The z2o gallery is expanding, indeed, doubling its exhibition spaces. After the main venue on Via della Vetrina 21, it now has a second space—z20 Project—on the second floor of a building in the San Saba neighborhood. Accessed through a sequence of rooms arranged over three levels, it connects the three floors with a wooden and metal spiral staircase: the gallerist’s home on the ground floor, from which one enters, the space for young artists, and the exhibition gallery above. In this case, the gallery is accompanied by a small artist residency, designed to host both the person and the work, the artist and the art. A successful functional hybridization, both in terms of spatial grammar and the work conducted by the curator, who provides a place to welcome, develop, and exhibit the entire creative process. This operation involves re-stitching the existing envelope with new functions, where the traces are intentionally kept visible, as the marks left by time generate identity and tell stories full of history.

It is a multi-voiced conversation between Sara Zanin and Bevilacqua Architects, who have worked together to imagine and create a space that appears neutral at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, it possesses an intrinsic character that does not clash with the exhibited works but rather serves them. It provides the best possible scenic backdrop, the right atmosphere, and the proper lighting balance, achieved through a mix of artificial lighting and large square openings that flood the space with diffused natural light.

The Bevilacqua Architects’ project focused on these aspects, respecting the existing elements—such as the decision to leave the original ceiling stuccos and floor marbles intact, which reveal the previous floor plan—and the systems, using home automation technology. The space becomes intelligent, efficient in performance, connected, and manageable even remotely. Traces beneath the surface.

CREDITS