The Peggy Guggenheim Café, the cafeteria of the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in Venice: a redesign project by Hangar Design Group that fits into the unique museum context of Peggy Guggenheim’s home.
The history of the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, an extraordinary unfinished 18th century building overlooking the Grand Canal in Venice, is inextricably intertwined with the history of 20th century art. From 1948 to 1979 it was the residence of the great collector Peggy Guggenheim, where she welcomed artists, collectors and enthusiasts. In 1980, the year after his death, the building was transformed into one of the most valuable cultural centres dedicated to 20th century art, as per his wishes.
“Operating in such a stratified context requires tiptoeing into an architecture rich in historical and artistic references.” For this reason, the project to renovate the museum café started with the need to rearrange the museum layout that guides visitors through the cafeteria.
A design assumption based on the study of an in-depth benchmark and on the need to make the retail function coexist with the museum one, in consideration of the particular location of the space inside the building.
Located on the inner side of Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, the Peggy Guggenheim Café is on the veranda overlooking the inner garden, the green heart of the building, and in front of the museum wing dedicated to temporary exhibitions. An obligatory passage, and perfectly integrated into what is still the most intimate and cosy wing of the museum, also in terms of volume.
The reorganisation of the space revolves around the dual purpose of improving access to temporary exhibitions, through a more rational layout and a portal where a digital poster can be displayed, also visible from outside, and on the other hand to make the space more fluid by enhancing the adjacent cafeteria and bookshop.
A new zoning was thus redefined according to the different ways of use: from a quick lunch that can be eaten at the long counter overlooking the garden, to a private lunch in a more secluded space, to a relaxing break in the more intimate indoor room. The transition to the exhibition area is marked by a large white portal that blends into the 18th-century architecture, emphasising its proportions and defining the space.
The colour scheme, consisting of white walls, marble inserts in travertine and Istrian stone, and even the furnishings, is functional to the choice of exploiting natural light as an element of continuity with the open space of the sculpture garden, an integral part of the exhibition itinerary. The only concession to colour is the dark green of the window frames, which introduces the vegetal theme of the outdoor space.
On the walls, large black and white photographic portraits of Peggy show the great collector inside her home, recalling her artistic heritage and restoring her unequivocal image as a protagonist of the 20th century. A memory of identity and an iconographic reference that is clearly visible from the garden through the veranda, Peggy’s image invites the visitor to enter and linger in her rooms.
A chromatic and material polarity that Hangar Design Group interpreted when they designed the Peggy 9 pendant lamp. This lighting design combines the lightness of glossy white blown glass, entirely handmade, with the liveliest character of the glossy metal black or antique brass. This effective combination conveys rationality and elegance at the same time.