Gianni Botsford Architects’ Refurbishment of a 14th-Century Palazzo in Venice.

When we talk about water views, there are water views and then there are WATER views. Frankly it’s hard to beat a house that is situated on the Grand Canal in Venice. You could live in a cardboard box and waking up to that view every morning would still make you feel like King.

Fortunately for the owners of this 14th-Century Palazzo, this is no cardboard box. Designed by Gianni Botsford Architects, words do little justice to describe their breathtaking restoration of this magnificent residence.

Gianni Botsford Architects are no strangers to killer projects and pulling in design awards. The recipient of the Lubetkin Prize in 2008 for Casa Ki-Ké in Costa Rica, plus who could forget this incredible gem with a bespoke copper roof, the London-based architects’ research into the optimisation and control of natural light has been used throughout the projects the studio has built, from London to Zurich, from Costa Rica to The Bahamas.

In addition to uncovering the many frescos and exposing its historic timber structure within the piano nobile of the Venetian Grand Canal Palazzo, the project also juxtaposes new architectural insertions against the significant heritage fabric. These insertions and their associated interior re-configuration aim to re-emphasise the spectacular views out along the famed Grand Canal while improving the property’s capacity to function as a contemporary family home.

See more projects by Gianni Botsford Architects on Yellowtrace here.

Ceiling frescos have been painstakingly restored, adding a rich depth to the clean lines of the contemporary mirror-clad insertions. Original ceiling rafters have been exposed and restored, along with the restoration of the soaring timber window frames and doors. These historical elements frame the great expanses of space in the Palazzo, simply and elegantly. Mirrored panels reflect the depth and beauty of the rooms, which have retained their classical fenestration and exiting doors and architraves but have been modernised with the application of crisp, clean terrazzo flooring.

Bathrooms appear to have been carved from a single block of Carrara marble. Marble walls appear to morph into a sink and then wrap down into a bath. It’s not unlike the great Italian masters carving their great works of art from pristine grey veined, milky white marble, but here we are forging architecture instead of statues.

The kitchen is a modern kaleidoscope of separate and moving images. Carved up and distorted by mirrored panels on the walls, the reflection of the space repeats on itself. The restrained use of materials throughout the kitchen adds to the purity of the design. The use of terrazzo on the kitchen floor blends seamlessly with the same flooring throughout the rest of the home. Whitewashed rafters above, and acres of natural light, flood this simply designed marble-countertop and stainless-steel kitchen.

But it is the spectacular views that pull the occupant back to the perimeter of the space, time and time again. The vastness and simplicity of the interior enhance the timeless elegance of the Venetian waterways. The stunning restoration of this home is romance personified.

[Images courtesy of Gianni Botsford Architects. Photography by Alessandra Chemollo.]