Other topics
| Architect | Tadao Ando, Tokio |
| Lighting designer | Ferrara e Palladino Associati, Milano |
| Photographer | Thomas Mayer |
| Project location | Venedig |
Past, present and future: Tadao Ando has transformed the historic building into a museum for contemporary art, making it fit for tomorrow thanks to sustainable lighting technology.
This former customs building had been closed to the public for over 30 years when art collector François Pinault, looking for a second site for his art foundation, drew up plans to give a new lease of life to the early industrial architecture. From the outside, you can hardly tell the building has been renovated. Inside, Ando accentuated the original structure of the building with its division into five halls. The centre of the building features one of Ando's signature designs: an inserted concrete cube with minimalist, clear lines and polished surfaces. Paths, galleries and stairs all connect up to this "building within a building", thereby providing access and structure to two levels of exhibition space.
The lighting concept, comprising the components daylight, artificial ambient lighting and accent lighting, ensures efficiency and visual comfort on several levels. Automated roller blinds modulate the daylight coming through the skylights and the side windows. A DALI system controls downlights and wallwashers with fluorescent lamps.
In addition to the halls where the original ceiling height was retained, Ando created further exhibition space on a second level in the larger part of the museum. This enables the curators to use galleries with a more intimate character.
The artificial lighting component, comprising Lightcast downlights with compact fluorescent lamps for ambient lighting and Parscan spotlights with metal halide lamps for accent lighting, is adjusted to match the colour of the daylight. Midipoll wallwashers for fluorescent lamps ensure uniform vertical illuminance. A DALI control system dims the downlights and switches the spotlights as groups using DALI switching actuators.
Architecture as an exhibit. Opting for Quadra wallwashers, the lighting designers used uniform vertical illuminance to emphasise the uniformity and aesthetics of the wall surface as a structural element
Opening hours:
Mon-Sun (except Tue): 10am-7pm
www.palazzograssi.it/en
Building data
Architect:
Tadao Ando, Tokyo
www.tadao-ando.com
Lighting design:
Ferrara e Palladino Associati (Pietro Palladino, Cinzia Ferrara, Paolo Spotti, Cesare Coppedè), Milan
Restoration/site management:
Dottor Group, San Vendemiano
Exhibition area:
4,500sqm
Opened:
6th of June, 2009
