PLACES & SPACES | ROOMS & GARDENS | CABANA MAGAZINE
In an exclusive extract from the Special Edition of Cabana Issue 22, Mary Robbins explores a rediscovered 13th-century Venetian palazzo with a strange elegance. It deserves to be rescued and restored - an ambitious project for talented British designers, Angus and Charlotte Buchanan.
BY MARY ROBBINS | ROOMS & GARDENS | 16 NOVEMBER 2024
Think of a piece of theater set in Venice. Think of the three-act structure, and imagine that Act I opens in a mysterious enchanted Palazzo, whose original structure dates back to the 13th century. Set design is crucial here.
On a ruined velvet sofa, beneath a sizable hole in the ceiling, lies a portrait of Giuseppe Grisostolo, patriarch of the family who owned this Palazzo for 150 years. On the floor, there is a pile of plaster, wood, and cement—items that ought to be in the ceiling. Also on the floors and scattered across broken chairs are upside-down paintings, broken sinks, and dust-covered stemware.
A chaotic wilderness, and yet it is all very beautiful: as though a private tornado had whirled through and left behind a surrealist vision of life in a Venetian Palazzo. Some fragile mystery hovers in the dusty air—where did everyone go? All of their belongings—furniture, fur coats, letters, and newspapers dating to the 1890s remain, but the people, the Grisostolos, a family of prolific and highly respected engineers who lived and worked here are gone (save for Giuseppe, of course).
This place has a strange elegance, but it would be quite sad to imagine it continuing its lonely voyage toward oblivion. It deserves to be rescued, but that is an enormous undertaking. Not for the faint of heart. Who is prepared to scale the castle walls, fight the dragon, etc.? This brings us to Act II.
A 13th-century Venetian Palazzo, discovered by Ale Ascani © Christopher Horwood
The curtain comes up, and Angus Buchanan enters. Angus, creative director of Buchanan Studio, is ready to take on this daunting project; he is certainly up to the task; his London-based studio does it all: commercial and residential interior design, event, set and product design, as well as art direction and branding.
Excited by the challenge of restoring and revitalizing the Palazzo, which was discovered by Ale Ascani, Angus aptly describes it as, “a Venetian visionary who found the property and is orchestrating the complex puzzle of Venetian rules..to bring the building back to life and save it from ruin.” Ascani is collaborating closely with Buchanan Studio on all elements of this undertaking as they build ‘the narrative and design language” for the project.
One need only look at Buchanan Studio’s recent work, including the resurrection of their own north London home, to be convinced of their ability to mastermind this masterwork. Angus, whose background is in art direction, is a perfect protagonist for such a dramatic story of character and decay; he has a love for the space that is obvious, “I was completely mesmerized on first entering the Palazzo. Now, having spent so much time in the building, I feel incredibly fond of it, and I am very excited to bring it back to life and allow it to be inhabited once again.”
Discover the full story of Buchanan Studio's extraordinary renovation in the Chanel x Lesage Special Edition of Cabana Issue 22 | buchanan.studio
This article is an exclusive extract from the Special Edition of Cabana Issue 22.
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