The project for the canopies of the toll plazas and barriers along the Mestre Bypass stems from the need to give a recognizable and meaningful architectural form to an infrastructure that welcomes and guides thousands of motorists every day.

Built in Mogliano, Venezia Est, Preganziol Est and Ovest, and Spinea Est and Ovest, these structures are conceived as infrastructural architectures that combine technical efficiency with symbolic value, turning purely functional elements into distinctive landmarks within the landscape.

The canopy, which shelters the toll booths and, in the case of the barriers, connects the adjacent office and service buildings, is supported by a sequence of vertical pillars – the Totems – that rise along the highway as emblematic signs. Each pillar, tilted ten degrees from the vertical, is clad with rhomboidal expanded metal mesh that softens its geometry and modulates its perception. By day, the surfaces reflect natural light with subtle iridescence; by night, they become luminous beacons, visible from afar and capable of guiding travelers through the landscape.

The structural components – steel beams, stays, and sandwich panels – ensure strength and reliability, fully meeting technical and safety requirements. Yet the architectural language is what gives the project its expressive power: the Totems are not mere structural supports, but symbolic presences that narrate the identity of the territory and its welcoming spirit.

The canopy thus becomes a device connecting infrastructure and landscape, technique and perception, functionality and representation. An intervention originally conceived for the rapid, anonymous flow of motorway traffic acquires a visual and territorial identity, turning a moment of transit into an experience of recognition and orientation.