C+S architects: law court offices in venice
the new offices in a renovated 19th-century tobacco processing plant make smart use of the stretched site and provide a social function in the larger infrastructure of the city.
‘law court offices in venice’ by C+S, venice, italyimage © pietro savorelliall images courtesy of C+S
located at the vehicular entrance to the ancient city of venice, the ‘law court offices’ by italian practice C+S inhabits a long diagonal stretch in a previously functioning 19th-century tobacco factory. given its particular site, beginning at one extreme with piazzale roma, with views towards san marco along the longitudinal axis and glimpses of calatrava’s bridge on the other end, the project finds itself not just as a building within an urban context, but as an infrastructural piece to the center of the city.
the ground floor, made of solid masonry walls and rounded columns, is a public commercial space, open to the community during the day to provide several types of spaces in which the visitor can interact socially within the structure. the five-meter cantilever of the following four floors creates a shadow over the entrance vestibule that informs people where to enter the building, where they are greeted by a long continuous hallway and a vertical staircase serving the other levels containing the various offices. TECU copper sheets wrap the exterior of the construct resonating with the industrial vernacular of the area, perforated to extend views out towards the city center and create a certain quality of interior light.
ground entrance at piazzale romaimage © pietro savorelli
image © pietro savorelli
piazzale entranceimage © alessandra bello
left image © pietro savorelliright image © alessandra bello
image © alessandra bello
image © pietro savorelli
exterior skinimage © alessandra bello
long hallway and vertical circulationimage © pietro savorelli
vertical view under the stairsimage © pietro savorelli
left image © alessandra belloright image © pietro savorelli
vertical perforations in the envelopeimage © alessandra bello
view from the neighboring buildingsimage © pietro savorelli
in contextimage © alessandra bello
site plan
floor plan / level 0
floor plan / level 3
floor plan / level 5
roof plan
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concept sketches
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