Casa Atelier MZ occupies an elongated lot of land located in the historic city centre, where there once stood the appurtenances of a noble palace of Romanesque origin modified in the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. 

Various spaces were situated along the path from the main building to the rear access. Until the late eighteenth century, a second small palace delimited the site while the stables cut it transversely, defining the noble court on one side and the orchards on the other. Over time the space has changed extensively, as the stables were demolished and a twentieth-century building was constructed against the surrounding wall, in continuity with the ancient appurtenances. 

The result is an uninterrupted constructed space set on the southern edge of the lot, composed of independent and autonomous parts: the recently restored three-level small palace, the twentieth century extension on two levels and – between them - a one-level building whose flat roof is used as a terrace. The garden is a romantic space, only accessible from the noble palace and preceded by a courtyard paved with small pieces of trachyte. 

The project concerns a light renovation of the small palace and the restoration of the twentieth century extension and all the open spaces. To allow the spaces to express their characteristic identity, significant historical features were enhanced, including the surrounding wall, the ancient orchard and the stable grounds. 

The restoration of the surrounding wall includes the realization of a new pedestrian entrance, opposite the existing one in the noble palace. Along this axis, stretched between the two entrances, several "open-air rooms" follow one another in an alternation of mineral and planted spaces. At the same time, an internal path tangent to the facade facing the garden distributes the rooms of the atelier house. 

These two axes are similar in planimetric layout, colour and light: the exposed brick of the surrounding wall is repeated continuously inside the building, the grey trachyte of the paths in the garden corresponds to the smooth concrete of the interior floors, and the spotlights generate the same lighting effects both outdoors and indoors. 

The indoor spaces developed along the edge of the lot have been renovated, establishing a very close relationship with the outdoors. The autonomous parts of the living space make up a fluid sequence in which the domestic life meets the work life of the owner, an eyewear designer. 

The living area winds through a series of rooms alternating with service bands. The rooms are separated by sliding partitions whose coatings generate varying degrees of visual permeability inside the house. The smoked glass lets the eye run deep along the enfilade of the rooms, and the mirror layers expand the space, while the opaque linoleum, satin to the touch, is the backdrop that enhances the furniture and the design collection. 

The rooms are bright and animated by the dynamic effects that the light generates by interacting with the various materials, such as the perforated and galvanized sheet metal of the staircase. Set in a central position between the living room, study and terrace, the staircase is the protagonist of the space: the coloured reflections move across the circular hole pattern of this suspended object. 

Large openings directly connect the living room to the garden and the study to the courtyard. The windows' black iron profiles are integrated with the internal dark linoleum pilasters. The kitchen is situated on the upper floor, extending into a bioclimatic glass greenhouse and a generous terrace. 

All the living spaces expand towards the outdoors, incorporating the vegetation. The facade facing the garden is covered by wisteria and Banks' rose, which rises along a metal frame enveloping the windows with their mass and perfumes. The relationship with the garden is direct and qualifies the architecture in different ways. 

The garden has been redesigned to allow the nostalgic characteristics of the antique orchard and the stables to come through. These ancient plants, still alive and vibrant, are typical of the historic Paduan gardens. They have been moved to the eastern end of the lot and integrated with new specimens of hackberry, ash, osmanthus, and dogwood. Along the perimeter, a band of espalier holm oaks and hornbeams have been planted against the background of the boundary wall, generating a barrier towards the neighbouring properties. The trachyte slabs, already present on site, have been restored in the paths of the ancient orchards, where perennial grasses with a decomposed and sinuous bearing have been planted. 

The stable grounds are recognizable by the use of exposed brick in the flooring and in the profile of the ancient facade. Laid on edge, the bricks create borders, distinguishing the resting areas from the bands of planted or mineral areas. In the former, the colours and scents of plant species alternate with a sort of geometric rigour, while the latter act as a backdrop for the metal and marble objects. 

Casa Atelier MZ is the home of a creative and his family, where the indoor and outdoor spaces are integrated through simple materials, and architecture modulates rich sensory suggestions, putting the space in dialogue with the large collection of artwork and design pieces. 

Team:

Architects: depaolidefranceschibaldan architetti

Photographer: Marco Cappelletti

Materials used:

Flooring: Concrete flooring, 70 Materia

Doors: Rimadesio

Windows: Secco Sistemi

Interior lighting: N55 system, Mario Nanni, Viabizzuno

Stairs: Steel, Mingardo

Interior furniture: Table, Atelier Alinea

Interior furniture:
Shelves, Muller Van Severen
Kitchen, Alpes Inox
Shelves, USM Haller 
Shelves, 606 Universal System, Dieter Rams, Vitsoe 
Table, E15, Bigfoot table
Plastic Chair, Atelier Alinea
Lounge chair and Ottoman, Charles & Ray Eames, Vitra
Sofa and pouf, Tufty Too, Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia
Wardrobe, Thut Möbel
Library, Strangled rack, Muller Van Severen
Stool, Bit Stool, Normann Copenhagen
Hanging storage, Uten.Silo II, Vitra
Candlestick, Stoff Nagel

Outdoor furniture:
Wire Chair, Muller Van Severen
Kitchen, Röshults 
Seating, Atelier Aliena, Basilea 
Lighting, Davide Groppi, Sampei 
Living spaces, Quinze & Milan