Concoct

Renovation, conversion and extension of a historical building in Milan, close to Via Sarpi
The building has been converted into a residence.
It consists of 3 floors, a basement, a flat roof and a courtyard.

THE IDEA_ concoction comes from the verb to concoct and in order to gain the perfect concoction you need the correct ingredients and the right measurements. That is exactly what we had in mind when we created this Apartment-hotel.
The idea was to create a facility made of six small apartments both appealing and functional to a wide range of different, heterogeneous people.Humusstudio, in charge of the whole project, soon realized that the best possible way to achieve this degree of diversity was to embroil other architecture offices with different backgrounds and professional paths.

We spotted six units with similar dimensions and characteristics, hereafter four young groups of architects were asked to design the given unit as though it was to be their own pied-à-tere in Milan.
Humusstudio, Tomo Architects, 02ARCH. Giovanni Cagnato e April Studio created a space adaptive to different tastes and needs, in which all of the apartments are, while independent, bound to a certain common attention to details as well as the same cost of construction.

HUMUSSTUDIO_The two apartments designed by Humusstudio were conceived in order to each have its own identity but still capable of working togheter as a whole. The ground floor, unlike the other ones, was indeed designed to be temporarily turned into common spaces or event location.

1. Alcova_ This is the smallest apartment in Concoct, precisely 31 square meters. The idea was to create a small shelter, having its own unique environment, characterized by a large box made of birch wood, raised 50 cm from the ground. This element, a little “ethereal”, decomposes the space, allowing you to live distinctively day and night in the same environment. The sleeper’s box is a world apart, almost like a tree house. We paid particular attention to the ceiling: the room is very high, in order to reshape the apartment without lowering the ceiling, we used a very shiny, green tone which connects the whole environment.

We then decided a second ceiling was needed to cover the Sleeper’s box, characterized by three large circular holes, which throughout the evening and the early morning hours create the magic of light and shadow on the bed. The Apartment also has two puffs instead of a traditional sofa, very informal, which can also be used outside in the private mini-garden.

2. Il sospeso_ This apartment was conceived by the sliding and multiplicating of horizontal planes in the tall space, letting us create a plot of volumes and voids moving around the whole space.

Thanks to the remarkably tall ceiling it was possible to organize the apartment on three distinct layers:

_the suspended cube contains the kitchen and it was built using the beams recovered from the old roof of the same building, this structure was than enclosed in a thin network which makes it ethereal as well as projecting patterns of shadows on the surrounding walls thanks to a carefully designed lighting system.

_the tank , that is the living area, it’s lowered by four steps compared to the entrance level: it’s a materially homogeneous volume shaped in such a way to configure two opposing couches, making a cozy and convivial environment.

_the zero level, consists of an entrance hall and the bedroom, from where the observer can appreciate the multiformed nature of the place thanks to some specific choices of materials (mirrors, glosy and matt surfaces).

TOMOARCHITECTS_

3. Tomo_ The apartment No.3 in particular is characterized by a system of wooden beams in larch placed in such a way to create scenes and internal divisions, having no real closures throughout the open living space. It was important for us to carefully design the details when mounting the beams as well as OSB panels, well known for their strength and stability. Great attention was also paid to the development of all the furnishings: the sofa bed in wood with original fabric from the 50s, the iron and crystal table, the library made from tubular iron OSB, which we painted white, the kitchen which is made entirely of OSB that was then painted black and the bathroom, again using the stable and strong OSB for all its details. The choice of lighting is fundamental in order to enhance the solid and empty spaces created by the vertical beams which were spaced apart from each other.

02ARCH_

4. 02ARCH_ A small unit in a big city. We wanted to create a minimal space where you can find everything you need to make your own "home". An apartment that can become a contemporary house with strong roots in the past and distant echoes from far away.

CAGNATO_

APRIL STUDIO_

6. #6_ The sixth apartment of the Concoct residence was committed to April Studio, an international platform of architects. The project combines formal elegance with the contemporary functional needs of a client always heedful for minglings between art and design.The space is developed on a single level and its key feature is a rigorous design. A transversal axis links and distributes all the different functions in the same environment. Simplicity in forms and materials. the floring finished with white concrete and an oak boiserie are the characterizing elements of the space as they create an all round and unique atmosphere, all in 35sqm.

credits:

​- Team:  Matteo Pavesi (Project Leader), Giovanna Dell'acqua, Jacopo Bonini​;

- Guests: Tomo Architects, April, Giovanni Cagnato, 02arch;

 - Structures: Studio Castiglioni;

 - Facilities: Vergani Impianti;

 - Illumination: HI LITE Next;

 - Work Supervision: Andrea Borri Architetti;

 - Construction Company: Edilmeca;

-  Photo: Andrea Borri Architetti, Bruno Pulici;