The Palais Lumiere, a 245 meter-high skyscraper planned for the ex-industrial area of Marghera, 9.5 kilometers from the center of Venice, will not now be built. Public and government opposition has forced fashion tycoon Pierre Cardin to cancel plans for his pet skyscraper project. Pierre Cardin and architect Rodrigo Basilicati have axed plans for their 60-story Palais Lumiere, due to criticism about how the building would clash with the Venetian landscape. In March 2012, Venice government has approved a 60-storey tower designed and funded by fashion designer Pierre Cardin. But as told project architect Rodrigo Basilicati "The decision was inevitable after over two years since presenting the initiative we could not get a formal approval on a deal with all public bodies involved. Cardin's Palace of Light was to be built on Venice's mainland in the former industrial area of Porto Marghera and was to boast swimming pools, gardens and ponds on the upper decks and a helipad on the roof. Originally set for a 2015 completion, the glass palace was to include housing, hotels, cinemas, restaurants, research centers as well as educational and sports facilities. The skyscraper's three towers were to be connected by six horizontal disks. Opposition and criticism over the glass-walled skyscraper began in 2012. Locals have been concerned over the impact of the 245-meter structure would have on the Venetian landscape and the medieval city. The opposition largely consists of are "Venetians and Italians who are tired of seeing Venice abused by the vast cruise ships and mounting examples of the crudest commercialism.

Venice has approved a 60-storey tower designed and funded by fashion designer Pierre Cardin, reported British online publication BDonline. It will be the centerpiece of a vast project to build a whole new suburb on reclaimed land north of the historic city. City governor Luca Zaia described the Palais Lumiere project as Venice's Eiffel Tower and likened Cardin to Lorenzo the Magnificent, Florence's great Medici patron. Cardin, who was born near Venice 89 years ago, described the scheme as the "pinnacle" of his career. The tower will be built in the former industrial area of Porto Marghera and will be at the heart of a 1.6 million square meter project that will clean up polluted brown field areas and reclaim further land from the lagoon. Cardin's striking design involves 3 separate fins joined at a number of levels by six horizontal discs accessed by lifts. Its height and diameter will both be 244 meters. Conceived as a gateway to Venice, it will be a hub for the creative industries including a fashion and design college, exhibition space and incubators for start-up businesses. Some reports said it would also contain a hotel, restaurants, indoor and outdoor pools, a cinema, roof gardens, a heliport and even a hospital. The wider development will include 35 thousand square meter of residential, 25 thousand square meter of hotels and restaurants, 115 thousand square meter of offices, 600 thousand square meter of landscaping, 100 thousand square meter of parking, plus new infrastructure. The city authorities this week gave Cardin permission to enter a simplified planning process.