Project Overview

Following an international competition, the Italian insurance company Generali has selected David Chipperfield Architects Milan to repair and reconfigure the Procuratie Vecchie on the Piazza San Marco in Venice, as the headquarters for its new social foundation, The Human Safety Net. For the first time, large parts of the building will be accessible to the public for exhibitions and events.

Project Commissioner

Generali Group

Project Creator

David Chipperfield Architects srl

Project Brief

Completed in the sixteenth century by Jacopo Sansovino, the Procuratie Vecchie dominates the north side of St Mark’s Square. Its monumental façade would go on to establish the classical language for the subsequent developments on the southern and eastern sides. Behind the façade, however, centuries of modifications from multiple occupancy have severely compromised its internal structure.

The project will reunify the interiors of the Procuratie and introduce clarity to the building, establishing suitable spaces for the foundation, as well as improving circulation. DCA Milan is also involved in a longer-term plan to create a public route through the Procuratie Nuove to the Giardini Reali on the Bacino di San Marco waterfront, the restoration of which is also being funded by Generali.

Project Innovation/Need

For five centuries the building has been closed to the public, reserved for politicians and royalty. But once David Chipperfield and his studio completes the restoration work, the palace will become a venue for art exhibitions, installations and seminars.

It will also become a hub for the Human Safety Net, a non-profit organisation funded by the Generali Group that supports initiatives including backing refugee-owned start-ups and supporting 30,000 parents who are raising children in poverty.

Built on top of stone arcades in the twelfth century, the Procuratie Vecchie runs along the north side of the iconic central square. At 152 metres long it is Venice's longest building.

The original two-storey structure burnt down and was replaced in the 1530s by a three-storey structure in the early Renaissance classical style.

Design Challenge

Once at the heart of Venetian government, the building still has original frescos and ornate ceilings from the days it was used by the nine governors who aided the Doge administer the city-state known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice.

At ground floor, the stone arcades are home to Venice's famous – and expensive – coffee shops, the oldest of which have been in situ since the 18th century.

The restoration will also include opening a hidden passageway between Piazza San Marco and the Royal Gardens. The park on the bank of the Grand Canal has lain abandoned for years but now there are plans to restore a wisteria-covered pergola and plant an orangerie.

The unique location of Venice, a UNESCO World Heritage site, means all building materials will have to be bought in and out by boat along its canals.