(THE HISTORIC PROCURATIE VECCHIE BUILDING RENOVATION

PROJECT KICKS OFF IN VENICE’S PIAZZA SAN MARCO)

Prepared by: Mohammed Mustafa, Zachariah joy, Narmada selvaraju

Introduction of the project:

Venice - The project for the renovation of the Procuratie Vecchie in Piazza San Marco in Venice was
contracted to David Chipperfield Architects Milan by Generali in 2017, after obtaining authorization
in January 2019 from the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the
Municipality of Venice and Laguna, the project has now received permission to build from the
Municipality. For the first time in 500 years, a large part of the Procuratie Vecchie will be made
accessible to the public. The historic building will host the activities of The Human Safety Net, the
initiative set up by Generali to support the most vulnerable communities in those countries where the
Group is present. The project is not defined by a single concept or architectural gesture, but through a
series of interventions that address the complexity of the work. These include the restoration of the
first and second floors, the reorganization of accessibility and usability of the building through the
inclusion of new staircases, the renewed central entrance on the third floor with access to the raised
courtyards.
Breathing new life into landmark heritage buildings is a generous gift to the host city and its
inhabitants that requires a delicate balancing act. Historical refurbishments must respect the historical
character of the building, while restoring and future-proofing the landmark for generations to come. In
Venice, the famed Piazza San Marco has welcomed the restoration of the Procuratie Vecchie, one of
the most relevant works of 16th century Italian Renaissance architecture. The ancient building, whose
arched façade runs the full length of the square’s north-west side, remains the iconic headquarters of
Italian insurance giant Generali and will also play host to its new social foundation, The Human
Safety Net. The extensive refurbishment means that large areas of the 500-year-old building,
including exhibition and event spaces, will be open to the public for the first time.

History and Architectural character of the place:

The Procuratie Vecchie, whose name comes from their use as a residence for the procuratori de supra,
the officials responsible for the administration of the basilica, are one of the square’s oldest buildings.
Constructed in the 13th century and consisting of a continuous one-storey structure above a long
ground-floor arcade, the Procuratie Vecchie underwent alterations during the 16th-century renovation
urbis, in which Sansovino played a decisive role. The 16th century also saw the start of construction
work on the Procuratie Nuove, which, together with the later Napoleonic Wing, formed the sides of
the square. During the years of French rule, when plans were drawn up to turn the Procuratie Nuove
into a royal palace, the decision was taken to create a garden extending the building towards the
waterfront. After further changes to the layout of the area during the 19th century, in 1920 the Royal
Gardens were opened in full to the public and their ownership passed to the City of Venice. In 1922
the Napoleonic Wing and part of the Procuratie Nuove became the site of the famous Correr Museum.
Today, thanks to Generali, the historic and culturally important areas of the Procuratie Vecchie and
the Royal Gardens will be restored to new life.
In five hundred years of history, the Procuratie Vecchie – originally the residence of the Prosecutors
of Venice – have experienced alternate phases, between reworkings (even disrespectful to peculiar
characters), changes of ownership, non-use. A condition of which the design team has acquired full
awareness, so much so as to reaffirm – in a press conference and during the visit to the construction
site – the impossibility of adopting a single "strong gesture", capable of identifying the "new life" of
the building. Rather, Chipperfield himself said, it was preferred to focus on a plurality of actions:
"When working with historic buildings, one has to understand its limitations, which can sometimes be
qualifying elements. This project is defined by a series of small ideas, rather than a single great
solution,"pointed out the architect, former director of the 13th. International Architecture Exhibition.
The heterogeneous characteristics of the interior spaces, only partly still equipped with valuable
decorative elements, have pushed the designers to orient themselves towards a recovery of Venetian
craftsmanship knowledge: this is one of the criteria that will unify the work. The goal, in fact, is a
coherent recovery, able to strengthen the (rediscovered) relationship between public space, the
building and local identity. For this reason, venetian terrace, pastel and marmorino will be used in the
flooring; the inner walls will be treated according to the traditional technique of sloppy, made through
a thin layer of plaster, very liquid. Applied above the brick walls, it "lets you see all the historical
changes,all the passages ", as the architect Cristiano Billia, Associate Director of DCA Milano,
pointed out.

• The architecture stands out in three orders, with arcade of fifty arches, and double series
of minor arches in the second and third, with one hundred and ten windows per row, and two
columns lined for each, adorned with Corinthian capitals, having the arches set above them.
Each plan has recurrence of trabeation’s; at the top are round the windows of the frieze, and
from a large series of acrothers and vases is the crowned top shaped like blackberry.
Certainly, the design must have been the concept of some splendid design; the execution was
conducted with fine shrewdness of views, and with mastery of art.; the grandiose masses of
trabeation’s, contrasted with the added lightness and elegance of the arches, make a pleasant
contrast to the eye, which without effort understands at first come the relationships of the
parties between them.
• The profiles are the ornamental parts, which are affected by thinness, which in that century
was not won by anco, as it was later, according to cicognara,mercè the widest style in the
operas of Sansovino and Palladio. In fact, the gaze of art sees this work far from the season in
which the great masters flourished.
• Tommaso Temanza would be of the opinion that Bartolomeo bon should be awarded the idea;
then it was before 1495, and the bulk was finished until the second order in 1500, seeing itself
in the Venice plant of Durer designed these procuratie, with only two orders. But it would be
to be contrasted with the argument that precisely from being designed the factory in Durer it
can be inferred that it was designed even before the 1500s. I warned that the Bon, in 1496,
was traveling, as an admiral, together with the general of the sea Marcantonio Trevisani, in
the Adriatic and in the Mediterranean.
• It is therefore desirable that someone should rise to decipher, whether the architect of the two
orders is the same, and which is that of the third. Certainly, the artist must have been a great
connoisseur of statics, since it is innocuous that the solidity that the building demonstrates and
for which he was able to resist the infinite internal alterations, until the procuretie passed, as
they are currently, in private property; which innovations were such and many, not to
preserve the factory other unit than the façade.
• Here lived the first merits of the city, the main ministers of the State, such as the Prosecutors
of St. Mark, who had the office of administering the substances of the commissioners, and
were the guardians of the Major Council, and the manufacturers of St. Mark's Basilica; their
dignity reverberated to a high degree and the festivities, for them made in the elections,
amounted to those of victories. Francesco Foscari, just forty years old, regal of mind and
appearance, divine in the eloquence of the forum, and in the charity of the fatherland, Nicolo
Marcello, Andrea Vendramin, Pietro Loredan, of yes great authority that to put down an
uproar in the people, for a supposed victory, was enough only, in contrast to 3000 people,
descending from the procuratie in the Square. Having always been the maxim of the
Government not to aggravate the subjects on the occasions of war, even if even for them
defended the State, they estranged their buildings, to strengthen the treasury, and therefore in
one of these districts stripped the Republic of possession of this building
The modern intervention for the project:
• In 2017, David Chipperfield’s Milan office was entrusted with renovating the procuratie
vecchie, a historic landmark on Venice’s piazza san Marco. now, after receiving approval
from local authorities, the development is set to move ahead with a large part of the building
becoming publicly accessible for the first time in 500 years. as with many of Chipperfield’s
restorations, the project is not defined by a single concept or architectural gesture, but through
a series of calculated interventions that address the complexity of the work.
• The ambitious project is being backed by generali, one of the world’s largest insurance
companies. the intervention is part of generali’s larger plan for the marciana area, which also
includes the revitalization of the site’s royal gardens. the procuratie vecchie, which develop
along the entire north side of piazza san Marco, were designed by the architect Bartolomeo
bon and later by Jacopo Sansovino in the first half of the 16th century.
• Generally speaking, the restoration will reunify the interior spaces of the procuratie vecchie
and introduce clarity into the building. the interventions to be carried out by David
Chipperfield architects Milan include the restoration of the first and second floors, the
reorganization of accessibility and usability of the building through the inclusion of new
staircases, and the renewed central entrance on the third floor with access to the raised
courtyards.
• The range of programmatic requirements and functions for the Human Safety Net activities,
office spaces, and public access called for an approach that would improve the building’s
adaptability to evolving horizontal and vertical configurations. Addressing this need to
increase the flexibility and resilience, the project proposes inserting two new building cores.
This will improve the accessibility and encourage a vertical public route up to the third and
fourth floors – the home of the Human Safety Net. The two new staircases integrate gently
with the existing historic fabric. The distinctive spatial qualities and materiality are inspired
by the renowned staircases of the building’s original architect Jacopo Sansovino, generating a
sense of architectural scenography that has become representative of the city.
• Previously unused spaces on the third floor will be opened up to create an area for exhibiting,
meeting, working and discussing ideas. A hub where the Human Safety Net initiative can
foster connections. The project seeks to preserve the existing architectural, material and
spatial qualities as much as possible. The traditional sixteenth-century exposed wooden
beams and terrazzo flooring will be reinstated, and the brick walls repaired and lightly
whitewashed allowing the original fabric to be read underneath. Into these walls, a series of
arches are opened, linking together a row of spaces to form a single environment without
losing a sense of the original sequence of rooms.
• In Venice, the famed Piazza San Marco has welcomed the restoration of the Procuratie
Vecchie, one of the most relevant works of 16th century Italian Renaissance architecture. The
ancient building, whose arched façade runs the full length of the square’s north-west side,
remains the iconic headquarters of Italian insurance giant Generali and will also play host to
its new social foundation, The Human Safety Net. The extensive refurbishment means that
large areas of the 500-year-old building, including exhibition and event spaces, will be open
to the public for the first time.
• Aligning all the stakeholders was crucial to the success of this large-scale refurb project,
which aims to introduce clarity with a series of minimal interventions. Arup’s team of multi-
disciplinary engineers were appointed to evaluate the condition of the building, which has
undergone several interventions over the course of its history; and analyze the performance of
the existing materials and structures before and after the intervention, including the historical
masonry that supports the walls and the timber that makes the slab.
Safeguarding the past for the future: a sustainable vision for historical refurbishments:
• Arup has provided seismic, structural, mechanical, electrical and public health engineering as
well as fire engineering services during the concept stage. Our integrated multi-disciplinary
approach, including façade consultancy, has improved the overall energy performance and
sustainability, safeguarding this iconic building. The third floor will include exhibition spaces
linked by arched openings for the Human Safety Net Foundation, along with workspaces and
an auditorium. Our engineers and consultants have also worked on restoration and
enhancement of the third and fourth floors, where the existing timber floor was strengthened,
and two new staircases and lifts connecting the building to the raised courtyards. Finally, the
roof layout will be modified with the creation of terraces.

• Using advanced modelling tools, Arup carried out an exhaustive analysis of the building,
delivering a better understanding of the structural issues in order to propose a series of
minimal, non-intrusive retrofitting measures to optimize its structural integrity. A model was
created in LS-DYNA, detailing the brick masonry walls, masonry arches and vaults, flexible
timber floors and friction connections. The work highlighted some issues concerning the
monumental façade onto the Piazza San Marco, which was not interlocked to the internal
walls, but attached to these by steel ties only.

• Now, the building will play a pivotal role as a center for people to "seek inspiration from
programs, exchange ideas, and volunteer to take collective action," according to a press
release by Generali. "The hub will host regular public exhibitions, events and discussions on
pressing social and demographic challenges from poverty to migration." The Human Safety
Net initiative aims to help the most vulnerable people and communities around the world
through three main programs: The Human Safety Net for Families, The Human Safety Net for
Refugee Start-Ups, and The Human Safety Net for Newborns.

• The restoration of this building, "will reunify the interiors of the Procuratie and introduce
clarity ... establishing suitable spaces for the foundation, as well as improving circulation,"
DCA Milan said in a press release. The firm also plans to create a public route from
Procuratie Nuove (the second building on the south side of the Piazza San Marco) to the
Royal Gardens of Venice (Giardini Reali) on the Grand Canal. The project is set to be
completed in 2020.