With a superb intervention from Mingotti-Giordano studio, a former shoes factory becomes the perfect place to live, where pure beauty, a green garden and clever choices combine with the metropolitan lifestyle of Milan.
A perfect mix of history and modernity sometimes becomes reality.This outstanding loft, the Milanese refugee of the architect Andrea Mingotti from Mingotti-Giordano architetti, a studio founded by him and the architect Filippo Giordano that deals with high-level residences and retail and counts, and among its clients important names of industry and art on an international level, is located in the Porta Romana area in Milan. It unveils all the beauty of a place with an historic soul: “It is part of an industrial complex, a former shoe factory built in 1911 of about 600 square meters” recounts the architect Andrea Mingotti.
The intervention, completed in 2019, carried out by the Mingotti-Giordano studio in Milan, involved the demolition of a part of the building added in the following period to create the long pergola entrance courtyard and brought to light the original characteristics of the main building.
Inside, the loft measures approximately 200 square meters, plus the two private external courtyards, and has a square plan. One of the courtyards acts as an access and is closed by a 3-meter-high steel and glass gate, made on design, with pivot opening. The other courtyard extends across the south side of the building and comprehends the outdoor living room and swimming pool.
The main open space measures about 6.5 meters in height, with the classic shed roof and a handmade concrete floor, restored to resemble the original. In a corner, a cube of 5 meters side and 3,5 meters high made in walnut wood contains all the equipment of the loft, leaving the other surfaces intact. Inside there is the wardrobe and the master bathroom, made in dark green tones, with a large shower-bath illuminated from above.
Outside, hidden by walnut panels, numerous storage compartments and all kitchen equipment. The kitchen is completed by an original bar counter from the 1940s. Above the cube, there is the main bedroom made in shades of light grey.
Two large windows open from the living room,facing on the second outdoor green space, characterized by the swimming pool created in correspondence with the opening of the living area.
A modern marquinia black marble fireplace has been placed in the living room.From the entrance courtyard, characterized by a hexagonal cement floor, you can also access the guest apartment which is spread over two levels, built in the old thermal power plant of the factory.“The goal of the project was to preserve the industrial footprint, the load-bearing structures were left with the layers of the original exposed paintings, treated with resin to preserve them” recounts the architect.
The furnishing elements reflect the elegant taste and attention to detail that the studio usually uses for its projects: “Many of the furnishings are pieces of antiques or modernism that the studio collects and uses for its projects all over the world, others are custom, made specifically for this project, others are mass-produced and designed directly by us for some furniture or lighting companies”, points out the Architect.
