Imagine having a place in the midst of all the history and culture of Venice in which a neutral venue offers the perfect backdrop for an event, performance, exhibition or even conference - this was the idea underpinning the creation of Spazio Berlendis. For the project, Caprioglio Architects took an old carpentry workshop - Squero Fassi - where small boats were once made, and revamped it. It is rather like a neutral box or small hall and importantly it is free of the sort of limitations and restrictions that make so many of Venice’s wonderful historical buildings inherently impractical for such usage. Transience and flexibility are the core of this architectural design in which even the light can be used in completely different ways, potentially exploiting the glorious sun, perhaps preferring a less variable artificial solution or even opting for darkness. This 300 sq. m space has 250 sq. m of display walls, at times towering up to
4.5 m high, creating plenty of space even for large, cumbersome installations.

Central to the success of the project is the choice of materials, with the floor probably the epitome of this, providing an extensive, neutral and uniform “backdrop”.
To create it, the architects selected Nuvolato Architop from Ideal Work, as this provides a continuous surface without the need for any expansion joints, thus producing the desired aesthetic effect without compromising durability.

Nuvolato Architop can be used to produce floors that are a mere 3-4 mm thick, but match traditional concrete for performance.

“Nuvolato Architop meant we could achieve a concrete effect that was simultaneously shiny and opaque”, explained architect Filippo Caprioglio.
“The absence of joints on the surface brings fluidity to the environments and highlights the design intent to play with transitions”.