Small and perfectly formed

This historic apartment in the Porta Venezia area of Milan has been reconfigured by architectural practice Studio Wok to create a pared-back space with plenty of style.

- PENNY McCORMICK

As you can see from the state of the technical drawings, the apartment layout was [previously] completely different,” the team at Studio Wok explain. The practice was commissioned to create a sense of space in limited circumstances: “The client brief was to move and enlarge the living room area, to have a huge convivial space with a lot of windows. They also asked us to take advantage of the high ceilings through the introduction of mezzanine levels.”

Some elements such as the windows frames and parquet flooring were well-preserved, which helped facilitate a quick turnaround of the project in just six months. The result is a timeless, contemporary home, which also acknowledges the building’s distinctive Art Nouveau features – notably the decorative wrought iron elements made by the famous Milanese artist and blacksmith Alessandro Mazzucotelli.