Featured round windows typical of Jean Prouvè’s façade systems, textural richness of Piero Portaluppi’s unmistakable language, street art and graffiti, optical suggestions of the Space Age, contemporary design and the style of postwar Milan inspire the composite creative palette of Time Capsule, an intense renovation in the Brera district curated by Carlo Donati Studio. “Sign O’ The Times” by Prince ideally accompanies, according to the architect, this complex renovation project, which has seen a large space in an early 20th century building, in the city of Milan, transformed into a cultured and unconventional residence: with its notes, condensed rhythm of different poetics and the theme of traces left by time, the musical composition alludes exactly to the refined amalgam of the apartment’s aesthetic codes, meticulously organized and in harmony with each other. In 350 m2 the ambience unveils itself as a palimpsest, an overlapping and intersecting of attentively pondered, tailored ‘layers’, starting from the entrance floor, which anticipates with its texture and unique, distinctive match of materials the philosophy of the house.
The pattern is an interplay of Burgundy Green, Perlino Pink, Sahara Noir and Light Travertine marble geometric shapes, while the surrounding walls in walnut wood with a reeded effect are interrupted by small circular or oval copper profiled openings, one of the most repeated ‘graphic symbols’ in the interiors. A graffito by the British artist Stik fronts the entrance and introduces to the owners’ art collection, while the back wall is organized with a full-height custom-made bookcase.
To the right of this space is the important living area overlooking the outdoor garden terrace, while to the left, carved into the boiserie, are doors leading to the intimate and private sleeping area.
The living area is dominated by important works, soft curtains, Eero Saarinen’s iconic table, vaulted ceilings generating a continuous rhythm and a three-dimensional effect, curved wall in green English glossy lacquered wood, alternating with portions always in reeded walnut with a porthole that delimits the kitchen, the bookcase and the curved sofas in two colors that face each other, representing the two souls – female and male – of the house. It has a warm natural travertine floor, laid in large slabs, which also identifies the private space of the sleeping area, with two large, city-facing bedrooms and related bathrooms. The master suite retraces the motif of the man/woman pair, with design solutions that develop at the same time both specific identities and a strong bond between opposites. A walk-in shower with glass walls acts as a separation between the two parts. Here the materials chosen by Carlo Donati to build the moodboard of the residence are echoed: details with copper effect, Verde Borgogna marble to define the sink block of the male area and Rosa Perlino for the mirrored one of the female area. An Antrax IT Serie T radiator in matt white nuance, installed horizontally, was used in both rooms, providing the best thermal comfort with low temperature operation and useful functional support. Designed by Matteo Thun & Antonio Rodriguez, the radiator is formed by a classic T-shaped metal extrusion used in construction, made in 100% recyclable aluminum, and offers a convenient shelf on which towels or other objects can be stored. It can be sized to the cm and with this exclusive feature fits the intervention of Time Capsule, for which Carlo Donati has implemented an extremely accurate research, with a tailor-made study of every detail, furniture, covering and accessories.
Photo by Franco Chimenti
The Serie T radiator by Antrax IT in the master suite bathroom
