david chipperfield to complete restoration of venice's procuratie vecchie by end of year

procuratie vecchie to open for the first time

generali announces that david chipperfield‘s renovated procuratie vecchie in venice is on track complete in spring 2022. located in the piazza san marco, the building will open to the public for the first time in its 500-year history, following the five-year restoration carried out by the studio’s milan offices. read designboom’s previous coverage here.

to celebrate the upcoming inauguration, a physical model of the building showing part of the interventions will be displayed to the public. this scale model will show from november 12th, 2021 until january 12th, 2022 in the human garden space within the royal gardens, which itself reopened to the public in 2019 following a five-year restoration by the venice gardens foundation in partnership with generali.

david chipperfield’s five year restoration

the opening of venice’s procuratie vecchie follows an ambitious five-year restoration project by david chipperfield’s milan office and is due to be completed by the end of the year. the project has not been defined by a single concept or architectural gesture, but through a series of interventions that address the complexity of the work. these included the restoration of the first and second floors, the reorganisation of accessibility and usability of the building through the inclusion of new staircases and the renovation of the central pavilion on the third floor.

the intervention promoted by generali will enhance the third floor to include exhibition spaces open to the public and linked to the human safety net foundation, workspaces and an auditorium. the historic building, which runs along the northern edge of the square, will become a major new destination and hub of activity, as well as one with a social purpose. it will become the headquarters of the human safety net, a global movement of NGOs, volunteers and partners, working with people living in vulnerable circumstances so that they can transform the lives of their families and communities.

the renovation will be part of the ambitious project to make venice the world capital of sustainability

the re-opening rounds off a special year for generali, which marked its 190th anniversary in 2021 with an array of initiatives geared towards economic recovery and sustainability. the procuratie vecchie will also be part of the ambitious project to make venice the world capital of sustainability.

david chipperfield comments: ‘it has been an enormous privilege to work on the procuratie vecchie, not only for the significance of the building’s architecture and centuries of history, but also for the role it plays in defining one of the most inspiring civic spaces in the world. through our project we are carefully reunifying and adapting the building’s fabric as well as reviving the role and meaning of the procuratie vecchie for venice not merely as an attraction but as a vibrant place of activity in a living city.

‘the strength of such a project relies on the quality of collaborations, and we are hugely grateful to our client, advisors and the teams on site for their inspiring commitment throughout this project. we look forward with great excitement to its public opening next year.‘

the intervention will enhance the third floor to include exhibition spaces open to the public
a series of interventions will address the complexity of the work
the building will become the headquarters of the human safety net
to celebrate the upcoming inauguration, a physical model will be displayed to the public
the restoration is on track complete in spring 2022

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