Architects: AACM – Atelier Architettura Chinello Morandi
Area: 28 m²
Year: 2021
Architecture Team: Nicolò Chinello, Rodolfo Morandi
Photographs: Maria Francesca Lui
City: Milan
Country: Italy
Appartamento sui Navigli, a studio apartment by AACM – Atelier Architettura Chinello Morandi in Milan, transforms a typical Navigli building into a quiet domestic refuge. The project responds to the city’s atmosphere through dark materials and cusp-shaped thresholds that define transitions between rooms. A single black resin element houses services and mediates between public and private spaces, integrating into the walls like built-in furniture. This intervention creates measured spatial sequences and reflects Milan’s austere architectural character while addressing intimacy and scale shifts in the home.
In Appartamento sui Navigli in Milan, it is a single gesture that shapes the entire environment. Appartamento sui Navigli is a studio apartment conceived as a retreat from the chaos of the metropolis, while making the most of every square meter. A single inserted element contains all the utility spaces and marks the thresholds between different rooms. It acts as a filter between public and private life. Discreet and integrated, it disappears into the architecture and, in doing so, becomes architecture. For us, this project embodies our belief that meaningful design begins with a strong and essential idea, something clear enough to define the space, give it identity, and guide every aspect of the project.
Interview with Rodolfo Morandi and Nicolò Chinello of AACM
The project occupies a studio apartment in a typical Navigli building in Milan and was conceived as a retreat from the intensity of the metropolis while maximizing available space. The architects approached the design by reflecting Milan’s character through dark tones and defined geometries, exploring domestic intimacy.
The plan utilizes cusp-shaped forms, archetypical of Milan, to highlight thresholds and create rhythm across successive spaces. The entrance, the hallway connecting the bedroom and living area, and the vestibule are articulated as passages marking distinct stages of transition from urban life to private interior.
A singular architectural element was inserted into the existing structure to accommodate utility spaces and emphasize these thresholds. This component operates as a spatial filter that negotiates the relationship between public and private areas within the apartment.
Designed as built-in furniture that merges with the walls, the element becomes an architectural feature. Its black resin surface compresses the atmosphere and produces subtle reflections in light and shadow, reinforcing the mood of the interior.
The project aligns with Milan’s austere formal language, where emphasis is placed on ritual transitions, variations in scale, and the shifting boundary between inner and outer layers of domestic space.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: Milan, Metropolitan City of Milan, Italy
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
