In Murano, the exclusive palazzo that is a festival of light in all its infinite interpretations. An interior design project by Calvi Brambilla, spanning innovation and tradition, art and design 

Palazzo Barovier&Toso is housed in an original Venetian palazzo dating back to 1920, located in Fondamenta Manin 1/D, just a stone’s throw from the historic seat of the company, carefully renovated and sumptuously restored by Calvi Brambilla architects. The project celebrates Barovier&Toso’s seven hundredyear tradition of skill and craftsmanship, combined with the exclusive luxury of its stunning chandeliers.

Covering over nine hundred square meters over three floors, Palazzo Barovier&Toso is a unique experience designed to celebrate the sophistication of this unique Made in Italy brand: an exclusive showcase in which every detail has been carefully considered to best showcase the timeless luxury of the world’s most famous Murano chandeliers. The result is not just a showroom, but a carefully curated space in which Barovier&Toso’s majestic creations transfigure a series of sophisticated settings to create a stunning, atmospheric experience.

Under the stewardship of Calvi Brambilla architects, the interior of the historic palazzo has been completely renovated, while maintaining the original design of the façade.
“To create Palazzo Barovier&Toso, we envisaged a space in which past and present – the two essential elements of the company – could coexist,” comments Paolo Brambilla. “We have found a way to bring together a modern, minimalist interior design concept with the majesty of Murano glass, celebrating it in an atmosphere of calm, filled with light and reflection,” adds Fabio Calvi.

At the heart of the project is a modern reinterpretation of the architectural elements typically associated with these ancient palaces, once home to Venice’s noble families: from wood panelling to Venetian Terrazzo floors, the layout of the rooms across the different levels, or the single colour chosen to decorate every room and every feature in it. A choice that becomes the leitmotif of the building, establishing a consistent visual experience, enhanced by works of art by Jason Martin, Brigitte Kowanz and Astrid Krogh on display in the upper floors in tribute to the Venice Biennal.
The ground floor, dedicated to a reception and shopping area, features black tones and suffused lighting: in perfect Barovier&Toso style, the display area is imbued with an intimate, exclusive feel where guests can marvel over a selection of chandeliers, suspension lights and table lamps.

A gilt staircase connects the three floors of the Palazzo, opening on to a double-height space, which is home to the Taif, an immense chandelier designed in 1980 for one of the residences of the King of Saudi Arabia. An iconic chandelier of colossal proportions, the Taif is the ultimate embodiment of Barovier&Toso craftsmanship, earning this exquisite piece a place of honour in which it can be appreciated in all its glory.

On the first floor, in a series of monochrome rooms – white, gold, blue, black and red respectively – the story of Barovier&Toso is told through its most prestigious collections, representing the creative freedom that has made them unique in shape, colour and composition. On the second and final floor, in a room with a wooden-trussed ceiling, is a series of larger chandeliers in classic, modern and contemporary styles. The setting is airy and minimalist: nothing detracts from the lights and the fascinating play of a thousand reflections on the Murano glass. The experience concludes in a bar area, where guests can enjoy a colourful display of blown glass and the different elements used to make a chandelier, and a large café in pink hues chosen to illustrate the considerable contract potential of the brand – a potential that has already led to exclusive partnerships with luxury hotel chains, boutiques, government offices and public spaces throughout the world.

“We are proud to announce the opening of Palazzo Barovier&Toso,” comments company president, Rinaldo Invernizzi. “This is a project that is very dear to our hearts and which confirms our commitment to a policy of continuous growth and internationalisation. Through this aim, we celebrate our history, our workers and the extraordinary masterpieces they create in glass, a winning combination of innovation and tradition, art and design.”
Palazzo Barovier&Toso is undergoing an ambitious brand-building programme, which last year brought a complete update of the brand’s identity, including a new logo reconceived in the brand’s corporate colours, new social media channels and a state-of-the-art website.

In Murano, the exclusive palazzo that is a festival of light in all its infinite interpretations. An interior design project by Calvi Brambilla, spanning innovation and tradition, art and design

On the banks of Rio dei Vetrai – the historic canal of Murano that has played host to the world’s most famous glassworks for centuries - Barovier&Toso has opened an authentic temple of luxury, a unique site in Venice in which to enjoy the majestic beauty of the company’s creations; over 900 square metres of space, an itinerary through the history of a brand that has developed colours, techniques, forms and styles, reinventing itself each time with the exclusive refinement that has made it famous all over the world.

The company founded in 1295 confirms its role as an absolute protagonist of the age-old art of glass: a technique that is almost magic, employed by master glassmakers, the sole craftsmen capable of transforming humble substances – sand, air, fire – into chandeliers of exceptional beauty and value.

Starting now, these extraordinary specimens of Made in Italy have an enchanting new home: Palazzo Barovier&Toso. The studio Calvi Brambilla has taken charge of the project, coordinating the interior design. The building located at Fondamenta Manin 1/C – near the historic headquarters – has undergone a total renovation of its internal spaces: an essential itinerary on three levels to narrate the unique quality of the brand, through an exclusive installation in which every detail has been honed as a tribute to the timeless luxury of the collections on display. Not just a showroom, but a versatile space in which the production of Barovier&Toso enhances heterogeneous but always refined spaces, creating evocative and emotional atmospheres.

“To make the new Palazzo a reality, we have thought about a space where history and the contemporary can coexist, as the two primary essences of Barovier&Toso,” says Paolo Brambilla. “We have been able to harmoniously combine an essential, modern interior design concept with the majesty of Murano glass, enhanced by a context full of light and reflections,” Fabio Calvi adds.

The project is based on a contemporary reinterpretation of the typical architectural features of historic noble palaces: from the panelling to the floors in Venetian terrazzo, to the layout of the rooms, all the way to the colour that sets each room apart, generating a spectrum of chromatic atmospheres. This choice becomes the fil rouge of the whole building, offering a unique visual experience, in tune with the works of art by Jason Martin, Brigitte Kowanz and Astrid Krogh, included as a tribute to the Venice Biennale. The ground floor, for the reception area and shopping, is done in tones of black, wrapped in soft lighting: a variegated selection of suspension and table lamps glows in an intimate, exclusive atmosphere, in perfect Barovier&Toso style.

A golden staircase connects the three levels of the palazzo and overlooks a two-story space that contains Taif, the immense chandelier designed in 1980 for one of the residences of the king of Saudi Arabia. An iconic product of colossal size that epitomizes the crafted excellence of the brand, and thus deserves a place of honour to display its full magnificence. On the first floor, in a series of monochrome spaces - white, gold, blue, black and red – Barovier&Toso tells its story through the most prestigious collections, examples of the design freedom of the company in terms of forms, colours and compositional solutions.

The second and uppermost level is for a hall with ceiling trusses that contains the larger chandeliers in classic, modern and contemporary style. The space is airy and essential: the sole protagonist is light and the charm it unleashes in a thousand reflections on Murano glass. The itinerary concludes with a bar area (featuring colourful exhibits of blown glass and parts taken from various chandeliers), as well as a large cafe in tones of pink, conceived to illustrate the brand’s great potential on the contract market, which has enabled it to become an exclusive partner in the making of luxury hotels, boutiques, government facilities and public spaces all over the world.

“We are proud to announce the opening of Palazzo Barovier&Toso” – says the firm’s president Rinaldo Invernizzi – “a project that is a main priority for us, confirming our programme of continuous growth and internationalisation. With this achievement we celebrate our history, our human resources and the extraordinary masterpieces of glass, in a successful combination of innovation and tradition, art and design.”

Palazzo Barovier&Toso is part of an ambitious programme of corporate growth that has also involved the brand identity over the last year, which has been entirely updated, starting with the logo – revised with the company’s colours – as well as new social network initiatives and an avant-garde website. In the enchanting setting of Murano, it is now possible to have a direct experience of some of the most famous and best-loved chandeliers in the world, the result of technique that has made time into its most important factor of quality: a tribute to the slow pace of craftsmanship that shapes every portion of the glass, making it take on a unique, inimitable form, and to the authentic passion that for seven centuries has marked the activity of the master glassmakers of Barovier&Toso. An ode to Italian creativity, which dictates fashions and reflects the times, through unique collections designed to light up the world’s most exclusive settings, from here to eternity.

Material Used :
LIST OF PRODUCTS subdivided by floors and rooms
1. Ground floor | entrance and steps: Trim, Hanami, Taif.
2. Ground floor | reception area and shopping: Crown, Pigalle, Florian, Baikal, Marta, Ca’ Rezzonico 2D,
3. Premiere Dame, Tangeri, Rostrato Vases, Bolloni, Lust, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, St. Germain, Rive
4. Gauche, Twins, Camparino, Valiant (in the lift).
5. First floor | blue room: Samurai, Hastings, Exagon.
6. First floor | white room: Venezia 1295, Quadri, Rosati, Camparino, Ercole.
7. First floor | gold room: Perseus, Tangeri, Amsterdam, Izmir, Erfud.
8. First floor | corridor: Felci, Taif, Lincoln, Taymyr, Pigalle, Swing.
9. First floor | red room: Palmyra.
10. First floor | black room: Palladio, Rotterdam, Taif, Taymyr, Nevada, Twins.
11. Second floor | truss room: Taif, Venezia 1295, Lampadario 4607, Lampadario 4604.
12. Second floor | pink room (cafe): President, Premiere Dame.
13. Second floor | bar zone: Perseus.
14. Second floor | office: Alexandria.

LIST OF WORKS OF CONTEMPORARY ART subdivided by floors and rooms
1. Ground floor | reception area: Valiant by Jason Martin.
2. Piano primo | white room: Enlightening Uniqueness by Brigitte Kowanz.
3. Second floor | steps: Papa Docs by Jason Martin.
4. Second floor | cafe: My Golden Horizon by Astrid Krogh.