THE WHITE STRIPES

The project calls for the renovation of spaces on two levels for a well-known Milanese public relations firm, in the center of Milan, with an overall area of 600 square meters.

The designers Andrea Marcante and Adelaide Testa have divided the space vertically: a first part on which to concentrate wallcoverings, doors, decorative lighting, furnishings and new spatial partitions, and a second part (above) in a single color, on which to leave all the physical plant systems visible (some of which were already present at the time of the project) and to install the technical lighting equipment.

The colors and materials focus attention on the new structures, while lowered sheet-metal screens filter the view of the conduits and pipes of the physical plant systems above them.

The vertical subdivision of the spaces finds a counterpart in the horizontal arrangement of stripes on the wallpaper: these lines are repeated on the wooden panels and in the reflections of the mirrors, not only as indicators of new spatial perspectives, but also as an evocative expression of the lines of communication the agency sets out to activate: “to communicate means creating links, and those links create a world…”

Requirements of functional quality and image, in keeping with a tight budget and rapid construction schedule, are fulfilled by a simple but detailed system of metal structures, with BAUX panels and wallpapers capable of granting a precise identity to the spaces and the working activities, while highlighting zones for socializing and relaxation, like the entrance lounge and the kitchen on the lower level.

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Wallpaper and paints: Farrow & Ball

Reception furniture:

Metallic partition and expanded metal mesh ceiling designed by Marcante-Testa, wall covering in Baux acoustic panels; Social sofas and Malmo armchairs by Pedrali, Volume carpet by Sylvain Willenz for Menu, DLM coffee tables by Hay.

Grillo wall lamps by Petite Friture

Office:

Snaregade table by Norm Architects for Menu, Nemea armchairs by Pedrali, Dancing suspended lamp by Iskos-Berlin for Menu, Oona carpet by Norman Copenhagen, Toio floor lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos.

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project: Andrea Marcante, Adelaide Testa

collaborators: Mattia Inno, Giada Mazzero, Marilivia Minnici

photographer: Carola Ripamonti