The

international
design
magazine
on interiors
and trends
lifestyle
architecture
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INSIDE AND OUTSIDE PROJECTS In Holland,
a villa surrounded by greenery by Nicolas Schuybroek.
In China, among pines and reeds, a house that
almost disappears in nature. In the Andes, a brutalist
architecture interacts with the landscape
BERGAMO AND BRESCIA Culture, research, talent and future
+ NEXT 2023 THE BEST OF UPCOMING DESIGN
Year 34 no 2 € 4.50
February 2023

SPACE AND NATURE

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94
NEWS+CULTURE
15 Password
Space and nature. Projects
and inspirations between indoor
and outdoor
16 Likes
Places, installations, objects.
This month’s favourites
26 Crossing
Red carpet clothes
and stylish design projects:
the quintessence of taste is back
in fashion, with irony
62 Thinking
Meet the leading figures of
26
Bergamo Brescia Italian Capital
of Culture: a choir of voices
72 People
Spoiler: Fosbury Architecture’s
project for the Italian Pavilion
at the 18th Venice Architecture
Biennale
151 Art show
February exhibitions, openings
and events
DESIGN+ARCHITECTURE
45 Edida Awards
Our nominations for the
Elle Deco International
No. 2—2023
Design Awards. May the best
designer win!
54 Studio Visit
Design in the Lagoon: we are
guests in the new studio
Zaven’s atelier
75 Eco design
Among the hills of Monferrato,
Marco Lavit designs an eco-
lodge respecting the landscape
STYLE+DECOR
33 Decor-Scouting
Abstract and decorative
patterns adorn interiors:
75
superior Italian craftsmanship
is back
81 Concept Store
A boutique in the centre
of Berlin gets a classical yet
current makeover
87 Interior Design
David Diodovich invites us to his
new hair salon in Milan.
Designed by storagemilano
143 Inside-Design
Rituals and essential oils
for daily well-being. Materials
and appliances turn smart
11 ELLE DECOR

106
INTERIORS
94 In Holland
A coal-coloured architecture
seems to embrace the forest. A
comprehensive project by
Nicolas Schuybroek
106 In Milan
A delicate refurbishment by
studio Kick.Office redefines the
personality of a historical home
12 ELLE DECOR
132
116 In China
The light-flooded residence
of a design- and
meditation-loving couple.
To celebrate the tea ritual
124 In Amsterdam
Balance on a human
(and natural) scale defines
Stef Bakker’s home project
132 In the Andes
The architect duo Pezo von
Ellrichshausen presents the Luna
House, a home and a cultural
centre surrounded by nature
elledecor.it
The covers
116
+ NEXT 2023
40 pages of previews:
the new year’s best of design,
and much more
NEXT 2023 – photo by Andrea
Garuti, styling by Murielle
Bortolotto and Tamara Bianchini.
PERFECT SYMBIOSIS – story on
page 94, by Francesca Benedetto,
photo by Giorgio Possenti.
 PASSWORD

02.23 [Space and Nature]

While putting together this issue, we noticed that many of the contents in the
magazine and the NEXT section — the part devoted to 2023 news — are closely linked
to the theme of nature. This common denominator has manifested almost spontaneously,
revealing the importance of our relationship with the landscape, which has become
crucial to us. February’s Elle Decor inaugurates the new year by emphasising this basic
aspect in interior design and architecture. We discover this by visiting the villa designed
by Nicolas Schuybroek, in Holland; its shape appears to metaphorically embrace
the forest in which it was built. But also by flying to China, where we report on a home
that disappears in nature, among pines and reeds. Finally, we climb the Andes and seek
refuge in a brutalist building that perfectly relates to the lush landscape. Care for the
environment is also a factor that must guide every conscientious project. In Monferrato,
Italy, Marco Lavit has designed micro-architectures with a small footprint that gently
‘lean’ against the ground. In Asia, temples with garden roofs flourish, skyscrapers
equipped with vertical greenery proliferate, and cities are created to fully integrate
with the forest. All are indicators of the growing sense of responsibility towards
our planet. A planet that we hope will become increasingly sustainable.

15 ELLE DECOR
ELLE DECOR LIKES
A family eco-resort by Snøhetta
and Vudafieri-Saverino Partners
by Piera Belloni and Francesca Benedetto
Two low and elongated buildings
connected by a central, partially interred volume,
with clean timber façades: for the newly
inaugurated Falkensteiner Hotel Montafon project,
Snøhetta didn’t go for a striking aesthetic, but
rather reinterpreted the local vernacular.
The multidisciplinary approach that has always
characterised the Norwegian studio, in which the
relationship between landscape and architecture
is at the core of each undertaking, bestows the
building with a specific harmony, as it’s perfectly
integrated with nature. The interiors designed
by the Milanese studio, Vudafieri-Saverino
16 ELLE DECOR
[1]
The new Falkensteiner Hotel
Montafon is located in the
middle of a nature reserve
in Vorarlberg, Austria. It’s an
eco-resort that reinterprets
the Alpine style and draws
inspiration from the Montafoner
Hausl, a stone and timber
building that for centuries has
been the architectural model
in the region. falkensteiner.com/
en/hotel-montafont
Partners, are also defined according to the genius
loci, with the choice of materials and palettes
inspired by the changing seasons of the
mountainous region. Relaxation is tailored to all
ages thanks to the Aquapura Organic Spa,
a wellness area of 1400sqm. The hotel boasts the
title of first family eco-resort: exploiting the waste-
heat from the nearby hydroelectric plant and
offering adults and children many activities aimed
at discovering and caring for the environment.
Interesting fact: a special rate is given to guests
who choose to reach the facility by train or bus.
Thus encouraging sustainable travel. —
ELLE DECOR LIKES
Nature inspired a throw that looks like
a tapestry
by Marta Lavinia Carboni and Tamara Bianchini
Following a collaboration with Paola Navone
and the opening of their first single brand shop
in Milan, Lanerossi presents Radici,
a new collection of designer throws, this time
by Ludovica+Roberto Palomba. The interior
textiles brand, distinguished by its experimental
approach and the collaborations with
internationally renowned artists, designers,
illustrators and photographers, expands its
collection with a project in which technique
and craftsmanship interact with nature. “Trees
contain a great secret, as big as their fronds,
larger than their shadows, deep, branched,
solid, comfortable… they grow over time and
18 ELLE DECOR
[2]
Radici is the new collection of
throws by Ludovica+Roberto
Palomba for Lanerossi. The
duo of architect-designers has
chosen to represent the tree
as a symbol of strength and
growth. Made with 100%
virgin wool with a Jacquard
weave, it’s embellished with
fringes along the edges.
Available in five colour
variations. lanerossi.com
evolve, aware of their power, rooted in their
intelligence… they are mirror-like, large enough
to enjoy the sky and anchor themselves firmly
to the earth”, recount the architect-designers,
who have chosen the tree as a symbol, an
archetype of strength, growth and continuity with
history. Made with 100% virgin wool sourced
from selected Merino flocks and featuring a
Jacquard weave with a negative effect on the
reverse, this collection of throws with the charm
of a tapestry is available in five colour variations,
from the most classic beige to orange
and gold, and its edges are embellished
by fringes in different lengths. —
ELLE DECOR LIKES
François Berthoud’s illustrations
become a book
by Piera Belloni
After a period of decline, overshadowed by
the success of photography, fashion illustration
bounced back to a prominent role in the 1980s.
Among the brightest stars of the time, by way of his
style, irony and sex appeal, was François
Berthoud. Rizzoli International has devoted an
interesting, boxed book to him, which retraces
over thirty years of his career as an art director
and illustrator. Among the contributors: a foreword
by Carla Sozzani and essays by art historian and
curator Chris Dercon, art director Jean-Paul Goude
and fashion editor Christian Kämmerling. With a
Swiss father and an Italian mother, Berthoud
20 ELLE DECOR
[3]
An image taken from
‘François Berthoud. Fashion,
Fetish & Fantasy’, a boxed
book edited by creative
director Beda Ackermann,
which showcases the career
of one of fashion’s most original
illustrators. An artist with a highly
recognisable style between
pop art and expressionism.
Rizzoli New York, 408 pages,
rizzoliusa.com
arrived in Milan when the city was asserting itself
as an international capital of fashion, he began
collaborating with ‘Vogue’ and ‘Vanity Fair’ under
the aegis of Anna Piaggi. His fame quickly spread
worldwide, leading him to contribute to magazines
such as ‘Interview’, ‘The New Yorker’ and
‘Numéro’. His distinctive and impactful language,
a blend of graphics and painting with a creative
mix of eroticism and romance, has evolved
© François Berthoud
alongside fashion. Not only through the most
prestigious fashion magazines, but also through
the creation of images for fashion brands such as
Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Chanel and Bulgari. —
ELLE DECOR LIKES
In Miami, a Japanese restaurant
according to India Mahdavi
by Eleonora Grigoletto
The new fit-out created by the French
designer for Makoto’s Florida headquarters, the
pillar of Japanese cuisine with awarded chef
Makoto Okuwa. The Miami space has been
renovated with one goal: “I wanted to redefine
the classic blueprint of a Japanese restaurant by
transforming it into a crossroads of cultures”,
explains India Mahdavi, who has blended a
French brasserie, a Japanese restaurant and an
American diner into one space. Here, the idea of
a landscape at sunset is recreated through the use
of colour, materials and tailored lighting, paired
with a refined culinary experience. The design
22 ELLE DECOR
[4]
Japanese restaurant Makoto’s
new headquarters in Miami
were designed by India
Mahdavi using a combination
of hues from coral pink
to saffron yellow and
sandalwood. On the wall and
on the chairs, floral patterns
and large palm leaves create
an exotic oasis enhanced
by vintage elements.
india-mahdavi.com
emulates the 1930s and the chairs, all custom-
made, have a vintage flavour. Inside, one is
immersed in a space with warm, golden tones;
outside, the colours drift into shades of green that
are visible beyond the small windows in different
shapes and sizes, punctuating the perimeter walls
like a decoration. The pendant lamps, all by
Mahdavi, are customised versions of the
Clover Chandelier, a limited-edition design for
Photo Jason Varney
WonderGlass; here, the original colours, from
green to black, have been replaced by petals and
light diffusors in shades of amber and white that
perfectly match the place’s refreshed atmosphere.
ELLE DECOR LIKES
London. A multidisciplinary creative
hub opens in Notting Hill
by Laura Maggi
Opening this spring is Ladbroke Hall,
London’s new venue for the Carpenters Workshop
Gallery devoted to contemporary art, collectible
design, culture and music; featuring a restaurant
and an internal garden designed by Luciano
Giubbilei. Built in 1901 to house the headquarters
of the Sunbeam-Talbot Motor Company,
the almost 4000sqm building has been renovated
by Adjaye Associates, who maintained
the original footprint, and offers an underground
exhibition space designed by Nicolas
Schuybroek. The gallery is directed by Loïc Le
Gaillard and Julien Lombrail, childhood mates and
founders, who invited a team of professionals to
24 ELLE DECOR
[5]
Ladbroke Hall, London’s
new Carpenters Workshop
Gallery is the result of
teamwork. Pictured, some of
the protagonists: at the top,
Nacho Carbonell; below,
from left, Vincenzo De Cotiis
and Ingrid Donat with the two
founders, Loïc Le Gaillard
and Julien Lombrail; in the
foreground, Christopher
Le Brun. ladbrokehall.com
Photo Tom Jamieson. Courtesy Ladbroke Hall, Carpenters Workshop Gallery
execute their vision. “For years we’ve been
exploring new ways to pave the way for creative
freedom. This will be a singular place to explore
all forms of creativity. Trying to abolish the
boundaries between different artistic disciplines
is in our DNA”, explains Le Gaillard.
“We’re implementing our vision of a temple
for the arts in which we want to spend time. We
wanted to create a holistic place, an actual
Gesamtkunstwerk”, adds Lombrail. The restaurant,
entrusted to Emanuele Pollini, nominated Chef of
the Year 2020 by Gambero Rosso, was designed
by Vincenzo De Cotiis and features work
by Nacho Carbonell and Christopher Le Brun.
CROSSING

Maison Schiaparelli —
A magnificent evening dress and a nod
to Dada art, showcasing the irony and
surprising language of the fashion house
founded by Elsa Schiaparelli. Here the
train seems to form a dark cavity from
which the model ‘arises’. According to
artistic director, Daniel Roseberry,
it “invites the wearer to reimagine the
meaning of daily life”. schiaparelli.com

Courtesy Schiaparelli
 Atelier de Troupe — Recalling Verner
Panton’s lamps, this pendant from the
Californian brand consists of hand-blown
glass spheres on a chromed metal skeleton
(available in two sizes, sandblasted or
natural, and in three different shades). The
sophisticated context and a butler’s gloved
hand intent on domestic chores, humorously
reference the glamour and atmosphere
of times past. atelierdetroupe.com

Glamour with irony

Elegant staging, red carpet clothes and stylish
design projects. The quintessence of taste is back in fashion.
Reinterpreted with creativity and a desire to play
by Eleonora Grigoletto
Photo Giulio Ghirardi

27 ELLE DECOR
CROSSING

[1]

[2]

1. Delfina Delettrez Fendi — On the occasion of Paris’

Haute Couture week, the creative introduces Objetsdevie, a series of
‘memorabilia’ for the home. The 925 Cone, made of engraved
antibacterial silver, is a witty object making ice cream more delicious
and precious. delfinadelettrez.com 2. Le Rock — Comprising
400sqm in the southwest corner of the International Building of the
Rockefeller Center (pictured, the entrance), the project for the new
restaurant designed by Workstead revisits Art Deco’s formalism in
external decoration, by Lee Lawrie, in a fresh and contemporary
way. lerocknyc.com 3. Rolls Royce Motorcars — Spectre is the
name of the last creation by the prestigious car manufacturer: the first
ultra-luxury saloon in the world in the electric version. Glamour,
technology and sustainability travel together. rolls-roycemotorcars.com
4. Glass Variations — Designed by Bina Baitel, Sublime Ottoman is
a group of glass-framed poufs conceived to playfully defy matter. The
[3] pillow, which appears to be floating, offers a sensuous seat.
glassvariations.com 5. Gohar World — From the look book of the
New Yorker brand’s homeware collection comes surreal and
evocative tableware that recalls sophisticated scenarios, glamorous
atmospheres and fashion references. gohar.world

[4]

Photos Matthew Williams – Lucas Lehmann

28 ELLE DECOR

From decorative accessories to tableware, from the automotive to set design.
The new glam is surprising, ironic and playful
The yearning for excess, renewal and looking ‘glam’;
yet true contemporary glamour isn’t attracted to glitz, wishing to
ironically revisit — with the keen awareness of new languages —
timeless elegance. Many are the examples from around the world
of fashion and other creative forms tapping into imaginary, lavish
elegance in a fresher, more contemporary and worldly way.
We see this in large-scale projects, from the set designs of the
latest catwalks in Beijing, to the latest New York interiors, but also
in small-scale undertakings like homewares, eyewear collections
or tableware; objects that embrace craftsmanship, tradition, a
desire for newness and much humour. Even the world of
communication is not immune to this phenomenon. The recent
campaign by fashion brand, The Attico — whose name evokes
images of voluptuous abandonment among the pomp of the top
floor — was set inside Milan’s historic café Sant Ambroeus,
renovated by architect Fabrizio Casiraghi. The outcome was an
irreverent and joyful hymn to midlife, as witnessed by Milanese
matrons wearing uber glam outfits for the occasion.
The search for the unexpected, narrated with the most current
means of expression, is the new frontier. “The vocation for the
extraordinary defines not just our couture, but also our daily
imagination”, explains Daniel Roseberry, creative director
of Schiaparelli, the famous Maison whose founder — and inventor
of shocking pink — always intended to unsettle the bourgeoisie by
Photo Roe Ethridge
drawing on artistic languages: from surrealism to Dada.
Today it’s glamorous to resurrect seemingly outmoded languages
and making them current by reinterpreting them with
contemporary codes. Classic is a style that is irresistible when
[5]
revisited with sustainable, innovative materials capable of
transforming a bygone aesthetic into something highly current.
As done by Atelier de Troupe, the design studio based in Los
Angeles and founded by former French set designer,
Gabriel Abraham. “In our collections we adopt a narrative
approach that softens the ascetic grammar of the Bauhaus and
applies stylistic references to Italian and French vintage design”,
he explains, without taking himself too seriously. Just consider
some of the catalogue pictures in which the white glove of a
domestic carefully dusts one of the collection’s lamps.
Even historic locations are experiencing a glam second youth,
as is the case of Le Rock, the new restaurant inside New York’s
Rockefeller Center, where interior design studio Workstead
reinterpreted the welcoming and ‘luxury retreat’ atmosphere,
typical of a French brasserie, in a more casual and completely
modern way. Similarly, the set design for Prada’s men and
women fashion show 23 at the Prince Shuncheng Mansion
in Beijing, curated by AMO, presented a shiny metal
scenography inside a historic building. The gold and ancient
decors gave way to opalescent Plexiglas and industrial steel
floors, expressing a grandiose style using contemporary
languages, comprising disturbances, optical effects, hi-tech
materials and self-irony. More playfulness, with an element of
surprise, is delivered by the silver ice cream cone designed
by Delfina Delettrez Fendi; the most common of objects turning
into a sparkling and irreverent icon. Because the new trend isn’t
just to make clothing, installations and design projects posh,
but also life’s daily pleasures. —
29 ELLE DECOR
CROSSING

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

1. Kuboraum — Mask R3 Chains, from the

Berlin-based eyewear brand, is an acetate frame with
precious silver decorations that references the eccentric
glasses worn by famous collector Peggy Guggenheim.
kuboraum.com 2. B&B Italia — A capsule collection
of the iconic Le Bambole armchair by Mario Bellini
for B&B Italia, covered in sustainable fabrics by Stella
McCartney. The glamour and elegance of the Toile de
Jouy print becomes contemporary and sustainable.
bebitalia.com 3. Sant Ambroeus — On the occasion
of the opening of the renovated, historic pastry
shop-bar, fashion brand The Attico presents a collection
of accessories as an homage to Milanese culture and
style. The photos’ subjects are Milanese matrons
donning ultra-fashionable looks. theattico.com
4. Christofle — The French Maison founded in 1830
honours the trimmings of yesteryear with a collection
of cutlery eccentrically displayed on a stainless sink.
christofle.com 5. Prada — On the occasion of the last
men and women fashion show at Beijing’s Yin An
Palace, the set design, as always by AMO, fits into the
historical space with contemporary rigour. Opalescent
light boxes, industrial steel floors and 3D motifs
play with the existing decor and gold, generating
surprise and curiosity. prada.com

30 ELLE DECOR
Courtesy Prada
[5]
 DECORSCOUTING
Two creatives on show in Milan. Abstract and decorative patterns
adorn interiors, superior Italian craftsmanship is making a comeback
by Murielle Bortolotto

Double style. It’s difficult

to become accustomed to the
creativity of Emiliano Salci and
Britt Moran, AKA Dimoregallery,
who skillfully and theatrically
combine furnishings and
accessories from different eras.
The installation, on show until
31/03 in Via Solferino 11, Milan,
demonstrates this by playing with
duality. Pictured, the bedroom
with two beds by Gio Ponti paired
with two side tables and bedside
tables by the Soncini brothers, all
framed by a mirror designed by
FontanaArte. dimoregallery.com
Photo by Emil Kuliev

33 ELLE DECOR
DECORSCOUTING

Smaller dimensions
for the Air library by Lago, with
shelves and containers that float
on glass panels and appear to
hover in mid-air. The considerable
breadth and the functional
components are supported by
a concealed joinery system that
ensures structural stability. lago.it

A French mother
and an American father for
Jessica Helgerson, the designer
of the Rue Sala two-arm wall light
for Roll & Hill. A collection that
includes a chandelier with two or
more arms; delicate, refined
and with timeless charm. Available
in turned brass and hand-blown
glass. rollandhill.com

The book
‘Arthur Casas Architecture’,
published by Rizzoli USA
and due for release in March
2023, retraces the work
of the acclaimed Brazilian
architect and interior designer.
In its 304 pages, readers
can browse through 20
selected projects, depicted by
famous photographers. Pictured,
the BD House in São Paulo,
immortalised by Fernando
Guerra. rizzoliusa.com

A convenient surface of just 40cm, with a brass-finished

edge and base with a caneté surface that lightens the project:
these are the characteristics of the Up coffee table by Ottomani
Design for Scappini Home. The tabletop is also available in
printed or smoky mirrored glass, and in marble. scappinihome.it

34 ELLE DECOR
DECORSCOUTING

From Northern Europe,

projects that are Japanese at
heart. Designed with a wooden [1]

frame and leather details

[2]

[3]
[4]

1. Danish artist and designer Ane Lykke designed Kumiko, a cypress lamp that creates
a show of colours, shadows and reflections inside the room. A magical touch enabled by
the latticework placed before the light-diffusing element. anelykke.com 2. Ilma armchair,
Photos by Ole_Akhoej

made of European oak (or elm) with a soft and durable natural leather backrest/seat
(also available in brandy or black). A project by Finnish designer, Jonas Lutz, for e15. e15.com
3. The new collection of Ribbon Raiders rugs by Aylin Langreuter for Karpeta. Super soft,
they are made with chenille and are available in two colours. karpeta.it 4. The Oscar stool
is a minimalist design by Norwegian Lars Beller Fjetland for Bottega Ghianda. Oak body with
a leather seat featuring elegant ecru seams. bottegaghianda.com

36 ELLE DECOR
DECORSCOUTING

Celebrating the home and handicrafts

is RedDuo, a homeware brand that with the Loads
Photo by Alessandro Oliva

of Lines collection presents a limited edition of

hand-painted designer blankets. The series, made
in Italy, was created using recycled materials
(upcycling discarded fabrics), based on an idea by
Fabiola Di Virgilio and Andrea Rosso; it comprises 50
pieces, 200x140cm, in six different versions distinguished
by abstract designs on soft wool. @_redduo_

38 ELLE DECOR
DECORSCOUTING

Sardinia’s second youth. Designers

and craftspeople create new accessories,
between tradition and the future

Sardinia’s Nouvelle Vague

Ceramic objects, rugs made with
precious yarns and woven reed
accessories represent the spirit of
a long wave from the great island and
reaching the Continent. Pictured above,
left, Fabrizio Felici’s Perdalba natural
raffia hamper, made in Belvì (Nuoro) by
Silvana Sanna. Chiara Secchi’s recycled
clay Fiasca Sciorna, produced in
Assemini (Cagliari) by Walter Usai, both
for Mustras (mustras.it). Above right,
Settiu, ‘archaic’ ceramic from the Before
Zero series designed by Maria Paola
Piras, for Pretziada (pretziada.com).
At the centre, the Sonu tapestry
(design Sans Nom and Studio Salaris),
inspired by the work of Sardinian artist
Pinuccio Sciola and reinterpreted with
the textile piece by Mariantonia Urru
(mariantoniaurru.com). Below, the
Nivola Museum in Orani dedicated
to sculptor Costantino Nivola, pictured
by architecture and landscape
photographer, Davide Virdis, who since
1998 conducts research on behalf of the
province of Sassari’s administration,
with the aim of creating a current
photographic archive of the island’s
Northern landscapes (davidevirdis.it).

Photos by Davide Virdis, Barbara Pau, Barbara Corsico

40 ELLE DECOR
DECORSCOUTING

Gravity-defying,
miniature Balancer lamp
by Berlin studio, Yuue, for
Northern. Multifunctional,
with a built-in magnetic
metal plate. Available
in matte black, steel or red
finish. northern.no

Reminiscent of Picasso is look 34

in the Fall/Winter 2022/23 ready-to-wear
collection designed by Maison Schiaparelli.
With long sleeves and black and white stripes
made of crocheted cotton. The hypnotic
detailing on the chest and the wide-brimmed
hat are eye catching. Olè! schiaparelli.com

Comfort and utmost

stability thanks to the two
solid timber feet of the
Gradisca armchair
by Simone Cagnazzo.
A project for Liu Jo Living,
available with a high
or low backrest, the fabric
cover is fully removable.
liujoliving.com

Giga polka dots

from the Diari 1 collection,
by Marco Grimaldi for
Styl’Editions. Uneven circles
against a white background
decorate the walls of rooms.
styleditions.com
Photos by PO-Solvberg

42 ELLE DECOR
 EDIDA AWARDS

Nomination Day

Our nominees for the prize awarded by the 25 international editions

of the magazine. From designer of the year to young talent of the
future; from interior design to attention to sustainability. The first phase
of EDIDA, Elle Deco International Design Awards, has begun.
This year celebrating its 21st edition
words by Piera Belloni, Porzia Bergamasco, Paola Carimati

45 ELLE DECOR 45 ELLE DECOR

 Designer of the Year

Zaven — Discreet and radical: this is how we could

define the design language of Enrica Cavarzan and Marco
Zavagno. In 2008, in Venice, together they founded Zaven,
a research laboratory more than a studio, where they mixed
art and graphics, publishing activities and industrial
production. As contributing factors, the time that Marco spent
at Fabrica, the creative experimentation centre founded by
Benetton, and a degree in Product Design from the University
of Venice. Their path proceeded in small but decisive steps: it
began as experimentation on pure materials such as
ceramics, glass and wood, avoiding any mannerism. Every
choice is always the result of a precise reflection on waste:
“We have never considered sustainability a workhorse, a
cliché. For us, it is an essential value: if the design is good, it
must necessarily be green”. In their Campo Santa Margherita
studio, they recycle everything: “We hardly ever dispose of
it”. Examples of this are the Glueless chair, made of recycled
wood, interlocking and without glue, which was created for
the exhibition ‘Ask me if I believe in the future’ curated by
Maria Cristina Didero for the Museum für Kunst und
Gewerbe in Hamburg; and the set-up of the exhibition
‘La tradizione del nuovo’ (Current tradition), for the Museum
of Italian Design at the Milan Triennale, in which the cases
and glass are elements recovered from the institution’s
archives. From exhibition to industrial design: the Za:Za sofa
for Zanotta provides large-scale production the necessary
circularity: it’s a 50kg tubular structure with elastic straps and
padding that can be completely disassembled. As we said,
a discreet and radical approach. zaven.net P.C.
Portrait by Mattia Balsamini

46 ELLE DECOR
 EDIDA AWARDS

Young Talent of the Year

Cara / Davide — We met them just before the lockdown

and fell in love with their sophisticated, essential and ethical
work. Like the Ondulato series of item holders: a tribute to the
precariousness of extemporaneous architecture. Cara Judd and
Davide Gramatica — she is South African and he is Italian,
as shown by their identity card — have made the cultural melting
pot the added value of their design practice. Both graduated
from the Ied in Milan, in 2016 they founded their studio: a
multidisciplinary workshop where they experimented with the
hand-made dimension and then slowly migrated into industrial
production. Many of their works, all made in collaboration with
expert artisans, originate as tales of travels to Cara’s country
of origin, which Davide’s all-Italian savoir faire brings to life.
Among their partnerships, that with the pioneering Italian brand
Vero, the tables, stools and bookcases of which are defined by
Portrait by Davide di Tria

the simple 45-degree rotation of their component volumes, and

that with the best-known Portego: for the brand, they created
Spina, a collection of coffee tables, seats and consoles
resembling small domestic altars that rediscover the expressive
power of the lacquered finish. Each of their projects is an iconic
piece firmly rooted in good design. caradavide.com P.C.

47 ELLE DECOR
 Interior Designer of the Year

Giuliano Andrea dell’Uva — Born in 1980, a full-blooded Neapolitan, the young designer has a rich
carnet of projects to his credit: from residences to boutiques and hotels, all designed with a very personal
language. His hallmark is his ability to transform old, neglected spaces into decidedly contemporary interiors
with a delicate yet recognisable touch. “Naples and the Mediterranean inspire my designs, for the natural
and cultural context, for that mysterious alchemy between aristocratic and popular, between creative minds
and master craftsmen”. The formal solutions are played on a careful use of colour, on the transparencies of
glass and on the quality of materials such as marble and ceramic cladding: the yellow of the sun, the turquoise
of the sea, the green of the vegetation give character to the immaculate surfaces of dwellings flooded with
light. Majolica walls and floors define a new way of conceiving décor, a tribute to the Campania tradition,
made current in unexpected ways. The dark metal is a thin surface that becomes a graphic sign, capable of
emphasising the perception of details. Custom-made furniture, collectible designer pieces and works of art
become an integral part of a true comprehensive project. giulianoandreadelluva.it F.B. and F.R.

Photos by Nathalie Krag and Max Zambelli

48 ELLE DECOR
 EDIDA AWARDS

Outdoor

Cabanon by Rodolfo Dordoni with

Michele Angelini for Effe — Like a mini-
architecture, Cabanon is an outdoor sauna to be
placed in the garden, on the terrace or by the
poolside. The project is characterised by well-
balanced proportions and the dynamic alternation
of opaque/transparent that defines the external
envelope, with walls made of painted corrugated
aluminium, the colours of which are in tune with the
surrounding nature, and large glazed sections.
Cabanon gives the Finnish tradition, in which the
sauna is always outside the home, a contemporary
twist; it is also a respectful homage to Le Corbusier
and the small refuge house where he spent the last
years of his life, built in Roquebrune according to
the Modulor rules, from which it takes its name.
effe.it Pi.Be.

Floor covering

Blasone by Federico Peri for Giacobazzi —

This handcrafted lozenge-shaped parquet floor goes beyond the
decorative project and is inspired by the tradition of historic
residences. It draws from 20th-century Milanese style and the use of
the diamond motif, both in interiors and architecture, from Portaluppi,
who made it a personal leitmotif, to Gio Ponti. Here, the geometric
pattern is interpreted with a contemporary eye using woods in
contrasting shades, i.e. wenge and oak, applied on a birch plywood
base. Two positive/negative variants for 58x35 cm tiles that can be
assembled in different configurations. giacobazzilegno.it Pi.Be.

Lighting

To-tie by Guglielmo Poletti for Flos —

The research of the Italian designer, who used to live
in Eindhoven and now is based in Milan, is carried out
with millimetre accuracy: subjected to traction, sheet
metal, multilayer materials and crystals yield to creativity
without deforming. This is how To-Tie, the lamp designed
for Flos and presented at the last Milan Design Week,
was born. “Each component has a dual function”, says
the designer: “The cable carries electricity and is a
tensioning element; the bar integrates the LED and acts
as a handle; the cylinder holds the bar and diffuses
light”. A stable micro-sculpture that escapes
precariousness. And enchants. flos.com P.C.

49 ELLE DECOR
 Wallcovering

‘Now What?’, CARTEdition by Francesco Simeti for

Wall&decò — Liliana Moro, Riccardo Previdi and Patrick
Tuttofuoco are among the international artists called upon
to design a series of projects created ad hoc on wallpaper.
Not simple patterns, but seven true works of art that go beyond
decoration. We chose ‘Now What?’ by Francesco Simeti,
which best expresses the Italian artist’s language made of
images taken from old books of mountain flowers: enlarged,
cut out and recomposed, they generate a spectacular fantasy
landscape. To be ‘installed’ at home on an entire wall
measuring 3.60 x 5.40 m. wallanddeco.com Po.Be

Tableware

Circle by Alessandra Facchinetti for Editions

Simoon table by Patricia Urquiola for Glas
Italia — The colours amethyst, light blue and topaz reflect
on the rough surface of the barely twelve-millimetre glass
sheets, generating surprising effects. Assembled in basic
architectural forms, they create a simple yet sophisticated
table in line with sustainable thinking. In fact, it is made of
recycled glass from production waste that, thanks to the
grinding of the edges and the contrast between rough and
smooth surfaces, becomes pleasant to the eye and touch.
The aesthetics of ‘non-glass’ is the result of experimentation
that makes an ancient material still malleable to change
and new creativity. glasitalia.com Po.Be.
Milano — The white porcelain breakfast set, created by
a star of the fashion system in her debut as a home
designer, tells the story of a creative evolution. The
collection consists of five pieces with essential lines,
characterised by the oversize, wide and very thin
circular handle: teapot, sugar bowl, tea and coffee cup,
mug. The unconventional geometric shapes are
combined with the refined detail of the double finish,
polished on the inside and biscuit on the outside.
editionsmilano.com Pi.Be.
Photos by Silvia Rivoltella

Furniture

50 ELLE DECOR
 EDIDA AWARDS

Small Living Kitchens by Andrea

Federici for Falper — This concept is the
result of a careful study of contemporary Kitchen
living, which is increasingly inclined to
favour small spaces without neglecting
quality. Small Living Kitchens is a system
designed with this very ambition: starting
with solutions of just 2.5sqm, enriched with
accessories, finishes and precious
materials. Defining elements are the
mini-islands, with steel tops and sides,
wooden, lacquered and stainless steel
fronts, or entirely made of marble with
internal walnut drawers. Available in three
standard sizes of 120/150/180cm width.
To be combined with the sideboards, which
house appliances and internal or open
storage compartments, to create super-
sized wall units. falper.it Pi.Be.

Seating Riace by Ronan and Erwan

Bouroullec for Magis — The bold,
surprising structure can stand on just two
supporting elements. Made of white cast
bronze, placed at the ends of the long seat,
they define the armrests and feet and at
once support the backrest. Unique,
oversized (3m long x 0.95 deep),
iridescent in colour and finish, it is a
sinuous tribute to eternal classical beauty.
The term ‘sculptural’ is not enough to
describe a project marked by formal
balance and character, made possible by
an engineering process implemented by a
brand sensitive to experimentation.
magisdesign.com Po.Be.

Sustainability Award
Studio Ossidiana — Together with Coco, the parrot, and Cornelio,
the crow, Alessandra Covini and Giovanni Bellotti, based in Rotterdam,
experiment with interspecies cohabitation. As architects and expert
ornithologists, they combine the practice of their mother discipline with a passion
for animals, ever since they were students at the University of Technology
in Delft and at MIT, in the United States. Then the turning point: Hashim Sarkis,
curator of the past International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, called them:
‘Furniture for a Human and a Parrot’ landed at the Arsenale and ‘coexistence’
emerges as a central theme for the future of our planet. “Towers, platforms,
collective spaces: ours are ecosystems for all”, they explain, “structures based
on expanded clay with different porosity, transformed by the birds, which feed
Portrait by Giovanni Battista Righetti

on it, into spaces of interaction”, because humans can also sit there. The ‘Pigeon
Tower’, the model pigeon house from the ‘Variations on a Birdcage’ collection,
commissioned to the studio by the Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, is an
example of ‘transcultural design’: towering in the Alcova Park, where they are
portrayed, it is considered the manifesto of mediating architecture for humans
and birds. “In order to find the lost balance point of coexistence between all the
guests of our planet, we cast ourselves in the role of ‘gardeners of the world’”.
And we give thanks. studio-ossidiana.com P.C.

51 ELLE DECOR
EDIDA AWARDS

Rose Garden, Return to Arcadia collection by Edward Luke

Hall for Rubelli — Classico reloaded, the capsule collection designed
by the eclectic English artist/designer reinterprets images of classicism in a
creative and ironic way, with a very personal pictorial touch.
Ancient Greece, Roman architecture, floral patterns and geometries are
mixed, overlapped, juxtaposed with delicate harmony or joyful dissonance.
The result is a line of 13 fabrics for upholstery or decoration. Pictured,
Rose Garden, which was created from a handmade sketch and converted
into a digital format, giving the prints a pleasingly handcrafted look.
rubelli.com Pi.Be.

Fabrics

Bathroom

Ell pedestal by Benedini

Associati for Agape — Made up of
pure geometries, it is an extreme
simplification of the idea of washbasin.
And it surprises with the unprecedented
harmony between the solidity of the
material, the extremely thin marble,
and formal lightness. A sculptural
piece, in this new version it has a
Corian® tap aerator that merge with
the structure of the basin, thus serving
the dual function of hand basin and
countertop. Available in Carrara white,
Carnico grey, Marquina black or Alpi
green, with grating in white or Deep
Caviar finishes, and white or black
painted steel pedestal. Fez 2 floor-
standing mixer, by Benedini Associati. Igea by Maddalena Casadei for Paola Zani — The first bed
agapedesign.it Pi.Be. by the Brianza-based brand producing upholstered furniture and
complements, it embodies the company’s sixty years of expertise and
the refined style of its art director, Maddalena Casadei. With small
metal feet or single base (pictured) and leather or fabric upholstery,
it is characterised by a soft and voluminous headboard, which was
created by reworking the back of the modular sofa system of the same
name. Defining it is a Seventies-inspired design and an unexpected
curve that marks the side profile detail. paolazani.it Po.Be.

Bedding

52 ELLE DECOR
 In the Venetian Lagoon, we are
guests at the new studio of Enrica
Cavarzan and Marco Zavagno,
aka Zaven: a multidisciplinary
design space where creativity goes
hand in hand with family life
by Paola Carimati — photos by Lea Anouchinsky

Design in the Lagoon

 STUDIO VISIT

In Enrica and Marco’s space,

the heroes are the Dune wall
lamp for the Design Museum
in Holon and, in green, one
piece from the P.O.P. (Piccoli
Oggetti Possibili) collection
for Luisa Delle Piane gallery.
Along the corridor, the silver
curtain system.

55 ELLE DECOR
 From exhibition to handmade:
some ‘circular’ projects
by Enrica and Marco. Above
left and clockwise: the Tubes
green armchair made
of cardboard cylinders and
recycled paper, sourced in the
studio; the Grido vases, with
an end-fired finish, for
Luisa Delle Piane gallery;
the Extended ceramic vase
that, when rotated 90
degrees, becomes a shelf;
the maquette for the Circolo
Filologico, which will host the
Breath installation at Milan
Design Week 2023.

56 ELLE DECOR
 STUDIO VISIT

Distinguishing marks: aggregates for craft

production, metal for large-scale manufacture, and
a true passion for Vico Magistretti’s Carimate

57 ELLE DECOR
STUDIO VISIT
“With the site-specific work Breath, on show at the Circolo Filologico
during the upcoming Milan Design Week, in April, we want to explore the
dialogue/interaction between the project and the host venue”
Enrica and Marco at the
entrance to their new studio
on Campo Santa Margherita
in Venice. A stone’s throw
from the train station, the
designers have turned the
former basement of a late
19th-century palace
into their headquarters.
58 ELLE DECOR
Enrica Cavarzan and Marco Zavagno
Shortly before the outbreak of the pandemic,
Enrica and Marco decided to leave their studio in Marghera,
where they had been working together for more than 15 years:
building on the success of Rilievi, a series of modular and
three-dimensional claddings designed for Cedit in 2019, they
planned to move to Milan. Then, the stop imposed by Covid
changed their pace, both in terms of time and lifestyle:
their children, Anita and Zeno, have grown up, and Campo
Santa Margherita, a stone’s throw from Venice train station,
seemed an unmissable opportunity. It is in this hybrid space,
created at the entrance of a late 19th century palazzo,
that they have chosen to stay. Structural wood for fixtures and
mezzanine, a sturdy floor and plasterboard panels to resist high
water, it is “a second skin that can be removed for a height
of about one metre, in case the MOSE does not come into
operation”, they explain without concern. Living with fragility
is their pragmatic way of appreciating the city’s peculiarities.
Beyond the gate, the space opens up to let the light in, vertically:
silver and reflective curtains on the walls reveal the functions
of the studio — mini-kitchen, material library, tool room, and it’s
also used for editorial production — while an elastic netting
protects the loft and generates unpredictable, subtle plays of
shadows in the air. In these new 165 square metres, the designer
couple lives according to the family needs, rather than those of
business. During 20 years of work, Enrica and Marco have
defined their own personal design and lifestyle. This does not
prevent them from collaborating with companies of the like
of Nike and Kvadrat, and institutions such as Palazzo Grassi
and Triennale Milano, for which they designed the recently
concluded exhibition ‘La Tradizione del Nuovo’ (Current
tradition). Different in character — she is assertive, he is calmer —
and complementary in training, namely a degree in product
design from Iuav and a shared passion for graphics, when in
2008 they decided to bring their vision and profession together,
under a single company name, Zaven was established: it is ‘an
unconventional design research unit’ spanning from graphics to
exhibition design; from product to art design, always discreetly.
“The studio was launched in the years of the worldwide
economic crisis: reflecting on the meaning of design was
necessary”, thus doing more with less and “producing what is
needed, reducing waste, reusing. For us, sustainability is not a
warhorse, a cliché: certainly, it is important, but if the concept
is good, it is sustainable by definition”, they say with conviction,
as experts in the craft and industrial sectors. Zanotta’s Za:Za
sofa is an example: “It’s a monobloc weighing only 50 kg”,
Marco points out, “with a tubular structure, elastic straps and a
soft padding”, that can be completely disassembled. “When we
work with inert materials, we recycle without producing waste:
we rarely have to dispose of it”, Enrica concludes, showing us
the Tubes green armchair, a unique piece made together with
her children and on sale online. “Cardboard and papier-mâché
tubes for domestic use can give great satisfaction”, to the family
as much as to the environment. —
THINKING

Giorgio Gori — The mayor

of Bergamo portrayed in a
magnificent room of Palazzo
Frizzoni, serving as city hall.
In office since 2014, he has
initiated an intense
programme of creative urban
regeneration. Opposite page,
the entrance to the Kilometro
Rosso science and technology
park, designed by Jean
Nouvel and commissioned by
Alberto Bombassei.

62 ELLE DECOR
Community rescue
On the occasion of Bergamo Brescia Italian Capital
of Culture 2023, the ‘sister cities’ recount how a wounded
landscape was restored. With care and collaboration
by Paola Carimati — photo by Lea Anouchinsky

63 ELLE DECOR
 Officina Magisafi — It’s in the
Seriana Valley in Vertova, at 20km from
Bergamo, that the studio of Debora
Bordogni and Claudio Acquaviva is located:
the architects, who work closely with local
artisans, have established a network of
shared skills. They work the grey marble with
Giovanni Fornoni, owner of the Ardesio
quarry. officinamagisafi.it
Matteo Ghidoni — The founder
of the studio Salottobuono portrayed in the
Kilometro Rosso, where in spring he’ll launch
the project ‘Pioppeto’ (Poplar plantation);
winner of the tender ‘Città Illuminata’
(Enlightened city), promoted by GAMeC,
it’s inspired by the idea of ‘industrious
nature’ and foresees the installation of 32
trees. A site specific, purposeful and
permanent undertaking. salottobuono.com
Lorenzo Giusti — The director
of GAMeC portrayed in the sports complex
set to become the site of a museum.
The programme, in the current location,
will start in February with ‘Salto nel vuoto.
Arte al di là della materia’ (Leap into
the void. Art beyond matter),
the third chapter of a thematic trilogy about
dematerialisation. Pending works and
projects by Chiara Bersani, Tomás Saraceno
and Ali Cherri. gamec.it

64 ELLE DECOR
 THINKING

Bergamo — The neighbourhoods’ open and

porous social networks are working to subvert
the image of a closed and stereotypical city

Fallen Fruit — American artists

David Allen Burns and Austin Young created
‘Conversazioni Sacre’ (Holy dialogues)
for the Accademia Carrara; a site-specific
installation inspired by the city and the
collection of paintings. The wall piece, set up
in one of the connecting spaces between
the museum floors, creates the atmosphere
of a visionary world. From 28/01.
academiacarrara.it

Tiziana Barbiero + Gloria

Gusmaroli —The artistic director of the
Teatro Tascabile in Bergamo Alta portrayed
in the cloisters of the former Monastero
del Carmine, along with the architect in
charge of the site’s restoration. Founded
in 1973 by Renzo Vescovi, the academy
is a touring community workshop
originating from director Jerzy Grotowski’s
experience. teatrotascabile.org

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 Umberto Angelini —
Superintendent of the Fondazione
Teatro Grande and artistic director
of the Triennale Milano Teatro,
he’s the curator of the events
of ‘Grande in Provincia’ (Grande
in the province) and ‘Grande
Comunità’ (Grande’s community).

66 ELLE DECOR
 THINKING

Brescia — From the Ina Tower to the

metro stops: ‘extra moenia’ projects bring
the community closer to contemporary art

Olympia Scarry — From Milan’s

ICA, where in 2022 the American artist and
niece of writer and illustrator, Richard
McClure Scarry, opened her first solo
exhibition, to the Ina Tower. Here, starting
from a book and the Piazza’s history, on the
top floor of the first Italian skyscraper built
by architect Piacentini, her exhibition will
open on 18 March. olympiascarry.com
Chiara Rusconi + Francesca
Migliorati — The founders of the Apalazzo
Gallery portrayed in the 16th-century
Palazzo Cigola Fenaroli, where they work
on the interaction between local and
international. On show ‘The Disorderly’,
work by Sonia Boyce, Golden Lion winner
at the Venice Biennale, who in February
will be followed by Lucia Pescador’s
solo exhibition. apalazzo.net

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 Brescia — The manufacturing capital is not
just the ‘city of the rod’, but also a ‘city of art’
that has consciously invested in the region
Francesca Bazoli — A portrait
of the president of the Fondazione Brescia
Musei, portrayed in the Pinacoteca Tosio
Martinengo; her commitment contributes to
cultivating the virtuous relationship between
culture and region. Among the first opening:
the UNESCO corridor, and the permanent
exhibition project for the new Roman Age
section of the Museo di Santa Giulia.
bresciamusei.com
The Sala delle Dame — Built and
painted between 1540 and 1543, on the
occasion of the marriage between Eleonora
Gonzaga and Count Girolamo da Padernello,
it’s among the lesser-known and most precious
rooms of Palazzo Salvadego. Attributed to
Moretto, it’s one of a kind; it doesn’t depict a
landscape or imaginary ladies, but the women
of the spouses’ families. museionline.info
Edoardo Monti — Owner of Palazzo
Monti and founder of the programme in
residence by the same name; the project
established in 2017 transformed the historic
family mansion into a community. This is where
contemporary art is now produced: every three
months sculptors, painters, photographers and
writers from all over the world are welcome
here, to create their work. palazzomonti.org

68 ELLE DECOR
 THINKING

Mind the Gap — The architecture

designed by Nathalie Du Pasquier for
SubBrixia is a project for the dissemination
of contemporary art in the city’s most
unexpected locations. Launched in 2022
and created with Mutina, it towers above the
Vittoria metro stop (beneath the Ina Tower).
Guest starring at the next stop is the work
of Greek artist Andreas Angelidakis.

69 ELLE DECOR
THINKING
The legacy of Bergamo Brescia Italian Capital of Culture is all
in a ‘relationship of gazes’: with this event, theatres, museums and galleries
are no longer just containers of happenings, but community places
It’s behind the wheel of a Fiat 127 Special, designed
in the 1970s by Pio Manzù, from Bergamo, that artist Cristian
Chironi embarks on a round-trip Bergamo/Brescia: an
exploratory project designed to lead the public through the cities’
symbolic places. We like to introduce the recently launched year
of the Italian Capital of Culture as a twinning event. Promoted
by the Teatro Grande di Brescia, it’s one of the many events
included in Brescia’s beloved institution’s calendar and the
event’s official programme (bergamobrescia2023.it).
“Bringing the stage to the people is our way of
broadening the audience, of uniting and including”, explains
Umberto Angelini, theatre superintendent. “To bring the script
even more alive, the driver went through the trouble of
customising the Fiat with 12 colours based on Le Corbusier’s
buildings”, says the artistic director. Thus it’s along the itinerary
connecting the ‘sister cities’ and designed to promote the region’s
historical heritage, that one of the more than 500 events on show
since 20/01 unfolds. “Observing the landscape from the window
is useful to train the gaze”, which needs to grasp the great work
of urban and creative regeneration carried out by the authorities.
A few kilometres away, Bergamo’s mayor Giorgio Gori,
a central figure in the undertaking, describes how his citizens
experience the city: “They tell me: ‘It’s different. One can see
that you’ve really made a difference’”. He emphasises that a
place’s transformation is not only visible when ‘one makes good
choices’, but above all when ‘one engages the social network’
in the transition process. Because it’s on this community-building
model that Brescia and Bergamo enacted a post-pandemic
rescue. To be clear, if the former is considered ‘one of the most
beautiful cities in Italy’ and, as historian Salvatore Settees says,
it’s not just the ‘city of the rod’ but above all a ‘city of art’; the
latter is among the nine Italian centres included in Carbon
Neutral 2030, the European Community’s programme for
reducing CO2. “Attractiveness, accessibility and sustainability:
these are the objectives we set for ourselves when we started
working on the cultural rebirth project, keeping in mind that the
stakeholders of our investment should be the citizens, first and
foremost”, adds Giorgio Gori. The two municipalities’ investment
plan for the three-year period 2021/2023 is 158 million.
“We went to the schools, we involved associations, we visited
the neighbourhoods to enlist everyone’s creativity”, to mark a
new ‘change of pace’. “Well managed and with its accounts in
order, when I took office, Bergamo needed to exploit its buried
and subdued potential and vitality” and empower the many
interesting people working in the region. Among them, Tiziana
Barbiero, director of the Teatro Tascabile TTB, who this year
will take new performances into the neighbourhoods with ‘Il
mantello di Arlecchino’ (Harlequin’s cape). Linked to the family of
the Terzo Teatro, the movable research centre is based in the
former Monastero del Carmine. “The conversion of the building
into a training and entertainment space, including guest quarters,
is the first in Italy to utilise a partnership, a fairly recent legal
provision”, culture has always played an important role
70 ELLE DECOR
in the process of innovation and change that isn’t exclusive to
physical venues. “Sustaining, promoting and disseminating for us
is an essential aspect of individual and collective emancipation”,
emphasises Gori, recalling some major investments already in
place today. Others, not yet visible, will be carried out with the
resources provided by the NRRP. “Although we haven’t yet seen
any cranes yet, we’re aware that the former Porta Sud railway
station will become the new hub of urban connection and
sustainable transit of the Bergamo Station. And the former
Montelungo-Colleoni barracks, closed for thirty years,
will be occupied by a student dorm. By shifting the focus from the
public to the private, the Pesenti Foundation and Gres Art
intend to redevelop an abandoned industrial area in the outskirts
by implementing interesting criteria and prioritising student
residencies, hubs and multidisciplinary spaces”, the portion
allocated to exhibits and concerts will be ready by June, with an
investment of 6 million euro. Without forgetting the extension
underway at the Accademia Carrara, which reopened to the
public on 28/01; the renovation of the Teatro Donizetti;
and the conversion of the sports complex into a museum for
modern and contemporary art.
“The 6000sqm of the new GAMeC, designed by C+S
Architects, will open to the public at the end of 2025”, predicts
director Lorenzo Giusti. “Together with the new campus and the
Accademia Carrara, the gallery will add a second point
of cultural attraction to the city in the more popular and
multicultural Bergamo Bassa”. Historically focussed on building
cohesive communities, the curator doesn’t believe in a hit and run
rebirth – the exclusive domain of tourism. “We’re working on a
long-term plan with workshops, events and site-specific projects
spread throughout parks and valleys; ours is an open
and porous community, not strictly one with a stereotypical and
identity-obsessed image”, concludes the curator who, with the
tender ‘La Città Illuminata’, brings light to the Piazza della Libertà
and the iconic Kilometro Rosso, Jean Nouvel’s science and
technology park, site of Matteo Ghidoni’s ‘Pioppeto’.
“The connections with Bergamo are many and, under the
aegis of culture, Brescia is also renewed”, points out Francesca
Bazoli, president of the Fondazione Brescia Musei. “But my city
needs to go one step further, with awareness”. Certainly the
Renaissance is important, but it’s contemporary art that steals the
show this year, with exhibitions in multiple venues, including the
archaeological park. “The protagonists are artists like Fabrizio
Plessi and activists like Zehra Degan, Badiucao and Victoria
Lomasko”. The ‘extra moenia’ is an exhibition format already
tested by Chiara Rusconi, who founded the Apalazzo Gallery
with Francesca Migliorati; with an international vocation, the
gallery promotes current productions on the top floor of the Ina
Tower as well as in the underground. “To take culture ‘out there’
is a generous way of establishing a relationship with others”,
concludes the curator with conviction, as one of the people most
involved in the ‘evento-Capitale’. Yes, regeneration is a matter of
gaze: the more aware, the more revolutionary. —
Pictured, Claudia Mainardi,
Veronica Caprino, Nicola Campri,
Alessandro Bonizzoni and
Giacomo Ardesio, who in 2013
founded the Fosbury Architecture
collective in Milan. Mainly but not
only followed by young people,
they are among the brightest stars
of the international design scene.

Fosbury Architecture
The Italian collective, starring at the Venice Biennale
of Architecture, promises to turn the Italian Pavilion into a ‘Spatial’
laboratory: a place of collaboration where strength and fragility
can be mapped to build alliances
by Paola Carimati — portrait by Luca Campri
Like the American pole vaulter Dick Fosbury, who at the
1968 Mexico City Olympics ‘turned his back on the obstacle’
and jumped, Claudia Mainardi, Veronica Caprino, Giacomo
Ardesio, Alessandro Bonizzoni and Nicola Campri, founders
of the young collective based in Milan (all of them are under
forty), revolutionise the world of architecture by changing
perspective. In ten years of activity, they have tested a decidedly
disruptive procedure: in their language, transforming limits into
opportunities becomes ‘taking care of the territory’s hallmarks in
a collaborative manner’. From Rocco, the ephemeral polystyrene
object that in 2018 landed in the garden of the Triennale Milano,
to the bookshop made of perforated concrete blocks set up in the
tunnels of Drop City on the occasion of the Milan Design Week
2022, communities gather around these architectures and then
appropriate them.
Architects by passion and training, together they try to
redefine the boundaries of the discipline, the second most
polluting agent in terms of production, to lead it back to the
road of ecological transition. And together they try to build a
network of skills and knowledge capable of bridging the gap
between local culture and international vision: working in a world
with limited resources, such as the one we are living in, means
understanding that we are part of the problem and changing our
attitude. “Shifting the emphasis from ego to echo, from I to we”,
they point out. It is also because of this mature awareness that the
Italian Ministry of Culture entrusted them with the curatorship of
the Italian Pavilion at the 18th Venice Biennale of Architecture
(20/05 – 26/11/2023). Fosbury Architecture’s site-specific
approach is in line with the set-up of the exhibition ‘Il Laboratorio
del Futuro’ (The laboratory of the future), curated by Lesley Lokko:
“more than a place of experimentation, by ‘laboratory’ we mean
the dimension of collaboration”.
With ‘Spaziale: ognuno appartiene a tutti gli altri’
(Spatial: everyone belongs to each other), the group intends to
represent Italy in Venice. ‘Spatial’ is a broad title, which attempts
to embrace the complexity of the present, “but ‘Spatial’ is above
all what we would like to be”, they say, playing with words,
“not a studio, but a practice that uses space as an instrument
rather than a goal. Free from the obsession of having to reach a
physical and permanent result at all costs, typical of old school
professionals”, it is time to return to speculative research. And to
an architecture ‘done together’, as stressed by the subheading
‘everyone belongs to each other’: “the project never belongs to
the person who designs it, but to all those who participate in the
process”, they affirm, disavowing the demiurgic figure of the
starchitect and at the same time revealing the mission statement
PEOPLE
of the exhibition. “What we want to highlight in the Italian Pavilion
is the concept of interdependence between all the experiences we
mapped out and the actors we involved”.
Nine projects have been selected by Fosbury to represent
the Italian avant-garde movements: on stage, the testimonies
of the so-called ‘unsolicited’ architecture. “These are pilot projects,
but also new research and opportunities that land or flourish in
fragile yet virtuous places, supported not by institutions, but by
people who, recognising their value, spontaneously come
together and build community”: nine best practices that not only
respond to occasional local issues, but launch innovative,
current ideas. On stage at the Arsenale, therefore, is a mix of
projects for which ‘Spaziale’ acts as an incubator: “we enhance
them, co-produce them and integrate them all into a system,
always promoting collaboration”, because central to the
exhibition, we remind the readers, is the ability to build alliances.
Between people, places, knowledge.
“But be careful not to fall into line with the mantra of
participation”, the curators warn. “Following in the all-Italian
Giancarlo De Carlo’s footsteps, we open up to European
experiences, which are fundamental for our generation: from
Assemble, the English interdisciplinary team that won the 2015
Turner Price, to the Belgian studio Rotor; from Raumlabor, based
in Berlin and Golden Lion winner at the 2021 Biennale of
Architecture, to Ten, the studio that works between Belgrade and
Zurich”: theirs is a lay, participatory design, or rather ‘on
demand’, i.e. useful when needed. In Italy, the Post Disaster
Rooftop, the interdisciplinary collective that, in Taranto, has been
bringing the theme of environmental disaster to the world’s
attention since 2018, is trying it out.
As, in turn, ‘space operators’, Post Disaster Rooftop’s
is the first of the nine stories already available on ‘Spaziale
Presenta’ (Spatial presents), the platform allowing visitors to
fully understand the Italian Pavilion: before the opening of the
Biennale of Architecture 2023, on the website ‘spaziale2023.it’
and the Instagram page ‘spaziale.presenta’, users will be able to
follow the set-up of all the installations. “Each of their works
represents an episode of a potentially infinite tale, which is told
and displayed on rooftops in the heart of Venice, turned into
temporary stages. With Silvia Calderoni, a performer attentive to
the ecology of bodies, they will try to change the narrative’s
perspective to trigger the rebirth of the territory”, the curators
explain. “What we try to convey are snapshots, stories of present
issues and possible futures. They are like us”, the Fosburys
conclude, “not a dogma to be blindly followed, but a constellation
of ideas around which we can serenely gravitate”. —
73 ELLE DECOR
 ECO DESIGN

A green touch
Among the hills of Monferrato, Marco Lavit
designs an eco-lodge respecting the landscape. When
sustainability generates a beautiful and conscious project
words by Filippo Romeo — photos by Silvia Lavit and Daniel Mazza

Overlooking the Monferrato

countryside, one of the Little
Leisure Lodges by LILELO, an
eco-resort among the vineyards
created by architect and designer
Marco Lavit on one of the hills
of Grazzano Badoglio (Asti).

75 ELLE DECOR
 Above, left, the larch wood
microarchitectures, viewed from
the vineyard, create a small
village. Above and on the next
page, glimpses of the sleeping
area: bed and floor lamp
designed by Marco Lavit. Next
to it, the sloping roof pitches
are crossed by long cuts that
vertically mark the entrance to
the interiors and to the large
terraces where guests can enjoy
a spectacular view of the
valley. On the last page, from
left, is the entrance to one of
the three lodges equipped
with a terrace and a flush
micro-swimming pool. The
interior with the communal
dining area. Table designed
by Marco Lavit, chairs by
Santa & Cole, hanging lamp by
Flos. lilelo.it, atelier-lavit.com

76 ELLE DECOR
ECO DESIGN

77 ELLE DECOR
ECO DESIGN
The landscape, consisting of a hill chain dotted with rows of
vineyards, is typical of the Monferrato. Set into the greenery are
small villages, ancient farmhouses and, depending on the season,
the colours of wheat or vines. We are in Grazzano Badoglio,
in the province of Asti, where the studio of Marco Lavit, an Italian
architect and designer based in Paris, has created an eco-hotel
in the heart of Piedmont. “I am not new to this type of project”, he
explains. “From the very beginning, the studio has been concerned
with light wood architecture, namely reversible prefabricated
structures that respect the environment. We have built treehouses
and micro-architectures on the water, surprising projects both for
their morphology and unusual location. In France, in Switzerland
and now also in Italy, we have designed shelters surrounded
by nature, small resorts at the water’s edge and pavilions in the
green”. Higher than the other hills, the area dominates the
surroundings, characterised by pear and apple trees, wild vines
and a centuries-old oak. “Our clients, a young entrepreneurial
couple, Claudia Cadario and Marco D’Ambrogio, had been
asking me for a few years to find the ideal place to implement the
project. And it was only after a long search that we were able to
find, here, not only the perfect location, but also the right sensitivity
on the part of the local Superintendence and the ‘neighbours’,
so as to create the necessary synergies for a virtuous project”.
The area borders a riding school and a farm, suitable for playing
outdoor sports and supplying the guests, who can enjoy zero
78 ELLE DECOR
food-miles products”. Apparently very simple, the project
is based on a careful study of the proportions, the relationships
between the architectural volumes and the impact on the context.
The single housing unit, designed by reinterpreting the archetype
of the hut, rests lightly on the slope, without altering the
morphology of the land. “The whole is very harmonious; it is a sort
of small village made up of the three lodges and a fourth volume,
which serves as reception and is also a meeting place with a large
terrace/solarium, a communal kitchen and a dining area for
sharing breakfast. In deciding the exact location of each structure,
we were influenced by the orography, the presence of existing
trees, the orientation and of course the surrounding landscape”.
Each building has therefore a different layout to favour
panoramic views and the enjoyment of natural light.
Both the structure and cladding are made entirely of larch
from certified forests, and slender wooden sticks form,
like a pattern, the envelope of each architecture: placed side
by side, they define the interior walls and portions of the roof
pitches, while slightly spaced apart, they turn the covering
into a light brise soleil. This is somewhat the hallmark
of Marco Lavit, who succeeds, thanks to a simple process
of adding individual modules, in generating light architecture
characterised by layers that intersect and overlap each other,
giving life to measured spaces where inside and outside,
as well as shadows and light, interact. —
 CONCEPT STORE

Classicism on display
Pure white all over, arches
and columns. A boutique in the centre of Berlin
gets a classical yet current makeover
by Emmanuel de Bayser
photos by Mark Seelen — words by Flavia Giorgi

Between Gendarmenmarkt
and Unter den Linden,
the new storeThe Square
Berlin expresses its lifestyle
concept through fashion,
design and art.

81 ELLE DECOR
 Not only a tribute to the Museums of Antiquity and the palaces of the
German capital, but also to the cityscapes of metaphysical painting

Above, double-height spaces

define airy interiors.
On a 700-square-meter area
arranged on three levels,
owners Emmanuel de Bayser
and Josef Voelk express their
idea of contemporary luxury by
selecting signature proposals
from major French and Italian
brands. Next door, at the
centre of a setting that evokes
De Chirico’s perspectives,
the mohair velvet sofa is by
Pierre Augustin Rose. On the
left, the dressing rooms’ design
is also inspired by the arch
theme. Opposite page,
furniture created by Pierre
Augustin Rose, such as the oak
wood table on a cylindrical
base, stands out on the grey
vinyl weave floor.

82 ELLE DECOR
CONCEPT STORE

83 ELLE DECOR
CONCEPT STORE
A bright colour palette and custom-made furniture mark the interior
design project by the Paris-based trio Pierre Augustin Rose
Let the beauty pervade you, capture it in a play of mirrors
and return the favour that its very presence offers to those who
admire it. Captivated by the daily spectacle of one of Berlin’s
most elegant squares — the 18th-century Gendarmenmarkt with its
twin churches and the Konzerthaus — Emmanuel de Bayser and
Josef Voelk were inspired by the historical architecture of the
place to renovate their boutique (The Corner Berlin), opened
here seventeen years ago. The occasion of the milestone birthday
perhaps helped prompt a global rethink of the space, which now
has been also renamed The Square Berlin. “We wanted to
drastically change the look of the shop, which responded to an
aesthetic of Berlin industrial brutalism that was very much in
vogue in later years and then ended up being trivialised”, says
Emmanuel de Bayser. “When working in the fashion and design
sector, it is essential to evolve, to recreate yourself. The new
concept is a radical evolution of the previous one. All elements
of lifestyle, that is, fashion, interiors and art, have been
integrated. The environment resembles a loft flat combined with a
retail space”. They consist of large-scale volumes, flooded with
natural light and separated by full-height wings made up of a
thick forest of columns and arches, contemporary echoes of the
classicism that imbues the German capital, its palaces and its
great museums. “The atmosphere, however, has a Parisian feel”,
84 ELLE DECOR
Behind the glass windows
that flood the interiors with
light, outfits for men and
women by Balenciaga and
Celine, Dries Van Noten and
Dior, Gucci and Moncler, are
on parade. The Square Berlin
is the aesthetic and conceptual
reinterpretation of The Corner
Berlin, the first store opened in
2006 by de Bayser and Voelk
in this same space. The similar
but different name coveys
the double message of creative
continuity and renewal that,
thanks to a holistic vision,
integrated the various
elements of lifestyle.
de Bayser points out, “with an Italian touch. Among the
inspirations, in fact, are de Chirico’s paintings”. Perspectives and
proportions recall the artist’s urban landscapes, the colonnades
crossing deserted, metaphysical squares. The owners and the
French studio Pierre Augustin Rose, which designed the interiors,
shared the same vision.
“We have always appreciated the work of this team,
whether it involves furniture or sets for their showroom in Paris”,
continues de Bayser. “Freshness, timelessness and quality are
their core values. For us, it was the right choice to revamp the
boutique”. In its 700 square metres, arranged on three levels, the
shopping experience is diversified. If the fashion area includes
international brands such as Balenciaga and Saint Laurent, Dries
van Noten and Dior, Gucci and Bottega Veneta, the côté maison
section showcases furniture and accessories by Pierre Augustin
Rose, bronze tables and stools by Rick Owens, table accessories
by Ann Demeulemeester and Sargadelos, as well as sculptures by
Nicolas Lefebvre, Thomas Junghans and Galerie Chenel.
But the true showstopper is the bookshelf leaning against an
exposed brick wall: here, those looking for a new home, be it
cottage in France, a chalet in St. Moritz or a riad in Marrakech,
draw inspiration... or just take a stroll among the iconic
masterpieces designed by Pierre Jeanneret. —
 INTERIOR DESIGN

A matter of beauty
David Diodovich invites
us to his new hair salon in Milan.
A place in which to feel special,
designed by storagemilano
by Francesca Benedetto — photos by Paola Pansini

In the living room, the

bespoke furniture designed
by Storagemilano in soft
buttery hues with glossy black
painted outlines. Rug by
cc-tapis, portrait of Bianca
Balti by Giampaolo Sgura
and, on the shelves in the
custom-made kitchen by
Elmar, cups and jars from
La Teiera Eclettica. The
Davide Diodovich Salon is in
Via Montebello 24, Milan.

87 ELLE DECOR
 “Great attention
to privacy, rooms with soft
hues and sustainable
choices are the founding
elements of the project”
Davide Diodovich
Hair stylist and homeowner
Davide Diodovich. Above,
on the bookcase designed by
Storagemilano, photographs by
Giampaolo Sgura and a signed
portrait of Mina by Mauro
Balletti. Glass vessel by Alfredo
Barbini and chandelier by
Fritz Nagel for BMF, both from
Cavaliere Gallery, ceramic by
Antonio Marras. Opposite page,
clockwise from the top,
88 ELLE DECOR
the elegant entryway of the
early 20th century building in
Via Montebello features marble
walls and skirting boards.
Sliding doors covered in tested,
dyed hemp linen ensure privacy
for all workstations. In the
custom-made kitchen by Elmar,
photographs by Giampaolo
Sgura. The furniture’s black
painted profiles define the space
with their sharp lines.
INTERIOR DESIGN

89 ELLE DECOR
INTERIOR DESIGN
“An aesthete, a dreamer madly in love with his work
and beauty in all its forms”. This is how Davide Diodovich, who in
the fashion and entertainment world needs no introduction,
describes himself. He trained as a hair stylist in London’s Vidal
Sassoon Academy, of which he became the Art Director,
managing major advertising campaigns and film productions,
including Gabriele Salvatores’ film ‘Nirvana’. After premiering at
the Milan, Paris and New York fashion shows, he undertook
many collaborations with internationally renowned photographers
and prestigious magazines, as well as high-profile brands. In
2011, he opened his first headquarters in Milan, distinguishing
himself for his refined, casual style. Now the Davide Diodovich
Salon moves to Via Montebello. We’re in a lively neighbourhood
influenced by the creative energies of Brera and Porta Garibaldi,
and the exclusive fashion district’s elegance, at just a stone’s
throw. Davide welcomes us on the mezzanine floor of an early
20th century building and personally plays host, leading
us through the recently opened space, his enthusiasm clearly
visible in his eyes. “The apartment immediately won me over due
to the building’s charm, with its typical Milanese entryway, but
sealing the deal was the small private garden with two
magnificent banana trees at the back”, confesses the creative.
“This is a family project I share with my nephew, Ludovico
Mastrandrea, and coincides with a period of professional
reinvention that for me signifies freedom, independence and
enhancing the mind-body connection. It’s come to life following
nine months of intense work, during which I also redeveloped my
90 ELLE DECOR
A corner of the living room
with the bespoke wall lamps
and the sofa covered in
butter-coloured fabric. Vases
and flowers by Michela Pozzato,
glass vessel by Alfredo Barbini,
Cavaliere Gallery; photographs
by Giampaolo Sgura. The
corridor features the original
parquet floor with the entrance
at the back. BMA created
all the furniture designed by
the architecture studio
storagemilano.
concept of beauty. I asked the studio storagemilano,
who already created my previous space, to keep the focus
on the privacy of the rooms, radically changing the aesthetic, here
defined by soft and bright colours and the selection
of tactile surfaces”. Thanks to the collaboration with the company
Davines, renowned for its sustainable approach, Diodovich has
developed a greater focus on sustainability. A commitment
enacted in his relationship with suppliers and employees based on
respect and responsibility, good practices in the use of products
and work tools, and also in the choice of natural and
environmentally friendly materials. “To cover the walls and sliding
doors we used hemp linen, tested and dyed like the upholstery
of yesteryear. The soft and opaque buttery hue, contrasting the
glossy black painted profiles, recalls the mood of 1940s ateliers
and Andrée Putman’s interiors, which inspired the project”,
explains Storagemilano’s Barbara Ghidoni. The framed mirrors
and the custom-made lamps create the perfect setting
to enable the light to showcase the patrons’ hair styles, which in
this space take centre stage. “For me it’s essential that my clients
feel at home, so having a living room and kitchen was a must. And
then there’s the treasured items that recall significant moments of
my life and decorate the rooms: the photographs of my beloved
friend, Bianca Balti, taken by Giampaolo Sgura on my first
Dolce&Gabbana campaign; the portrait of Mina with
the ironic inscription; the books of fashion and design I collected
over the years that describe two similar worlds; and my scissors,
which superstitiously I’m never without”. —
 VIEW [February 2023]

94 PERFECT SYMBIOSIS. In Bentveld, Holland, a coal-coloured architecture seems

to embrace the forest. A comprehensive project designed by Nicolas Schuybroek.
106 REINVENTING MILAN. Flexibility between private space and entertaining, bespoke
furnishings, a mix of materials and colours. A delicate refurbishment by the Kick.Office
studio redefines the personality of a historical home at the heart of the city.
116 TREES AND TAO. Eastern China: a design and meditation-loving couple has built
a house nestled in the mountain, bathed in light. Where they celebrate the tea ritual.
124 CURRENT HISTORY. Harmony of the past, energy of the present. Balance on a human
scale defines Stef Bakker’s home project in Amsterdam. 132 VISIONARY BRUTALISM.
In a frontier location among the Andean mountains, the architect duo Pezo von
Ellrichshausen presents their latest, surprising creation: the Luna House, a home and
a cultural centre surrounded by nature

93 ELLE DECOR
Surrounded by a forest of pine and birch
trees, the villa designed by Nicolas
Schuybroek features a façade covered
in sandblasted and blackened Afromosia
wood laid in two directions. Inside the main
building, the living room and the sleeping
quarters with facilities occupy two levels,
while the two wings extending into
the landscape contain an entertainer’s
kitchen and the swimming pool, an oasis
of relaxation for all seasons.
 PERFECT
SYMBIOSIS
In Bentveld, Holland,
a coal-coloured architecture
seems to embrace
the forest. A comprehensive
project designed by
Nicolas Schuybroek
by Francesca Benedetto
photos by Giorgio Possenti

95 ELLE DECOR
The view of the garden, designed by
Erik Dhont, changes according to the
light and the seasons, transforming the
large windows into poetic tableaux
vivants. In the living room, Extra Soft
sofa by Piero Lissoni for Living Divani
and armchair by Lina Bo Bardi. Bruder
rug, antique coffee table and Daphine
floor lamp by Lumina. Bespoke desk
made with reclaimed oak, and lamps
by Atelier Pierre Culot.

97 ELLE DECOR
 The meeting is in Bentveld, a small village about 40 minutes
from Amsterdam and five kilometres from Haarlem, where the
quality of life, on a human scale, can be sensed simply by looking
around. Needless to say, one here transits mostly by bicycle,
and the landscape is varied and unexpected. A short distance
away are the Zuid-Kennemerland National Park, a natural oasis
among coastal dunes populated by deer, birdlife and European
bison; and Zandvoort beach, lapped by the North Sea, which
even in winter grants the real luxury of long, sunset walks.
Architect Nicolas Schuybroek arrives from his studio in Brussels,
where he works on projects around the world that bear his
self-effacing, elegant style, which is deceptively simple.
Buildings, homes, hotels, retail spaces and even objects are
distinguished by a sensitive choice of materials – mostly tactile
and raw – driven by a quest for craftsmanship and
great attention to detail. We immediately recognise the outline of
the villa he designed among the tall trees: a building on multiple
levels with a strong and elegant design, clad in charred wood
according to a technique widely used in Japan and Nordic
countries. The natural garden, in which bushes still bloom, grows
all around the residence merging seamlessly into the surrounding
forest. The homeowners, a couple of businesspeople, lead us
inside and, from our first interactions, we learn that a close
relationship of trust and understanding connects them to the
architect. “The exchange with my clients has always been open
and transparent”, says Schuybroek. “They wanted something
special that would fit their busy lifestyles and meet the needs of
98 ELLE DECOR
a family with children of different ages. A house that was warm
and tactile, minimalist and well proportioned, and simultaneously
elegant and inhabitable all year round. At the heart
of the project are practicality and comfort, without compromising
on aesthetics. The location inspired in me the concept
of a house made of blackened wood blending neatly into the
natural environment comprised of dunes and pines, and playing
on the chromatic contrast of the interiors, based on light hues
and soft textures”. The connection between interior and exterior
results from an attentive analysis of the landscape,
the orientation, the outlook from inside over the greenery,
and from the garden towards the house, which were carefully
considered even before contemplating the volumes.
“Thanks to platforms built on site”, continues the architect, “we
were able to visualise the different floor levels separating the
rooms, while the numerous inspections helped us understand the
path of the sun at different times of the year”. The U-shaped plan
suggests a flow without enclosed corridors, occurring instead by
sequentially traversing the rooms overlooking the patio
decorated for summer dinners. At both ends, like wings extending
towards the forest, a large kitchen with a fireplace, a convivial
space par excellence, and the pool. “Starting the day with an
energising swim while watching the forest awaken,
makes us feel totally in symbiosis with nature”, the owners
confess. Meanwhile, Nicolas is investigating a sustainable
solution to deter the woodpecker from the Afromosia
façade he frequently visits. —
“A dynamic building made
of blackened wood, totally
connected to nature. Inside, bright
and extremely liveable rooms
with neutral tones”
Nicolas Schuybroek

The Belgian architect Nicolas

Schuybroek responsible for the project,
portrait at the entrance to the residence
next to the SESC - Pompéia stool by
Lina Bo Bardi. A red Japanese maple
contrasts the façade covered in
blackened Afromosia slats laid in two
directions. Opposite page, a view of the
living room overlooking the garden
and the forest of centenary pines.
 The long bespoke table is made of
repurposed and bleached Afromosia
wood. Chairs by George Nakashima,
pendant light by Florian Schulz, 1950s.
In the background, the kitchen island
with oak cabinets and sandblasted
limestone top. Opposite page, the
blackened raw steel fireplace makes
the kitchen the most intimate place for
conviviality, in symbiosis with nature.

100 ELLE DECOR

 The connection between interiors and exteriors arises from
a careful study of the landscape, topography and light

The sun’s rays cast shadows in the

bedroom on the upper level. Antique
desk by Axel Vervoordt, vessels by
Nicolas Schuybroek for When Object
Work, vintage chair by Pierre Jeanneret
and lamp by Atelier Pierre Culot.
Opposite page, the bathroom made
with Muschelkalk stone and oak.
Pine wood stool by Pettersson and
Söner. Walls in a clay finish.

102 ELLE DECOR

103 ELLE DECOR
The pool occupies one wing
of the house and extends like a
telescope into the conifer forest. Light
filters through the leaves of the trees,
birds fly from branch to branch in
search of food, and a woodpecker’s
diligent drumming seems to call one to
the morning’s duties. Waterproof lime
plaster, Bluestone pool lining and
washed concrete flooring. Custom-made
glass windows and doors.

105 ELLE DECOR

 REINVENTING
MILAN
Flexibility between private
and entertaining rooms, customised
furniture, a mix of materials
and colours. A delicate refurbishment
by studio Kick.Office redefines
the personality of a historical home
at the heart of the city
by Francesca Benedetto — photos by Alberto Strada

106 ELLE DECOR

In the living room overlooking
the historical buildings, Victoria
modular sofa by David⁄Nicolas
for Tacchini, made of cinnamon-
coloured velvet, rug by Mae
Engelgeer for cc-tapis, coffee
table by Piero Lissoni for Cassina,
1950s floor lamp. Eames lounge
chair for Vitra, Plinto side table,
Carrara marble collection 3030,
by Kick.Office for Bianco67.
In the bespoke kitchen, created
by Aster, cabinetry with brushed,
burnished brass finishes,
Calacatta Gold marble countertop
and coverings. Leggera chairs by
Gio Ponti for Cassina with
biscuit-coloured velvet seats, black
stained ash table, and natural
leather bench, both custom-made.
Lamp with arm by Lambert & Fils,
pendant made of satin brass
plates by Pietro Russo, artwork
by Giorgio Tentolini created from
sheets of hand-cut mesh. Fluted
glass and burnished brass for the
custom-made bifold doors.

109 ELLE DECOR

Surrounding the original fireplace
with a marble frame and
terracotta tiles, glazed in
iridescent burgundy, Victoria
modular sofa by David⁄Nicolas
for Tacchini, P40 armchair by
Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno (from
Compasso Design, Milan), and
coffee tables by Piero Lissoni
for Cassina. Stone Wall sconces
by Tom Dixon, rug by Mae
Engelgeer for cc-tapis. Opposite
page, black painted metal library
and satin brass with Canaletto
walnut shelves by Pietro Russo,
as is the Libra pendant light above
the Asolo marble table, by Angelo
Mangiarotti, Agapecasa. Vintage
chairs made of curved timber
and upholstered in saffron-
coloured velvet.
111 ELLE DECOR
 The late 19th-century building is located right at the
intersection of two streets, in one of Milan’s most exclusive
neighbourhoods. We climb the staircase, intrigued
by the pentagonal shape of the stairwell, which suggests a
coherence with the apartments’ floor plans. The homeowner,
a businessman who spends most of the year abroad, is out of
town, so we’re welcomed by architect Mario Abruzzese,
owner of Kick.Office, a studio of young designers who
carried out the residence’s renovations and interior design.
“The owner wanted a cosy retreat, but also a home to
welcome his two children when he’s in Italy, as well as a
place to share with friends and loved ones that would
combine convivial and private spaces with flexibly, beauty
and functionality”, says Abruzzese. The entrance opens onto
the dining room with a four-metre-high ceiling, where the
diagonal lines of the brass library counterbalance the
minimalism of the austere marble table by Mangiarotti. The
adjacent living room, which occupies the outermost corner of
the building, connects the dining area and the large kitchen
with a marble island, visible to the guests or closed behind
the tailor-made bifold glass. “In order not to upset the
authentic charm of the apartment, we pursued a constant
balance between restoring the existing, integrating the
finishes lost over time, and introducing new languages. The
surviving original features were the doors, the fireplace in the
parlour and the plaster decorations, which were restored and
emphasised; while the antique floor tiles, unfortunately in a
very bad state, gave way to a uniform floor of solid oak
boards that resemble the colour and the size of the original
ones, which were laid following the shape of the rooms”. The
bright textures of the main rooms, which in a game of
chiaroscuro highlight the doorframes and the stuccoes, are
juxtaposed to finishes and architectural codes drawn
from previous eras: from the wall painted brick red that leads
to the sleeping quarters, to the textile coverings in the
bedrooms and the corridor cabinets that hide the amenities,
and the coloured ceramic bathroom furniture recalling the
1960s. “Having worked and trained in Milan”, continues
Abruzzese, “I cannot ignore the cultural references that one
encounters on a daily basis. That’s why this project wouldn’t
have been the same without the work of Piero Portaluppi at
Villa Necchi settling into my consciousness, with his extremely
successful balance between bourgeois refinement, technical
and stylistic innovation, mixed with a certain amount of
nonconformity. The same is true for Caccia Dominioni and
their skilful work on flow and geometries: specifically, the
apartment project in Via Vigoni, which here inspired the main
bedroom with its rectangular plan, bevelled corners and
polygonal vault”. The use of colour, which is the studio’s
signature style, in this project is more subdued and
reassuring. “We consider it a key element: it leads the way
through the spaces, enhances the specifics of a place, defines
the environment and, alongside the different materials, helps
create tension and dynamism”. Hence, the use of Breccia
Medicea marble in one of the bathrooms, which ranges from
violet to light green hues with clasts of yellow, red and grey;
or the wallpaper that softly envelops the master bedroom. But
also the warm tones chosen for the fabrics and furniture, from
saffron to natural leather, from cinnamon to Bulgarian red.
The only exception, as an element of surprise, is Borsani’s
iconic armchair upholstered in blue Klein fabric. —

112 ELLE DECOR

“With my team of young and tireless creatives,
we love to research and combine different elements,
colours and materials to make a space unique”
Mario Abruzzese, Kick.Office

Above, left, the dividing wall

featuring a swing door painted
brick red with a 1950s brass
handle, which leads to the
sleeping quarters. At the end
of the corridor ‘The Best Things
Are Not Things Hermès Orange’,
artwork by Pietro Terzini.
Foglio wall sconces by Tobia
Scarpa for Flos, bespoke
built-in-robe with fabric-covered
doors and natural brass profiles.
Architect Mario Abruzzese,
owner of the Milanese studio
Kick.Office. Opposite page,
a view of the internal staircase of
the late 19th century building.
114 ELLE DECOR
In the bedroom, L50 Cab Night
bed by Mario Bellini for Cassina,
covered in Bulgarian red leather,
wall sconce by Servomuto,
Catilina armchair by Luigi Caccia
Dominioni for Azucena (from
Compasso Design, Milan).
Unito Ribbon Grass wallpaper by
Jannelli&Volpi. Opposite page,
the vaulted corridor accessing
one of the bathrooms and
featuring a porthole connecting
to the shower recess. In the
foreground, U Brass sconces by
Vesoi. In the background,
washbasin and cabinet by
Ceramica Cielo, Agape tapware,
sconces by &Tradition. Floor and
tiles made of Breccia Medicea,
by Bianco67, burnished brass
and fluted glass bespoke door.
TREES
Eastern China: a design- and meditation-loving
couple has built a house nestled in the mountain,
bathed in light. Where they celebrate the tea ritual
words by Paola Maraone, Tang Bai, Li Yingting — photos by Zhu Hai — styling by Sun Xinxi

A N D TAO
In Hangzhou, China, at the foot of
Mount Pingfeng, the house has huge
custom-made glass façades to emphasise the
interaction with the outdoors and illuminate
the spaces, such as the large living room
with curved steps that become informal
seating. The bench-sculpture on the
windowsill is by Han Dong. Opposite page,
homeowners Ji Shan and Bao Xiaobing
on the path leading from the backyard
to a pine and bamboo forest.

117 ELLE DECOR

To suit the large size of the living room, most
of the furniture is bespoke, including the sofa
and teak coffee table. The two upholstered
chairs follow the colour scheme of the room
and are defined by dark hues. Opposite page,
the dining room with a round table made of
Indonesian ebony: BM2 chairs by Børge
Mogensen for DK3. The glass showcase is
by Ujoh, a brand founded by Ji Shan.
119 ELLE DECOR

Above the mezzanine between two flights of
stairs, a dimly lit landing becomes an intimate
and cosy tearoom, with the traditional low
glass window close to the ground to illuminate
a thousand-year-old ritual that is performed
while sitting on the floor. Next page, the
painted screen that borders the room, framed
by a silver profile, is by the artist Mohen,
a friend of the homeowners.
120 ELLE DECOR
For several days after moving into their new home,
Bao Xiaobing and Ji Shan refused visits from friends.
Every evening, from sunset to night, the two spent time sitting
in the garden, drinking tea and waiting for the stars to appear
in the sky. The northern slope of Mount Pingfeng in Hangzhou
is a unique and peaceful place, far from the hustle and bustle
of the city thanks to a chain of green hills. At the foot of the
mountain stand huge pine trees, among which Bao and Ji built
their home. The works took more than two years and finally
they decided to name it Pine Yin, in a double homage to the
symbol of the Tao and the trees, which are everywhere.
“They could be hundreds of years old, and we are grateful for
their presence”, Ji explains. “Yin is the dark and hidden part
of an ancient philosophy, but for us also a way of life.
This cool mountain is the ideal setting for our life as modern
hermits”. The two believe in Buddhism, but they are not isolated
from the world: Bao worked in the restaurant business and
managed a well-known design shop, while Ji was a contractor
in the construction industry for many years. The tea ritual
is a pleasant daily must in this multi-level house, built gently
following the slope of the mountain. There are many spaces for
drinking it while chatting in private or with friends, around the
table or sitting on the floor, in an uninterrupted sequence of
rooms with large windows placed as low as possible to enjoy
the view of the reeds and the forest from every corner.
The home is characterised by plain designer furnishings with an
international touch, some pieces that pay homage to Chinese
tradition, and custom-made elements; as well as lots of natural
light and few lamps, to make the atmosphere similar to that
of a hermitage. “The tea ritual has had a great influence on me
in recent years”, Bao confesses. “Sitting in silence and drinking
while barely speaking for two hours is a particularly relaxing
experience for people like us who have been so busy
at work. Nowadays, my husband and I have more free time
and we do this every day in this special house”. Like all
residencies built on slopes, Pine Yin does not have a regular
structure. According to the homeowners and the Japanese
studio KUU Architects, who designed the project, “it looks like
a cave”. On the lower floor is the garage, while the living room
and dining room are arranged on the first floor, on two slightly
staggered levels; each space is extremely irregular and gives
rise to different geometric shapes, as can be seen when
ascending to the upper levels. Here there is a study and,
among several flights of stairs, a small tearoom open
to the living room; then there is a Buddhist meditation room
and the sleeping area, with the master bedroom facing the
courtyard behind. The stone path running around the house
and the mountain defines a private area, paved with black
gravel, with moss acting as a transition between nature and the
built-up area. The effect of the light filtering through the large
living room window, combined with the texture of the stucco
painting, conveys a unique feeling. “It is difficult to describe in
words this sensation, but living there you experience it every
day”, Bao concludes. “I think this house invites people to
silence and tranquillity. It is a state of the soul to be pursued,
but when you reach it, you and your life are truly free”. —
In the master bedroom overlooking the rear
garden, the only chair present is Alvar Aalto’s
Tank for Artek, while the coffee table, which
can also serve as a stool or bedside table,
is Mattiazzi’s MC20. Next page, the use of
gravel curbs the luxuriant nature, as does the
stone path, lined with lush moss running
all around the house. The roof looks like a
lightweight sheet lying on top of the house.

122 ELLE DECOR

123 ELLE DECOR
Painted grey, the walls revamp
the classic Art Nouveau layout
with a current twist. Around
the fireplace, Square sofa,
De Padova, aluminium cubes by
Arno Kortschot, Studio Bakker
coffee table, stools by Charlotte
Perriand. In the background,
vintage wooden trolley and
filing cabinet; right, Popke Bakker
cube, works by Carlos Sarmento
and Martien Mulder.
CURRENT
HISTORY

Harmony of the past, energy of

the present. Balance on a human
scale defines Stef Bakker’s home
project in Amsterdam
words by Flavia Giorgi — photos by Kasia Gatkowska

125 ELLE DECOR

126 ELLE DECOR
Merged into a single space,
the dining room and the kitchen
(Bulthaup) are flooded with light
by the large window overlooking
the greenery. Design Afra and
Tobia Scarpa for the Monk chairs,
Molteni&C, around the vintage
table by Charles & Ray Eames.
Next to the window is also by
Eames the Aluminium Chair, Vitra;
side table by E15. Parentesi lamp
by Achille Castiglioni and
Pio Manzù, for Flos. On the walls,
lithographs by Bernard Buffet.

127 ELLE DECOR

In the early 20th century rooms, the Dutch designer left
the marks of a continuous, serene creative evolution
In the new house layout, flowing
paths, redesigned by Bakker,
characterise the rooms. Sliding
doors with side cupboards open
the passage from the living room
to the dining area and kitchen.
Italian design for the vintage teak
chair and floor lamp by Tito
Agnoli for Oluce. Lithograph by
J. Schoonhoven. Next page, in
the bathroom, mirrored cabinets
reflect the texture of the white
ceramic wall tiles. Posters
by David Chipperfield.
128 ELLE DECOR
Amsterdam. Clear light filters through the windows,
water slowly flows in the canals, earth provides nourishment
to the trees in a sacred, silent garden in the heart
of the city. Then, when the fireplace is lit and the warmth
of the flame combines with the comfort of the leather sofa,
the fire completes the circle. These are the primary elements
of a home where everything remains unchanged and
everything changes. This is the domestic dimension
of Stef Bakker, who first set foot on the top floor of the
Art Nouveau building, designed by François M.J. Caron
in 1904, ten years ago. No subsequent temptation to leave
this special place; instead, a constant desire to renew its
human capital, that microcosm made up of objects, colours
and memories that keeps a house alive and provides its
inhabitants with a sense of wellbeing. “We are in the
historic Jordaan district, close to the Royal Palace.
The view is of the Westertoren (Western Tower) and the
Gallery that was built there in the early 1900s”, says the
Dutch designer. “I was looking for a space that could
capture contemporary energy, in the quietness of a soft
environment. Here I found all the natural elements that
create harmony”. But also the architectural and
decorative features that express timeless canons of beauty:
the balconies on two fronts, with views of the canal
and the garden, the high ceilings adorned with cornices and
rosettes, the sequence of moulded doors. “I worked on
transforming the layout to set up open spaces and to ensure
that light rays, coming from opposite sides, could converge
at the centre of the house”, Bakker continues. “I have
preserved and restored the original Art Nouveau details,
the wood and plaster ornaments designed by Caron”.
Today, the neutrality of grey, chosen in different shades
to match the rooms, is the chromatic link between past and
present. Walls, doors and ceilings unite under the same
colour palette, and the uniformity induces a sense of calm.
In the rooms, furnishings, accessories and works of art
generate a multi-faceted universe that is constantly evolving.
The selection of furniture includes pieces by the masters
of international design, from Charlotte Perriand to
Charles & Ray Eames, but pays special attention to great
Italian authors such as Afra and Tobia Scarpa, Achille
Castiglioni and, again for the lamps, Tito Agnoli,
Mario Arnaboldi and Ernesto Gismondi. With a historical
view on contemporary design, Bakker puts icons and
lesser-known pieces, designer vintage furniture and
anonymous modern antiques into perspective. What is the
selection criterion? “Intuition”, is his lapidary answer, but
then he continues: “I prefer unusual vintage pieces to those
which everyone appreciates. They can create more
interesting spaces”. With an added value: a taste for
research. In this field, Bakker is a master, also in the literal
sense of the word. For many years, along with his
professional activity with his interior design studio, he has
been teaching at the Design Academy in Eindhoven,
Man & Well Being department. The subject? “Design
that adds value to our lives in any aspect and form, that
turns the ordinary into something special, animating matter.
Because the environments we inhabit should only serve
one purpose: our well-being”. No wonder the advice
he repeats to his students is, in one word, “Live!”. —
129 ELLE DECOR
130 ELLE DECOR
Silent oasis in the city,
the gardens are the view
from the rear façade of the
house, while the opposite side
overlooks the canals. Next page,
the green of nature dictates the
colour of the room, where walls
and ceiling are in olive shades
by Farrow&Ball. Yumeko bed
linen, Sintesi lamp by Artemide.
In the background, works by
Abel Minnée and Victor Vasarely.

131 ELLE DECOR

 In a frontier location among the Andean mountains,
the architect duo Pezo von Ellrichshausen presents their latest,
surprising creation: the Luna House, a home and
a cultural centre surrounded by nature
words by Gudrun Henrysdóttir — photos by Mads Mogensen — in collaboration with Paola Maraone

VISIONARY
BRUTALISM

132 ELLE DECOR

Top view of the imposing complex
in the Chilean region of Yungay,
at the foot of the Andes: almost
three quarters of the surface area
are outdoor spaces, with many
open rooms and courtyards at the
mercy of nature. Opposite page,
Sofía von Ellrichshausen,
who with Mauricio Pezo, her
partner in life and work, created
the Luna House, a private home
and cultural centre.
Exposed concrete, large windows
and flower-filled courtyards,
Luna House was built with the
utmost respect for the pre-existing
landscape. Next door, in the
kitchen and dining room, as well
as in the other functional areas of
the home, furniture has been
strategically placed at openings
to provide views of specific
features of the surroundings.

134 ELLE DECOR

136 ELLE DECOR
Sofía in one of the ateliers
of the house, divided into 12
independent blocks. Opposite
page, the relaxation area in
one of the patios, adjoining a
room whose centrepiece is a
spectacular concrete staircase
leading to the upper level
and terraces. The openings in
walls and roofs are essential
articulation devices, each room
functioning as a threshold for
an infinite connection of spaces.
Above, on the upper level, a
circular library fulfils its practical
function and at the same time
offers a sensory experience. To
the right, in the foreground, an
outdoor pool reflects the
building’s Brutalist architecture
like a mirror. Opposite, Rosa is
one of two additional pavilions
rising 700 metres from the Luna
House, offering a unique view
of the valley and mountains.
“Luna House is not only a private home, but also a place
for creative expression, ours and others’”
Sofía von Ellrichshausen
Thick forests, fertile plains, great quiet and wilderness:
this is where the Andes begin. Santa Lucia Alto, in Chile’s Yungay
region, is a border point between the valley and the mountain
landscape, and the place that Sofía von Ellrichshausen
and Mauricio Pezo, founders of the award-winning architecture
firm of the same name, have chosen as their home. “It is a very
broad definition”, Sofía explains. “Luna House, as we have
named it, is not just our private home. We also consider it a
cultural centre, as it is not only intended for domestic use,
but also for creative expression, ours and others’”. This
spectacular ‘combined space’ in the heart of the Andes is a
surprising presence, almost a mystical object that seems to have
suddenly landed from the sky. On the other hand, it is as if it had
always been here, capable of existing without disturbing
the surrounding nature: “We blurred the boundaries and blended
artificial with natural elements, building the house around the
trees that were already there”, say the architects. The result
is a genuine, yet visionary mix of brutalism and minimalist
architecture perfectly integrated into the landscape, an epitome
of the couple’s passion for creating original forms and using
exposed concrete. “In reality, the house is an aggregate
of 12 different buildings, separated from each other by seismic
joints (connecting and dividing elements) kept deliberately
visible, for a total surface area of about 2,400 square metres”,
the architects explain. The intricate structure has a square plan
with a large courtyard in the centre, around which a colonnade,
that resembles a cloister, intermittently runs. “This is what
inspired us to find the name of the home, that is, Luna House:
its dimensions are equivalent to those of a 45x45 metre
arena, called ‘medialuna’ in the Chilean rural tradition”.
An asymmetric cross shape breaks it down into sections, each of
which has a different identity: in one there is a pool that
collects water naturally, in another a flower garden... “Some
rooms are functional spaces: bedrooms, a kitchen, a library and
studios for painting, architectural design and carpentry.
Some have an intimate atmosphere, others a more public
character, almost like a gallery/showroom with double-height
ceilings. But most are completely or partially open-air,
flexible spaces, with many intermediate courtyards connecting
them. And a variety of openings, whether they be round,
square, wide or thin, ceiling or wall, to create different sensory
experiences”, Sofia says. The place is big enough to ensure
privacy when needed, but small enough to feel the bond
with the other guests: “I compare it to living in a block of flats,
where everyone has their own private ‘shelter’, but where one
shares the building with others, so in a way they live together”.
It is a permeable, out-of-the-ordinary building, where the
inhabitants are always standing on a threshold between
communicating rooms; where there is no partition
but a continuum; and where the apparent hardness of the
exposed concrete walls is softened by the green of the foliage,
flowers and aquatic elements: “Today it is a place for our
creative expression but, ideally, it will survive us and be destined
to host other artists”, Sofia concludes, smiling. —
139 ELLE DECOR
In one of the areas serving
as a studio, zenithal light
creates a striking lighting effect,
which changes according
to the time of day; the minimalist
interior defines, here as elsewhere,
the overall design of the Luna
House. Opposite page, one
of the bedrooms; each room
overlooks one of the courtyards,
connecting a private interior
and a shared outdoor space.
141 ELLE DECOR
 INSIDEDESIGN
Rituals and essential oils for daily well-being.
Materials and appliances turn smart
by Tamara Bianchini and Murielle Bortolotto

Botanical research and pharmaceutical

know-how are at the heart of Equation’s
line of home and body products.
An idea by pharmacist Giusi Aricò
and gardener Michele Faro, who
combined their expertise to create
lotions, soaps and fragrances that
contain essential oils and natural
extracts created and grown in Sicily,
the brand’s headquarters. Pictured,
shower gel, scrub and the latest home
fragrances. equazionebeauty.com
Photo by Gianluca Bellomo – Styling Murielle Bortolotto and Tamara Bianchini

143 ELLE DECOR

INSIDE DESIGN/WELLNESS

[1]

[2]

1. Sliding door made of tempered glass (8mm) for the A180 shower recess designed by Arblu.
Also bespoke and with contours in different metal finishes. arblu.it 2. Clean lines distinguish
Origini Accent by Gessi. Tapware with a colourful circle/touch, available in Ocra, Greige,
Agave and Cipria. gessi.com 3. Kaleidoscopic effect. A special film covers the laminated glass
of the freestanding Dicroico washbasin by Davide Vercelli for Artelinea, which interacts
with the light and creates plays of colour in the room. artelinea.it 4. Japanese inspiration for the
Zencha bathtub. Square or rectangular matte DuraSolid® body. An idea by Sebastian Herkner
for Duravit, to be matched to the furniture from the same series. duravit.it

[3] [4]

144 ELLE DECOR

 INSIDE DESIGN/PROJECTS

Privacy and comfort for the centre of the room. With accessories and
furniture designed with clean lines and delicate or rainbow hues

A comfortable backrest for

daily relaxation and a wide,
flat edge define the Ofelia
bathtub, part of the I Catini
series designed by Andrea
Parisio and Giuseppe Pezzano
for Ceramica Cielo. Made with
LivingTec, available in a matte
white, Brina or Arenaria finish,
it’s supported by a light, black
painted metal frame.
ceramicacielo.it

145 ELLE DECOR

INSIDE DESIGN/MATERIALS

[1]

[2]

1. Mimicking marine wood interspersed by timber strips,

the Yacht Club collection by Cerasarda is actually made of
porcelain stoneware. Available in a matte or mirror-smooth
finish, in three colour variations: Moro, Dorato and Castano.
cerasarda.it, grupporomanispa.com
2. Design and function define the Ego Smart switch plate
from the ChoruSmart range designed by Gewiss. Made of
technopolymer, in twelve colours, with a satin finish, it
features a graphic display with icons and controls to
manage comfort and safety with one click. More features
can be added thanks to the Home Gateway app. The
illumination system is LED perimeter lighting. gewiss.com
3. Eco materials. Utilising the scraps from processing
Vicenza stone, and a cement-based mixture without added
resins, Grassi Pietre has created Alpi 4.0. A special
covering intended for floors and accessories. grassipietre.it
4. A new stove with a painted steel cladding is Milù
by Palazzetti. With a broad view of the flames
and five-star environmental performance. Plus Ecofire®
technology, a Speedy Clean drawer, and an app
for remote control. palazzetti.it

[3] [4]

146 ELLE DECOR


Heating and environmentally friendly surfaces. A smart switch
and an ever-evolving brand’s headquarters
[1]
1. An architectural space, now renovated and
enlarged, in which glass is the main feature, turns into
a place of experience: it’s Schüco’s German
headquarters. 2. The new building, Schüco One,
designed by the Danish studio 3XN Architects,
spreads across seven floors. Inside are open spaces
and workstations. Outside, the façade is designed with
[2] [3]
INSIDE DESIGN/PROJECTS
aluminium Schüco AWS75.SI windows that promote
exposure to solar radiation, while optimally reducing
the thermal load. 3. The Welcome Forum is divided
into reception areas with bars, sitting rooms and
a Computer Center for training sessions, as well
as a showroom displaying the brand’s residential and
contracted systems. shueco.com
147 ELLE DECOR
INSIDE DESIGN/KITCHEN

[1]

1. For five generations DeManincor’s kitchen stoves have inhabited the space devoted to food preparation
and cooking. A know-how that begins in Trentino, the company’s headquarters, and reaches across the
Peninsula and overseas. The systems are characterised by an innovative and technical spirit with a classic
aesthetic. However, for a contemporary look, one can simply choose from the many finishes, colours and
equipment in the Bespoke Kitchen range. demanincor.com 2. The award-winning chef René Redzepi from
Denmark’s Noma has published the book ‘Noma 2.0: Vegetable, Forest, Ocean’ edited by Artisan.
A project that includes 200 recipes created by the famous cook with Mette Søberg, head of the kitchen,
and Junichi Takahashi aka Ryoriya (chef from Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture), also a veteran team member.
Page after page one can see why Copenhagen’s restaurant ranks at the top of the world’s best. noma.dk
3. From the professional to the domestic. The Minimatic blast chiller designed by Antonio Citterio
for Hizone keeps the food’s quality and properties unaltered thanks to an intuitive touch display and a
detection probe, which ensure an even temperature for different preparations. hizone.it

[2] [3]

148 ELLE DECOR

 ARTSHOW
February – exhibitions, events and openings.
The best of contemporary art and new
expressions in Italy and around the world
by Piera Belloni
Photo Florian Holzherr © James Turrell, ‘Light & Space’, Copenhagen Contemporary

Light and colour. It’s hard to describe

the estrangement and the sense of loss
of time and space brought about
by ‘Aftershock’, the installation by
James Turrell. Best witnessed in person
at the Copenhagen Contemporary.
There’s a whole year of time, until
30/12. copenhagencontemporary.org

151 ELLE DECOR


From the Biennale to Berlin
Opening on 24 February at the Hamburger Bahnhof is
‘Dreams Have no Titles’ by Zineb Sedira, a project that
mixes video, sculpture, photography and performance;
originally conceived for the French Pavilion at the last
Venice Biennale (pictured, ‘Le Bal with dancers’). For this
reprise, the French-Algerian artist arranges the spaces like
film sets, interweaving portions of her biography with
activist film productions. Until 30/7. smb.museum/hbf
Photos by Zineb Sedira – Gianluca Pollini – Adriano Mura, Courtesy La Galleria Nazionale – © Melania Dalle Grave / DSL Studio
Group show in Rome
Taking its title from Mona Hatoum’s 2009 work by the same
name (pictured in the foreground) is ‘Hot Spot. Caring
for a Burning World’, at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte
Moderna e Contemporanea. A highly emotional exhibit
that, through the poetry of art, issues a warning about
our planet’s condition. In addition to the aforementioned
Hatoum, there are works by Cinto, Calzolari, Young,
Applebroog. Until 26/2. lagallerianazionale.com
ART PREVIEW
Photography in Milan
In collaboration with MIA Fair the BAG-Bocconi Art Gallery
hosts ‘Arquitectonica’ by Gianluca Pollini, until 4/4.
The exhibition consists of 15 daytime images deliberately
defined by saturated colours and sharp contrasts;
the focus is the Bolognese artist’s research on architecture,
specifically that of the 20th century (pictured,
‘Tresigallo’, 2019) and that of Aldo Rossi. miafair.it/
arquitectonica-di-gianluca-pollini/
Solo exhibition in Brescia
Two video installations, together with printed wallpaper
and a series of digital photos, make up the corpus of
‘The Disorderly’, the show by Sonia Boyce on stage at the
16th-century Apalazzo Gallery (pictured). In an evocative
dialogue between contemporary and historical, the
multimedia artist presents new pieces alongside a reissue of
one of her performances, ‘Six Acts’ from 2018: halfway
between transgression and irony. Until 23/2. apalazzo.net
153 ELLE DECOR
The
international
design
magazine
on interiors
and trends
lifestyle
architecture
and art

N EXT2023

DESIGN/ ARCHITECTURE / DECOR /

PEOPLE / LIFESTYLE /
A PREVIEW OF THE YEAR’S BEST
 N EXT2023
Design/ architecture/
decoration/ people/
lifestyle/ A preview of the
year’s best (places, projects,
ideas and people) to be
discovered in the following
40 pages. The choices?
Are those favoured
by Elle Decor. Because they
are forward-looking and pay
attention to sustainability;
not just beautiful, but also
meaningful. From London’s
new Serpentine pavilion,
designed by Lina Ghotmeh,
to Triennale Milano’s tribute
to Angelo Mangiarotti.
From Sou Fujmoto’s green
architecture to the Sponge
Cities, the Asian metropolises
that absorb CO2. As well
as design trends and
experimentations, from
research on materials to
oversized furniture. There is
no shortage of personalities
open to new ideas:
passionate, revolutionary,
promising. From activist
Tosin Oshinowo to curator
Serena Tabacchi, from chef
Andoni Luis Aduriz to
bio-designer Malu Lücking.
Images, concepts and good
intentions kick off the new
year in the name of talent
and positive thinking, which
finally made its return.
3 ELLE DECOR
FRENCH CONNECTION
The inauguration of the Serpentine
Pavilion, a temporary architecture
built next to the Galleries by the same
name, in London, is a customary
event in early summer. Entrusted since
the first edition to a big name or an
emerging talent, this year’s author
is Lina Ghotmeh, a French Lebanese
designer based in Paris. Known for
her multidisciplinary approach to
architecture, with attention to the
history and nature of the place where
she works, Ghotmeh designed
4 ELLE DECOR
Render © Lina Ghotmeh – Architecture, Courtesy Serpentine
a simple and expressive building
for the occasion. Formally it takes
its cue from the surroundings, the
greenery and tree canopies of
Kensington Gardens where it is
located. The structure is defined
by an ‘umbrella’ roof whose pitches
fold like an origami. Poetic and
at the same time functional,
it encapsulates the concepts of
meeting and community that have
always characterised the event.
serpentinegalleries.org P.B.
 THE ASPHALT WILL BLOOM
Turning squares and pavements green,
creating gardens where it would seem
Photo ©Yann Monel and Wagon Landscaping
impossible, to give land back to cities:
this is the 2023 trend, in line with the
many recommendations on respect for
the soil and its recovery. The European
Union has just put the question at
the top of its agenda, and the Italian
government has promised to issue
a law on the reuse of built-up land
by the end of the year. Future urban
redevelopments therefore require
the removal of asphalt and concrete
(‘depaving’) to restore permeability
to the land. “There is a huge list of
services rendered by soil to our cities,
including fostering the water cycle,
storing CO2, mitigating the effects of
global warming”, explained Paolo
Pileri, Professor of Urban Planning at
the Polytechnic University of Milan.
Exemplary is ‘Asphalt Jungle’, the
prototype garden “extracted from
asphalt” by Wagon Landscaping in the
11° arrondissement of Paris, created
by ‘cutting out’ bitumen to plant new
pioneer species among the clumps.
wagon-landscaping.fr G.Z.
5 ELLE DECOR
MATTER ON STAGE
Unprecedented applications for
ceramics and stone, which when
shaped become sculptural objects or
decorate furnishings. One example
is Zdora, the project by Serena
Confalonieri (presented at Edit Napoli
last September) where Compact
Stone – composed of ground,
processed and compacted porphyry,
quartz and granite – takes centre
stage. Together with the kitchen brand
Very Simple Kitchen, matter evolves
and is transformed into a table
characterised by a chequered pattern,
which like a tablecloth covers the top
6 ELLE DECOR
and the edge (lapietracompatta.it,
verysimplekitchen.com). On
the top, vases by Egidio Milesi
(ceramichemilesi.com) and Buchi
doorstop, from the Monomateria
series, by Studiocharlie for Mipa
(mipadesign.com). From the Standard
Collection by David/Nicolas for
Delsavio, the coffee table with marble
and coloured cement pattern divided
by a steel profile (delsavio.com).
On the floor, Polso rug by Duccio
Maria Gambi for cc-tapis. Hand-
knotted, made of Himalayan wool.
cc-tapis.com M.B.
Photos Andrea Garuti – styling by Tamara Bianchini and Murielle Bortolotto
 AFRICAN INSPIRATION
An architect and activist, she founded
the CmDesign Atelier studio in Lagos,
Nigeria, in 2021. Tosin Oshinowo,
together with Vanessa Nakate,
spokesperson for Fridays for Future,
is the sub-Saharan face most engaged
by the challenges of climate
change: both promote a vision of
design that rediscovers the centrality
of man. On 11/11, in Sharjah, United
Arab Emirates, with Mariam Kamara
and Beatrice Galilee, she will be
the star of the second edition of the
Photos Eleanor Goodey
Sharjah Architecture Triennial,
of which she is curator. With ‘The
Beauty of Impermanence:
An Architecture of Adaptability’, s
he will try to refocus the global
debate on the theme of scarcity. If it
is true that deprivation, in the Global
South, has triggered the practice
of reuse, collaboration and adaptation
and defined a new green design
culture, then it is to Africa that
we must look to save the world.
sharjaharchitecture.org P.C.
7 ELLE DECOR
 MACBETH IS BACK
A play about the quest for power
in medieval Scotland set in the
modern age: not an easy task, which
director Davide Livermore has fully
accomplished. His ‘Macbeth’, Verdi’s
opera based on a Shakespearean
piece, opened the 2021/2022 season
at La Scala and was widely acclaimed.
The director (together with Giò Forma
for the sets, Gianluca Falaschi for the
costumes, Antonio Castro for the lights,
D-Wok for the videos) reinterpreted the
story making reference to particularly
Photo Brescia e Amisano © Teatro alla Scala
8 ELLE DECOR
evoking cinematic masterpieces:
from the cities crossed by suspended
motorways of ‘Metropolis’ (Fritz Lang)
to the amplified kaleidoscopic skylines
of ‘Inception’ (Christopher Nolan), in
a dystopian city. He also turned the
original royal court rooms into refined
bourgeois interiors reminiscent of Piero
Portaluppi’s designs. Impressive on the
small screen (we admired it on the live
broadcast of 2021), it is even more so
live: not to be missed, on stage from
17/6 to 8/7. teatroallascala.org P.B.
9 ELLE DECOR
ICONIC UPCYCLING
Everything revolves around the
bentwood Thonet chair from the 1920s,
although Charlotte Kingsnorth – a
master’s degree from Buckinghamshire
University and a specialisation course in
product design from the Royal College
of Art – has chosen the name ‘Puff
Around Mundus’ for her work, a tribute
to the company that was acquired by the
historic Vienna-based brand in 1922.
To promote her idea of reparability, the
British designer goes back to the roots of
the project: she recovers the frames of
10 ELLE DECOR
old, worn-out chairs to define
a new grammar of reuse and, in a
delicate and unexpected way, ‘fixes’
what we tend to discard. “I wrapped,
rather”, she points out, “I let a brightly
coloured inflatable fabric embrace the
battered skeleton to give the object new
dignity. Which, however, despite its
age continues to make design history”.
The final effect is that of a soft, warm
quilt that warms and amuses. As much
the structure as those who sit on it.
charlottekingsnorth.com P.C.
Courtesy Objective Gallery
 THE DREAMERS
It is in 2020 that Eleonora Carbone
and Alessandro D’Angeli founded
Naessi Studio in Rome, where they
studied Architecture and Industrial
Design (Eleonora at the Roma Tre
University, and Alessandro at La
Sapienza). “With great timing”, they
remark with a hint of sarcasm: a couple
in life and in their profession, theirs was
a decidedly challenging pre-pandemic
debut. But, you know, time heals all
wounds: they work hard and in 2022,
at the Lake Como Design Festival, they
presented Undated, the first
Courtesy Studio Naessi
of three ‘curvy’ chairs. “A solid wood
micro-sculpture, carved in continuity
with the human body. And defined
with the Japanese technique Shou Sugi
Ban, which carbonises the surface”, a
tribute to the ancient relics that dot their
city. Abstract and conceptual, they are
among the leading figures of the Italian
Nouvelle Vague, exporting our savoir-
faire and craftsmanship in the world:
in 2023 they will fly to London, where
they will exhibit their pieces at the
American gallery StudioTwentyseven.
naessi.com P.C.
11 ELLE DECOR
NEW GARDEN CITIES
The eco-metropolis of the future will look
like this, as shown by this aerial photo
of the Fengxiang Park in Haikou, China,
designed by architect Kongjian Yu of
Beijing-based studio Turenscape. We
are talking about the ‘Sponge cities’,
theorised by Yu, which take the best
measures to adapt the urban fabric to
floods and deluges because they can
absorb the rain, purifying and recycling
it thanks to the presence of widespread
greenery. In this virtuous model, urban
12 ELLE DECOR
planning takes natural cycles into account.
“Buildings made of only concrete and
steel are not resilient, which is why they
are more exposed to risk of disasters.
We must rethink the way we treat water”,
says Yu. The Chinese government has
chosen 16 pilot cities to implement the
innovative landscaping strategies; among
them are Wuhan, Chongqing and Xiamen,
with wetland areas, roof gardens, natural
habitats and paths that are now setting
the standard. turenscape.com/en G.Z.
Photo ©Turenscape
 A ROOF FOREST
An original green roof for a perfect mix
of architecture and nature. Sou Fujimoto
intends to plant a micro-forest over the
new pavilion of the Dazaifu Tenmangu
Shinto shrine in Fukuoka, Japan; this
temporary structure will be inaugurated
in spring and remain open until 2026.
“It is a project designed to blend in with
the surrounding landscape, projecting
the spiritual tradition of the place into
the future”, said the famous Japanese
architect. The hallmark of his mimetic
Render ©Sou Fujimoto Architects
temple is precisely the visual continuity
between the sacred building and the
woods. The concave surface of the roof
garden welcomes local species, in a sort
of flying carpet that recalls the legend
according to which a cherry tree flew
here from Kyoto during a night when its
owner was absent. The hall, with its wide
horizontal development, is meant for ritual
functions. A skylight also allows visitors
to enjoy a view of the roof garden from
inside. sou-fujimoto.net G.Z.
13 ELLE DECOR
DESIGN EXPERIMENTS
With ‘Mirror Mirror: Reflections
on Design at Chatsworth’, the
creations of 16 contemporary artists
and designers directly interact with a
spectacular 18th century mansion in
Derbyshire, east of Manchester,
establishing unexpected relationships
with the architecture, interiors
and furnishings. From 18/3 to 1/10,
on show in the rooms and park that
have belonged to the Cavendish
family for almost five centuries and
host an extraordinary private
collection of artworks by Joris
Laarman, Faye Toogood,
Ettore Sottsass, Formafantasma,
Max Lamb, Michael Anastassiades
(pictured, ‘A New Seeing’ by
Wendell Castle), among many others.
Minimum common denominator: the
innovative use of materials to design
functional and surprising objects in
harmony with the spirit of the place.
chatsworth.org L.M.

Courtesy Friedman Benda and Wendell Castle Inc.

14 ELLE DECOR
 A TRIBUTE TO KARL
The exhibition that the Costume
Institute of the Metropolitan in
New York devotes to ‘Karl Lagerfeld:
A Line of Beauty’, opens in May.
With a spectacular staging, in
collaboration with Chanel and Fendi
(brands for which the famous designer
was creative director for years), about
150 garments combined with sketches
illustrate the original working method
of the master, perhaps the last icon and
among the brightest stars of the fashion
world. The ‘line of beauty’ mentioned
in the title of the show is narrated
through different sections symbolising
the couturier’s different expressions
of style: from linear silhouettes to
S-shaped designs, up to the ‘satirical
line’, a section on irony, extravagance
and the pleasure of playing (pictured,
Karl Lagerfeld fashion show, S/S 2009).
From 5/5, after the famous MET Gala,
to 16/7. metmuseum.org P.B.
Photo Olivier Saillant, Courtesy Karl Lagerfeld
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

15 ELLE DECOR
 WELL-BEING BEYOND THE 5 SENSES
Countdown to the first opening
of the Asian hospitality brand Six
Senses in Italy. In the setting of
Palazzo Salviati Mellini, Rome,
Patricia Urquiola has designed a
project that interweaves the historical
stratifications of a 15th-century
building with a contemporary
reflection on the concepts of well-being
and sustainability, at the heart
of the operator’s philosophy. From
the rooms to the common areas, the
choice of materials, colours and
16 ELLE DECOR
patterns speaks of a vision of profound
harmony with nature and, at the same
time, recalls themes linked to the
Roman heritage. An example of this
is the wellness area (pictured, a detail
of the hammam) where the reference
to classicism is evident in the choice
of travertine for the ceilings
and the large arches that punctuate
the rooms, and in the sequence of
bathrooms echoing the traditional
Roman baths: calidarium, tepidarium,
frigidarium. sixsenses.com B.S.
 CAMOUFLAGE ART
Liu Bolin, the chameleon of
contemporary art – famous for his
performances in which he blends
in with the surroundings thanks to
meticulous body painting – lands
in the Tuscan capital. Produced in
collaboration with Milan’s Galleria
Gaburro and Florentine municipal
institutions, the project is called
‘Hiding in Florence’. Last year,
the Chinese artist and his team
selected the locations for a series
of unpublished shots that will be
presented in the coming months
Photo Yanzi Creative, courtesy of the Uffizi Galleries
and, in part, donated to the Uffizi
Galleries (pictured, Bolin during the
preparatory phase of his installation/
performance). “The chameleon has
the extraordinary prerogative of
changing colour to match that of the
background”, confirms the artist, who
applies the same process in his works.
For years, Bolin has established a
special relationship with Italy, which
has led him to camouflage with
the archaeological site of Pompeii,
the Reggia di Caserta and Milan
Cathedral. galleriagaburro.com L.M.
17 ELLE DECOR
LIGHT, SOUND, MOVEMENT
An aura of uniqueness surrounds
‘Adam’s Passion’, a play created
by Arvo Part and Robert Wilson
that recounts the life of Adam after
his expulsion from Eden. These
exceptional vibes are due
to the music, contemplative and
sacred, by one of the greatest living
composers; to the concept
by Wilson, an artist, furniture and
exhibition designer, painter
and author of video portraits, who
took care of the direction, as well as
of scenography and lighting setup;
18 ELLE DECOR
to the choreographies created by
Lucinda Childs, a famous icon of
post-modern dance; and, last but not
least, to the fact that this total work
of art will debut in Italy thanks to the
Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, where
it will premiere (exclusively for our
country) on 31/3. This show – set in
the spectacular architectural context of
the Cloud by Fuksas, in the EUR district,
with replicas on 1 and 2/4 – promises
to be an amazing journey into the
world of sound, light, visual art and
performance. operaroma.it P.B.
Photos Kristian Kruuser
 META HOSPITALITY
Even the world of hospitality is destined
to make its debut in the Metaverse: the
best-known hotel chains, from Marriott
to Wyndham Hotel and Resorts,
are already exploring forms and
languages of interaction between the
virtual universe and the physical spaces
of hospitality venues. As is the case in
the legendary Hôtel La Louisiane, Paris,
where artist-designer Harry Nuriev
has transformed the interior of one of
the iconic oval rooms, the number 36,
until it matched the virtual reality of the
Photo Benoit Florençon, courtesy Crosby Studios
Metaverse. How? Through the creation
of digital works that ‘reveal’ what
happens in the hotel and in this room,
all filmed by closed-circuit security
cameras. Obviously, the line between
reality and imagination is very fine:
the original furnishings and decorations
have been replaced by real-life
renderings and the hotel guests by their
virtual avatars. Each work is available
in 33 copies (certified with NFT) that
can be purchased in cryptocurrency
at parislalouisiane.com B.S.
19 ELLE DECOR
POSITIVE THINKING
The right to mental privacy, free
will and equal access to cognitive
enhancement technologies seem
long-term goals, yet Chile has recently
included them in its Constitution.
Indeed, neural technologies have
so far developed faster than the
legislation that would try to regulate
them. The American company
Neuralink, for example, promises to
implement a direct interface between
the human brain and computer, and
in 2023 plans to start human trials
20 ELLE DECOR
of an implantable microchip that will
make it possible to help people with
impairments or addictions.
While this development looks like
a revolution, it also brings with it
many risks, as German filmmaker
Werner Herzog points out in his latest
documentary ‘Theatre of Thought’,
in which he tackles the philosophical,
ethical and social implications
of such rapidly growing neural
technology. neuralink.com,
wernerherzog.com M.L.C.
Photos Getty images
 FASHIONABLE CANDY GLASS
Refined shades of colour run across the
glass and give life to furnishings and
accessories to showcase.
Left, Bon Bon modular pouf-table
designed by the creative duo Draga
& Aurel for Milan’s Galleria Nilufar.
Made of resin and brass, it consists
of three discs that can be stacked
one on top of the other (nilufar.com).
Behind, Tall Horizon Screen created
by Dutch designer Germans Ermics,
on sale at Rossana Orlandi,
characterised by a slight curvature in
Photo Andrea Garuti – styling by Murielle Bortolotto and Tamara Bianchini
the base and colours imprinted
on frosted glass with a hypnotic effect
(rossanaorlandi.com). Part
of the Simoon collection designed
by Patricia Urquiola for Glas Italia,
the table is made of Murano glass
sheets, recycled from production
waste, ‘ground’ and recomposed.
Diameter cm 140x74h (glasitalia.com).
On the top, Murano blown glass vase,
Sospesi, by Zanellato/Bortotto
for The Gallery Brussel
(zanellatobortotto.com). M.B.
21 ELLE DECOR
 IMMERSIVE
EXPERIENCE
There is an innovative idea
on how to propose art in the Lightroom
exhibition space opened on 25/1
in London by 59 Productions, a design
studio specialising in audio-video
installations, and London Theatre
Company. The concept, based on the
latest digital and sound technologies,
aims to directly involve artists: and the
first is one of the world’s most famous,
David Hockney, on stage with the
exhibition/show ‘Bigger & Closer
(not smaller and further away)’.
With spectacular immersive projections
(pictured, ‘Gregory Swimming
Los Angeles March 31st, composite
Polaroid 27 3/4x51 1/4’), combined
with a soundtrack composed by
Nico Muhly and thoughts recited by
the artist himself, the author leads
the public to discover sixty years
of his work, including little-known and
previously unpublished works. Until
23/4. lightroom.uk P.B.
Photo ©David Hockney

22 ELLE DECOR
23 ELLE DECOR
KUSAMA IN MILAN
There’s a point of convergence between
the different media — painting, sculpture,
performance and installations – used
by Yayoi Kusama: the thousands of
multicoloured, two- or three-dimensional
Polka Dots that, endlessly repeated,
obsessively populate drawings, painted
canvases and site-specific spaces.
Until 16/2, they will appear in and
out of Garage Traversi, the rationalist
architecture by Giuseppe De Min
redeveloped by Louis Vuitton and
temporarily serving as the Maison’s
24 ELLE DECOR
store in Milan. This exhibit thus
celebrates the launch of the renewed
collaboration, following the first in
2012, between Vuitton and Kusama,
which has resulted in a collection of
accessories and clothes inspired by the
Japanese artist’s leitmotifs, i.e. polka
dots, metallic spheres and flowers.
Waiting to dive into one of her Infinity
rooms, the famous ‘Fireflies on the
water’, on show at the Palazzo della
Ragione in Bergamo next November.
en.louisvuitton.com P.B.
Courtesy Louis Vuitton
 COLOUR SCULPTURES
Reissued furnishings, designed
for the near future, and brand-new
piece are all defined by geometric
shapes, chosen in pop tones. Like the
Nostalghia rug by Elisa Ossino for
Amini Carpet, made of ecological
cotton and decorated with abstract
patterns (amini.it). Below, from
left, two-tone stripes for the Pemo
Chair mini armchair by designer
Arthur Arbesser (arthurarbesser.
com). A cult Multichair piece by Joe
Colombo, 1970, for B-Line, now in
the unprecedented tangerine shade
Photo Andrea Garuti – styling by Murielle Bortolotto and Tamara Bianchini
(b-line.it); next, the Spina C5.1 console
by Cara/Davide Studio for Portego.
Made of glossy lacquered MDF in the
shade Dusty Red (portego.it). On the
floor, ‘Colourscapes – Architecture’,
acrylic on linen, by Tommaso Fantoni
for Nilufar (nilufar.com). Right, the
iconic Karelia by Liisi Beckmann, 1966,
for Zanotta, in the new bi-elastic fabric
cover (zanotta.it). Last but not least,
and in tune with this mood, the Roma
Dodecagono lamp by Nassi,
with a travertine base and linen
lampshade (nassilamps.com). M.B.
25 ELLE DECOR
COMMON GOOD
2023 is the centenary of the first
edition of the Biennial of Decorative
Arts that originated the Triennale
Milano, so the Milanese institution
is preparing to celebrate it with a
rich programme of cultural events,
including an exhibition devoted
to the Milanese architect Angelo
Mangiarotti (opposite page).
Furthermore, the anniversary is
also an opportunity for the Palazzo
dell’Arte to reclaim its role as a
militant meeting point: a place
where dialogue becomes discovery,
26 ELLE DECOR
opportunity, enrichment. “Where we
grow and challenge tomorrow, so that
knowledge regains its ascendancy
and becomes the only true antibody
in our lives”, said its president Stefano
Boeri. For the next few years, until
2026, the strategic plan defined by
the ‘Design the Future’ board includes
four objectives, established from year
to year, to which project sites will be
linked. For the current year, 17 have
been identified. On the website ‘future.
triennale.org’, it’s possible to follow
their developments. P.C.
©Triennale Milano 2022, Design: Studio Mut, Illustration: Jonathan Calugi
 FULL-BLOODED MILANESE
Architect, designer, sculptor and
academic, Angelo Mangiarotti
was a leading figure in international
architecture and urban planning, one
of the few Italian masters capable
of exporting his design philosophy
abroad. The Triennale Milano
celebrates him by devoting one of
the most complete and exhaustive
retrospectives ever held on the figure
of the Milanese architect: with ‘Angelo
Mangiarotti. Quando le strutture
prendono forma’ (Angelo Mangiarotti.
When structures take shape), over
sixty years of his activity — told through
Angelo Mangiarotti, Splügen Bräu Industrial Depot, Mestre (Venice), 1962. Giulio Barazzetta Archive
a wide selection of works, projects,
documents and materials, many
of which have never been showcased
before and made available by the
Fondazione Angelo Mangiarotti —
take centre stage. The exhibition,
which is part of the collaboration
established by the Milanese institution
to promote all the cultural productions
it hosts, is curated by Fulvio Irace,
with the valuable support of Fondazione
Angelo Mangiarotti and the contribution
of Renzo Piano. Set-up by Ottavio
Di Blasi & Partner. From 27/1
to 23/4. triennale.org P.C.
27 ELLE DECOR
THE FUTURE OF NFT
From web 3.0 to crypto art galleries in
Milan, Florence, Rome: Serena Tabacchi,
blockchain enthusiast, spills the tea
Portrayed by crypto artist Foja, the director and
co-founder of MOCDA, Museum of Contemporary
Digital Art in London, is among the foremost experts
on NFT, Crypto Art, blockchain and the Metaverse.
Together with Tom Van Avermaet – Oscar-nominated
and European Film Award-winning acclaimed
filmmaker – and Dominique Perrini – technical mind
behind the afore-mentioned museum and specialist in
‘scalable architecture’ – she conceived a
multidisciplinary, interactive and widespread space.
The team’s purpose was not to build a digital,
non-physical art collection and fall into the cliché of
the relationship between ‘technology and art’,
but to narrate the ‘digital for the digital’. So, thanks to
her MA at Rada and Birkbeck in the City, where she
learnt how to turn a text into a screenplay, she tried
28 ELLE DECOR
to establish a dialogue between the real and virtual
worlds, with the aim of interconnecting them in a
mutual exchange. This year she will be active in the
institutionalisation of digital art: in Milan at the
Building Gallery, in Florence, in the blue tunnels of
the Rifugio Digitale, in Rome at Maison Bosi.
“The work’s non-fungible token certificate of
authenticity is not yet legally recognised. Therefore,
to gain accreditation in the world of culture, NFTs
need to physically enter art galleries”, as has
happened in the past with Dadaism or Street Art.
It is therefore time to close the circle: “The economic
speculation that exploded on the web now seems
Courtesy Foja
to have subsided”, and works can return to
the public at a collector’s price, notwithstanding the
blockchain market. mocda.org P.C.
 A CAT-ALOGUE OF COLLECTIBLES
2023 new must-haves: designer lamps
and ceramic cats. Gru by Davide
Frattini Frilli, for Martinelli Luce, leans
against the wall and is a featherweight.
Painted iron lamp, available in three
colours (martinelliluce.it).
Lungo and Seduto black cats from
the Aldo Londi collection for Bitossi
(bitossiceramiche.it); light blue and
white, Resting Cat by Front for Vitra
(vitra.com). Decorated ceramic bowl
by Gucci (gucci.com). On the top
of the marble console from the Table
Collection, designed by Antonio Citterio
Photo Andrea Garuti – styling by Murielle Bortolotto and Tamara Bianchini
for Knoll (knoll-int.com): left, Nitia lamp
by Rodolfo Bonetto, 1971, a re-edition
by iGuzzini (iguzzini.com); right,
w203 Ilumina by Ilse Crawford
for Wastberg (wastberg.com). On
the bottom, Micia maxi pouf by
Atelier Biagetti, from the Pet Therapy
collection, made with recycled material
and for indoor and outdoor spaces
(atelierbiagetti.com). On the floor,
‘Macchiato’ cat by Fornasetti (fornasetti.
com); black and white graphics for the
rug, from the Tessute series, by Chiara
Andreatti for Radici (radici.it). M.B.
29 ELLE DECOR
PLAY IT AGAIN, JOAN
From the collaboration between
Marco Guazzini, a designer based in
Versilia, and Joan Thiele, a singer-
songwriter and producer based in
Milan, came ‘Mwjt #01wb’. Codes
aside, it’s a new model of electric
guitar combining the potential of
Marwoolus®, a blend of marble
and wool, with the sounds of indie
music. A short circuit that is as
unprecedented as it is melodic for the
design sector: the vibrations
produced by the material mimic
the typical sounds of western films’
30 ELLE DECOR
challenges. Appearing in the official
video for Elodie’s ‘Bullets’ – the song
included in the soundtrack of the
film ‘I’ll Eat Your Heart’, in which the
performer stars – Joan weas the guitar
like an ultra-light dress: weighting
only 3.945 kg, here softness is the
hero. “But the peculiarity lies in the
hybrid and unique shape of the piece”,
says Marco. “Everything depends on
the colour of the fabric and the stone
powder in which it is dipped”,
a randomised, thus unrepeatable
process. marcoguazzini.com P.C.
Photo Manuel Coen
 LET’S DANCE
It’s time to go back to dancing at
home with music blaring, but to
the delight of neighbours, fashion
designer Virgil Abloh, shortly before
his untimely death, designed Modular
Imagination for Cassina. Blocks in two
sizes (inspired by loudspeakers), to
be used individually or combined to
become a pouf, a bench or a storage
surface. Made of soft, recycled
and recyclable material, with matte
black body and fluorescent orange
rubber feet. Measures 45x45 cm or
Photo Andrea Garuti – styling by Murielle Bortolotto and Tamara
Bianchini
78x45 cm (cassina.com). A numbered
collector’s piece that can be bought
at auctions (Sotheby’s, Christie’s), the
Bearbrick x Coco Chanel by Medicom
Toy (medicomtoy.co.jp) casually carries
the Minaudiere Slot Machine, made
with resin, rhinestones, fancy pearls and
gold-effect metal, by Chanel
(chanel.com). On the floor, the Yang
Led lamp by Carlotta De Bevilacqua
for Artemide, which illuminates spaces
with a range of techno-dance colours
(artemide.com). M.B.
31 ELLE DECOR
 2023 TEXTURE&DECOR
The Damasco Pop iridescent silk
fabric, in the colour yellow/pink,
covers the Yak modular sofa by
Matteo Nunziati; canvas made with
Sally, printed on cotton, by the artist
Sally Anne Fitter, defined by a floral
design, all by Rubelli (rubelli.com).
From left, cushions with striped fabrics,
in the macro version Voulez-Vous,
water-repellent regenerated cotton
twill; next, Belmondo with a wide two-
tone linen and cotton stripe,
by Dedar (dedar.com). Graphic
fish for Ikan, botanical motifs
32 ELLE DECOR
for Pinkweed, from Fischbacher’s
‘100 Patterns in 100 Days’ capsule
collection, designed by artist Rebecca
Duckett-Wilkinson (fischbacher.com).
Small cushion with classic Serenus
pattern by Fortuny (fortuny.com). On
the right, Aura Yellow blackout curtain
by Michele Rondelli for Zigzagzurich
(zigzagzurich.com) and on the wall,
Rayures Jumelles by Elitis, soft-touch
wall covering (elitis.fr). Hanging,
Millimetro lamp by Daniel Rybakken
for Luceplan, with reflective disc
(luceplan.com). M.B.
Photo Andrea Garuti – styling by Murielle Bortolotto and Tamara Bianchini
 A GARDEN AT THE FOOT OF ETNA
The Radicepura Garden Festival
2023 invites landscape designers to
engage with the plant kingdom. The
theme chosen by the Mediterranean
landscape biennial is in fact ‘The
Garden of Plants’, which emphasises
that a project must first and foremost
enhance its living component.
“We want to focus attention on
the botanical element, no longer a
corollary or mere decoration, but
a starting point and professional
inspiration for designers, who will
be called upon to create gardens
Photo Alfio Garozzo
capable of promoting a conscious
belonging to the natural world”, says
artistic director Antonio Perazzi.
The garden designers of the seven
competing oases (to be visited from 7/5
to 3/12 in the Radicepura Botanical
Park in Giarre, CT) will be able to make
use of the specimens cultivated in the
Faro nursery, with a catalogue of no
less than three thousand species and
varieties. Also on show, ‘Compito #1’,
a new work by Albanian artist Adrian
Paci, with a floor mosaic of 140sqm.
radicepurafestival.com G.Z.
33 ELLE DECOR
THE REVOLUTION IS SERVED
Obey or rebel against the laws of gastronomy? Great chefs
opt for conceiving a new future. Transgressing all rules
“Mugaritz is a research laboratory”, says Basque
chef Andoni Luis Aduriz (pictured, opposite page)
talking about his restaurant in Errenteria,
not far from San Sebastian. His multidisciplinary
approach to cooking and his focus on gastronomic
evolution has led him to “stimulate the different
senses and rethink logics or habits deeply rooted in
our society, whose reasons we rarely question”.
With 20 published books, lectures at the Harvard
University and MIT, Boston, he is among the leading
figures at the 18th edition of Identità Golose Milano
2023 – The International Chef Congress, entitled
‘Signore e signori, la rivoluzione è servita’ (Ladies
and gentlemen, the revolution is served).
In his writings and presentations, he invites people to
think in unconventional way because “food is the
best pretext for crossing borders and explore new
territories by transforming ideas into edible
expressions”, a thesis informing the pages
of his book ‘Vanishing Points’ (below,
34 ELLE DECOR
his Gyotaku fish dish). In ‘Chlorophilia’, another
volume by Adutiz, the story focuses on the use of
flora in the kitchen, with leaves, shoots and flowers
alongside fish or meat, and opens up stimulating
multi-sensory pathways. “The latest revolution in the
kitchen and at the table dates back to the turn of the
century, driven by the new Spanish masters,
new yesterday, history today”, emphasises
Paolo Marchi, founder with Claudio Ceroni of
Identità Golose. With a profound difference:
“Twenty-five, thirty years ago Adrià, Andoni and
Dacosta… spontaneously decided to embrace the
new, today history imposes it on us. Revolution is a
great word and making revolution a great concept,
full of new horizons, of strength, of dreams and
anxieties, of an appetite for the new. Everything that
has happened in the last three years, and which is
still far from over, forces us to think out of the box,
to question what we have built up to now”.
mugaritz.com, identitagolose.it L.M.
Photo José Luis López de Zubiría
 Portrait by Alex Iturralde

35
ELLE DECOR
NEW COPENHAGEN
Long recognised as a pioneer city
in the field of sustainability and urban
projects aimed at improving
the quality of life of its citizens,
Copenhagen is the World
Architecture Capital 2023. Recently,
numerous works have been designed
by great architects, from BIG to Rem
Koolhaas, to name a few. Around the
theme of participation and sharing
revolves a series of this year’s events,
ranging from collective picnics and
visits to buildings normally closed to
36 ELLE DECOR
the public, and the inauguration of new
pavilions in front of the harbour,
including one designed by Bjarke
Ingels. The pivot of the dense
programme is the Danish Architecture
Center (DAC), which from March hosts
the permanent exhibition ‘Made in
Denmark’, which dive into the history
of Danish architecture, from the Viking
Age to the present day (pictured,
contemporary architecture and eclectic
buildings in the Tivoli Gardens).
arkitekturhovedstad.kk.dk/en L.M.
Courtesy Visit Copenhagen
 WRIGHT AT THE V&A
Designed by the American studio
Diller Scofidio+Renfro, the new
Collection and Research Centre
of the V&A Museum in London
will be a purpose-built home for
more than 250,000 items and
917 archives. The highlight of the
forthcoming opening is the perfectly
preserved and reconstructed on-
site interior of Edgar J. Kaufmann’s
Pittsburgh department store office.
In 1935, the famous American
architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed
Photo ©Victoria and Albert Museum, London
the space and all its details for the
great tycoon who also commissioned
Wright for his greatest masterpiece,
the legendary Kaufmann House
in Pennsylvania, better known as
Fallingwater. The office, Wright’s only
interior outside the United States, is
a rectangular room made entirely
of cypress plywood panels cut at
different angles to generate dramatic
geometries. Plays of raised lines
create a spectacular abstract mural
around the desk. vam.ac.uk E.G.
37 ELLE DECOR
THE TREES OF TOMORROW
“The tree is a valuable tool in
the hands of the urban planner”,
said Le Corbusier (1887–1965),
whose precept sounds prophetic
today. Indeed, the importance of
cultivating tall trees in urban areas
is now universally recognised and
the Ministry of the Environment
intends to plant 6.6 million of them
in Italy’s 14 metropolitan cities by
2024. The Finnish artist Antti Laitinen
emphasises the value of these
creatures and natural cycles with
works developed around a tree or
38 ELLE DECOR
a forest using locally found materials
(pictured, ‘Forest Square II’, which
depicts a square portion of forest
that the artist has ‘disassembled’ and
then reassembled the removed plants
in a neighbouring area, subdividing
them by colour, in a sort of natural
mosaic). Within the year, together
with UMA Architects, Laitinen will
complete the ‘One Tree Four Seasons’
cycle in Stockholm, on display at the
‘Amazing Nature’ exhibition from 4/3
to 31/12 at the Art Centre Silkeborg
Bad, Denmark. anttilaitinen.com G.Z.
Photo ©Antti Laitinen, Forest Square II
 ALIEN GREENERY
“I am a bio-designer and work
where design meets biology”, says
Malu Lücking, founder of London-
based Studio Malu. An experience
in the textile sector, in Berlin, and
then an unconditional love for
nature: “My goal is to search for
alternative resources to create 100%
biodegradable fibres”. But it was
in the laboratories of the Waag
company in Amsterdam that she put
her research into action: “I learnt
how to cultivate mycelia, bacteria and
algae”, the same ones that as a young
Photo Nicolas Hübner
girl she imagined were alien creatures
loose in the depths of the Baltic Sea, in
Germany, where she grew up. Hence
the idea of Cladophora, the circular
project to make fabrics from algae fibre.
“I only use weeds, i.e. those that grow
in waterways as a chemical reaction
to overuse of agricultural fertilisers”,
Malu explains. “The aim is not to
imitate the aesthetics or properties of
cotton, for example, but to emancipate
the distinctive characteristics of this
organic material”. Celebrating green.
studiomalu.com P.C.
39 ELLE DECOR
‘CORE’ VALUES
The Milan branch of the club created
in 2005 by American Jennie and
Dangene Enterprise opens in 2023.
CORE:, established on the 55th
Street in New York, has become
an iconic institution both in terms
of its organisational model and
its ability to generate connections
between members through cultural
activities. Founded on the principle of
‘transformation’, CORE: Milan will be
housed in a historic building
on Corso Matteotti, whose interior
40 ELLE DECOR
design is the work of m2atelier, which
has created large communal spaces
to encourage meeting and discussion,
such as the speakeasy under sculptural
vaulted ceilings or the restaurant
directed by Michele Brogioni,
Global Culinary Director of CORE:
on 4,000sqm there are 4 food areas,
8 suites, as well as a theatre, a gallery
for exhibitions and events, a library,
a gym and a yoga studio. Pictured,
the lounge area with the cocktail bar.
thecoreclub.com E.G.
Render m2atelier, courtesy CORE:
 FOSTER FOREVER
Lord Norman Foster, one of the
greatest interpreters of an architecture
capable of blending technology
with extremely refined details and
spatial research, is the central figure
of the great exhibition that the Centre
Photo ©Daniel Jamme/Eiffage
Pompidou in Paris is dedicating this
year to the world of design. In addition
to proposing a vast repertoire of
preparatory sketches, maquettes and
working drawings illustrating many
of his most famous projects (the Hong
Kong & Shanghai Bank skyscraper,
Stansted Airport and the famous
‘Gherkin’ tower in the heart of London),
the exhibition devotes a section to works
of art that have inspired the architect’s
signature aesthetic; and leads visitors to
reflect on how much the British designer
has contributed to the redevelopment of
the regions and urban centres where he
has worked (pictured, the Millau viaduct,
France, 1993–2004). Always focusing
on the interactions between technology,
nature and man. From 3/5 to 7/8.
centrepompidou.fr P.B.
41 ELLE DECOR
THE CARGO BIKE ERA
The trend is getting a foothold in
Europe, from Dhl’s deliveries in
Amsterdam to transport for the
differently abled in Strasbourg, and
Ikea’s e-bikes in Spain and Germany.
For some time now, it has also been
a growing phenomenon in Italy,
supported by lower taxes for small
businesses that purchase these means
of transport to handle deliveries.
Especially if pedal-assisted, cargo bikes
make it possible to move quickly while
carrying a weight of up to 200 kg.
Manufacturers debuting in the sector
42 ELLE DECOR
are increasing: this is confirmed by
EICMA (Esposizione Internazionale Ciclo
Motociclo e Accessori, i.e. International
Bicycle, Motorcycle and Accessory
Exhibition), with many new products in
2023. The classic is Backfiets, but there
are also Urban Arrow, Batavus, Babboe,
BCargo, Bicicapace, Biga and many
others, useful for delivery but also
for taking children to school, reducing
CO2 emissions into the atmosphere by
5 tonnes every year. Comfortable
and green, ideal for happy cycling in a
healthier and quieter city. M.L.C.
Photo Gettyimages