This book tells the story of a project by Rem Koolhaas, head of the OMA architectural office, to restore and re-use the Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice. It records the process leading to the project's completion.
This book tells the story of a project by Rem Koolhaas of the OMA architectural office to restore and re-use the Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice. It records the process leading to the project’s completion. Begun when the Italian Post Office sold the Fondaco to Edizione, it involved one of Venice’s most famous buildings, a warehouse constructed in the early 13th century. Destroyed by fire, it was rebuilt in its present form in the early 16th century and acted as a trading emporium for goods travelling between Venice and German cities. Used as a customs house under Napoleon Bonaparte, it was later radically altered under Fascism and became the main post office. According to Rem Koolhaas, because of its highly complex history, the Fondaco embodies “Venice’s secret brutality”.