PENTHOUSE IN PORTA NUOVA Milan 2017

This two storeys penthouse, overlooking an impressive skyline going from Duomo to Porta Nuova, located in one of the top Milano’s place to live, it was been recently completed by a real estate development, so apparently it didn’t need any makeover, but the client, a globetrotter and décor enthusiast, was unsatisfied with it and so she call upon us to enhance her home.

Our first goal has been doing a complete restyling of the internal staircase leading to the top floor. Inspired by artist Alexander Calder, we designed a new sculptural brass bannister, evoking stylized leafs and blossoms, jointed in curvy shapes; we have chosen to clad in darker brass all staircase’s sides and to use white veins Grey Marble on the steps.

On the top floor, staircase is contained in an almost completely safety glass shell, that has been transformed using brass framed (with the same staircase brass finishing) warm tone glass sheets, partly transparent, partly frosted. Here we also used the Rubelli Venezia “Grandcanal wall”, a big white and sepia drawing  illustrating the Venetian Canal Grande, that match with the Azulejos lamps by Silvia Massa and with the pleated Siam textile lamp by Bover.

The staircase leads across glass shell to a sort of greenhouse where there are a small living with a kitchen and the terrace all around. The terrace has been designed almost like a complete “home under the stars”: there are a dedicated dinner area with barbecue on one side, then a relax zone with sofa, armchairs and sunbeds by Varaschin on the other side and also a wellness part where there is a Jacuzzi SPA hot tub under a Renson motorized roof “pergola” usable all year around thanks to the heating and air conditioning device we arranged.

New technologic features allow to enjoy the terrace even more:

-MUSIC- client and her guests can perfectly listen to music outdoor, by hidden waterproof loudspeaker, performing a really high quality sound in every point of the terrace, and she can select music pieces on her favourite device (smart phone, tablet etc.), through a dedicated APP in WIFI, even listening to different music pieces in various home areas;

-LIGHT- the client can choose the perfect atmosphere for every situation: this has been done by mixing different sources of outdoor lighting: a general basic, though astounding,  lighting comes from linear Led light hidden in the structure, a spot light comes from small  waterproof lamps put in the green, and more decorative outdoor floor lamps are here and there. Every light source can be regulate by a dimmer to reach the required intensity.

Since dinner table required a suspended lamp to enjoy night meals, we designed a decorative, organic shape, lightweight steel structure to suspend the lamp and to have the possibility, to hang more lamps and have some climbing green in the future.

Collaborators: Silvia Soffientini e Viviana Biggio