October 14, 2026

Words: Jesse Dorris

Photography: Thomas Pagani

A Milan Storage Unit Transforms Into A Meditative Home

Giovanni Muzio’s arching 1930s La Triennale di Milano, with its landmark collection of Italian design, has captured the imagination of generations of visitors. Now, it’s inspired a residence for those moving through the city, in the form of an artful 570-square-foot Milanese apartment designed by that city’s Studio Paradisiartificiali.

But as usual with the studio, all is not quite as it seems, even in the project’s origin. “During the early stages, while visiting a small design gallery, our attention was drawn to a curious wood sculpture by Alessandro Mendini,” say founders Alessandro Cortesi and Lorenzo De Nicola. “In our imagination, the object appeared as a playful interpretation of the Triennale.” That interpretation in turn led to a consideration of the apartment’s potential as a threshold to the soul of Milan itself.

The actual space was an abandoned storage unit in a courtyard of an early 20th-Century casa di ringhiera, or multi-story apartment building, in the Navigli district. Cortesi and De Nicola enlisted Owen Gent to create a series of psychogeographic murals on its walls: In the living area, a glistening pool beckons; nearby, a vertiginous stairway leads the way towards a new sleeping alcove tucked into a mezzanine.

More prosaically, the studio installed a ventilated crawl space and a new roof with exposed timer beams. A service core now comprises a pastel-toned kitchen and minimalist bathroom. “The finishes and furnishings merge from a challenge to gradually transform the fresco painted on the wall into a domestic landscape,” they say. The project is a flight of fancy, to be sure, but it’s anchored in the transformation of actual architecture—the way the structure’s existing twin arches echo the characteristic entrance to the Triennale, for example, and those of the maquette that started it all, given pride of place on the neighboring wall.

  • A whimsical room with a raised sleeping area, yellow stairs, colorful abstract murals, a metal shelving unit, and sculptural furniture.
    Seating by Opinion Ciatti, a bookshelf by Kriptonite, and an Oluce floor lamp define the living area.
  • A blue ceramic jug sits on a yellow step in front of a mural depicting a staircase ascending into a blue sky.
    A vase by Sonia Pedrazzini seems to ascend into the fresco by Owen Gent.
  • An arched wall mural of a surreal landscape with two abstract figures, positioned behind a small blue side table with a yellow textured vase, flanked by two rounded chairs.
    A Noo.ma stool sits on a rug by Carpet Edition.
  • A white architectural structure with colorful geometric shapes and flags, set against a wall with orange panels and suspended wire-mesh clouds.
    Magis clouds surround Alessandro Mendini’s Triennale maquette-sculpture.
  • Small kitchen with white cabinets, a pink ceiling featuring a circular window, and blue accents.
    A mirror within a porthole adds dimension to the kitchen.
  • A white dining table with an open book and a blue vase of flowers, surrounded by three colorful plastic chairs in front of a wall with two framed art prints and a decorative yellow wall shelf.
    A Groupa sconce illuminates Silvia Zotta’s wall sculpture, above Magis table and chairs.
  • A bedroom with a bed featuring yellow bedding and a blue throw, a sun-shaped window frame, arched wall niches, a blue pedestal side table, and a mural of a staircase.
    Society Limonta bedding cozies up to a lamp by Sowden and concrete wall shelf by La Redoute in the bedroom alcove.
  • Bathroom vanity with a round mirror, white subway tile backsplash, a potted plant, and a red toothbrush holder on the counter.
    The bathroom offers a cabinet by ARBI, fittings and accessories by Newform, and a Tubes towel warmer, within tiled walls by Bardelli; the reflected sconce is through Swedish Ninja.

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