‘A House for Readers’ by ATOMAA

PHOTOS Alberto Strada WORDS Gina Dionisio

This apartment, designed by architectural design firm ATOMAA, tells the story of those who live within: a young couple with a passion for reading, cinema, design and music.

Functionality and aesthetics take centre stage in this light-filled apartment which sits high above the treetops of one of the most beautiful streets in Milan.

This is a neighbourhood where modernity winks seductively at the architecture of old. The clients wanted to keep the original “old world charm” of their apartment, but inject it with modern aesthetics and pops of vibrant colour.

To bring the clients’ vision to life, architectural design firm ATOMAA transformed the original layout of the apartment by opening it up to create a more flexible, interconnecting space. The original kitchen was partitioned to create a compact dining room on one side and the other a minimal, elegant and functional kitchen.

The original living room, which was locked in by walls, corridors and a washroom, was transformed into a large, light-filled space complete with a reading nook. The defining feature of the open-plan living room is the large yellow portal doors which, when open, reveal the study and guest room beyond. The intense yellow panels provide a defined division between the entertainment and private spaces.

The colourful speckled concrete tiles, designed by ATOMAA for Materiae, are a feature that extends throughout the house.

The bathroom is a soft and fluid space in terms of function and design. The shower acts as a “passage” – an element that links the en-suite bathroom, accessible from the main bedroom, to the secondary guest bathroom. This functional transition both eliminates the need for an additional passageway and filters the light coming from the master bathroom to the secondary bathroom, through the large integrated high-level window.

Colour is a key feature of the interconnecting bathroom space: in this environment, pastel pink and dark green alternate elegantly, creating a bright contrast with the matte black finishes chosen for the taps, shower, mirror and washbasin.

While bright, modern pops of colour appear throughout the apartment, the bedroom and the study maintain their antique style. These two rooms are bound to the rest of the home through several arched portal doors that fill the home with natural light when opened. Arches and curves are two key design elements of this renovation: they can be found in the bathroom, in the furniture and the internal doors, and are a playful interpretation of the clients’ vision.

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