Palazzo Loredan
Intervention: Conservation, restoration and technological modernisation
Venice, Italy, 2003 - 2008
Function: Library, offices, Panteon Veneto, guest accommodation, exhibition area
Client: Magistrato alle Acque e Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti
Dimensions: total indoor area 2,550 m2
Stage: completed
Palazzo Loredan belongs to the State and has been the premises of the Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti since 1891. The building occupies a vast area of Campo Santo Stefano, which it overlooks.
Along the main sides of the building and on the north facade in particular, completely refaced in Istrian stone, one can admire the priceless Renaissance work from the first half of the 1500s while along the facade overlooking Rio San Vidal, one can see some of the original Gothic features of the palazzo.
The aims of restoration are the internal distribution of the activities carried out there to optimise the layout and rationalize the working space; the addition of modern audio-video technological and data-transmission equipment in all the rooms but in those foreseen for meetings and the Sala delle Adunanze in particular. Additional work carried out included the installation of air-conditioning in all the rooms and adaptation to safety and anti-fire measure norms, as well as the recovering of the roofing and the restoration of the four architectural facades.
In addition to the traditional functions of the Institute, there is an exhibition area that not only houses a permanent collection of busts of famous Venetians (the "Pantheon") but will also be the venue for temporary exhibitions.
