Set within the vast urban regeneration of Scalo Farini, Casa Giardino is a temporary restaurant and social space that transforms a former railway depot into an unexpected oasis of conviviality in the heart of Milan. Designed by Claudio Larcher, the project reinterprets industrial heritage through a contemporary, nature-driven lens, offering a spatial narrative that balances memory, materiality, and comfort.
Rather than erasing the site’s past, the intervention preserves the raw character of the original structure—exposed brickwork, generous volumes, and industrial proportions—while softening it through warm finishes, tactile materials, and an immersive internal garden inspired by Mediterranean landscapes.
At the heart of Casa Giardino lies a 400-square-metre internal garden, populated with olive trees and lush vegetation, which acts as both a spatial and emotional anchor for the project. This green core introduces nature into an otherwise industrial shell, redefining the dining experience as one of openness, light, and informal elegance.
The restaurant unfolds across approximately 450 square metres, conceived as a warm and welcoming environment where the boundaries between indoor and outdoor living dissolve. A large front-facing terrace further extends the experience into the urban fabric, reinforcing the idea of hospitality as a shared, collective moment.
Complementing the restaurant, a speakeasy-style bar introduces a contrasting atmosphere: intimate, theatrical, and boldly contemporary. Characterised by saturated reds and blues, reflective surfaces, and dynamic lighting effects, the bar becomes an immersive “cocoon” dedicated to Milan’s nightlife culture.
This duality—between calm and vibrancy, nature and artifice—reflects Claudio Larcher’s broader design philosophy, which consistently explores the relationship between people, space, and emotional experience. His work is rooted in experimentation and in the belief that design should foster human connection and social interaction.
Conceived as a temporary intervention, Casa Giardino stands as a meaningful example of adaptive reuse within large-scale urban redevelopment. The project demonstrates how temporary architecture can generate cultural value, activate forgotten spaces, and reconnect communities with their built environment—without sacrificing design quality or identity.
By weaving together industrial memory, Mediterranean sensibility, and contemporary design language, Casa Giardino becomes more than a restaurant: it is a manifesto for a softer, more human approach to urban transformation.
The project’s emphasis on comfort, conviviality, and the emotional dimension of space naturally aligns with Natuzzi’s vision of living as an experience shaped by design, craftsmanship, and wellbeing. Casa Giardino embodies a way of inhabiting space that feels authentic, welcoming, and deeply connected to lifestyle—values at the core of the Natuzzi world.
