The apartment is in a historic early twentieth century building in the Porta Venezia area of Milan. The building’s distinctive features, which belong to the Milanese Art Nouveau period, have been perfectly preserved. The deco-rative apparatus includes wrought iron elements made by the famous artist and blacksmith Mazzucotelli.

The project takes advantage of the generous heights by playing with suspended spaces. Each room has a mezza-nine space that not only allows for more living space but also increases the viewpoints from which one can ob-serve and enjoy the wide spaces of the home, which is now lived in by a young family. The division of the rooms is defined by pure and simple forms, monoliths of different materials. Natural materi-als, such as stone and wood, are used for these elements which are in strong dialogue with each other. The dif-ferent material finishes enrich the sensory tactile experience. The spatial devices are also designed as inhabited volumes, able to accommodate objects and optimize the rooms’ fluidity of use.

In the living area, the existing wooden floors have been restored and improved. In addition to preserving the historical memory of the house, the different panels on the floor identify areas with different uses within the large single, fluid space of the living room. Long corridors, given the particular shape of the apartment, distinguish the different areas of the house. In these connecting spaces, simple and evocative shapes and suspended volumes enrich the perception of space, playing with light or with the expansion and compression of heights. In the master bedroom, as in the rest of the house, simple volumes rest against each other, organizing the space above. A walled wardrobe hides a staircase that gives access to the loft, which in turn houses a walk-in wardrobe and a compact working space. A sliding door divides the entrance area, making it a second walk-in wardrobe with direct access to the private bathroom.

In the bathroom of the master bedroom, the shower consists of a block dug out of the terrace and features a seat. The entrance and guest bathroom are characterized by the green Guatemalan marble floor and walls which en-gage with the wooden floor and bathroom furniture.

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Commission: Concept design, developed design, technical design and construction supervision Client: Private

Collaborators: Federica Torri

Contractors: Floreani e Fornari S.r.l. (general contractor), Arredo 90 snc (wood carpenter)

Consultants: ing. Alberto Rosso (structural engineering)