ee Fg 2woe ~~ NUOVI, AMBIENT] ITALIAN COLLANA TA s LIVING IN MILAN ABITARE A MILANO ACURA DI SILVIO SAN PIETRO TESTI DI PAOLA GALLO EDIZIONI L’KRCHIVOLTOINDICE GENERALE PEEFAZIONE / PREFACE (PAOLA GALLO), iG IN MILAN / ABITARE A MILANO ER0$1 ASSOCIATI DESIGN - E, BAROMI, A. PISCONE -NERDI, R. CATTANEO ‘M. MERLINE, C, MOY, 1 CELVL M. MERLINI, C, MOY cRLIONI 5 SRLZOML P. POZZI CAETZZO, P.RANCATY, E. RIVA ‘TBEINO, P.LOMAZZI, K. SETINA oc ZOMANELLI 3 FTSCONT CLERICI, L. AGNOLETTO be SEVORELLT 2G SEVORELLE STrD10 D/ARCHITETTURA SIMONE MICHELL Romy REPERTORIO / INVENTORY CONTENTS ‘Spazi permeabili/ Permeable spaces Una piazza domestics /K domestic piazza Percorso archtetonico / Architectural treult ‘Scompesizioni plastiche / Plastic decomposition Paosaggi intovorsi /Introvorted landscapes ‘Memorie contemporanee / Contemporary memories Pathos espressionista / Expressionist pathos innovate armonie / Renewed harmonies Dinamica luminostta/& luminous dynamic Design dacollezione / Designer set-piece CContamrinazioni in equilibrio/ A balanced crossover Fantasiosoecettsmo / Fantastic eclecticism, Eleganza severa / Severe elegance Ritmi di luce / Rhythms oflight ‘Memcorie in argento / Memories in silver Minimal-pop / Minimal-pop ‘Sperimentazioni sul clasico / An experiment inclessicism 1a casadet libri / The house of books Intornoa una biblioteca / Library falerum Progettarelaliberta / Planning freedom, Tensioni pulsanti/ Pulsing tensions CCompenetrazioniplatiche / Plastic interpenetration Una rifondazione / Refoundation ‘Trasfigurazioni / Transfiguration Contrast motalliei / Metal contrasts atelier della creativita/ The creative workshop. SCHEDE TECNICHE / TECHNICAL DATA FORNITORI / SUPPLIERS PROGETTISTI / DESIGNERS 12 18 26 38 46 82 §8 68 12 18 82 9 98 108 14 120 126 198 150 188 168 lid 182 190 196 204 2l4 222 230PREFACE This book establishes an unusual and refreshing precedent for publications on architecture by narrow- ing its spectrum exclusively to home desicn as expe- rienced here in the Lombard capital, a theme that offers a rare chance to apply a unitary and organic approach to the specifics of the phenomenon, and to some extent set a new yardstick for this type of inquiry, thereby contrasting with the often fragmentary approach adopted by sector magazines which, even in the case of special monographic issues, tend to lay undue emphasis on the innovative aspects of the pro- jects discussed. While the set of projects discussed here cannot claim to be an exhaustive treatment of the subject, ror even a systematic sampling, they show- case some of the more striking and individual trends under way in Milanese home design today. The character and design of the domestic environ- ment is one of the prime ways any large city express- es its individuality. it can therefore come as no sur- prise that many sector publications devole their atten- tion to the domestic architecture of a single city, be i New York, London, or Paris. Given the Lombard capi- tal’s redoubtable history of exploration in all fields of design and the sclid reputation of its university struc tures, one can hardly wonder thet Milan is synony- ‘mous with design and fashion the world over. That said, Milan’s domestic architecture and the dis- tinct lifestyle of the Milanese themselves do not neces- sarily coincide. For various reasons and for brief peri- ods, even recently the city’s attention to public works has wavered, tarnishing its reputation as a trailblazer and generator of new ideas and imaginative focuses of social aggregation. In reaction, the city’s planners and inhabitants have merely heightened their quest for quality in the design of the living unit itself and on the specific features thet populate it, Whence a curi- ous distinction perhaps between “living” the city, and inhabiting” it. For many Milanese, the home is a refuge, a secret chamber well repaired from the urban bustle outside. But as Christian Norberg-Schulz points out in his seminal work on house design, the concept of refuge does not automatically entail the annihilation of the world about us; it is ostensibly a place in which the individual gathers his memories of that world, and arranges them in relation with everyday life Historically speaking, Milan's architecture has a tradi- tion of being inward-looking, As if shy of itself, the city chooses to sequester rather than parade its treasures. Here the pleasures of private life are indeed private, and whatever sharing transpires is the result of delib- erate decision. And whie it is conventional wisdom that a home is by cefinition an enclave, an oasis sense of privacy and reserve is made keener by nature of the urban fabric, the building type, and our case by the distinct mode by which the Milan interact at the social level. As if by reaction, this 1 cence and the physical texture of the city has fos an uncanny independence of approach to the & jomestic interiors, an approach that often bre: new ground with respect to other cities, where the ait ferent social outlook and mores give rise to a more flamboyant view of private interiors. The shift emphasis under way is from spaces designate collective fruition toward those for private enjoyme: ‘The distinctive flavor of the Milanese residence goes hand-in-hand with the criteria of the installat architecture, whose properties have a value in theiz own right. Moreover, the city's ranks of practi architects undoubtediy have a special privilege their clients are usually key players of the wo: fashion, art, culture, photography, business; ott may have less money to throw around but are b: well-equipped and particularly receptive to intelli dialogue with the designer. This gives rise to « unusual synergy between client and architect, wh cultural baggage tends to foster a common vision the domestic environment's very purpose History has shown that it is always a certain class person that spurs innovation ahead, and the des: panorama in Milan follows the same pattern. Wit flourishing “collusion” between an enlightened, well informed client and the city’s deeply rooted archit tural tradition, the concepts that emerge frequen stray far outside the usual conventions and e: lished ideas of domestic design, and even from ¥ is considered the letest, most fashionable aesthe! ‘The results have international resonance. This book takes a close look at this characterizins aspect of Milan, looking beyond the individual colz- tions of the projects themselves and their wide variety of idiom to demonstrate that a whole generation of modern designers are now capable of freely exp ing their ideas of home design, having jettisoned the conceptual tremmels and theories by which certain functions of domestic architecture were hailed to be of virtually universal application, whatever the situation or end-user. (On the other hand, there is growing evidence that the architect has been definitively dethroned from his high perch and rendered more accessible. No more 2demiurge, today's architect is not permitted to indulge himself and his personal ideas, irrespective of the needs and inclinations of who is to inhabit the house and occupy the very spaces being designed The history of architecture has shown the futility of epplying standardized parameters to home design. On the contrary, the home is an ideal arena for playing out strongly individual formulas, a place in which the eccupant contrives a fully personalized system of liv- tag, Without doubt this psychological dimension to liv- tag and home design has become universally accept- ed but in Milan this awareness is interwoven with a keen understanding of design basics, including the purely aesthetic potential. The outcome is a rich panoply of invention that is perhaps more noticeable here than in other cities. The open acknowledgment of the critical role of architecture as an essential structur- tng force means that Milanese homes sometimes veer ff sharply from conventional ideas of decor, and from the rather generic instances of spontaneity which may bbe pleasing to the eye but bring little advancement to the culture of interior design, For this reason, many Milanese interiors constitute authentic forms of archi- tecture and not merely decorative “linings” as it were, whence the apparent austerity of Milanese architec ture and interior design, both being outward expres- sions of the city’s characteristic intellectual rigor. In the process of documenting the intricacies of this area of design, the book also maps current philoso- phy in modern home design through a select gamut of new projects, illustrating the diversity present in trends and typological variety, which all testify to the strip- ping away of defunct layers of modern dogma and reconstituted linguistic codes, laying bare a fresh new outlook based on the idea of space, The projects lined up here are ample evidence that Milan’s archi- tecture has come of age and can exercise its flair in highly personalized and often innovative poetics, each one a truly contemporary expression of home design. Setting aside a project's irrefutable close interrelation with its urban context or host building — in some cases, characterless — each of these designs encapsulates a distinct mode of living that combines the set of requirements and expectations of the client and dove- tails these with the personal aptitude of the architect. In this way the layout criteria applied are transformed into authentic expressions of ways of experiencing the domestic environment. In many cases the restrictions posed by the site were overcome, or their features integrated with the new design, becoming organic components of the new scheme. Similarly, the idiom and architectural vocabulary show remarkable variety, and rather than suggest an underlying lack of stylistic focus, they are a physical manifestation of the archi- tect's personal research into the significance of interi- or design and afford a brilliant occasion for putting ideas into practice. Instead of implying an unfocused pluralism of design language, the often striking differ- ences of approach and sheer variety of results achieved in the projects showcased here evince an overarching unity in both perception and application, a unity that is intrinsic to the Milanese architectural experience. In these projects we discover a substantial distance from the idea of the home as an entity distinct from its architecture, of interiors divorced from the volumes and space they inhabit. Instead we find new emphasis on composition, in the detailing, in a more focused choice of materials, and the particulars of the furnish- ings — whether these be elegant reworkings of classic design or custom pieces with a modern thrust. And it is by dint of the structuring function of their architec- ture that Milanese homes become inscapes of the inhabitant's psyche: the process of identification inher- ent to the act of dwelling in a given place is enacted through the organization and form of its space, and hence through its architecture. This endorses the notion that the true home is the form the architecture lends it, a setting which the inhabitant enhances with select memories, personal projections and subjective figures of the outside world, confirming Wittgenstein's dictum "I am my world." And such an assertion may by particularly applicable to Milan. Pacla GalloTut i i wiSIDVdS TIGVIWAId aVaWaad IZVdS Enrico Baroni/AWiGta PISCONERalng {n un palazzo d'epoca nel centro di Milano un appertamento di dimensicni relativamente ridotte, derivante dal fraziona- ‘mento di un'unita pitt ampia ha riacquistato respiro, una spa~ tialitd signorile, in seguito a un progetto che opera con leg- gerezza, ricomponendo gli ambienti con nuowi setti studiati come quinte che distribuiscono le funzioni. Una soluzione che consente di leggere lo spazio della zona living come un unico volume entro il quale si staglia 1 p:ezioso Givisorio a 1, in laste di travertino gtezzo, che isola la cucina Lidea di unincessanie compenetrazione dei volumi e tradotta ance dalla bassa pedana che sopraeleva il pranzo, disegnata in modo da apparire galleggiante, dal suo attraversare la parete prolungandosi nel soggiorno come piano d'appoggio al camino nonche dallo stesso camino passante che perfora unampla porzione della muratura portante. Questo gioco di superfici orizzontalt e verticali che ridisegnano lo spazio enizo l'involucro murario interpretalo come tna scatola bian- ca, si rivela coerertemente anche nel cettaglio delle lamine i ferro che identificano il camino su entrambi ilati o nel am- pia anta scorrevole di vetro colorato che separa la zona gior- no dalla zona notte tracciando sulla superficie bianca un qua~ Grato arancione, come un quadro, La zona notte, concepita come una suite, allinea il bagmo, la cabina armadio e la camera da letto, oltre allo studio, come ambienti passanti Sofisticata anche la concezione della cucina organizzata intorno al fulcto centrale del!'isola cottura con le attrezzature ancorate alle quinte di pietra e intenzionalmente disegnate come volumi che paiono sospesi nel vuoto, connotati dal colore blu o incassati nella muratura che separa la cucina dal bagno di servizio come si trattasse di un compatto volume ligneo. Limpostazione rigorosa del progetto, che si esprime con un lessico minimale supportato da una notevole raffina- tezza esecutiva, al livello dei dettaclio realizzatvo, i ribadire il valore compositivo di un'ortogonalité articolata per episo- i, si riscontra anche nella scelta di arredi essenziali e nella soluzione dellilluminazione generale garantita da piccoli riquadr luminosi incastonati nei controsoffit ‘The rehabilitation of this apartment of relatively small dimen- ‘sions recouped from the division ofa larger unit in a fine peri- od building situated in the heart of Milan's downtown has endowed the entie scheme with a new sense of distinction and spaciousness by means of a discerningly understated reartazgement of the dividing walls that formerly demarcated the individual functional ateas, The outcome of the refurbish- ‘ment includes a spacious open-plan living room conceived as a single space that pivots around an essential L-shaped island topped in raw travertine that effectively cordons off the Kitchen area. The leimoti of interlocking volumes is retterat- ed in the cently “floating” raised level of the dining area, ‘which continues beyond the partition to a fireplace tat can be enjoyed on either side by dint of a large aperture in the structural wall, This ingenious interplay of horizontal and ver- tical planes articulating the space enclosed within a structural shell, which is treated with a uniform white is neatly endorsed by such details as the metalized planes flanking the hand- some fireplace, and by the large sliding partition in colored glass that screens the daytime area from the sleeping quar- ters, tracing an orang>-tinted square like a picture set into the white plane. The sleeping quarters are designed as an inter- communicating suite consisting of a walkin closet and bath- room leading to bedroom and study beyond. Similar sophisti cation is applied for the fcod-preparation area faming around the central Kitchen island, which boasts blue custom equip- ment built into a solid stone housing designed to appear vir- tually suspended: other custom units are encased in the wall separating the Kitchen from the guest bathroom, creating a single, continuous wooden service plane. With its combina- tion of a forceful design logic and a deliberately economic vocabulary complemented by accomplished workmanship and keen attention to detail, the project affirms its adherence to an orthogonal scheme of self-contained episodes, a ratio- nale that is further endorsed by the choice of lean furrishings and the overall lighting system composed of rectangular downlights recessed into the lowered ceilingsSezione tasversile Transversal econ A-A Seziene wasversale /Transversal secton C.-C Bahecor tanereal ston s to / Serienolongincinale / Longin reckon. | [ u L_| Secionelongitudinae/ Longittval sectonE-EiN nH A i EVN Nh il wt HH Un pregetto cttento ai rapporti proporsional ha ridisegnato wolum: ¢h quest apparfamiento, nel certo siorico della cia, Caraiterizzato cal atezza notevolisina cel sit ora modula ‘su quote diverse, Cid ha consentito di ridurre e al tempo stesso di valorizzare la straordinaria za articolande gli spazi in funzione delle conlemporanee. Oltrepassato il locale Go wr eip.a jeandle wane L-eoguonin ¢ la seme italva iad al pans nanato ain wpa tid brutus pater i logus's llega ala cach feet tins oods ite Gl earvisia Lo pais ol aoe {oma tisuta cos! ridimensionaio ma anche rewalioato Gal ogto dalla parote che lo sopara dalla parle pil foarvata Gallopperlameate @ dal pranae eopraclovat Un tetera di tuto da il) IN VN NNN Mh ll HUN NN The key 10 the redesign of the interiors of this townhouse situat ed in the historic downtown is the decisive rule of proportion that has been applied to a suite of rooms whose unusually higt ceilings allowed for a new scheme of levels that maximizes the extra vertical quotas by installing new functional spaces mor appropriately aligned with the requirements a modern hor entails, Cn one side the entrance hell accesses the living room and the right quarters; the other leads off to a mezzanine raised on a vooden framework and linked to the nearby kitchen via a secondary staircase, While the handsome living-room area is thus scaled down its appeal lies inthe design of the partition wall ‘operating it fom the private area cf the apartment and dinin oom on the floor above This wal is punctuated by symmetAnimaperture simmetriche trasforma questa quinta muraria in una sorta di facciata introversa, rtmice, fa si che i volurri del sog- giorng e del pranzo siano reciprocamente permeabil, comuni- Cant E una sorta ci piazza domestica, quella cos! determinata, in grado di assegnare allo spazio ai conversazione una georn tria leggtbile ribacita dalla disposizione simmetrica dei avant, dei piccatitavoli su disegno, dal tappeto color sabbia a niquadri ordat! di nero, dalla ibreria sviluppata a tuttaltezza servita da ‘una pedana Alla quota superiore la sala da pranzo é caratieriz- zata con decisione dal colore rosso, scelto non solo per ‘e libre rie che ne rivestono integralmente le pareti ma anche per il pavimento di legno. Entio questa serta di seconda pelle si aprono finestre interne che si affacciano sulle altssime aperture estere dei locaii sottostantie, soprattutto, la piccola zona dello io, un'invenzione scenica che sispira liberamente al cele- di Antonello da Messina tafiigurante appunto San lamo nello studiolo, Disegnato come elemento organico, delle attrezzature a parete, questo piccolo spazio si data gra- asilica di San Marco, offrondo anche al pranzo una pro- no inusitata, Nella ristrutturazione degli spazi lori assume una funzione strumertale che chiar della distribuzione e del prog sro murario originerio é classicamente bianco, volutamente di decorazioni, a ribadie il ruolo ordinatore dell archi ro gi arred!fissi¢ la struttura de! soppalca, che la camera da letto origina una sorta di segnt decist che evi disegno rigorosamente georne- ttico dei nuow. intervent e i! loro valore anche formale. Traoce dinero i bordi del tappe'o del soggiorno, la moquette dellin gresso e delle scale, il maestoso tavolo — completano questa tavolozza cromatica purisia alla quale damno anima e sapore oggetti particolari come le forme di legno per gli stampi di ingranaggi in ghisa espost entio una delle aperture interne 0 i mazzi di fori essiccati che occupano alouni degli scaffai delle librerie nel soggiomo e nel!'ingresso, ‘openings that transform its surface into a kind of interior faca ensuring high permeability and correspondence between two ambiences, the one below transformed into a domes! ‘square” of sorts g this area for relaxation and conve: sation with a transparent geomexry that is endorsed by the sym metrical arrangement of the sofés, the low custom-design tables, the sand-colored rugs squared with biack borders bookshelves towering up f0 the high ceiling, with @ wood! Jedge running around the base. The predominant color s2 ofthe cining suite isa deep red, which also characterizes the tures of the bookshelves running the ful circuit of the wall the polished ruby-oned wooden floors. On one side, the openings in the dividing wall look down onto the panoram the living roormplaza area below; on the other lies the nook- Ii study comer, liberally styled as a homage to Antonello da Messina's ex< St. Jerome in his Study; alan his the sense of space is visually dilated by means of a false window looking down onto an imaginary view of the interior o St Mark's in Venice, a prospect that adds a note of great criginal- ity to the entire dining room encloswe, The choice and deploy ment of colors plays a key role throughout the apartment’ inter: os, londing a sense of system while accentuating the layout and structural features, The original masonry has been treated with plain white fnish, without further omament, underscoring its pr mary purpose as an architecturel framework. This neutral shells strongly offplayed by the strong red of the fintures and of th mezzanine structure, which creates a sort of alcove toward th hight quarters. In this way these features assert themselves by giving reef o the rigorous geometrical arrangement of the nev imeriors, and provide bold formal input. Here and there, black trim in black — as in the hem of the living-room rugs, and in th imposing table - complete this deliberately reduced palete of tones, which is enlivened by assorted details such as the mz sive red cogwheels occupying one of the walla strategically placed dried-fower displays set amid the bookc« esinthe living room, entrance, and stairway.