For centuries, Venice has been an art metropolis of global significance, a cultural center of northern Italy where history is layered, shaped by art and culture, full of secrets and myths.
“If the architecture is good, a person who looks and listens will feel its beneficial effect without consciously realizing it,” said architect Carlo Scarpa (1906–1978). Perhaps this thought explains why Venice feels so special. Behind magnificent facades, in a dense network of alleys and canals, there are built testimonies that tell of the power and wealth of bygone times.
One area stands out in particular in the historical fabric of the city: the “Arsenale”. For centuries, surrounded by meter-high walls, it was the best-protected place in Venice and the industrial heart of the maritime republic. Today, the Art Biennale continues this history and brings the place into the present. The construction site in the northern part of the Arsenale shows traces of changes, breaks, and conversions.
The aim of the task is to design a well-thought-out and creative concept for a cultural center. This is to serve as a place for young Venetian artists to work, exhibit, and meet. The planned “ArtSpace” is intended to strengthen the community, meet the requirements of artistic production, and at the same time treat the existing building with respect.
Workspaces, workshops, communal areas, and exhibition spaces should be organized in such a way that a functional, durable, and usable spatial structure is created. The focus is on spaces that enable creative work—not on their staging.
Building within existing structures does not mean preserving the old, but accepting it as a valid basis for the new. The existing structure poses challenges – in terms of construction, space, typology, and its relationship to the city. These qualities must be recognized, continued, and carefully supplemented in order to add a contemporary layer to the location, in keeping with the old.
According to Walter Zschokke, “the archaeology of the gaze helps us to read what we see” with the aim of experiencing a very personal encounter with the building.
This presents an exciting opportunity to recognize the building’s potential, write a new story, and develop sustainable uses.
This raises crucial questions:
What was?
What is?
What is needed?
Methods:
Based on in-depth analyses of the topic of “building in existing contexts”, concepts for “cultural buildings in public spaces” will be developed. These will be further refined through precise spatial refinements and almost exclusively on the basis of models, through “spatial sketching” on different scales, to support the design process. In-depth exploration of the topics will accompany the design process in workshops and lectures.
As an integrative design course, the course is based on the examination of architecture as a spatial, social, cultural and constructive phenomenon.
Vortragende:
Franz Karner
Johanna Pils
Nott Caviezel
Tutor:
Alexander Feigl
Further Information:
Kick-off: Thu, 5th of March, 10:00, White Cube, Forschungsbereich Raumgestaltung und Entwerfen.
Meetings every Monday and Thursday.
An excursion to Venice from the 25th to the 29th of March, 2026 will help participants get started with the design topic. Participation is mandatory for design participants. See details in the course description 253.O45.