What makes a home?

This project begins with that simple but complex question. A home is never just the result of striking design gestures or iconic furniture. Instead, it emerges from the interplay of many elements that come together to form a whole. Materials, colors, light and shadow, the marks of time and everyday use, all contribute to its atmosphere. It is through care in every detail, both large and small, that a home gains its character and becomes more than the sum of its parts.

The apartment in Isola originally presented a dark and conventional plan, with each room holding only one or two windows. The result was a disconnected sequence of spaces with little flow. This proposal rethinks the layout by introducing larger openings along the façade, allowing daylight from multiple directions to overlap and spread throughout the apartment. What was once a series of isolated rooms becomes a more fluid and coherent whole, with light as the primary organizer of space.

Dividing walls are reimagined as functional, built-in elements. These storage walls not only provide essential utility but also contribute to the architectural identity of the home. Clad in dark burl veneer, they stand in deliberate contrast to the white painted walls, creating a rhythm of rich and neutral surfaces. In this way, boundaries are not barriers but active layers,they organize storage, shape circulation, and contribute to the material expression of the home.

The material palette reinforces this balance. Wood and veneer bring warmth and tactility, stainless steel introduces a cooler, reflective counterpoint, while the bathroom develops its own identity through handmade tiles, green marble flooring, steel fixtures, and a wooden tub.

By opening the plan, activating boundaries, and layering materials, the design creates a rational framework that remains expressive. The design embraces the presence of art, books, and objects, allowing the atmosphere of daily life to shape the space. In this way, the home balances clarity with warmth, offering a setting where life can unfold.

“Excellent use of materiality, spatial scale, and a simple curation of key elements such as the kitchen counter and bed platform. The proposal could benefit from more integrated storage, although adding this might compromise the elegant simplicity of the design. Overall, a beautiful project that succeeds through its thoughtful design and use of materials.”

“A clean, cohesive plan with a refined balance of shapes, colors, and materials.”

Green Dot Milano reinterprets the historic „Casa di Ringhiera“ apartment in Isola as a flexible and adaptive living environment that reflects contemporary lifestyles. The project is rooted in the dialogue between tradition and innovation, using architecture as a tool for customization and identity.

Existing condition

The original apartment consisted of compact, disconnected rooms: a separated kitchen, a small living area, and a single bathroom. This layout reflected the early 20th-century communal model but does not respond to the needs of a creative, urban couple today.

Transformation

The intervention focuses on spatial openness and functionality:

_ The kitchen has been relocated to the center of the plan, becoming a social hub that connects living and dining.

_ The former living room on the north side has been transformed into a generous bedroom, while the wall between the two rooms was completely opened to enhance natural light and create a fluid atmosphere.

_ The bathroom has been reconfigured into two distinct areas: a compact guest WC and a spacious private bathroom for everyday comfort.

Circulation has been clarified, improving the overall flow of the apartment.

Concept: the dot system

At the heart of the design lies the green dot wall system: modular perforated panels that cover the walls and function as an interactive infrastructure. Hooks, shelves, lighting elements and even pet-friendly accessories can be positioned freely, allowing the space to evolve with its inhabitants. The walls are no longer static backdrops but active participants in daily life.

Atmosphere

Furniture pieces are kept essential and bold: a round dining table as a convivial centerpiece, a modular mustard-colored sofa for gathering, and a low wooden bed as a serene retreat. Together with the vibrant green shell, they establish a strong visual identity while maintaining flexibility.

Impact

Green Dot Milano responds to the dynamic needs of contemporary living:

Individuality through customization

Flexibility between work, leisure, and hosting

Inclusivity with discreet pet-friendly features

Identity through a coherent and characterful design language

Ultimately, the project creates more than a renovation: it is a model for urban living in Milan, where history, craftsmanship, and experimentation merge into a vibrant, adaptable, and personal home.

“An impressive presentation with clear, well-executed drawings and an excellent plan, highlighted by unique interior design features that transcend simple functionality.”

Casa Iconica is an apartment for a contemporary Milanese couple, located in the heart of Isola — a district where history and innovation live side by side. Set within a traditional Casa di Ringhiera, the project embraces the building’s communal spirit while transforming the interiors into a bright and open home that reflects the creative energy of today’s Milan.

The original layout was respected, with only two key changes: the removal of a partition wall between the dining and living area, and the lowering of the doorway lintel between the dining room and bedroom, aligning it with the rhythm of the windows. These subtle changes open the apartment, enhancing light and flow while preserving its architectural identity.

The interior palette, dominated by yellows and blues, draws inspiration from the works of Gio Ponti. Terrazzo floors, darker in the entrance and lighter in the living areas, create depth and continuity, while yellow and blue accents add vibrancy. The bathroom layout was reworked: the bathtub now takes center stage on the wall opposite the entrance, while a concealed WC with hydrobrush ensures practicality without compromising style. The bathroom door, crafted with fluted glass arranged in an alternating pattern, adds texture and lightness.

Throughout the apartment, timeless icons of Italian design are celebrated — from Ponti’s Leggera chair to Vico Magistretti’s Maralunga sofa — complemented by custom-made furniture pieces tailored to maximize space. Lighting was curated as a central design element. Castiglioni’s most emblematic pieces — Parentesi, Frisbi, Gatto, Toio, and Diabolo — are joined by Magistretti’s Teti, Dafne Koz’s Circus, and Constance Guisset’s sculptural Vertigo, ensuring a layered, atmospheric effect.

The hallway, clad in darker terrazzo and deep-blue wooden panels, contrasts with the light-filled apartment. A bespoke storage system integrates a wardrobe section for outerwear, and another section housing the washing machine and household items. A light shelving divider separates the dining area from the living room, where an entire wall has been transformed into a library with sliding panels. The kitchen was designed as fresh and airy, elevated on legs, without tall cabinetry, featuring a freestanding refrigerator. In the bedroom, linen curtains frame the windows, while a custom upholstered wardrobe is paired with a bed inspired by Ettore Sottsass, both unified through matching fabric.

Heating was treated as design. Columnar and horizontal Milano radiators complement the artistic living spaces, while the bathroom combines underfloor heating with two electric heated towel rails.

As Carlo Scarpa once noted: “If the architecture is any good, a person who looks and listens will feel its good effects without noticing.” This project seeks to embody that quiet elegance — bright, spacious, and authentically Italian. Ultimately, Casa Iconica offers a holistic environment: practical yet poetic, intimate yet rooted in the spirit of Milan. By blending tradition and innovation, it creates a home that is timeless, personal, and unmistakably Italian — a contemporary reflection of the city where design and everyday life have always been inseparable.

“An elegant synthesis of form, light, and materiality, enhancing the quality of inhabitation.”

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For many, Milan is merely a city to pass through—but for those who choose to inhabit it, the city slowly reveals itself through subtleties. Behind its reserved façades lies a layered experience, where courtyards, corridors, and display windows become part of an unspoken language. This project captures that quiet immersion—an architectural mormorio—by distilling the city’s essence into an interior that is refined, introspective, and unmistakably Milanese.

The apartment draws from three urban generators, each extracted not through mimicry, but through deliberate abstraction of spatial and sensory logic. Together, they articulate a space that feels both local and timeless, embedded in the character of the city without overt symbolism:

Fashion—Curated Ritual
Shop windows in Milan evoke a scenographic logic where every object is curated and composed. This is translated into bespoke, museographic shelving systems—architectural displays hosting books, objects, and daily rituals with refinement. Slim bronze profiles and warm timber define the composition, establishing a composed rhythm across the space.

Galleries—Material Containment
Milanese galleries, with their tonal balance and soft light, inspired the use of oak and ash cladding. These panelledsurfaces structure the space while concealing elements like closets, a minibar, and a flushed bathroom door—preserving clarity and inviting discovery. Timber slat ceilings extend the material language, evoking—at a smaller scale—the expansiveness of Milanese vaults.

Hidden Cortili—Introspective Greens
The charm of Milan’s cortili—verdant courtyards behind stone façades—inspires the palette of kitchen and bathroom. These spaces are clad in sage and olive tones, paired with green stone and ceppo di gré. Bronze fixtures echo the quiet presence of the Vedovelle—Milan’s iconic fountains—urban artifacts noticed by those who take time to observe.

The layout follows clarity and logic. A seamless entrance corridor draws the gaze to a museographic shelving wall anchoring the space. The bedroom is placed close to the corridor, enhancing functionality and avoiding public-private overlap. A walk-in wardrobe acts as a disimpegno, improving intimacy and acoustic separation. Soft tones in the sleeping area foster a sense of retreat.

Living, dining, and kitchen unfold in a fluid, open gesture. A bronze-tinted glass partition frames the kitchen as a contemplative vignette, connecting to the shelving system, which includes a bench for reading—or for four-legged companions—and a built-in desk offering flexibility for contemporary living.

Furnishings combine custom pieces with selections from Minotti, Poliform, PLH, Apparatus, and Jee-O, chosen for elegance and tactile quality. Lighting is warm and subdued, turning the space into a hushed retreat.

Natural and tinted oak, bronze profiles, ceppo di gré, green stone, lacquered joinery, and soft textiles in beige and forest tones form a cohesive palette that mirrors the layered narrative of the project.

The apartment becomes a gentle convergence of Milanese rhythms. Fashion offers the logic of display. Galleries provide stillness. Cortili evoke intimacy. Together, they form a home designed not to impose, but to reveal itself slowly. A mormorio, heard only by those who choose to listen.

“A solid concept with a well-resolved plan, excellent renders and drawings, and a strong level of detail in the interior fixtures, fittings, and fixed joinery.”

The design concept is based on the idea of a kaleidoscope, as a metaphor for a gaze that transforms, reinterprets, and combines fragments of the past with forms of the present.

From the sobriety of the Milanese façade —a witness to time, history, and restrained elegance— the interior of the apartment becomes a journey that deconstructs that heritage and recombines it with new ways of living. Like a kaleidoscope, each step reveals a different pattern: the geometry transforms, light multiplies, the colour interacts with the space.

Inspired by the work of Gio Ponti, a master of integrating architecture, furniture, and the art of living, the project embraces his playful, structured, and poetic spirit. Here, furniture becomes architecture, and architecture is permeated by design gestures that balance the classic and the contemporary.

In this space, tradition and modernity do not oppose each other, but come together, creating a domestic universe that is, like a kaleidoscope, ever-changing and profound: a house not meant to be seen just once, but continuously rediscovered.

The layout of the apartment is divided into the same parts as a kaleidoscope: a tube with mirrors, colored fragments and a light input.

VARCO: a threshold suspended between reflections, where everything is about to be revealed and time dilates. The beginning of a sensory transition, like the first turn of a kaleidoscope.

FRAMMENTI: after passing through the tube, the space opens and breaks down: light fragments, colour unfolds, and geometry finds its echo in new forms of living.

Colour is no longer a surface: it is structure, its furniture, it is architecture; design becomes choreography. As Gio Ponti did, furniture does not decorate, it constructs.

Like the moving crystals of a kaleidoscope, the rooms are ordered, rotated, and transformed.

LUCE: a white stripe runs along the façade, weaving together the fragments of the kaleidoscope. It is not just transit; it is possibility, light that activates movement. Here, architecture is silenced so that life can dwell. A space that does not impose itself, it offers itself. A blank canvas for the unexpected.

Where the light is born and everything comes to life.

The rooms are defined by large units that serve as both storage and dividers. These modules create a 33cm gap with the false ceiling, so that, despite being independent spaces, they are connected by this gap in height. Furthermore, this gap allows natural light to enter all spaces.

“It stands out for the extraordinary consistency of its kaleidoscope metaphor, which is translated seamlessly from concept to spatial articulation, materials, light, and color. Each gesture—thresholds, fragments, and luminous connections—reinforces the central idea, making the project both poetic and coherent.”

“Confini Viventi” explores contemporary architecture responding to today’s dynamic and evolving ways of living, while preserving an ongoing dialogue with the past honoring the memory of the place, neighborhood, and city. The design balances tradition and innovation, reinterpreting the historic identity of its surroundings through a contemporary lens that continuously rethinks unique modes of inhabitation.

Inspired by old workshops that defined the area’s industrial character, flexible spaces designed for simultaneous uses… the project proposes a home organized around a large, dynamic central space. Daily activities and their environments are arranged with adaptability in mind, allowing spatial boundaries to shift according to use, offering varying degrees of separation or connection.

These boundaries are created through sliding guides and panels, forming visually permeable spaces. Frosted glass allows natural light to filter through existing windows, ensuring limited daylight reaches every corner. This produces luminous spaces that maintain privacy, fostering ambiguity suggesting more than it reveals. Similarly, transitional areas like the hallway and entrance feature mirrored surfaces that double reflections and enhance spatial perception. Incoming light is amplified, filling and illuminating the interior.

Material choices connect strongly to Italian architectural tradition, with mosaics in the kitchen and bathroom recalling historic interior design. Stainless steel furniture references the industrial aesthetic typical of the Isola district, weaving local context into a contemporary architectural language.

The intervention intentionally blurs boundaries: walls are dematerialized and reassembled using lightweight, repetitive construction details defining “quadrants,” the space’s core. These quadrants divide into sub-spaces; for example, the living room can be fully enclosed and transformed into an additional bedroom using carefully selected furniture like a sofa bed. A dedicated yoga and gym space encourages introspective and playful living, supporting personal modes of inhabitation. A desk facing the exterior supports work and study routines of a creative couple.

Surrounding these flexible areas are fixed zones: kitchen, bathroom, entryway, and bedroom. While their locations remain constant, their relationships to other spaces evolve. The bedroom is physically separated but maintains visual and light connections through frosted glass screens, preserving privacy without isolation. The kitchen can close off entirely or open using a mobile “artifact table” adapting to different needs.

Furniture design embodies both mobility and fixed elements. A fixed piece runs along the apartment’s main façade, creating a sober, orderly backdrop essential in compact living. This structure fosters functional complexity supporting daily activities.

This built-in unit stores and conceals sliding panels when open and highlights existing windows, enhancing visual connection to the outside. Along its length, it integrates multiple uses: storage and workspace for the kitchen, curtain tracks, gym and yoga space, desk, shelving, and bedroom storage. In the bedroom, furniture centers around the bed, forming a cohesive element incorporating lighting fixtures, daily-use surfaces, and closet space resolving many functions in one elegant design gesture.

“Confini Viventi” embodies a thoughtful balance between past and present, creating a flexible, contemporary home honoring its historical context while embracing modern living’s evolving nature. It reflects architecture attuned to memory, adaptability, and the personal experience of space.

“Beautiful plan with good balance between colors and finishes.”

This project reimagines the main living space as a flexible architecture, centered on a “wall” that becomes the true protagonist of the apartment. Conceived as a system of hidden compartments and mobile elements, the “wall” allows the space to evolve continuously, adapting to the rhythms and desires of Milan’s metropolitan life. More than a static partition, it is an active infrastructure that defines, organizes, and transforms the domestic environment.

It accommodates the rituals of everyday living as well as quintessential expressions of Milanese cosmopolitan culture: convivial dining, music and gatherings, work and creation, cinema and exhibitions, self-expression and repose. Each transformation mirrors the city’s multifaceted identity, where tradition and innovation coexist in a constant state of dialogue.

The wall integrates the kitchen, together with storage for personal belongings and the compartments of the walk-in closet. Except for a few niches next to the step-storage unit, every element can be hidden, creating a seamless surface that can act as a display backdrop or as a screen for projections and performances. This ability to alternate between exposure and concealment gives the space an adaptable character, balancing openness and intimacy.

The corridor follows the same concept: a built-in wardrobe conceals both everyday storage and household appliances, reducing visual clutter and allowing the architectural lines to remain pure and continuous. The bathroom maintains its overall configuration, but with the repositioned door the perception of space becomes more generous, improving circulation and comfort.

Even the dining table participates in this strategy of flexibility. It incorporates stools that can be stored neatly underneath, instantly freeing up additional room in the kitchen and underlining the multifunctional spirit of the apartment.

The colors and materials have been carefully chosen to reflect the eclectic character of a city like Milan, positioned at the intersection of fashion, design, nightlife, and economic vitality. 

Through this interplay of concealment, adaptability, and integration, the design achieves a balance between efficiency and expressiveness. The apartment becomes not only a place to live, but also a stage for evolving lifestyles, capable of responding fluidly to the complexity of contemporary urban living.

“An effective and creative floor plan, with a central band of joinery that neatly divides circulation from the main spaces. The addition of tiered seating further enhances spatial separation. A thoughtful and inventive use of elements and design; however, the materiality could be further developed to relate more strongly to the context.”

The proposal takes its starting point from the century-old magnolia tree that stands in the center of the courtyard of Casa di Ringhiera. In the life of the building, the tree has acted as a point of orientation and gathering, around which daily encounters have unfolded. Inside the apartment, this role is reinterpreted through a large stainless-steel island placed at the centre of the new living space. The island is conceived not only as a kitchen element but as a nucleus for a wide range of activities: cooking, dining, informal gatherings with friends, working, or even model making. Its professional-grade materiality supports these multiple uses and allows the space to adapt to the needs of its young inhabitants, a couple of architects at the beginning of their careers.

The existing layout was modified to open the living room and kitchen into a single continuous environment. The closed room adjacent to the living area was removed, extending the space and allowing the central island to dominate as a multifunctional hub. Around the island, the kitchen and living zones are organised, with natural light and colourful surfaces giving the room a bright and playful character. Italian terrazzo flooring ties the elements together, grounding the space in a material with strong local associations.

The spatial narrative continues through a series of arches that soften transitions and reinforce the language of curves that permeates the apartment. On one side, the bedroom is accessed through such an arch. Here, a deep burgundy ceiling and wall create an intimate, immersive atmosphere, balanced by a mirrored wardrobe that amplifies natural light and visually expands the room.

On the other side of the living area, another arched passage leads into a corridor. The corridor, also painted in burgundy tones, incorporates built-in storage along its length and directs movement towards the bathroom. The bathroom combines a bathtub, walk-in shower, and double sinks. The layout retains the position of the WC along the same wall in order tomaintain the original drainage line. Burgundy surfaces extend throughout, with CalacattaViola marble highlighting the bathtub and the threshold to the shower. Stainless steel elements in the vanity unit and sanitary ware add contrast, while the floor is finished in palladiana.

The apartment as a whole is characterised by the dialogue between open communal areas and enclosed private ones. The stainless-steel island, like the magnolia tree in the courtyard, becomes a symbol of gathering, resilience, and creativity—a new center around which life circulates. Color, materiality, and form are used to create distinct atmospheres, while remaining connected through recurring elements such as curves, reflective surfaces, and strong tonal choices.

In this way, the project seeks to offer a contemporary living environment within the framework of the historic Casa di Ringhiera, drawing on its sense of community while responding to the everyday needs of its new inhabitants.

“It reinterprets the Casa di Ringhiera’s communal spirit by translating the courtyard tree into a stainless-steel island that anchors cooking, working, and gathering at the center of domestic life. Through arches, bold burgundy tones, and terrazzo and marble surfaces, the project creates a vibrant interplay of openness and intimacy, tradition and contemporary living.”

As the apartment is located in a vibrant and diverse neighbourhood, and its owners are a couple professionally involved in architecture and design, the interior naturally reflects both the character of the area and their personal passions — their lifestyle and deep appreciation for design.

The space is an eclectic mix of styles, mirroring the multifaceted nature of the surrounding district. One can imagine the owners as passionate treasure hunters, spending weekends browsing flea markets in search of iconic pieces of Italian and European design.

These carefully selected design objects were placed against a backdrop that aligns with the classic aesthetic of a historic townhouse: herringbone wooden parquet flooring, baseboards extending into elegant door frames, and stone countertops. This traditional framework is complemented by iconic furniture and lighting from renowned Italian and European designers.

Among the pieces featured in the apartment are a Franco Albini desk for Knoll,  
a Pelleossa chair from Miniforms, a Muuto sofa, lighting by Artemide, Flos, Ferroluce, and Nemo, as well as a coffee table and nightstands by Minotti. The details are equally refined — such as Mandelli door handles and Dedar Milano upholstery fabric used for the bed’s headboard.

The layout of the apartment has been preserved, though the arrangement of individual zones was reconsidered to better suit the owners’ needs.

Upon entry, a hallway leads directly to the kitchen, which now serves as the central heart of the home. Positioned at the end of a visual axis defined by Via Francesco Arese, the kitchen opens up toward the dining and living areas. Enlarging the door openings between rooms allowed for the creation of one spacious, open living zone — ideal for relaxing, working, and entertaining.

The private area of the apartment is “hidden” behind the kitchen. A newly added corridor creates a sense of separation, leading to a walk-in wardrobe and a more discreet bedroom entrance. This layout reinforces the feeling of a secluded, intimate zone designed exclusively for the residents.

Overall, it creates a sense of a refined yet relaxed interior – cozy, intimate, and ready for the unfolding narrative of daily life.

“This apartment blends the eclectic energy of its neighborhood with the owners’ passion for design, layering iconic Italian and European pieces within a refined historic framework. The result is a warm, characterful home that balances openness for social life with carefully crafted intimacy in its private zones.”

A dwelling carved by memory, by material, by form.

An interior that stages dialogue between retro textures and contemporary precision, where the richness of marbles, leathers, and polished woods is not quoted but reborn and sharpened into clarity, reframed into bold geometries, curved thresholds, and sculptural frames.

Set within the pulse of Milan’s Design District, the project does not seek nostalgia but reinvention. It gathers fragments of a twentieth-century palette; the scalloped beam, the deep red stone, the warm grain of wood and reshapes them into a dwelling that embodies duality: retreat and stage, intimacy and openness, tradition and innovation.

Here, design is conceived as lived experience before construction: an architecture of atmosphere. Retro materials become contemporary tools; their tactile memory preserved, their weight offset by clarity of line. Aluminium leans against marble; scratched wood reveals plaster; ice-bevelled glass cuts into green Anasian stone. Surfaces peel open, exposing hidden layers, as if Milanese textures themselves were speaking through form.

Geometry becomes language. Curves confront lines, frames break into thresholds, sharp bevels fold into softened edges. Each gesture echoes Milan’s identity; rigid yet fluid, monumental yet intimate. The composition is not a fixed arrangement but a conversation, a continuous unveiling of what lies beneath.

This is a home for the young Milanese creative a space to live, to work, to host, and to reflect. It holds the quiet of retreat yet vibrates with the city’s rhythm, absorbing its cosmopolitan energy while offering moments of pause. The project dares not to resolve contradictions, but to sharpen them staging frictions where memory collides with progress, and where atmosphere becomes the true architecture.

Here, design translates material into memory, and memory into space.
A resonance between past and present.
A breath between retro and now.

“Good ability to design the plan, elegant materials, and a very good balance between shapes and colors”

The project stems from the desire to interpret the identity of Milan, a city in constant evolution and a laboratory of avant-garde experimentation. The goal is to translate this dual soul – memory and innovation – into an apartment that engages with the tradition of the casa di ringhiera while addressing the needs of contemporary living.

Habits and housing models have changed over time, but the configuration of spaces and typologies has not always ‘kept pace’ with the evolution of society. The proposal takes inspiration from these transformations: while furnishings and materials reinterpret tradition and the Masters of Italian design, the layout has been conceived to provide flexibility capable of adapting to different life scenarios. A couple becoming a family, a new owner with different needs, a professional wishing to transform part of the home into a studio: the space is ready to accommodate long-term changes without compromising its original framework.

Flexibility also emerges in everyday use. Fixed furnishings run along the perimeter of the two main rooms, freeing the central space. Tables, seating, and mobile modules can be repositioned to host different activities, transforming the environment from residential to convivial, and opening it to moments of sociality with friends and neighbors. The sense of community, rooted in the casa di ringhiera, thus permeates the interior of the apartment.

The long entrance corridor is conceived as a promenade: a pathway connecting the ballatoio – the quintessential communal space – with the intimate dimension of the home. This filter guides the visitor, marking the transition from public to private.

Special attention was devoted to the choice of materials and construction techniques. To ensure sustainability and reversibility, the intervention was designed to minimize demolition, envisioning two large neutral environments equipped with flexible systems and modular furnishings that can adapt to new needs countless times throughout the apartment’s life cycle. A radiant floor heating and cooling system ensures comfort, while the electrical and plumbing networks have been conceived as flexible and expandable systems, with multiple activation points concealed behind continuous wall cladding.

This cladding is made of a modular system of okumé wood panels, wrapping the perimeter of the rooms like an elegant contemporary boiserie. Removable and replaceable, the panels allow access to the systems, integration of new technologies, or the attachment of furniture elements (kitchen modules, wardrobes, shelves, desks, drawers). A functional and decorative device at once, capable of generating ever-changing scenarios.

The continuous flooring, made with a mix of sand, gravel, cement, and water, recalls traditional terrazzo floors while also functioning as the screed, limiting construction work. The surface treatment of the floor is conceived as a material gradient: from a rough texture, reminiscent of the ballatoio’s cement, to a finely polished finish in the central area of the apartment. A material that becomes a direct bridge between the collective exterior and the domestic interior.

The result is a project that combines contextual sensitivity and typological innovation, constructive tradition and experimentation. A home that interprets the essence of Milan: communal, dynamic, flexible.

“The project investigates the variations and the different uses of the space in a very efficient and creative interpretation of the program. The Furniture systems nicely developed and the attention to pick each piece of furniture make every project deeply completed. Colors, materials and graphic are blended together to add harmony to the whole conception.”

The apartment is conceived as an open ecosystem, designed to expand the living experience through a flexible and adaptable philosophy. In a city like Milan, where greenery is often scarce, the domestic space transforms into a living landscape, a threshold connecting interior and exterior, fostering dialogue between humans, nature, and urban fauna.

The project’s layout develops according to a linear arrangement, based on a grid of 36×36 cm modules that establishes functional hierarchies. The dwelling is conceived as a modular container, where independent elements organize daily activities but can be removed or reconfigured over time, ensuring sustainability and reusability and transforming the home into an organism capable of adapting to the evolving needs of its inhabitants. Two furnishing systems, each 2.50 meters high, structure and guide the organization of the apartment. The first, extending from the main entrance toward the window, transforms the previously dark and unused corridor into a functional spine integrating storage, circulation, and niches for pausing, working, or socializing. This axis continues beyond the apartment’s perimeter onto the balcony via a lightweight metal structure that supports climbing vegetation and facilitates bird passage, becoming a visible manifesto of the connection between resident and urban community.

The living area is thus configured as a spacious and luminous environment, designed to accommodate multiple functions: lounge, meeting space, and shared area. Mobile and multifunctional furnishings – including a modular counter and a sectional sofa – allow variable configurations and extend the functional area outward.

The second furnishing system develops around a load-bearing wall, strategically lightened by a new opening, forming a double-sided unit that serves both the living room and the kitchen. The kitchen overlooks a winter garden, created by retracting the northern façade and inserting new glazing, a domestic green space equipped with vertical self-irrigating systems, introducing natural light, food cultivation, and a new sensory dimension to living. The sleeping area maintains visual and functional continuity with the rest of the apartment, separated only by a lightweight textile element that preserves luminosity and spatial fluidity. An adjacent fitted niche doubles as a workspace accessible from both the living room and bedroom, reinforcing the multifunctional character of the environment. The bathroom has been rationalized into an anteroom, sanitary area, shower, and service laundry, a compact layout optimizing available surfaces and enhancing functionality.

A suspended LED strip illuminates the path above the functional furniture, emphasizing perceptual continuity throughout the interior. In terms of materials, the floor extends onto the walls, incorporating the furniture’s base level, while neutral tiles also cover the ceiling, inverting traditional roles of finishes and creating an enveloping sense of continuity. Integration of smart technologies enables system management, providing flexibility and adaptability to the inhabitants’ daily needs.

The project thus shapes a fluid and versatile interior, capable of opening the home to the city and community. It is a space that fosters coexistence between different species, highlighting the inhabitant as an active protagonist, modulating the environment according to their daily needs.

“Different configurations of the space are explored together with the different materials that gracefully define the layout. The creative and new approach to both design of the interiors and the graphics make blend together to describe a new piece of contemporary living.”

Fog is neither air nor water: it is a liminal, suspended matter that dissolves edges and transforms everything it envelops. “Scighera”, the Milanese word for fog, is the conceptual heart of this project: an interior imagined as an atmospheric landscape, a threshold between past and future, between the visible and the invisible, between refuge and openness.

Fog is transition, between what belongs to memory and what is yet to come. It is suspension, erasing the horizon and rendering space continuous, free from rigid boundaries. It is protection, a veil that shields from the visual noise of the world, creating intimacy and interiority. But it is also slowness, inviting one to move with care, to dwell on nearby details; and it is creative stimulus, blurring forms to free imagination and open infinite interpretations.

At the entrance, conceived as a “Genkan” (threshold of Japanese houses, a symbolic space between the outer world and inner sanctuary) and small alcove, a photograph encapsulates the essence of the project: bodies and colors emerging from the indistinct. From here, a corridor punctuated by perforated steel portals unfolds, like the arches of Milan’s Central Station leading into a city wrapped in haze.

The apartment is not divided into traditional rooms, but instead unfolds as a single large space where functional “islands” take shape: areas that become, in turn, places for eating, working, listening, gathering, or resting. These areas are not enclosed, but separated by curtains, furniture, or screens that conceal and reveal gradually, like headlights or neon signs emerging from a foggy veil. The home reveals itself slowly, without haste, along a contemplative path.

The material palette translates the qualities of fog into tangible form: smoked, opaline, and satin glass; airy and soft fabrics; resin, mirrors, minute mosaics, stainless steel. Lighting is indirect, diffuse, and reflected, as if filtered through suspended particles. Then, one by one, sudden flashes of color emerge: pink, red, blue, yellow, like street lamps in the mist, a passing tram, or headlights flickering in the night.

The furnishings, chosen among design icons and bespoke pieces, become true domestic landmarks. From the Osaka sofa (LaCividina) to Panton’s Living Tower, from Munari’sFalkland lamp to the custom-designed pink kitchen, each element recalls the city itself: the Velasca Tower, the Metro, the Pirellone. And, as in Metaphysical painting, space is composed of pure geometries, evoking suspension and mystery.

Scighera is a living, mutable space, capable of adapting to the contemporary rhythms of its inhabitants or of those who stumble into it, perhaps after losing themselves in the city. It is a personal refuge and, at the same time, a place of encounter, an environment that speaks the language of Milan: the one preserved in memory, and the one still waiting to be discovered. It invites slowing down when the world outside is rushing forward.

And just like fog, ephemeral, resisting any definitive definition, Scighera invites imagination, and the daily reinvention of one’s own living space.

“An accomplished design that conveys both architectural discipline and creative freedom.”

There is a tension between spaces with a specific predetermined function defined by the designers, and more flexible areas intended for the various activities of the users, located in the well-lit zone adjacent to the windows. The living area, the most social space, is located in the south-facing room, both for optimal exposure and for greater separation from the more private parts of the apartment. In contrast, the sleeping area and the kitchen, which are more private, interact within a single large space situated at the end of the central corridor.

There are three levels of furnishing: a compact green wooden cabinet that houses the living functions, a series of steel furniture pieces that follow the metallic alignment on the floor, and a set of small, movable light wood furnishings.

The entrance is conceived as a threshold between the external space, contaminated and impure, and the internal domestic environment, which is more private and intimate. It is therefore entirely clad in stainless steel, a material more closely associated with the urban context. From here, a thin metal shelf runs along the closed wall of the corridor, eventually transforming into a wardrobe that serves as a portal to the more private area. From this point, a metallic grout on the floor, reminiscent of urban train tracks, extends to organize and divide the spaces that follow.

The position and internal layout of the bathroom have not been altered, as they were considered optimal in relation to the other areas of the apartment. Here, the green wooden unit takes the form of a bathroom cabinet that houses two ceramic sinks and an open space for users’ personal use. On the floor, the cementitious conglomerate gives way to smooth ceramic tiles with a pattern reminiscent of traditional Milanese designs. As if forming a single basin, simple green tiles run along the walls at cabinet height, wrapping around the space and fully covering the shower area.

The transition between the two spaces is not sharply defined, but rather entrusted to the wooden furniture element, which, starting as a platform or podium that raises the sleeping area, extends vertically to become a wardrobe and the back wall of the adjacent kitchen. The kitchen, separated from the bedroom by four steps, is floored with white glazed tiles that are easy to clean and features a false ceiling created by the “natural” horizontal extension of the furniture, this time at ceiling height. In this case, the inversion, from platform to ceiling, serves to house a series of repeated light fixtures, which, thanks to a semi-transparent rice paper covering, diffuse light evenly throughout the room. From the false ceiling, the structure then descends vertically to once again become the kitchen’s wardrobe and shelves.

The living room is conceived as the most social and communal space, a place to welcome friends and family, and is therefore located in the most private part of the apartment, at the end of the living path. The green wooden cabinet here becomes a small raised platform, just high enough to create a seating area, topped with a series of colorful cushions and mattresses that soften the surface. In front of it, the low steel unit, which organizes the users’ various belongings, acts as an artificial floor covering, contrasting with the natural cementitious conglomerate flooring.

What is Home?

We believe home is a place where we can be the truest version of ourselves. As children, our lives are full of vibrant colors and joy, but as we grow older, those colors fade. We often lose touch with our true identity and, in many ways, become like robots—structured, restrained, and gray.

“Touched by Soul” is a house located in Milan—the city of colors and arts. This house reminds us of the beauty of life, filling it again with colors that touch the soul. Unlike many modern houses that embrace white and gray minimalism, Touched by Soul celebrates bold colors and intricate details. It creates a sanctuary, separating its residents from the monotony of the outside world.

Through simple yet innovative design, sliding doors connect the kitchen and the living room. These movable panels allow people to choose the level of privacy they need—opening for openness and togetherness, or closing to form a private guest room when needed.

As an architecture student, I believe architects devote much of their lives to their projects, often spending endless hours in studios or at home. For them, a house should not only be a shelter but also a source of spirit and inspiration. Touched by Soul provides that spirit—encouraging moments of creativity and joy, whether it’s listening to jazz, cooking a delicious meal, or dancing with a partner.

Ultimately, this house is not just a dwelling. It is a reminder of what it means to be human—and even more, what it means to be a child again.

How can contemporary interiors foster a sense of community while offering personal retreat? How can design bridge past and future, tradition and progress?

Owner of the apartment – single person, is in deep love with Italian products design, especially ceramics and lighting design. From Italian classics as Gio Ponti, Gino Sarfatti, Achille Castiglioni, Carlo Mollino, Ettore Sottsass till Pietro Terzini. With „a few guests“ from abroad as Charlotte Perriand, Naoto Fukasawa and Ronan Bouroullec and BIG which products are sold by italian brands. The products were chosen not just because they have Italian roots and have high visual and aesthetic quality, but because the owner fell in love with them.

Because of a busy profession of the owner the home is acting as private oasis. Main social contacts are usually happen in Milan`s bars and restaurants, but there is solution in the apartment – kitchen island / CESAR kitchen – which is designed so to be able to host neighbours or closer friends to have chats with cup of coffee, or glass of red wine and spaghetti Milanese. And relax together.

The apartment is designed with focus on to rest, reenergise for next busy days.

Just a few changes are plan to be done in the apartment’s layout. In bathroom big „free standing mirror“ wall is dividing sink area with shower and separated toilet spot. The corridor is plan to be main storage room with different height of the floor to differentiate functions but also give the space some dynamics. The main „oasis“ and space to meet (cook and eat and relax room) is created by demolishing wall between today’s kitchen room and living room. The last adjustment to the apartment layout is rather hidden – the doors to the bedroom has same surface as surrounding walls in order to not disturb space with the doors.

Sustanability as one of the top theme nowadays.

To really support sustainable life style, „less is more“ statement is applied when it comes to own cloths and overall things for everyday use. That’s why less storage spaces are applied than it would be expected. The last but not least are greenery (small pine trees, grasses) plant on all tree balconies. They are delivering nature (owners was born in the country side near to Alps mountains) in to the city life with fantastic feeling while looking from in to outside, cooling apartment from south sunny side and finally keeping intimacy from outside to inside. And demonstrating that greenery used in some ultra modern buildings in neighbourhood could be applied in traditional houses as too.

Materials:

Traditional white off plaster is used in almost all rooms except bathroom and bedroom. In the bathroom are used black handmade tiles on the floor and wall as well. The bedroom’s walls are covered by walnut wood panels to have warm and cosy feeling while sleeping there. Gio Ponti’s ceramic tiles are used in the vestibule both on the floor and the walls. Corridor’s floor has ash wooden planks. All walls are covered all around in the corridor. Mirrors / doors in same time are hiding smart storage solutions for all kind of storage needs incl. washing & drying machines. „The cut walk“ into the main room is build from ash wood while the major floor space is locally made green terrazzo. The upholstery on the „centre of the oasis“ (seating, leisure, laying island) is covered with fabric VIBURNO 28054 by Zanotta. The Ettore Sottsass ceramics collection for fa Bitossi ceramiche, which is the owner’s main hobby, is displayed in all possible places around the main room.

This is the apartment where tradition meets future. Every day.

Luca hurried through the Milanese streets with a quiet urgency. His. destination was not merely an apartment, it was the sanctuary he shared with Valentina, the place where the noise of the city dissolved and another world began.
Luca, an architect, and Valentina, an interior designer, carried the spirit of the Isola district into their flat, infusing it with both history and play. The Memphis Milano aesthetic became their compass.

Their chosen color palette moved between boldness and subtlety:

When arriving home Luca went through the long corridor, a portal from the outside world into their dreams. The reflective lenticular panels shifted with each step, and the terrazzo serpent on the floor remindedLuca how Valentina imagined the snake as the spirit of Milano guiding them throughout the flat.

The corridor’s transition and the greeting by Raul (their cute dog) always relaxed him. Raul played an important role in their life, he even had his own bath integrated in the hallway wardrobe.

In the bathroom, Luca washed off the long day, smiling at the playful absurdities he and Valentina had added to this space. They had designed it like a surreal echo of Milan’s swimming pools, blurring private rituals with public spaces, adding whimsical mosaic and neon qoute.

The living space unfolded before him like a stage set for shifting realities. Lamps floated as if suspended by invisible threads, and a shimmering curtain framed the bedroom as a theater stage. At times, the room transformed: a desk appearing for work, the floor clearing for yoga, a swing descending for weightless escape. Each configuration offered a different rhythm, a new state of being. It could be a gallery, a performance hall, or simply a retreat for them to find stillness.

The blue cube in the bedroom stood like a mystery waiting to be opened. They called it “Dreambox”, inside their bed layed under a ceiling of stars, a constellation map turning sleep into a magical dream.

That evening, Valentina was at the dining table, which doubled as theirshared home office. In the living room, the hidden soundproof boothmade it possible to have their focus undisturbed during loud meetings, it was a comfy space with stimulating design and a height adjustable table. Next to the booth the wavy wardrobe concealed the tools of everyday life.

She rose to greet Luca, her smile carrying both welcome and anticipation. Tonight, their home would open itself to friends, transforming once more into a place of gathering.

Valentina extended the dining table towards the livingroom and watchedLuca preparing the ice pool in the kitchen island for the drinks. She continued on to the plant filled balcony to look out for the arriving guests. She already saw some of them on the corner so she smiled and waved at them, a night of laughter and stories has just begun.

La Casa di BAU (Haus) is a striking modern renovation project located in the vibrant heart of Milan. Designed for a young creative couple – a product designer and a photographer – the project embodies a manifesto for urban living where space si reimagined to harmonize work, leisure, and personal lifestyle in a warm, functional, and sophisticated environment.

The design carefully embraces the building’s historical context, while introducing a bold vision that merges past traditions with contemporary living. One of its most distinctive features is the integration of the couple’s beloved dog. Bou, into the overall concept. Dedicated spaces such as a custom-built dog house are incorporated seamlessly into the design, ensuring that every member of the household feels at home. Materiality and colour are central to theproject. Warm wood tones, terracotta hues, and deep contrasting shades create a balanced palette that is both inviting and modern. The bathroom, kitchen, and living areas are connected through a continuity of materials and forms, yet each space maintains its unique character and function. From the curved vanity in the bathroom to the cosy built-in shelving in the living room, every detail has been carefully considered to promote comfort and style.

Flexibility is another hallmark of the renovation. Sliding and folding panels allow for privacy when needed, while maintaining the possibility of open, connected spaces.
This adaptability caters to the dynamic needs of modern urban living, whether working from home, entertaining, or simply relaxing.

The kitchen and dining areas, marked by clean lines and natural finishes, reflect a balance between functionality and aesthetics. A central island provides a place for cooking and social interaction, while the adjoining dining table invites a sense of community. The bedroom, meanwhile, serves as a retreat, enriched with artwork and carefully controlled lighting to create a calm and intimate atmosphere.



La Casa di BAU (haus) is more than a renovation; it is a thoughtful reinterpretation of Milanese living that celebrates creativity, companionship, and the rhythm of contemporary life.

By weaving together modern design, practical solutions, and emotional warmth, the project demonstrates how architecture can truly reflect the personalities and values of those who live within it.


Every year in April, for one week, the city of Milan is transformed and exudes a special atmosphere. Located in the heart of the most vibrant neighbourhood during Design Week, the apartment wants to capture this spirit throughout the year. The project aims to create a new creative and daring living environment, with unrestrained uses, where a new life experience can develop. The heritage of the area has also been incorporated into the design, a working class neighbourhood where they lived in community.

​Keeping this idea of community, the entrance has been redesigned as a link between communal and private spaces, like a stage set representing the identity of the flat which can be glimpsed through the portholes of the front door.

Upon entering the apartment, a curved corridor unfolds, where two wooden structures on either side add rhythm and define the functional areas, with wardrobes and bathroom door seamlessy integrated.

The two steps at the end of the corridor lead to the living room platform covered in blue carpet, on which sits a modular sofa in the same colour. Specially designed for the space, it reflects our interpretation of a new way of living: the kitchen is no longer the central room of a house where everyone gathers; that role has been taken over by the living room, or more specifically, the sofa. A true place for sharing and interaction, it adapts to everyone’s lifestyle, allowing you to entertain, work, rest…

The kitchen is therefore discreet but remains necessary. Here, it has been reinvented to blend in with this large space, taking on the appearance of the famous ‘Infinito’ bookcase designed by Franco Albini for Cassina. The appliances, sink and storage units are presented in modules fixed to vertical rails, creating adaptability to each space and each use. In this way, the kitchen integrates into the space while remaining functional, in line with new consumption patterns.

Furniture and décor from various origins enhance the city’s eclectic and cosmopolitan character.

Behind the sofa, the circular opening leads to the sleeping area with the wardrobes in front, serving also as a headboard. This positioning creates a buffer zone with the living area, maintaining a fluid flow between the spaces while separating them visually. The room, with its dark tones and moiré fabric-upholstered walls, creates an intimate space where calm and rest are the watchwords.

In this sense, the bathroom has been designed around water flow, as Carlo Scarpa did in many of his works. Thanks to water features and channels, water from the shower and sink is directed under the shower tray, where the room’s drain is located. The use of pink for the ceramic sanitary ware is a nod to this old design, as in the bathroom of Gio Ponti’s Casa di Fantasia.

Everything in the space is designed to combine tradition and modernity, craftsmanship and innovation, creating, in the midst of the city’s noise and bustle, a true haven of peace, an island of calm and creativity.

History and Context

Casa di Ringhiera represents one of the significant residential typologies in the urban memory of Milan. Historically inhabited by workers and artisans, these buildings offered a unique form of collective living where individual privacy and communal sociability coexisted in a permeable manner. Shared courtyards, balconies, and curtains fostered everyday relationships, enabling not only dwelling but also a culture of production and exchange. Within this context, our project aims to reinterpret the historical memory of Casa di Ringhiera by reviving spatial sociability and establishing a strong bridge between past and future.

Spatial Configuration and Flexibility

The proposed space transcends the boundaries of a conventional apartment typology and is conceived as a flexible workshop-apartment. Its primary intention is to mediate between the intimate shell of privae living and the public face of collective production. Capable of accommodating diverse functions over time, the space resists a fixed identity and instead transforms according to the needs, moods, and temporal rhythms of its users.

Flexibility is a central principle of the design. With the exception of wet areas, rigid partitions are dissolved, and the notion of a “room” is reconsidered. Living, working, and sleeping surfaces are envisioned as interchangeable. Furniture can be stored, folded, or reconfigured; detachable units built from metal frames are combined with transparent and semi-transparent panels, diversifying permeability. Fixed plywood elements provide a simple grounding, while movable components continuously reorganize the interior. In this way, every surface has the potential to assume new functions at any given moment.

Curtain as Interface

Within the historical memory of Casa di Ringhiera, the curtain played a crucial role as a mediator of privacy and sociability. In this project, the curtain is reinterpreted not merely as a divider but as a key exhibition element. It acts as an interface between intimacy and openness, blurring the thresholds between domestic life and shared production, and transforming the interior into a space of continuity and permeability.

Collective Experience and Memory

The apartment is conceived not only as a stage for individual living but also as a platform for collective experience. At specific times, residents transform their homes into temporary workshops, inviting participants from different ages and disciplines. The works produced are exhibited, documented, and archived, layering the memory of the space. Production thus expands beyond objects, encompassing shared time, dialogue, and the act of leaving traces behind.

Milan Context

As a city renowned for art and design, Milan provides a cultural ground where creators from diverse disciplines converge. The project embraces this identity by proposing a workshop-apartment that invites designers, fosters processes of learning and teaching, and generates a multilayered environment of production and exchange.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the project seeks to revitalize the historical memory of Casa di Ringhiera, reframe the relationship between private living and collective production, and ultimately establish a strong bond between the apartment’s residents and the city of Milan.

Isola Inside is a spatial narrative that reinterprets a historical Milanese apartment through the lens of duality: structure and play, past and future, individuality and collectivity. Located in the heart of the vibrant Isola district, this project is rooted in the identity of its context — a neighborhood where craft heritage and contemporary creativity meet in a uniquely dynamic urban rhythm.

The project explores the relationship between structure and play, utilizing axes and arches as primary design tools to create a home that is both organized and joyful. It is a contemporary living concept that balances personal retreat with shared creativity — an interior that reflects the timeless tension between tradition and innovation, structure and freedom.

A key element of the concept is the use of color as a spatial tool. Each function within the apartment — living, cooking, sleeping, working — is defined by its own distinct color palette. These hues act as playful identifiers, giving character and mood to each zone while maintaining visual coherence across the whole space. Whether doors are open or closed, whether the apartment functions as one large open area or several separate ones, the colorsystem ensures that transitions are always harmonious and never disruptive. The result is a home where color separates but also connects.

The axes define spatial orientation and circulation, organizing the layout with precision, guiding movement and creating zones for rest, work, and gathering. In contrast, arches soften the geometry — their curves introduce fluidity, lightness, and moments of visual surprise, evoking a sense of openness and creative spontaneity. These curved forms appear in various architectural moments, breaking the rigidity of the space and encouraging a layered, intuitive flow.

A spatial highlight of the project is the integrated studio space. Separated from the living area by a curved, suspended curtain, this flexible zone can operate as a workplace, a creative hub, or even a darkroom for developing analog photographs. The curtain provides both spatial division and light control, enabling the room to be used for focused work or informal collaboration without compromising the rest of the apartment’s atmosphere. This layer of creative flexibility reflects the lifestyle and needs of young designers.

Throughout the space, custom-designed furniture, local materials, and elements inspired by Milanese architectural motifs (like terrazzo floors, ceramic tiles) reinforce the connection to place. We worked intentionally with a mix of old and new materials, allowing past and future to coexist through texture and finish. Sustainability was also central to our process: we prioritized Italian brands, most of them based in or near Milan, to reduce impact and support regional design culture.

This project emerges as an architecture woven from air, memory, and Milan’s restless pulse. It is not a renovation that erases — it is an intervention that pauses. A threshold carved into urban stone, where the city’s rhythm meets domestic calm, and the everyday act of dwelling becomes an act of breathing.

The concept begins with the courtyards of Milan — the Casa di Ringhiera, where balconies and plants mediate between private rooms and shared lives. Here, that communal essence is not quoted literally but distilled. Terraces are offset inward, forming a series of in-between zones that blur the line between exterior and interior. These new thresholds act like inhaled breaths: residents choose fresh air for vitality or enclosed warmth for introspection.

Inside, order prevails. The plan and its details follow a strict geometric discipline — grid, axis, repetition. Lighting, cabinetry, and even the rhythm of joints are locked into this module, producing a quiet coherence. Yet within this rational frame, life unfolds fluidly. The living room becomes a meridian: at once lounge, library, workspace, and garden niche. A kitchenette opens to the air; a slender bench doubles as a pet corner and seasonal seat; greenery punctuates corners like pauses in music.

Materials are chosen with precision and restraint. Terrazzo grounds the space in Milanese tradition; brushed brass accents signal warmth and craft; white plaster walls remain deliberately bare, allowing light and shadow to become decoration. Glass and mirror act as controlled accents, expanding the perceptual field and dissolving boundaries. Texture becomes the true color, as neutrality is enlivened by reflection and touch.

Lighting is conceived as an atmosphere rather than a fixture. Primary light is indirect, hidden at high levels, washing ceilings and dispersing evenly. Secondary light is punctual, appearing only where its function is required. At night, this creates a play of intimacy: reflections in glass, green leaves glowing softly, brass edges catching a flicker.

Furniture is minimal in number but firm in character. Each piece occupies its place with clarity, balancing softness and solidity, and responding to the dual needs of contemporary life — work and rest, openness and retreat. Together, the objects form a restrained yet adaptable scene.

The user’s experience is central. In the morning, light grazes terrazzo, plants breathe, and air circulates freely. By evening, the inhabitant sits in the in-between — on a slender bench with a lamp and a living green companion, immersed in reflections. The apartment is small, but the perception is expansive: space is not measured in square meters, but in the fluidity of choice.

In Milan, the inner courtyard has always been a place to breathe between private and public. In this project, that idea is reborn in miniature — as a sanctuary for young design minds, for couples under forty, for those who live with a pet, a plant, or a dream. Seasonal Axis is not a style, but a strategy: modular order, authentic materials, and breathing thresholds that transform the density of the city into clarity, pause, and possibility.

Year-round life reflects cycles of blooming and falling leaves, enriched by gardening with pet-safe plants like climbing Hoya carnosa.

Milan, a city of constant experimentation and immaterial production. Looking deeper into its history, we find a spontaneous, heterogeneous environment shaped by its inhabitants. This tradition of experimentation intensified after World War II, when widespread destruction compelled designers and entrepreneurs to pursue continuous reinvention. As Ernesto Nathan Rogers famously declared, design could encompass everything “dal cucchiaio alla città”—from the spoon to the city. Inspired by this notion, we conceived the inhabitants of the apartment as active agents with the capacity to transform their surroundings at will. Here, the resident becomes designer, builder, and experiencer of space.

A pivotal reference in our approach is the 1972 MoMA exhibition Italy: The New Domestic Landscape, curated by Emilio Ambasz. This groundbreaking exhibition demonstrated how Italian design questioned the relationship between domestic objects and social life, presenting interiors not merely as static environments but as laboratories for cultural and political expression. Guided by this vision, we chose to reinterpret the apartment not as a finished interior, but as an experimental framework. By providing tools, materials, and—most importantly—the spatial conditions for transformation, we propose a repertoire that allows inhabitants to reshape every physical property of their environment.

To develop this concept, we turned to the very nature of experimentation. By translating the stages of the experimental process into spatial form, we imagined an unbounded architecture—capable of continual reconfiguration and reinvention. We conceived of the apartment as a theatrical set, where observation, imagination, performance, and experience unfold simultaneously.

This interior concept draws inspiration from Italian designers and architects of the 20th century, creators of timeless works defined by bold forms, vivid colors, and exquisite craftsmanship. Carlo Scarpa’s Negozio Gavina, with its constellation of shapes and inventive details, sets the stage for a unique spatial experience. The spirited pieces of Gaetano Pesce, bursting with color and movement, embody playful dynamism, while Oreste Fasanini’s Villa El, with its bed positioned diagonally in a deep-blue room, exemplifies daring spatial gestures.

The apartment channels the vibrant, creative energy of Milan’s Isola district. Each room is designed as an individual figure, distinct in function, form, and color, yet together they compose a playful constellation, framing the apartment as a whole.

Red, Green, and Blue – the title’s reference – shape the surfaces of the home. These hues are expressed primarily through wood, a renewable material whose tactile warmth and visible grain ground the design in nature. In contrast, cooler industrial materials such as screed flooring, exposed concrete beams, and stainless steel details introduce a contemporary counterpoint, balancing softness with precision.

Partition walls for the bathroom and bedroom are executed in rippled glass, lending layered depth. Their semi-transparency blurs silhouettes, allowing light to flow through the apartment. The bathroom’s glass is framed in wood with subtle steel details echoing existing doorway elements, while the bedroom partitions, framed in metal, add reflectivity and a modern edge.

Reflective surfaces recur throughout: mirrored walls expand the hallway, the bathroom, brighten the kitchen backsplash, and amplify the living area. Together, they extend space while introducing an ever-changing play of light and reflection.

Natural stone anchors the project with permanence and place. The washbasin and shower are clad in golden travertine, rich with natural irregularities and common in Italy’s landscape. The kitchen countertop features rose marble terrazzo, a material sourced near Milan. Terrazzo honors Italian tradition while embracing sustainability through the use of marble chippings and leftovers.

Alongside natural light, a lighting concept enhances both atmosphere and function. General lighting illuminates the space, while accent lamps from iconic Italian designers add character and nostalgia. In the hallway, wall lights create a guiding rhythm, while accent lamps highlight the wardrobe and entrance. The bathroom glows with soft LED frames behind suspended buttery glass panels, contrasted by brighter lights above the washbasin.

The kitchen and living space are lit by recessed LEDs, complemented by a custom-designed light cone with an illuminated steel shelf above the island, setting an intimate tone. The opposite work area features LED strip desk lamps, while the living area layers warm indirect ceiling light with designer wall fixtures, balancing style and comfort.

In the bedroom lighting defines spatial zones. A dimmable LED panel frames the closet, bedside lamps are integrated into the headboard, and a suspended lamp casts a soft ambient glow for unwinding and retreat.

Life in RGB is a living canvas of color, reflection, and shapes, celebrating Italian design heritage while embracing the contemporary medley.

Not Provided

Milan is a city that never stops transforming. A crossroads of cultures, identities, and visions, it is no longer defined by a single narrative. Today, Milan is plural: a living organism where distant stories meet, overlap, and create new ways of inhabiting the city. It belongs to those who live it regardless of where they come from.

Casa Arese was born from this Milan: multicultural, fluid, alive.

Designed by Omar Ouedraogo and Fabio De Benedictis, the project emerges from the encounter of two worlds: Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Brazil, united by a shared ambition: to shape a new architectural language for contemporary Milan.

Casa Arese is not just a home. It is a manifesto.

A declaration that celebrates identity, coexistence, and belonging. Here, African and Brazilian ro- ots intertwine with Milanese aesthetics, creating a language that feels both intimate and universal. It reflects the Milan of today: a city where the everyday is built upon the dialogue between cultures, where diversity is not just accepted but becomes a source of strength and inspiration.

Inside, the spaces are open and fluid, designed to embrace life and movement. At the heart of the living area, a Brazilian sofa becomes a symbolic gesture, an homage to Fabio’s heritage and an invitation to share, connect, and gather.

The material palette reflects a balance between warmth and rigor: natural woods, textured sto- nes, and soft, tactile finishes evoke distant landscapes, while being reinterpreted through a con- temporary Milanese lens.

Light plays the role of silent narrator. It filters, cuts, and slides across surfaces, transforming atmospheres throughout the day.

Casa Arese becomes a living organism never static, always changing, just like the city it belongs to.

Outside, the volume stands essential yet sculptural. It integrates within the urban fabric with quiet strength, while subtle details reveal layered memories and global influences. Casa Arese carries within it the essence of multiple worlds, translating them into an architectural statement that speaks of inclusion and identity.

Casa Arese is Milan.

It celebrates a city that thrives on differences, where multiple identities coexist and define a collective sense of belonging. It transforms plurality into beauty, diversity into narrative, and everyday life into design.

This is more than architecture. Casa Arese is a manifesto, a vision of a new Milan, one that listens to many voices and transforms them into a shared story of the future.

The central idea of this project is that the domestic interior should not be understood as a collection of static rooms, but rather as a series of modular boxes, ready to transform according to changing needs. The apartment preserves its original structure, respecting both the typology of the casa di ringhiera and its historical value, yet it is reinterpreted through a flexible and contemporary approach. It is conceived for a young professional in the field of design or architecture, whose daily life requires a balance between domestic intimacy, creativity, and social interaction. Inspired by the work of Gio Ponti – who regarded furniture as a dynamic element integrated into everyday life – and by masters such as Achille Castiglioni and Franco Albini, the spaces adopt a modular logic in which each element can evolve and adapt.

Upon entering, one encounters a spacious corridor that acts as an exhibition gallery. This linear space becomes the backbone of the apartment: its walls are designed to display artworks, sketches, and prototypes, transforming circulation into an experiential journey. The corridor thus plays an active role, immediately revealing the creative identity of the inhabitant.

The first room is the living area, which in its intimate configuration retains a sense of warmth, yet serves as the polyhedral core of the house. Here, multiple functions converge: it operates as the main exhibition space, a study, and a room for projections or meetings. From the built-in wall system emerge two extendable tables, which can serve as workstations or surfaces for collective activities. The modular sofa is easily reconfigured: it becomes an auditorium for screenings or a flexible arrangement for group discussions.

The bedroom embodies a balance between rest and productivity. Through integrated systems and transformable furnishings, the bed can be concealed, freeing up space for work. A desk, functioningas a vanity table in its reduced form, can be extended into a large worktable suitable for broader projects. Adjustable lighting guides the transition from soft domestic atmospheres to technical settings.

The kitchen retains its traditional role while offering the possibility of convivial moments or additional workspace through an extendable table. In the bathroom, a bespoke unit has been introduced: a compact structure integrating washing machine, dryer, and a dedicated space for an ironing board. Conceived as a technical-organizational system, it optimizes space and ensures order. The integration of appliances within a single element reduces the visual impact of service functions, enhancing efficiency while aligning with the modular approach that defines the project.

Ultimately, the proposal envisions a form of living unbound by rigid functions. By preserving the original layout while enriching it with modular strategies, the apartment becomes a system of dynamic boxes, adaptable to multiple scenarios. In dialogue with Milan’s design tradition and the legacy of Ponti, the space defines itself simultaneously as home and creative platform: a place where domesticity and design practice coexist and continually nourish one another.