PROCURATIE VECCHIE

“Unrivaled epicenter of the Serenissima, Piazza San Marco underwent innumerable urban and architectural transformations to ensure that the image projected by the Republic always reflected the political strategy of its ruling class. Though not immediately apparent when looking at the square today, the metamorphosis was visionary and radical, and could be summarized – to be brutally succinct – in three phases. Almost two hundred years after the completion of the third phase, the project developed in collaboration with OMA, for Assicurazioni Generali to renovate the Procuratie Vecchie is intended as the opportunity to outline the fourth project for Saint Marks Square and launch this ancient forum into modernity.

To be conceptually and culturally worthy of becoming a chapter of a millenary history and outline a renovation that can act as a masterplan for the whole forum, the project proposes that alongside the detailed architectural project for the internal programmatic distribution of the Procuratie Vecchie, Assicurazioni Generali: enhances the connection to the almost forgotten Giardini Reali by providing two differentiates circulation routes; introduces an accessibility strategy to the Procuratie which is not only programmatically differentiated but also reflects the topographic condition and grants access to the premises during the ever increasing high water events; and launches a sustainable lighting masterplan for the entire square.

Finally, as a memento to the integrity of Sansovino’s project for the Procuratie Vecchie and act of preservation of knowledge, the project proposes to open the courtyard located in the corner between the Napoleonic Wing and the Procuratie Vecchie, recreating a void that will act as virtual hinge and connector between the cultural institutions of the Museo Correr and the future HSN Exhibition Area.