PROJECT REPORT: HERITAGE & CONSERVATION
ping out and opening up certain areas to better understand the condition of the building.”
One of the biggest obstacles to the project so far has been addressing the work that’s been done previously to the building, as it “has been compromised by successive modifications and adaptions over centuries,” says Chipperfield. “Over the years a building such as this suffers practi- cal modifications, logistical modifications and technical modifications which are not always done with sufficient reflection. It is the nature of projects like this that many of the improvements will have been done in an ad hoc and very improvised way.” It’s important to both Generali and DCA that the building regains the identity that’s been lost by the various alterations under- taken and different uses it’s had over time. “There are implicit contradictions in the way the building’s been built and the way it has been used,” explains Chipperfield. “Going back, this doesn’t have just one history.” He explains the design approach – rather than replicating historical features that have been lost, Chipperfield says they will “consider” them.
The project team has also faced the challenge posed by what Chipperfield describes as “a very charming quality to this building, which is quite difficult to under- stand from the front.” The formality and apparent coherence the classical facade implies isn’t reflected inside the building. “In the thickness of this building you have the negotiation between the civic formality of the square and the real nature of Venice, which is much more organic,” he explains.
Proposals
While much of the design is still to be finalised, DCA and Generali have already put together some proposals and aims for the project, centering around the necessary structural work required to repair the build- ing and make it safe. Much of the flooring throughout the Procuratie Vecchie will need strengthening and restoring.
Rooms throughout the building will also need updating in order to comply with various laws and regulations. Fire preven- tion methods and means of escape are required, and the building also needs to be made suitable for use as a workspace with appropriate acoustics, lighting and techno- logical plant. “Through proper integrated planning as we are doing now, it’s much easier to integrate technical systems,” explains Chipperfield. “They don't have to be in conflict with the historical building,”
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he asserts. He says that the clear goal is to “turn it from a 16th century building into a 21st century building.”
The restoration will also see the design team placing a focus on making sure the building is accessible for all visitors, partic- ularly important given the focus on equal opportunity that sits at the core of The Human Safety Net programme. The work will also involve the refurbish- ment of existing decorative elements that have remained reasonably intact over the years, in an effort to retain the best of its past while also removing that which isn’t contributing to its design integrity. Chipperfield explains: “We’re trying to find a new integrity in the building which is combined from what has survived and understanding what we can remove, and from that rejuvenate the building and find its spirit again.”
The existing internal layout of the build- ing is also going to have to be altered drastically in order for it to be suitable for its new functions as a flexible headquarters.
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MAKING AN EXHIBITION
Render of the planned first floor exhibition space © David Chipperfield Architects
It was one of the first buildings in Venice to be built in the early Renaissance style
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