Location_via Prandina 37, Milano
Year_2025
Area_150 mq
Client_Tipografia Cantoni
Service_Preliminary and executive project, building site direction
In the context of the widespread deindustrialization of Milan’s urban fabric, this project transforms a workshop that housed Tipografia Cantoni for decades. Technically classified as a subdivision with change of use, the renovation resulted in two apartments, plus a garage created on the site of the original driveway ramp.
While preserving some of the industrial-style architectural features, the project addresses the challenge of making a space originally designed with eminently technical prerogatives feel domestic and welcoming. Thanks to the warmth of the materials, primarily wood and lime plaster (EcoGras ETGC), the vast basement workshop has been transformed into comfortable and welcoming apartments.
As with any intervention within a condominium context, exterior alterations are kept to minimum, preserving the uniformity of the overall structure. The old perimeter window frames have been replaced with modern thermally insulated aluminum windows. To preserve the distinctive factory-like atmosphere found in Milanese courtyards, horizontal muntins were applied both internally and externally, softening the contrast with the other areas of the building where the original iron windows remain.
The two entrance doors are highlighted by cladding the intrados with calamine steel sheets that protrude 5 centimeters from the wall. Like blades, they cleave the space and foreshadow the strong directionality imparted within.
Planimetry ante-operam and post-operam
The new planimetry is designed to maximize space utilization while respecting the minimum room dimensions established by building regulations: 17 square meters for the livingroom with kitchenette, 12 square meters for the bedrooms, and a minimum side of 120 cm for the bathrooms.
The existing bathroom was only 210 cm high, and the need to achieve the minimum height of 240 cm prompted a careful rethinking of all the altimetries. The use of an igloo-style ventilated crawl space of varying heights created a device capable of visually transforming a basement into a ground floor.
Once through the entrance, the steep staircase that led abruptly downwards from the condominium courtyard has been “diluted” with steps divided into blocks along the extension of a corridor. This corridor serves the entrance hallway and leads to the bathroom and laundry closet.
Once down towards the main rooms, a ventilated crawl space with lower-height modules brings the window sills to a standard level to create the perception of being on the ground floor and not in a basement.
The access corridor thus becomes a spatial device distinct from the main rooms. A sort of wooden carpet unfurls from the entrance to the living area, whose parquet planks, laid crosswise and without intermediate joints, blend seamlessly with the steps that manage the difference in height.
The sage green lime plaster on the walls and ceiling also enhances the contrast with the living area and bedroom. The latter feature large-format “sandstone” stoneware on the floors and a light sand-colored lime finish on the walls.
All the lime-finished walls were finally waxed to give a satin finish that helps reflect sunlight coming from outside.
The oak essence, used for the corridor flooring, was replicated in many other points of each individual apartment: the sliding door panels (Eclisse Synthesis), the kitchen and bedroom closet doors (Falegnameria Parma, Lissone), the bed (Ikea), the headboard (WoodUpp), and even the bathroom cabinet (Ikea) completed with a custom-made countertop (Falegnameria Parma) and the recessed shelves (Falegnameria Parma).
Existing reinforced concrete beams and pillars were stripped of their plaster until the formwork wooden traces were discovered.
Steel frames support the cantilevered 12 mm thick counters.
The bathroom design, in addition to the aforementioned oak, draws on traditional Milanese style. The flooring features a ceramic tile that reinterprets the classic terrazzo tiles with a pop twist, while the walls are finished with narrow diamond-cut tiles.
The faucets are made of brass with a brushed nickel finish.
