00:00The clients are two young graphic designers in love with the world of
00:07shapes and colors. Very very open-minded and this is a very nice thing for an
00:14architect. I always try to tell the clients that they can find the treasure
00:20already there inside the house. I'm speaking about the history of the house
00:25no? This was the case of the flooring. These concrete tiles that we polished, they
00:31are from the 40s. So you can read even on the flooring what was the story. My name
00:39is Umberto and together with Cesare and Andrea we founded Atoma. It is an
00:46architectural office based in Milan and Edinburgh This building was built in the
01:0020s. It has typical elements of that age. Outside it has this yellow color. They
01:07call it Milanese yellow. Since it's very very foggy they used to paint this
01:12building in a very strong color so it was visible during the foggy days. This
01:18building is located in what we call Cittastudi. It is a very special place for
01:23the city of Milan. It was built at the beginning of the 19th century. As Italians
01:29since we are born we are used to walk in spaces and city that are full of history
01:35you know? So that's why often in design you find this smidge of all things that
01:41have a value and new things that have new values. When we entered we saw at first a
01:48very long corridor. A beautiful heritage materially speaking. It was in a way dark
01:54since it has only three windows and they were all facing north. They had many
02:01requests believe me. They wanted a house that could be a very convivial place. One
02:08of the things that Martina asked it was about arches. She was in love with arches and so
02:14we decided to put some of them even inside the house. They asked for a place of
02:21working at home. That it was a place where to have breakfast and possibly working
02:27possibly facing the outside world and the city.
02:33It was a strange L-shaped plan so it could be a design issue and so the space it was
02:40completely divided. The first action it was to shorten the corridor. We removed the
02:46partition wall that was dividing it by the living room. It gave the occasion to
02:51rediscover a hidden pillar that it was inside the wall. In the bedroom we added a
02:57walk-in wardrobe directly connected to the bathroom and left the space over it for
03:05reading a book, for hosting some friends when they stay late at night after a dinner.
03:18The entrance in actual design it is in a way forgotten but it is one of the most
03:23important place of the house. On the right part of it you find a shoe rack. If you
03:31lower the space you have a compression of space and then the apartments open up
03:36together with the light.
03:40You can find a hidden closet to hide big stuff.
03:45Just in front of this space we created a little study. And this is the place where Nicolò, who
03:53is a graphic designer, does his paintings and spends evenings in creating art.
04:03The space of the living room is made of simple formal elements. The long French window that
04:11it is set on a corner. The concrete pillar. On the other side the pantry with this yellow arch.
04:19The television and the library.
04:23Making this renovation we had a surprise. Removing a wall that was dividing the corridor from the living room.
04:29We found this rough pillar. This creates a nice fight between two different materiality.
04:35The roughness of the concrete. The tiles are super polished.
04:43The kitchen is a single element made of blue metal with stainless steel.
04:51And the walls of the kitchen are covered with these white tiles that in a way resemble an image of
04:59industrial style kitchen.
05:03In this kitchen you can find a dishwasher, an oven and a full size fridge together with a lot of
05:10space for stacking stuff.
05:13When you want to build a space that is together living room and kitchen.
05:18What you have to do is to try to find a place to put the messy things.
05:24We added the volume. It is the pantry. A yellow curtain gives a lot of playfulness.
05:32In that place the clients hide all the things related to the kitchen. Even the laundry is there.
05:41The clients requested a little corner to put their coffee machines.
05:47It is a custom made furniture.
05:52The corner it is a very important thing when you design a volume.
05:57That's why we decided on one corner to put a library that gives a speciality.
06:03When you are going to the bathroom you step up.
06:08The moving of the bathroom needed a space for the plumbings.
06:13This gave even the occasion to compress in height the space.
06:18And this is another experience that is very very important in a house.
06:22The change of levels.
06:24The creation of this space allow Martina and Nicolò to work together at home into different spaces.
06:33To make the bathroom look larger we decided to design it lower in height.
06:39So in terms of proportion this little trick makes the space look larger.
06:45We have a generous blue shocking vanity.
06:50It is full of space and it is characterized by these giant white handles that gives it a crazy design.
06:59We always try to add windows looking at the official windows of the house.
07:04You can find two portals.
07:07This gives a nice luminosity to the bathroom.
07:11The bedroom is located at the end of the apartment.
07:16When you walk under this arch you can find another world that speaks another language.
07:22Since the tilings resemble the 20s and the 30s.
07:26We have the occasion to give hierarchy to this space by adding a volume made of wood and made of
07:34hay ratan.
07:36It is all handmade.
07:38We use the ratan maker.
07:40He teaches a lot of things to us about how to use this material.
07:46It gives the opportunity to add the transparency to some part of this volume.
07:50It is lower as possible so it can give the person an intimacy.
07:58We added two lead strips.
08:01They are integrated in the design.
08:04We gave the bathroom two different entrances.
08:08The main one it is dedicated to visitors.
08:12There is a second one that is directly bounded to the bedroom.
08:17And this volume it gives an extra space over it.
08:22It can be used for reading a book.
08:25For hosting some friends after a dinner that went long.
08:32I can say that it is one of the most favourite places of Gino, the third inhabitant of this house.
08:40My perfect home is a place where you can hug your friends and make noise and have parties.
08:49It is a place where you feel protected.
08:53You can find the time to think.
08:57I think that these are the main things that a house should give to a person.
09:02You've got to see the person.
09:21I would like to know that this house will tell you.
09:22I think that this house is more than whether that is a place where you want to meet.
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