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Presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2024 and designed by Dotdotdot, the Treccani Studiolo is a remarkable space of wonder, a fully immersive experience where an interactive installation and curated works by selected authors honor and reimagine Treccani’s exceptional cultural heritage and the history of its famous Great Encyclopedia, first published in 1937 after 12 years of dedicated work.
Inspired by the tradition of the 15th and 16th century studiolo, the project fits seamlessly into the Italian Pavilion of the Buchmesse designed by Stefano Boeri as a modern Renaissance piazza. With its rich content, unique atmosphere, and creative inspiration, the Studiolo Treccani offers a preview of Treccani’s centennial celebrations, set to begin in 2025.
In noble Renaissance residences, the studiolo was a room for intellectual pursuit and displaying precious artworks - a place of care, discovery, immersion, and sharing. Drawing on this concept both in form and values, the Studiolo Treccani is adorned with wood paneling that both conceals and reveals treasures of immense cultural and artistic worth.
At the heart of the studiolo lies an interactive installation: a large, arched display that randomly showcases over 30,000 digitized images from the 1937 first edition of the Great Encyclopedia. These images float in space like a dynamic cloud, moving along three axes to create an immersive visual effect.
Beside the display, a touch-sensitive metal surface invites visitors to explore three categories of immersive experiences that mirror the methods used to catalog items in Renaissance studios: Naturalia, Mirabilia, and Artificialia.
Each selection transports visitors on a visual and auditory journey, where the encyclopedia’s images morph fluidly in a unique, unrepeatable flow, while selected images turn into standalone video narratives brought to life through AI animations.
Next to the immersive installation, the paneling opens to reveal five niches, each housing a precious artifact representing Treccani's varied contributions to contemporary and historical art reproduction, rare books, and original creations by contemporary artists.
The niches hold a work by Emilio Isgrò, high-quality reproductions of a Michelangelo drawing, a special numbered edition of the Encyclopedia decorated by Ettore Spalletti, a reproduction of Il Milione by Marco Polo, and a chessboard by architect Michele De Lucchi. Together, these treasures illustrate the extraordinary range of cultural and artistic heritage preserved by Treccani.
The sound design accompanying this interactive experience consists of evocative sounds that shift based on the visitor's interaction. In standby mode, subtle sounds follow the movement of the image cloud, while immersive interactions transform the soundscape, evolving from themes inspired by Naturalia, Mirabilia, and Artificialia, and generating a continuously changing auditory experience.
