(NEW YORK) Bottega Veneta landed some new digs: Villa Schroeder-Da Porto in the Veneto region of Northern Italy is the new home for the company’s 300 employees. The company bought the 18th century villa in 2005 and began restoring it two years ago, with creative director Tomas Maier heading up the plans for the blueprint. The building will be obtaining LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] certification at the Platinum level from U.S. non-profit organization the Green Building Council.
Bottega Veneta will be the first Italian luxury fashion company to achieve certification at that level. More than 75 percent of materials used to restore the building were reused, and a water recycling system was installed. Also on the eco-friendly tap: photovoltaic cells that convert light into electricity cover 12,960-square-feet of the building. The 594,000-square-foot villa will house an atelier, a storage space for special hides, management and administrative offices, an archive of 5,000 bags dating back as fas as the Sixties, a museum, a restaurant, and even a school.
So what does this mean for employees? Bottega Veneta raised employees’ salaries by $1,350 to cover the projected impact of the move. In addition, the company added an annual welfare package of $675.20 per person to be used at the restaurant or on laundry, kindergarten, and fitness services. The facilities and perks are said to be part of a greater plan to attract younger generations to the art of hand craftsmanship, according to WWD. In the first nine months of this year, Bottega Veneta’s revenues have climbed to $950 million.
