C+S architects: law court offices in venice

‘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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