'This project wouldn't have been the same without Piero Portaluppi's work at Villa Necchi Campiglio,' con-fides Mario Abruzzese, the founder of architecture studio Kick.Office. When he and his team of young designers began work on the renovation and interior design of this 19th-century apartment, located on a crossroads in one of the most exclusive districts in Milan, Portaluppi's masterpiece (the eternally elegant backdrop to films such as House of Gucci and I Am Love) informed many of their decisions.
'We looked to its successful balance of bourgeois sophistication and technical innovation, all shot through with a dose of nonconformism,' says Abruzzese. To that end, the designers paired restored original features (the mouldings, the living-room fireplace) with brand-new oak floorboards - chosen to replace ancient, damaged tiles and arranged in a dynamic layout that helps to accentuate the form of the rooms.
The latter is a trick inspired by another titan of the Italian design world, Luigi Caccia Dominioni, whose skilful attention to geometry can be seen in his project on Via Vigoni, with its rectangular spaces and softly rounded corners organised around a polygonal vault.
'The owner wanted a place that worked as a welcoming refuge, but also somewhere that would be a base for their two sons, who were returning to Italy after time spent abroad,' Abruzzese tells us. We can think of no better homecoming than this celebration of Italian creative excellence past, present and future. kickoffice.net