VG13 Architects

The apartment is located on the twenty-eighth floor of Torre Breda, one of Milan’s first high-rise buildings, and occupies part of a larger apartment whose subdivision had produced a series of irregular spaces. Through selective removals and the introduction of a curved wall, the geometry of the interior has been corrected and refined, producing a clear floor plan. The project focuses on intensifying the experience of height through a variation in floor level that alters the relationship between the body and the large windows. This intervention establishes a new interaction with the external façade, emphasising the presence of the city. To reinforce the primacy of the view, the interior surfaces are treated in a uniform tone, while aluminium window frames seamlessly frame the city and the distant Alps. Within this domestic topography, a series of objects, sculptures and paintings is displayed. VG13 Team: Anna Pasquetto Contractor: The Line, Milan Photography: Carlo Di Pasquale – Zepstudio, Milan

The simplicity of the program allows for an elementary yet refined construction. Thin reinforced-concrete surfaces are folded around a structural system of columns and beams, creating the impression of a lightweight envelope while remaining integral to a precise structural logic. The only exception is the slightly inclined wall, which opens the space to admit light. The red-pigmented concrete was formulated to match the color of the terracotta roof tiles required within the UNESCO buffer zone where the project is located, allowing the building to appear as a homogeneous whole. The foundations and retaining walls—which account for most of the concrete used in the building—are cast in more economical gray concrete, for both economic and semantic reasons. The resulting form synthesizes the project’s spatial and constructive intentions with its cultural, physical, and economic context. Contractor: CoGeFa, Turin Photography: Alberto Rossi