Venice Between Art, Architecture and Design, from China to Antarctica, via the Grand Canal.
In the heart of Venice, overlooking the Grand Canal and nestled within the walls of a fifteenth-century palazzo, a home takes shape that is far more than a private residence: it is a personal manifesto where art, architecture, and design intertwine in a global narrative. Here, layered memories and contemporary furnishings coexist in perfect balance, telling the story of Giulia Foscari’s return home after years spent between Asia and South America.
Venetian by birth and cosmopolitan by nature, Foscari built her international career working with OMA under Rem Koolhaas, before founding the interdisciplinary collective UNA/UNLESS in Hamburg, operating at the intersection of design and environmental activism. Her recent return to the lagoon marks a new creative chapter, with several cultural projects underway in Venice, including initiatives linked to the foundation of Anish Kapoor and an exhibition space supported by Dries Van Noten.
The view over the Grand Canal looks from the Church of Santa Maria della Salute to the Accademia Bridge.
Photo by Giulio Ghirardi. Courtesy Arch. Giulia Foscari.
A palazzo that reveals Venice’s layered history
The building rests on fourteenth-century foundations and was expanded in the nineteenth century. The renovation focused on rediscovering its original sixteenth-century proportions, softened over time by later alterations. False ceilings were removed to reveal ancient beams, blocked openings were reopened, and historic lunettes restored. Rare terrazzo and tile floors were carefully preserved, while a new pivoting door reconnects the rooms of the piano nobile.
Light becomes a design material: the southern exposure allows sunlight to travel through the apartment all day long, guiding the choice of wall colours—from a soft off-white in the bedroom to a dusty pink in the grand salon. On the opposite side, facing an inner garden, the atmosphere changes: instead of waves, one hears music drifting from the nearby conservatory. Here lie the library and guest quarters. A newly created terrace, built atop a twentieth-century structure, extends domestic life outdoors.
Palazzo Foscari interiors. On glossy pink marmorino walls, William Kentridge’s Anti-Entropy drawing. Marcel Breuer chairs and Mies van der Rohe Barcelona tables with an ancient Greek mask. On Carlo Scarpa’s easel, a self-portrait by Zoran Mušič. Photo by Giulio Ghirardi. Courtesy Arch. Giulia Foscari
Iconic furniture and bespoke pieces
The interiors trace a journey between past and present. A kinetic sculpture by Carlo Scarpa casts shifting reflections across the room, while a custom table by friend Sabine Marcelis appears to float, its red-to-yellow gradient echoing the historic floors.
Many furnishings have followed the family for years: a chaise longue by Charles and Ray Eames, armchairs by Le Corbusier, and a rare façade panel by Jean Prouvé testify to Foscari’s fascination with the 1:1 relationship between architecture and design. These sit alongside more recent creations such as Ottagono, developed for Cassina, and the Criosfera lamp designed for Artemide.
The glass top of the custom table by Sabine Marcelis features a gradient that echoes the two-tone flooring, a gift from Zoran Mušič.
Photo by Giulio Ghirardi. Courtesy Arch. Giulia Foscari
Art as a personal diary
The artworks do not form a conventional collection; instead, they act as emotional markers. Foscari’s love for China resonates in the master bedroom, where a portrait by Andy Warhol converses with a face by Zhang Xiaogang. A shipping crate becomes a side table, while a meteorite collected in Antarctica recalls another crucial chapter in her research on protecting extreme landscapes.
In one room, two columns inspired by the engravings of Giovanni Battista Piranesi dialogue with long-exposure photographic works, creating a visual tension between three-dimensional space and perception. Elsewhere, pieces by artists from South Africa, South America and Europe build a cultural stratification that mirrors Venice itself: open, mercantile, deeply contemporary.
The steel kitchen acts as a counterpoint to the frescoed ceilings and the wooden fireplace. Capitol Complex Chair (Cassina) and a photographic work by Matthias Schaller.
Photo by Giulio Ghirardi. Courtesy Arch. Giulia Foscari
In the portego, with 15th-century beams brought back to light, a series of Skin self-portraits by Zhang Huan and prints of Piranesi’s columns flank the ancient doorway.
Photo by Giulio Ghirardi. Courtesy Arch. Giulia Foscari
Venice as a creative crossroads
The final surprise is the bar corner, built around a dramatic slab of marble whose veining recalls ocean waves, left intentionally untouched. A small conscious indulgence that encapsulates Foscari’s approach: environmental awareness paired with respect for the expressive power of materials.
Overlooking the Grand Canal, this home becomes a living laboratory where Venice, art, architecture, and design merge into a unified narrative. A place that honours the past without nostalgia and embraces the present with an international outlook—offering a portrait of a city that continues to act as a global platform for contemporary creativity.
Photo by Giulio Ghirardi. Courtesy Arch. Giulia Foscari.
Image used for educational and critical purposes only.
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