In Milan, this contemporary apartment building by Eisenman Architects and Degli Esposti Architetti responds to its context with an S-shaped form and series of horizontal bands. The bands are stacked in an offset manner that results in four different layers within the nine-story building. The curving form incorporates an existing 20th-century building on the site within its layers.
The first layer is a three-storey base similar in architectural language to historic urban palazzi. This layer is clad with travertine and features punched windows with inset decks. The second layer, which is the fourth floor, takes on the form of a traditional piano nobile. The floor is set back from the travertine base below and the marble cladding above of third layer above.
The third layer, being floors five and six, is ordered and disciplined. It is articulated by enameled metal frames that create horizontal bands running the length of the façade.
The fourth and topmost layer, being floors seven through nine, is less a horizontal layer, but rather a stepped profile and volumetric mass, described by the architects as a series of ‘urban villas’ with large planting terraces. Volumes are carved away to create dramatic multi-storey spaces within the metal framework.
