Archive for February, 2022

Kintsugi Apartment

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“Organisms in nature have survived and thrived for billions of years because they have one powerful trait at their disposal – they are adaptive”

Rafe Sagarin

The house was tired, the light no longer illuminated it as well as before, the spaces seemed to tighten more and more, especially after the arrival of the two young children. Those long corridors in which the flow of light became a challenge, made the tiny rooms even smaller.

The project tries to adapt to the family, with small, timely, gentle changes.

Little changes are able to transform the apartment in an open, functional, full of light space.

The demolition of the walls facing the corridors; the re-appropriation of the spaces once lost; the obtaining of an extra room by moving the kitchen into the new regained environment at the heart of the home; the slight enlargement of the bathroom to accommodate two sinks and laundry area.

The atmosphere of the house as it was, was characterized by the original textures of the floors.

Where possible, the old original milanese marble textures, and stones, have been kept.

The new spatial distribution leaves the traces in the pavement exposed, where the dividing walls used to be.

The project does not erase those signs, but accepts them for what they are; now combinations of different materials coexist for what they are, and what they were.

The resins of the bathroom and of the children's room contrast the rich design of the existing floors with smooth surfaces, where the soft colour reflects the light in shimmering shades.

The attention to detail and the new elements introduced try to remove the unnecessary overdesign and disappear in the general array of spaces.

The small porthole windows introduced have a circular shape as do the light fittings; the doors, if integrated with the walls, take their colours and proportions, reaching the ceiling.

CREDITS

Client: Private
Typology: Apartment
Place: Milan, Italy
Year: 2022.03
Sqm: 70
Architectural Design: ATOMAA
Design Team: Cesare Galliani, Umberto Maj, Andrea Del Pedro Pera, Samantha Furlotti, Giulia Barilli, Philip Kolevsohn
Photography: Francesco Carredda
General contractor: Relazioni Edili
Carpenter: L’Interno di Enrico Ornaghi
Resin: Parquet Italia s.a.s.
Windows and Doors: Fratelli Bergamaschi
Steelwork & Mirrors: Projet Metal