent sea.
– Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas

Italian architecture practice Studio Fuksas have been tapped to revitalise Monaco's Fontvieille neighbourhood by creating a 45,000 sq m vertical park.

The new elevated space – expected to function as a green corridor and pedestrian zone for the district – will be located near a public rose garden dedicated to Princess Grace of Monaco and will feature five storeys of tiered terraces, each comprising commercial outlets, rest areas, and walking paths.

Speaking on the project, Studio Fuksas said: "The idea is to observe the natural elements: the sea and the green slopes of the Mediterranean hills.

"The curved lines evoke the movement of the waves and the morphology of the bottom of the sea but also and especially the Monegasque landscape."

Other architects attached to the project include Atelier Jean Mus and Alexis Blanchi Architecture.

Studio Fuksas' regeneration scheme will be the first major building project in the ward since its development in the 1960s.

A master plan for Fontvieille was produced by the late Italian architect Manfredi Nicoletti in 1968.

Subsequent proposals to further expand the locale were hatched in consultation with Monaco's head of state, Prince Albert in 2009.