While in Venice over July I visited the recently restored Negozio Olivetti, originally commissioned in 1957 by Adriano Olivetti as a showcase or “business card” for his typewriters and calculators. Designed by the Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa it demonstrates his singular ability to work within the context of pre-exisiting structures, as if dressing a historic building in modern clothes. Scarpa’s Negozio totally fulfilled Adrianos Olivetti’s desire and symbolizes the excellence of the historical company located in the city of Ivrea.
In recent years the current owners of the property Assicurazioni Generali had the showroom carefully restored and have entrusted the Fondo Ambiente Italiano (FAI) to administer public access into this important piece of Architecture.
The original space located in Piazza San Marco , 21m long and a narrow 5m wide was dim and uninteresting. Scarpa completely reorganized the space and emphasized its length and transparency. He accentuated the advantageous corner location by increasing the size of the windows and exploited the length of the space by centering the remarkable staircase and placing balconies along both sides.
These changes made the Negozio a true architectural promenade whose rich details and decorative elements, far from seeming disconnected, instead create a clear and unifying overall design. The material used for the Negozio are limited and of extraordinary quality: Slabs of Aurisina marble, Rosewood shelves with stainless steel support rods. African teak is used for the balconies and walls are covered with Venetian stucco. Beautiful brass details, trims and frames offset and join the various materials and glass mosaic tiles accentuate the colour and texture of the floor.
Show Comments