We’re in Milan’s Isola district, on the sixth floor of a 1970s building on which most of the facade was made in exposed concrete in the Brutalist style.
The apartment has been restored, starting with the complete demolition of all existing walls and the construction of completely different rooms from the original.
The entrance has been extended and opened out, and lies at an angle of 45°to the front walls. Brightness, openness and flexibility are the principles of the design by architect Tommaso Giunchi (www.tommasogiunchi.it).
The personality of the client and the building guided the style choices for the interior, bearing in mind the need to used practical, hardwearing materials.
Hence the decision to create a box-like shape that by its nature is “cold”, then soften it with decor elements.
Surfaces and colours evoke the grey of concrete, with the occasional warm touch in the enamel of the entrance walls and the cladding in some parts of the bathroom.
To give the space uniformity and continuity, the floor for the entire apartment was paved with a single material, a fine porcelain gres from the “Industrial” series by Floor Gres in “Sage” and with “Natural Matte” finish, adding movement with the two formats 80×80 and 40×80 cm in a composition that recalls the diagonal nature of the entrance.
Modernity and simplicity distinguish this neutral, linear surface, which lends itself to a range of uses and is effective and attractive in every architectural design.
The 45°slope of the entrance generates a physical and visual communication between the spaces, which appear to belong to a single environment, while highlighting the differences in the rooms.
Entering the apartment, the eye is naturally drawn to the lounge and the large windows which act like a picture of the urban setting.
The sleeping area – bedroom, master bathroom and dressing room – is separated by a full-height sliding door.
The rest of the apartment is apparently completely open-plan, and this helps, albeit only visually, to make the most of the generous size of the space.
A flush-fit door (wider than the standard) allows the kitchen to be closed; a pivoting door and a large sliding panel concealed in the wall mean the second bedroom/study can be separated from the living room.
In the bathrooms too the cladding is in porcelain gres from Floor Gres “Industrial” series, but in different colours: the small bathroom has “Ivory” in “Soft” finish and 20×80 format, while the main bathroom has “Ivory” on the left-hand wall, combined with “Moka” inside the shower and “Sage” on the right, in a combination of the formats 40×80, 80×80 and 20×80 cm. All neutral colours which combine to give harmony and balance to the overall composition.
Floors and walls Supplied by BHC Home Experience, Milan
– flooring throughout: Floor Gres, series “Industrial”, colour “Sage”, formats 80×80 + 40×80 cm, finish “Natural Matt”
– small bathroom: Floor Gres, series “Industrial”, colour “Ivory”, format 20×80 cm, finish “Soft”.
– main bathroom: left wall Floor Gres, series “Industrial”, colour “Ivory” 40×80 + 80×80 cm; right wall colour “Sage” 20×80 cm; shower colour “Moka” 20×80 cm; finish “Soft”.
