Even a small apartment can have a hidden strength. In a quite street of the Porta Romana district in Milan there is a studio flat with a strong character. Before the refurbishment, the flat was organized in a main square space with only the small volume of the bathroom in a corner.
Once we discovered the original Palladiana marble paving, hidden by a pre-finished parquet destroyed by the intensive use, we decided to keep it as a main layer of the renovation project clearly related to the construction tradition of middle XX century. The aim of the project was to identify new hierarchies in the flat and to give strong identity to the interior space. Within the restrained surfaces, the idea was therefore to use as much as possible a minimal and clear approach.
A super L-shaped furniture with a vivid yellow colour redefines the interior distribution, and in this way the main space of the studio acquires a new logic and personality. The new furniture element reorganizes the area between the living space and the bathroom and it works as a strategic filter between them. The space of the living is redesigned in a clear rectangular geometry and the furniture element becomes an opportunity to provide multiple functions: it works as a small kitchen open on the living, a separation between bathroom and the main room and a wardrobe. The kitchenette and the passage through the furniture to the bathroom are framed within two small arches.
The colour is an important component of the project. The volume of the bathroom and the living area are interpreted like a system of Chinese boxes; the use of colours underlines this aspect: the ocher yellow, the green and the light grey are used in a sequence on the walls and the terracotta red identifies the horizontal surface of the ceiling amplifying the space. The green distinguishes the entrance hall, while the yellow is the colour of both the L-shaped furniture and the space behind it. Like pencil lines, black profiles mark the separation between the different colours, conferring a retro style to the studio. The white leaves space to colours and the super furniture becomes the key-element of this tiny studio flat.
Team:
Architects: Archiground + Igloo
Photographer: Andrea Ceriani
Materials Used:
The only one fixed furniture showed in the pictures is designed by Archiground + Igloo and custommade by an artisan.
Vitra - Eames House Bird
Alessi - La Cupola
