Venice, Italy

The Fondaco dei Tedeschi is an historic building in Venice, Italy, adjacent the grand canal and the famous gondolas and pedestrian bridges. It was originally a historic trading post, and over time have had post offices, retail department stores occupy the space. The heritage building has also hosted annual city events and tourists.

We researched and developed ideas for how the historic building could be repurposed and reused for the client ‘la Rinascente’ as a department store and mall, and how the historic building’s courtyard could be incorporated into annual city events such as the Venice marathon, Festivale, and Venice Biennale. The design proposed both public and private spaces which included in addition to shopping and the open courtyard, a viewing platform onto the Grand Canal and a small gallery beneath the historic roof.