MUSEO TORRE DI PORTA NUOVA

  • Type Renovation, Museum
  • Location Venice, Italy
  • Date 2006
  • Client Arsenale di Venezia
  • Size 647 sqm
  • Status Competition / honorable mention
  • Team
    Adjaye Associates
    PAT.
    Buro Happold
    Davis Langdon

Developed as a proposal for the competition for the restoration and refunctionalization of the “Porta Nuova” tower, within the Arsenale of Venice, the project envisions the creation of information areas, conference and meeting rooms, a library, exhibition spaces, and offices for researchers. The intervention aims to enhance the reading of the existing building’s spatial qualities.

The project is built around two main elements: the insertion of a series of “fragments” within a container of strong character, and the enhancement of this character through the modulation of light. The goal is to guide visitors through a series of emotionally engaging spatial experiences while creating a well-equipped and stimulating work environment for its regular users.

The tower is clearly divided into three sectors—three vertical blades placed side by side. The design highlights this feature by assigning each blade a specific function. The verticality, typical of this narrow and tall space, is emphasized by the zenithal light introduced through a new glass roof.

Suspended in the void above the exhibition spaces is the most memorable of the “fragments.” A large crystal, hanging like a chandelier at one end of the room, reflects natural light from a series of specially designed skylights in the overhead structure, casting it into the interior in a play of faceted reflections.