AV APARTMENT, COMO – ITALY, 2014

THE PROJECT INVOLVES THE RENOVATION OF AN APARTMENT LOCATED WITHIN THE WALLED CITY OF COMO, INSIDE A BUILDING CONSTRUCTED IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY AND MODIFIED IN THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY.

IN ITS ORIGINAL STATE, THE APARTMENT CONSISTED IN TWO DISTINCT ZONES: THE FIRST, MORE NOBLE, FACING THE STREET; THE SECOND FACING THE INNER BLOCK. THIS DUALITY BECAME THE STARTING POINT FOR THE PROJECT. THE FIRST ZONE IS CONCEIVED AS A SPACE WITH MAXIMUM SPATIAL POTENTIAL, DESIGNED AS A SEQUENCE OF “FINISHED” ROOMS THAT, THROUGH A CIRCULAR PATH, BALANCE THE PERIMETER WALL FACING THE STREET WITH THE LOAD-BEARING WALL INSIDE THE BUILDING. WITHIN THE INSIDE WALL, A NEW OPENING NOT ONLY PROVIDES ACCESS TO THE SECOND ZONE—DEDICATED TO THE BEDROOMS—BUT ALSO CONNECTS THE LIVING AREA TO THE INNER BLOCK.

SOME EXISTING ELEMENTS WERE PRESERVED NOT ONLY AS REMINDERS OF THE PLACE AND ITS CHARACTER, BUT ALSO AS TRUE DEVICES FOR SPATIAL DEFINITION.

THE TWO EXISTING HERRINGBONE-PATTERN WOODEN “CARPETS” WERE RESTORED AND CONTRIBUTE TO OUTLINING THE KITCHEN AND LIVING ROOM AREAS, WHILE THE ORIGINAL FRAMES AND DOORS EMPHASIZE THE SPATIAL SEQUENCE.

Collaborators: Diletta Rumi
Photos © Marco Cappelletti