For the first time in 500 years, the building of the Procuratie Vecchie, the north wing of Piazza San Marco, Venice, will be open to the public
With a patient restoration, David Chipperfield Architects has brought the large building, now owned by Generali Assicurazioni, back to life. The buildings of the Procuratie, so called because the Procurators of Saint Mark used to live there, surround Piazza San Marco on three sides. The subject of the renovation is the Procuratie Vecchie, located on the north side of the square. The original construction, begun in 1517 by Bartolomeo Bon and Guglielmo dei Grigi, was completed in 1538 by Jacopo Sansovino, Proto of Venice.
Discover Kunsthaus Zürich, a project by David Chipperfield Architects
Since the 1980s, the Procuratie Vecchie have belonged to Generali Assicurazioni. Now, after the renovation, the Procuratie Vecchie building houses the Venice headquarters of The Human Safety Net, a humanitarian organization of the Generali Group. The interior design, with exhibition design and the multimedia section of the THSN headquarters, is by Migliore+Servetto, with artistic direction by Davide Rampello.
The Human Safety Net at the Procuratie Vecchie in Venice: spaces for sharing
Migliore+Servetto’s project has involved the entire top floor and the reception areas on the ground floor, creating spaces for interaction, sharing and dialogue. There is a café always open to the public, a coworking area reserved for the activities of the Foundation and its partners, event rooms, and an auditorium. The partitions of the spaces and the furnishings, all designed by Migliore+Servetto, enhance the subdivision of the architectural volumes and recall the Venetian roots of the place with the materials: glass, copper, wood, mirrors.
The typical Venetian bricole are the supporting structure of the installation of the exhibition route dedicated to team work, while the benches of the café, in natural wood, recall those of the historical Venetian cafés. Moreover, the patterns of the carpets revisit traditional motifs, such as the ornate arches of the Doge’s Palace or the millefiori murrine; the glass chandeliers made by Benvenuto Mastri Vetrai emphasize the relationship between natural and artificial light.
Migliore+Servetto has also designed the installation made up of 100 tapestries on the façade of the Procuratie Vecchie facing Piazza San Marco and a smaller installation consisting of 22 tapestries on the internal façade of the Corte Maruzzi. The tapestries on the external façade are made of recyclable and iridescent technical fabric, while those of the Corte Maruzzi give transparency and permeability to the internal façades, thanks to a weave made of technical and sustainable i-Mesh fibers. Ph: Andrea Martiradonna, courtesy Migliore+Servetto
Discover the I-Mesh technical fabric
Below, other pictures of the project by Migliore+Servetto, with the exhibition “A world of potential”
