SIX | Quincoces-Dragò & Partners

A project with a unique identity, that brings together distinctive but complementary companies under the same brand, linked by creativity, quest for excellence, and strong personal relationships. With a design gallery, the Six Gallery, the Sixième bistro and the green design boutique Irene, the space is set up around a courtyard, an unexpected place - a combination of typical Milanese elements and exotic accents of a riad - a short stroll from Darsena area.

The idea for Six came from entrepreneur Mauro Orlandelli, who wanted to create "a holistic container, where the result is superior to the sum of its parts".

Art director Samuele Savio and architects David Lopez Quincoces and Fanny Bauer Grung, worked together with Orlandelli- each bringing their own experience and style - to shape their initial vision and set up the global project. Savio came up with the name and logos - "Six, the smallest perfect number, a positive integer that is equal to the sum of its proper divisors", he explained, - while the architects dealt with the interior design.

Last but not least, the musician Sergio Carnevale (together with Nic Cester, member of the Australian band Jet) came up with the idea for the food venue, and the landscapist Irene Cuzzaniti introduced a floral touch with her green design studio. Six, an intimate secret spot located behind a large doorway on via Scaldasole, is characterised by an "old Milanese” courtyard surprisingly dotted with elements of tropical vegetation. Balconies overlook the patio and large open arches, from the sixteenth century building, bring to mind its monastery past-life.

The renovation removed the plaster layers from the interior and revealed the original brickwork and floors. "We wanted everything, from the furniture to the plants, to look like they had been here forever.", said Bauer Grung. The overall mood is the result of a subtly playing with contrasts: the smoky grey walls with their brutal taste, the furniture features with classic design, the attention to detail.

Nothing contradicts the place's bohemian atmosphere. Likewise, the gallery mixes together Vietnamese vases and modern Scandinavian furniture, nomadic rugs from Altai and tables by Gabriella Crespi, chairs by Gió Ponti and armchairs that Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret created for Chandigarh in India.

The bistro - lit by a Isamu Noguchi's lamp sculpture - oers a simple, seasonal cuisine. For special dinners there is a private dining room, a former dinette, that harks the tablemates back to antiquity. With its small stone washbasin, Irene Cuzzaniti's studio is the operational base and a place where to come across unusual objects, inspired by nature and culture.