The project was conceived to restore coherence and identity to an apartment located in an elegant 1930s building in Milan, Italy.

The defining feature was the original hydraulic tile flooring, whose integrity had been compromised over the years by a forced subdivision of spaces, dictated by the need to rent out the property.

The concept finds its perfect synthesis in the demo/new plan: partitions overlapped to the tile scarpets were removed, revealing a precise organizing geometrical ratio.
The 20x20 cm dimension of the original hydraulic tile became the base module for a new design grid, upon which new rooms were sized.

Challenged by the client’s brief to restore the focus on decorative floors, the project pursued a twofold goal: to create a new sense of harmony throughout the living space, driven by a silent rhythm shaping the entire design process.

Capitalizing on the impactful original flooring, the project focused on reinstating a 1930s architectural language. The new interior envelope plays an active role: not merely a backdrop but the reference structure for the insertion of contemporary elements.

The restoration of the internal shutters, paired with new custom-made wooden joinery painted on-site, ensured a material and chromatic coherence with the wall surfaces, deleting the visual distinction between structural elements and finishes.

Doors – also original to the period – were selected from a recycling building warehouse and integrated into the project with stylistic coherence.

The entrance – distinguished by an original wooden boiserie painted in a smoky grey tone – acts as a theatre backdrop and lets the material space complexity visible: hydraulic tile carpets reveal all at once.

The core of the unified living area is a custom made wall unit which acts as a membrane between the dining and the living area, redefining functional boundaries without interrupting spatial continuity.

The arch becomes an element of measure: it enhances the verticalness of the room, draws perspectival axes, extends sightlines, and introduces unexpected depth.

The wall unit supports the entire spatial balance by working through subtraction: it defines without enclosing, organizes without revealing.

Room by room, colors are sampled from the existing tiles, reinforcing the idea of the home as a sequence of architectural boxes, each one with its own color identity yet coherent with the whole.