House with Alcove, a mini loft on the top floor of a traditional 20th century multi-storey building with balcony access, in Milan. A unique and complex fixed furnishing element crowns the 35-square-foot surface of the project, originally divided into a modest kitchen and a multi-purpose hybrid space that served as a bedroom, a living room and a dining room.
New hierarchies and varying levels of intimacy articulate the space, which has been tailor-made for a young screenwriter and cinema journalist. The fixed module divides the environment into separate spaces, hosting the kitchen and a storage room, and defining the living area, from which a small corridor leads to the bathroom. The small bedroom is located within the module itself. On the sides, wardrobes and storage spaces in flamed oak surround the mattress, while a sliding curtain separates the sleeping area from the corridor, creating a private space, a contemporary alcove evocative of medieval canopy beds.
Furniture becomes an architectural element, defining the hierarchies of the space, characterized by a surface of red cementiles. House with Alcove approaches domestic landscape through the representation of people’s behavior, within a process that considers the characteristics of each person, their habits and their aspirations.

Date: 2017
Location: Via Elia Lombardini, Milano
Size: 35 sqm
Contract value: –
Program: Apartment renovation
Photography: Francesca Iovene

Client: Private commission
Architects: casatibuonsante architects
Team: Antonio Buonsante, Federico Casati
Collaborator: Eugenia Rolando
Contractor: Sinis Edilizia srl
Carpentry: Mussi Arredamenti