Studio di architettura Simona Venturini

Complete renovation. Project year: 2006.

Private Client

The renovation of this early 20th century apartment was carried out fully respecting the original planimetric design and using pre-existing materials. Indeed the Client wanted to retain the original layout of the rooms and the characteristic central hallway typical of houses of that period, salvaging the existing flooring where possible. The original long, narrow bathroom was resized creating a small anteroom where we suggested hanging a period chandelier, to go with the new orange mosaic tiles, the transparent glass sink and its black slate top. Inside the bathroom itself the same mosaic is used for the skirting board to create a definite break from the black slate flooring, rising up to define the shower area and separating it from the light-coloured background mosaic in the rest of the area.
The wooden ceilings inside all the rooms, which used to be hidden by hanging cane vaults, have been preserved and accentuated by a dark brown stain treatment.
The design decision to preserve the original floor and ceilings meant that we had to find alternative solutions for the heating/lighting systems to pass through. We therefore looked into using special casings in the upper part of the hallway, blending them in with the walls in a shaped moulding, echoing the cornices which often appear around the edges of period cane vaulted ceilings. Where it was not possible to blend them harmoniously, the Clients opted to highlight additional elements (the support beams of the ceiling, the pipe inside which these systems cross the hallway) in a flame red colour popping out from the dark brown of the wooden ceiling.
A modern solution was chosen for the internal stairs with a stainless steel parapet and doussie wood treads, reflecting the wood of the double boxed cornice of the traditional herringbone oak parquet.

Work carried out in 2007