Negozio Olivetti
Carlo Scarpa · Venice, Italy · 1958
The Olivetti Showroom in Piazza San Marco is one of Carlo Scarpa’s smallest yet most refined architectural works. Commissioned by Adriano Olivetti in the late 1950s as a flagship showroom for Olivetti typewriters and office machines, the project transformed a compact retail interior into an extraordinarily detailed spatial composition. Scarpa treated every element of the project as part of a unified architectural language, carefully designing stairs, display surfaces, lighting, flooring, brass details, wood joinery, and suspended structural components. The floating staircase and layered material palette create a sense of precision and lightness within the limited footprint. Located directly within the monumental context of Piazza San Marco, the showroom demonstrates Scarpa’s ability to introduce contemporary architecture into a highly sensitive historic environment without overwhelming it. Today the project is considered one of the clearest expressions of Scarpa’s craftsmanship-focused approach and remains an essential reference for exhibition design, interiors, and architectural detailing.