THE SHAPES OF THE LAGOON
A scenic journey into Venice’s alleys to discover the design wonders within the city, with a specific focus on the works of Carlo Scarpa’s creative genius
Venice is a voyage, physical as well as mental. It is an experience-city, capable of impressing and offering emotions on multiple levels. Diving into an itinerary of the lagoon city made up of works and names of the greatest representatives of architecture at an international level, allows one to create an original and extremely modern tour across eras and styles. The journey ranges from Palladio’s works to those of Codussi, Sansovino and Longhena, only to to delve into the most unusual projects of the genius of Carlo Scarpa, one of the most celebrated and admired Italian designers of the twentieth century.
The extraordinary parable of the latter tells of a life and creative research beyond any label.: Originally from Vicenza, Scarpa never got a degree in architecture, though later on in his life he did receive an honorary degree from the IUAV university in Venice, where he had taught for a long time. His works don’t fit into any established movement, though each one of them bears the signs of an unmistakable and immediately distinguishable style. The ideal journey into Carlo Scarpa’s Venice can start from the headquarters of the Querini Stampalia Foundation, which is dedicated to fostering culture and education, and consists of a museum-house, a library, a café and a shop. The Querini Stampalia Foundation is like a true hidden haven at the heart of the
most authentic heart of Venice. Carlo Scarpa’s involvement relates to the ground floor and concerns a part of the museum entrance corridor and the back garden This particular section of Palazzo Querini had become unusable due to recurrent seawater flooding, though Scarpa was able to turn this specific problem into a strength. The affected area was in fact raised, thus creating a specific, though tasteful and elegant, defense system which now protects the first floor from the high tide. An example of this are grooves which were applied to the inner steps of the building, designed to contrast the effects of the floods by allowing the water to flow out. Carlo Scarpa also added a new access bridge, although today’s main access way to the foundation is from Campo Santa Maria Formosa. Continuing the journey, and moving on to Piazza San Marco, one comes across the Olivetti shop, a protected landmark by FAI, the National Trust of Italy. Within the shop are several Olivetti collectible items on display, not to mention that the shop is actually often used as a venue for temporary exhibitions. The shop spreads out on two floors, with an open space ground floor and a mezzanine upper level. The distinctive feature of Scarpa’s work is fully recognizable here, with rooms and openings and large windows that cover the entire ground floor playing off each other, in order to guarantee a complete fusion between the space of the shop and the outdoor space, a project in which the theme of (high) water returns as an essential constant, a vital and enemy component to deal with, depending on the circumstances.
An expression of Scarpa’s Venice may also be found inside Ca’ Foscari, the famous palace overlooking the Canal Grande, where some prestigious rooms of the university, by the same name, are housed. Among these are Aula Baratto, the University’s Aula Magna i.e., great hall, which the designer restored and arranged at two different moments in time, certainly stands out. The first set of works, dates back to 1935, are those related to the creation of the lecture hall itself, and, most of all, the window frame (made of glass and wood) in front of the 15th-century gothic window (polifora), clearly inspired by the Le Corbusier’s 1930 Swiss Pavilion. The second set of works, however, carried out after the war, are adaptive works which saw the transformation of the grand hall into a lecture hall where lessons could take place. For this purpose the boiserie elements were created, and inspired by the works of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Among Carlo Scarpa’s less known, yet most interesting, Venetian works is also the Camping Darsena Fusina, which has been operational since 1960. It is located in Fusina, not far from Venice’s historic center, and the architect here designed the circular reception with a sail-shaped roof, as well as the coffee shop, the restaurant and also the sanitary facilities. The open spaces here are seamlessly joined to the individual buildings, distinguished by aesthetics and functionality, as is a must in Scarpa’s style. In continuing to explore the city, we also find Scarpa in the Gallerie dell’accademia, at the Correr Museum and at the ticket office in the Giardini della Biennale. Though the journey into the wonders of Venice’s design certainly doesn’t end here.
The ideal journey into Carlo Scarpa’s Venice can commence from the premises of the Querini Stampalia Foundation, comprising a museumhouse, a library, a café and a shop.
After completing an itinerary inspired by the genius of Scarpa, one may venture onto countless other paths. One such example, could be setting off from Piazzale Roma, and crossing the Ponte della Costituzione built by Santiago Calatrava, a forward-leaning vermilion frame, that accesses the Court’s new office building. In 2011, the Treviso-based studio C+S reimagined the building complex of the Ex Manifattura Tabacchi, in order to give back to the a temporal connotation which is halfway between the past and the contemporary, and has done so by way of copper-coating the frame and its oxidized effect. An evocative stroll would be the one that sets off at the Prada Cà Corner della Regina Foundation (2011, exhibitions set up by Rem Koolhaas), owned by the Prada fashion label which is committed to collaborating for the improvement and conservation of the famous eighteenthcentury palace. From there the journey continues onto Gran Teatro La Fenice, Venice’s grand opera house (built in 1789 and rebuilt in 2003 by Aldo Rossi after the terrible fire that destroyed it), up until one reaches the Mariano Fortuny Museum, a Venetians’ favorite, although it is also a favorite for visitors from all over the world. Multifaceted and incredibly fascinating, it is dedicated to the Spanish artist Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, and it is a magnificent venue for temporary exhibitions appealing to a great number of visitors. The San Giorgio Island, in the San Marco Basin, is the city’s “water piazza”, and includes one of Venice’s most famous monumental complexes, with the Palladian church of San Giorgio, from whose bell tower one can enjoy an incomparable view, including the Darsena, i.e. the wet dock, owned by the Giorgio Cini Foundation’s housed inside the former Benedictine convent of San Giorgio, with its extraordinary architectural testaments by Palladio, Buora and Longhena. A vast new exhibition area occupies the former Napoleonic customs house, whereas the premises of the former navy school have been redeveloped by Annabelle Selldorf to house the “Le stanze del vetro”, a cultural project and specialized exhibition space, a joint initiative of the Cini Foundation and the Swiss-based foundation Pentagram Stiftung. and for the final part of our journey there’s the unmissable ferry boat, that can take us to the Arsenale, the world’s oldest factory, built in 1100 (mentioned in Dante’s Divine Comedy) and today houses the Venice Biennale. In short, from Scarpa to Palladio, Venice is a treasure chest filled with an infinite number of masterpieces, a never-ending discovery, a constantly-renewed surprise, day in-day-out, and every moment in between.
The San Giorgio Island, in the San Marco Basin, is the city’s “water piazza”, and encompasses one of Venice’s most famous monumental complexes, with the Palladian church of San Giorgio, from whose bell tower one can enjoy an incomparable view, which includes the Darsena, i.e., the wet dock, owned by the Giorgio Cini Foundation