Isola di Sant'Andrea,
Venice, Italy, 2025- (ongoing)

A collaborative initiative to transform a historic site into a communal space for art and architecture, respecting its ecological and cultural heritage.

The fort of Isola di Sant'Andrea was built between 1543 and 1549 by Michele Sanmicheli for the Republic of Venice, guarding the entrance where the lagoon meets the Adriatic Sea. It was the site where the Republic celebrated the annual "Wedding of the Sea" and where the first cannons were fired against Napoleon, leading to the fall of the republic in 1797.
Since then, the island was left as military property and gradually reclaimed by spontaneous vegetation and lagoon ecosystems. Following an open tender, we were awarded a 30year concession to make the island open to the public.

The architectural strategy is built around the concept of mutual support: reclaimed timber structures brace deteriorating walls, partially reconstruct collapsed roofs, and create sheltered conditions for future use without prescribing fixed functions. Constructed wetlands, rainwater harvesting, and solar panels make the island self-sufficient in energy and water.

Development will continue through ongoing workshops and public programming, collaborating with local groups, artists, academics, and scientists across disciplines, employing bioregional building techniques and engaging the wider community in the process, with the intent of establishing a genuinely open and non-commercial space on Isola di Sant’Andrea.

Location: Google maps