Retroscena Apartment / La Macchina Studio

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Text description provided by the architects. The project transforms a 1950s apartment into a surreal set where reality and fiction coexist in a quasi-theatrical scene. Thanks to the multidisciplinary approach of its two founders, the studio celebrates the graphic sign, in a project that fuses architecture, theatre, music, and illustration.

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In alignment with the wishes of the clients  – a young couple – the architects have, on the one hand with the help of local craftsmen, recovered the pre-existing Venetian terrazzo flooring, while on the other they have completely disrupted the internal distribution to give way to new storytelling.

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Kicking off with the insertion of new materials in correspondence with the traces of the original divisions, the living area is defined by a clear band in black and Botticino marble. The area along the corridor takes up the original design of the flooring with a pinkish binder with pozzolan powder, while the bedroom is tinged with the warm nuances of brick red micro cement. The result is a combination of designs in different grains and colours that creates a “collage” effect, in contrast with the absolute white of the plastered walls.

The apartment reveals itself longitudinally along the main wall, which represents the limit between private and representative space and creates a landscape punctuated by three different elements.

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A white lacquered bridge wardrobe hides a small study: the reader's refuge, an intimate, silent space, isolated from the rest of the home. A grey-blue flush-to-the-wall door that seems drawn on, gives access to the salle de bain covered in white mosaic with contrasting joints, cut by an ogival passage which gives a glimpse the back wall in peacock-colored enamel and the free washbasin standing. Finally, an arched door in classic blue lacquered wood leads to the sleeping area with clear lines and a welcoming atmosphere. The door, with its wooden profile that juts out 70cm towards the dining room, is the centerpiece of the living area and hides the kitchen furniture from view.

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The living room is the largest space in the house: a yellow curtain runs along with the demolished partition, outlining the areas and drawing a soft border between the different functions.

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Retroscena offers a playful and fantastic vision of the house. Bold color choices and savvy design tricks give personality to the interiors, turning the spotlight on the inhabitants, protagonists of a theatrical – and architectural – piéce full of surprises.