Milan apartment in Porta Genova

Location

Milan, Italy

Year

2020

Type

Residential

Client

Private commission

Area

80 sqm

Photo credits

Piercarlo Quecchia - Delfino Sisto Legnani Studio

An eighty-square-meter apartment where the design challenge lies in the client’s desire to carve out, from existing spaces, a new bathroom, a new guest room, and a unique living area.

Particular attention has been given to the living area, finding a solution that conceals the kitchen in a lacquered green volume. The kitchen is there but not visible. Drawing on a strategy used in previous projects, Eligo Studio treated the kitchen like a wardrobe: when the doors are closed, it goes unnoticed, leaving the space free.

This solution also emerged from the client’s need, Enrico Carlo de Finis, global director of the influencer marketing agency Bold Management, whose desire was for the home to immediately convey a sense of order and cleanliness.

ENRICO CARLO DE FINIS:

“In addition to the kitchen, the bar cabinet and the TV are also retractable, and when everything is closed, it becomes a perfect box that only opens when needed, revealing what you need[…] I gave Eligo Studio great freedom. Their imagination completely reflects what I had in mind.”

The interior of the apartment underwent a complete redesign as there was nothing worth preserving; it was a very nondescript space with a unique layout (a result of a renovation carried out in the 1960s by Luigi Caccia Dominioni). The challenge was managing a relatively small square footage, between 70 and 80 square meters, to create two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a living area with a kitchen.

The operation also involved a geometry exercise, initially focusing on the axes of the house. The longitudinal axis was emphasized by oak floor lines where the old tiles were replaced by a light resin, providing a soft and comfortable feel. The ceilings, following the diagonal axis, feature a series of graphic slats inspired by the works of Umberto Riva, also serving to conceal the lighting system.

The bathroom was later divided into two, and in the spacious bedroom, a walk-in closet creates a kind of corridor. The resulting mood is retro, but the overall effect remains contemporary.

ALBERTO NESPOLI AND DOMENICO ROCCA:

“For us, Caccia Dominioni is a constant reference point. He had the ability to make everything clear with just a few gestures.”

PUBBLICATION:

Living corriere November 2023 (Text of Paola Menaldo)