Milan, Capolago 12. Led by architect Luca Remigio, the Remigio Architects team has recently expanded its portfolio of works with an intervention to a private residence: Capolago 12. Located in the heart of the city, in the homomime street from which it takes its name, the Milanese apartment has undergone redevelopment and design by the architectural firm. The residential building, spread on four floors, is characterized by a unique architectural element, a raw iron staircase that leads from the entrance to the terrace. The presence of an exclusive element in its projects has always been the sign of Remigio Achitects that, specialized in exhibit design, lets its creativity go in every type of project.
CONCEPT AND GOALS
The enhancement of the historicity and style of the residence translates into the ambitious goal of preserving and celebrating the essence of the era in which the original house of 1937 was built, with the inclusion in the project of structural elements and furniture that recall not only the historical period but also the original Art Deco style.
Remigio Architects' reinterpretation of the Art Deco style focuses on the roundness of the landings and introduces the concept of curves in the handrail. This approach not only preserves the historical essence of the building, but refreshes and enhances it, bringing new life and refinement to the home.
THE STRUCTURE
The house is an elegant four-storey structure that covers an area of 220 square meters. Designed to offer space, comfort and versatility, the apartment consists of 8 rooms spread on the four floors.
In the basement, we find a spacious tavern with a TV area, a service bathroom, next to which there is a technical room.On the ground floor, from the courtyard you enter the garage, and then go up to a mezzanine floor going to a large and cozy living room, near which there is a dining room that extends into a well-equipped kitchen. The kitchen has a balcony overlooking the garden below.
From the master bedroom on the first floor you have access to a second balcony, small in size. On the same level, the apartment has a study and a master bathroom. The top floor houses two single bedrooms and a bathroom, next to which a shower room has been designed. A large part of this floor was then reserved for the terrace, offering an outdoor space for relax and entertainment.
THE STAIRCASE
The architectural element of the raw iron staircase is one of the main design elements of the building. The staircase is not only the visual and functional focal point of the structure, connecting the various floors, but represents the uniqueness and personality of the apartment.
Composed of 6 ramps and 69 steps made of blocks of porphyry, extracted and worked in Val Camonica, the realization of the staircase has millimeter joints in an unusual dry "setting". This technique requires that the staircase is drawn and produced by the various craftsmen, and then be transported to the construction site to be assembled on the spot with the support of or by fitting the various pieces, without welding. A technique that outlines the style of Remigio Architects, who has increasingly applied it in his installations and wants to bring it into residential projects.
Another guiding element of the project is the chromatic lighting of the staircase designed by Remigio Architects, which connects the entrance with the terrace. The concave plaster allows you to create effects and cuts of "tailor-made light" that change depending on the inclination and the different hours of the day. A lighting system that promotes continuity and verticality to the staircase body. Not only that, the decision to remove the lift and create the curved under step allows the natural light that penetrates from the large window of 6 meters to illuminate the whole interior of the house, also highlighting the floors of the staircase.
The right wall of the staircase, instead, 12 meters high, is entirely decorated with a motif reminiscent of the semi-columns, designed to be not only a decorative need but above all a way to enhance the natural light that penetrates into the stairwell.
THE KITCHEN
Another key element of the apartment is the kitchen block, entirely developed from scratch in collaboration with the company GPS stainless steel Marche.The kitchen is made of 100% stainless steel, with a scratched effect and composed of soft curves, which make it a unique piece made specifically for customers. Remigio Architects' goal in the design was to use a material that could be left visible like steel, modeling the block with rounded shapes reminiscent of Art Deco, that curvature that turns out to be the leitmotif of the Capolago 12 project. Attention to detail is what takes the architecture studio’s achievements to the next level, with handles made specifically for this kitchen.
THE DOORS
The standard is not part of the style of the apartment, for which it was decided to replace the classic doors of height 210 cm, creating instead iron pivot doors with cannettato glass, going against the needs of a supporting structure of the building that did not allow interventions in height and width. As for the kitchen, also for the doors have been made custom-made handles in brass and polished steel, materials also used for other furniture elements.It was also eliminated the frame and the subframe in favor of a single iron, thickness of 5 mm, directly anchored to the wall.
NATURAL MATERIALS AND ECO-SUSTAINABILITY
Particular attention was also paid to the green aspect and eco-sustainability. The design of the residence saw the removal of gas, with the introduction of a heat pump heating and controlled mechanical ventilation. The structure is also equipped with solar panels, glass with thermal break and roof insulation, which is ventilated. Another peculiarity is the underfloor heating.
Key elements for each project are also natural materials, which stand out in the project Capolago 12. For the staircase, the materials used range from raw iron, whose sheets for the conscials were personally chosen by the team in the mill, through the porphyry, very resistant and durable igneous rock, used for the 69 steps, also directly chosen in the quarries, until the use of chalk. Among the other recurring materials in the residence, wood and stainless steel, which is found in the block of the kitchen. The combined use of these materials creates a unique atmosphere inside the house, allowing you to balance functionality, aesthetics and style according to the preferences of the client.
