GSL07 Apartment Renovation by Emanuele Durola Studio

Preserving historical elements while introducing modern design, Emanuele Durola Studio has renovated a 200-square-meter apartment in Milan.

Known as GSL07 Apartment, the home is located in Palazzo Verde, a 1954 building by architect Béla Angelus.

The project “harmoniously blends past and present”, said Emanuele Durola, “respecting the building’s historical essence while introducing contemporary design elements to meet modern living needs”.

Originally lived in by Angelus, the main spaces of the apartment follow a classic floor plan, with a long central corridor distributing rooms on either side.

The design involved the retention of many original design details throughout the apartment, “preserving historical elements” such as the classically designed terrazzo floors, a marble fireplace with mosaic details, and wood panelling in the living room.

These have been integrated with “new architectural and furnishing features” in the project’s contemporary design.

One of these features is the kitchen, designed by Durola and crafted by Italian designer Giacomo Moor.

The kitchen space “merges tradition and modernity”, expressed in the Serlian arch-inspired doors which pay “homage to Piero Portaluppi”, a famous Italian Renaissance architect. The doors complement the original terrazzo flooring.

Further Serlian arches feature in the living room – specifically, “double Serlian arch openings” are used strategically throughout the room to optimise natural light.

The natural light accentuates the blend of historical and contemporary elements in the living space such as the historic fireplace and decorated ceiling.

The furnishings of the living space see a “mix of original 1950s pieces with custom-made designs inspired by the great masters of the 20th century”.

In the master bedroom, one of these custom design features is a piece of wall decor that “echoes the arched openings” seen throughout the apartment, pairing with the off-centre pendant light above the bed.

In this room, as in other parts of the apartment, the wall decor accompanies the Vertigo Nova Noir lamp designed by French artist and designer Constance Guisset.

The separate children’s bedrooms are created from a more contemporary interior style.

Although “influenced by Nordic design”, these spaces “seamlessly integrate into the historical context”.

Original elements have also been retained in the apartment’s bathrooms, where Durola has maintained the rooms’ “original layout” but “modernized for enhanced functionality”.

Contemporary features integrated in the bathrooms include the Calla sinks by Ideal Standard and Giò Ponti faucets by Mamoli which “adhere to 1950s aesthetics”.

“Historical architecture” has been at the heart of the studio’s work in the renovation of the apartment.

The apartment renovation has also involved a hotel-style dressing room thus “reinterpreted with sensitivity and respect” to “create a harmonious balance between memory and innovation”.

“This renovation exemplifies how historical architecture can be reinterpreted with sensitivity and respect, creating a harmonious balance between memory and innovation,” said Durola Studio.