Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
Archivision Base to Module 13
Preferred Title:
Olivetti Showroom
Alternate Title:
Negozio Olivetti
Image View:
Second floor, detail of the mezzanine with cutout to floor below
Creator:
Carlo Scarpa (Italian architect, 1906-1978)
Location:
site: Venice, Veneto, Italy
Location Note:
Piazza San Marco, 101; Procuratie Vecchie
GPS:
45.434163 12.337548
Date:
1957-1958 (creation); restored 2011 (restoration)
Cultural Context:
Italian
Style Period:
Twentieth century
Work Type 1:
specialty store
Work Type 2:
museum
Classification:
Architecture and City Planning
Material:
Istrian stone; marble; brass; rosewood; glass tile; wood (teak); stucco
Technique:
construction (assembling); mosaic (process)
Subjects:
advertising and industrial design; architecture; business, commerce and trade; Restoration and conservation
Description:
A two-storied space in St. Mark's Square under the portico of Procuratie Vecchie. In the late 1950s Adriano Olivetti commissioned Scarpa to design a display space for his Olivetti products, which included typewriters, early computers, and calculators. Scarpa transformed the space provided to him from a long, dark alley into an open jewel box. Through the addition of windows and attention to interior transparencies, Scarpa blended the exterior and interior and was able to open the Olivetti Showroom into a light, comfortable place for visitors. The resulting Olivetti Showroom was a beautiful space used for decades by Olivetti before changing owners. After suspending its activities for many years, in 2011 the store re-opened following a FAI restoration that brought back the original colors and furnishing and the collection of Olivetti machines. It is now a protected building and museum. (Source: ArchDaily; http://www.archdaily .com/)
Collection:
Archivision Addition Module Twelve
Identifier:
1A1-SC-OS-A86
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Olivetti Showroom