MODERN MEMOIR
— HOME MILAN
Home
Part private base part project, the Milan home of Studiopepe partner Arianna Lelli Mami and photographer Andrea Ferrari is a repository of memories and a composite of their individual and shared aesthetic sensibilities.
“This suited us so well. It is an old 30s building with a modern style. We love how everything is made with meticulous attention to quality, something you don’t always find in modern buildings. There is a richness in the building, not in a show-off kind of way, but a deeper quality,” says Lelli Mami. Even before you enter the apartment you can see this in the detailing of the common spaces; the curvaceous steel and enamelled metal staircase, patterned mosaic marble floors and the wooden panels hiding the doors to each apartment.
It was a perfect canvas for Lelli Mami who, with partner Chiara Di Pinto, runs Studiopepe, the Milan-based studio with conceptual and narrative approach to everything from interiors and furniture to colour consulting and exhibition design. In her home she wanted to respect the architecture and at the same time create the powerful emotional and aesthetic impact for which their studio is renowned.
“We love the juxtaposition of old and new and opted for vintage pieces like a Tacchini sofa and Memphis lamp by Tobia Scarpa from the 70s and 80s,” she says of choices made with her husband for the apartment. “We deliberately didn’t use period furniture as we wanted to avoid a cinematic look or the home looking like a 1930s space.”
“THE COLOURS OF THE WALLS ARE NOT JUST DECORATION. WE HAVE CHOSEN COLOURS WITH MATTE SURFACES FOR ARCHITECTURAL QUALITY TO ADD A SPECIFIC FEEL TO EACH ROOM.”
Arianna Lelli Mami
The story featuring their transformation of a 1930s apartment is in Ark Journal VOL III.
WORDS KARIN GRÅBÆK HELLEDIE
PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREA FERRARI
FRANCISCO JAVIER SÁENZ DE OIZA’S TORRES BLANCAS
Navarra-born, Francisco Javier Sáenz De Oiza is regarded as one of the most prolific Spanish architects of the twentieth century. In the 1950s, following an unimaginative return to the neo-classical style under Generalissimo Franco, Oiza, with peers Francisco de Asis Cabrero, and Miguel Fisac, began integrating international architectural vernaculars in their search for a Spanish Modernism.
VITRA — ON CRAFT AND INDUSTRY
When Hella Jongerius designed the Vlinder sofa for Vitra she combined her abiding passion for weaving and handcraft with 12 years of research into colours, textures and materials for the Swiss furniture company.
UTZON — THE UNKNOWN HOUSES
Every time you visit a Jørn Utzon building you get new experiences and insights. He had a fantastic talent for placing himself in an individual’s shoes and creating personalised, vibrant architecture for others.
MODERN MEMOIR
— HOME MILAN
home
Part private base part project, the Milan home of Studiopepe partner Arianna Lelli Mami and photographer Andrea Ferrari is a repository of memories and a composite of their individual and shared aesthetic sensibilities.
“This suited us so well. It is an old 30s building with a modern style. We love how everything is made with meticulous attention to quality, something you don’t always find in modern buildings. There is a richness in the building, not in a show-off kind of way, but a deeper quality,” says Lelli Mami. Even before you enter the apartment you can see this in the detailing of the common spaces; the curvaceous steel and enamelled metal staircase, patterned mosaic marble floors and the wooden panels hiding the doors to each apartment.
It was a perfect canvas for Lelli Mami who, with partner Chiara Di Pinto, runs Studiopepe, the Milan-based studio with conceptual and narrative approach to everything from interiors and furniture to colour consulting and exhibition design. In her home she wanted to respect the architecture and at the same time create the powerful emotional and aesthetic impact for which their studio is renowned.
“We love the juxtaposition of old and new and opted for vintage pieces like a Tacchini sofa and Memphis lamp by Tobia Scarpa from the 70s and 80s,” she says of choices made with her husband for the apartment. “We deliberately didn’t use period furniture as we wanted to avoid a cinematic look or the home looking like a 1930s space.”
“THE COLOURS OF THE WALLS ARE NOT JUST DECORATION. WE HAVE CHOSEN COLOURS WITH MATTE SURFACES FOR ARCHITECTURAL QUALITY TO ADD A SPECIFIC FEEL TO EACH ROOM.”
Arianna Lelli Mami
The story featuring their transformation of a 1930s apartment is in Ark Journal VOL III.
WORDS KARIN GRÅBÆK HELLEDIE
PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREA FERRARI