At CityLife district in Milan, in the buildings designed by Zaha Hadid overlooking the new public park, there is the apartment (230 smq +80 sqm terraces) for which Marco Piva has been assigned of designing the interior design: internal architecture, lighting-design and furniture. After so many experiences in hotel and contract design, Marco Piva addresses the home, a more intimate issue. We interview him to understand how to combine the home and the contract design approach in this perfect example of luxury living.
The apartment is developed according to specific housing needs of the client, established in the first design phase. To meet the customers’ passion for cooking and music, the project had to reserve two important and technologically advanced spaces for cultivate this passions. The interiors include antique furniture belonging to the family, such as art pieces, paintings and Persian carpets would be brought within the new home.
The objective was to achieve a sophisticated elegance for any environment, which are simple and functional, but at the same time rich in details that emphasize the exclusivity and sophistication of the overall project.
Interview with Marco Piva.
How do you tackle the design of a house when you have always dealt with hotels?
Our success in the field of hospitality comes from our references to domesticity within common rooms, trough flexible spaces so that the guest can feel at home. The planning approach to hospitality or the private sector is the same, only the persons we refer to and measurements change.
What are the key concepts borrowed from the hotel to enrich the house?
The idea of offering a service to the community; for example, in Rome we are working on the renewal of a nice building to be changed into a residential estate. The masses are meant for a new way of living in a house and keep some areas peculiar to a hotel: relax and meeting areas, reception, fitness centers and spa, multifunctional halls.
What was a must for a home setting that you had to add to your know-how?
Great care over the smallest details and a timeless elegance. A functional design conscious of new technologies. A tailor-made dress to meet the customer’s requirements.
A careful chromatic research was made, selecting contemporary but not invasive colors: a trend-color range that doesn’t go out of fashion with the passage of time. An absolutely contemporary sign to be achieved by selecting the best of Italian production, both from the point of view of the quality of the products that of their functionality within the home context.
In the living area there is also one of the main project’s design characteristic: at the junction of the second conversation area, just behind the second sofa, there is a sound absorbing sliding door, which you don’t see tracks or anything about it while it is open.
This door divides the space when necessary, creating the space reserved for listening to music or watching television. The terraces play a very important role in the project,too.
Home automation and sound technology. From the technological point of view all the CityLife units are equipped with cutting-edge technologies.In addition to that supplied, Marco Piva has made an additional operation, developed in conjunction with BTicino.
From the acoustic point of view, it was important to set up a Home Theatre system to offer in the TV area the feeling of being immersed in the middle of the event. Moreover, it has also set up a wireless hidden system to offer the possibility of following the favorite music/Tv program in every room.
