A Milanese penthouse evolves through a considered dialogue to become a refined backdrop to family life.
De Alessandri by Milanese architecture and interior design studio Motta is the product of a careful dialogue between the studio and their client – a family of five who envisioned a contemporary and warm home, conceived as a container for their lives.
The project mediates a delicate balance between the client’s Nordic aesthetic, characterised by light tones and suspended atmospheres and the studio’s approach steeped in Italian design. The result offers harmonious contrasts between neutral and natural tones with black-stained wood, where chiaroscuros blend.
The home’s design language unfolds through a sensory play of materials and shapes, including stone, brass, black iron, oak boiserie and raffia panels with a pied de poule pattern. A double- height helical staircase forms an arresting centrepiece connecting the two floors of the penthouse, dividing the entrance floor’s sleeping quarters of four bedrooms and three bathrooms that develop along a longitudinal axis.
A marble frame creates an entrance portal to the dining space with ribbed wood boiserie, tweed-effect raffia doors by CMO Paris and a brass plate shelf. An Astep Model 2109 suspended lamp by Gino Sarfatti features above a series of Indochine swivel armchairs by Charlotte Perriand for Cassina, the Fayland table by David Chipperfield for e15, and an e15 bench.
Upstairs, the open-plan living room extends seamlessly with glass walls overlooking the terrace, gently drawing light into the home. Custom-designed elements by Motta and iconic design pieces sit cohesively, merging with the surrounding architecture, while natural and black wainscotting delineates the home’s service areas, defining the circular space around the staircase with a refined ease.
“Each project by Motta Architecture allocates ample space for detail-oriented design and thecreation of bespoke elements,” Motta Architecture founder Giuseppina Motta says. “For thestudio, meticulous attention to every detail, in its forms and finishes, is a fundamental aspect.”
This feature originally appeared in our Milan 2024 Special Issue of est magazine.
The Timothy sofa and Adrian side table by Meridiani were selected for the living space, with an Oluce brass Atollo table lamp by Vico Magistretti.
The home features a dialogue of black accents and natural oak, as seen in the curved steel and timber staircase, reflecting the client’s Nordic aesthetic. The wall finishing is by La Calce del Brenta.
A table and stool from the Néolithique collection designed by Motta Architecture for SEM Milano, Flos Gatto Piccolo table lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni and the cc-tapis Bliss Ultimate rug by Mae Engelgeer.
Motta Architecture’s play on contrasts is dissolved in the sleeping area. The bedroom features the Atelier Areti Mimosa pendant, Meridiani Ralf night table by Andrea Parisio and a Dedar fabric custom bed head.
The bathroom highlights Motta Architecture’s attention to detail – from the cabinetry to the fluted marble to the Fantini tapware and Riddle pendants by Bert Frank. Everything is made to measure.
One of the home’s many terraces featuring a sculpture by Valerio Berruti and the SEM Slice low table.
