OMA to renovate historic palace in Venice

Venice - After five years of mutual tug-of-war, the city hall of northern Italian Venice has given permission for the renovation of a large historic palace in the city center into a department store for the fashion brand Benetton. The project faced long-standing opponents, but the architects ultimately adjusted their visions to satisfy heritage authorities and obtained the building permit. The renovation of the monument was designed by the world-renowned Dutch studio OMA.
   Benetton purchased the Fondaco dei Tedeschi palace near the Rialto Bridge five years ago, paying approximately 55 million euros (about 1.4 billion CZK) for it. Its renovation was designed by a team led by architect Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, who works for the OMA studio of Rem Koolhaas.
   For heritage authorities, the project was long unacceptable, but they eventually reached an agreement with the investor on the necessary changes. Escalators will disappear from the glass atrium, and the rooftop terrace will look entirely different, eliminating the need to interfere with the roof structure.
   In the future, the palace will function as a department store, but also as a cultural center. It will be used, for example, during the local film festival or during the Venice Biennale showcase.
   "This is Venice. Some architects, like Le Corbusier or Frank Lloyd Wright, have never built anything here despite considerable effort," Laparelli was quoted by the British architectural website bdonline.co.uk.