28/07/2017 – The Dopolavoro project is part of the broader renovation of an entire artificial island in the Venetian Lagoon, renamed Isola delle Rose and converted into a luxury resort with restaurants, a spa, parkland, and villas, based on a project by Matteo Thun&Partners. Located next to the island’s private landing pier, the Dopolavoro was one of about twenty early-twentieth-century buildings included in the intervention; the complex also included a hospital, accommodation, and services for employees.
Since 1930, it had been the only building on the island to retain the same leisure and recreation function, although it had fallen into extreme neglect. Today it is one of the four restaurants and bars of the luxury five-star JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa, already awarded a Michelin star.
The architectural intervention restored the original facade and preserved the building’s configuration. The original layout was kept intact through the restoration of the exterior surfaces and a glass connection with the surrounding landscape. At the rear, where the building could not be restored in line with its historical value, a new architectural language was introduced. A new open steel structure echoes the silhouette of the original volume and creates a room for outdoor dining. The place is surrounded by vegetable gardens that supply the restaurant with fresh seasonal ingredients day by day.
The south facade at the back of the building is the only original one that remained. The contours used in the design of the portals are made of metal.
The interior design is elegant and comfortable, conceived to fit perfectly into a historically valuable setting characterized by exposed brick walls. The space is dominated by the large central bar, with stone surfaces and the typical green and brown tones of the lagoon. The first floor houses a private dining room.
Anna Lohan
Peter Dark
miranda_shida
