Page 121 - AIT0718_E-Paper

Entwurf • Design Archiplanstudio, IT-Mantua
Bauherr • Client privat
Standort • Location Piazza Broletto, IT-Mantua
Wohnfläche • Floor space 84 m 2
Fotos • Photos Davide Galli Atelier, IT-Mantua
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More infos on page 152

APARTEMENT BROLETTO

UNO IN MANTUA

The non-perfect be praised! Archiplanstudio designed a
holiday apartment in a listed building in Piazza
Broletto in Mantua. Instead of radically refurbishing
the apartment in need of renovation, Diego Cisi and
Stefano Gorni Silvestrini preserved the actual state. Full
of contrasts and harmony, the charm of the past and
new “implants” now overlap.

T en years ago, the old town of Mantua was included in the list of
the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Since then, four lakes created in
the High Middle Ages for defence purposes encircle the insularly situa-
ted historic old town. Tourists completely get their money’s worth in
Mantua, away from the highly frequented destinations in Northern Italy
such as Milan, Verona and Venice. Particularly worth seeing are the fres-
coes of the Palazzo del Tè and the Castello di San Giorgio, the
Romanesque Rotonda di San Lorenzo, the Sant’Andrea basilica built
according to plans by Alberti, the cathedral and the Doge’s palace as
well as Piazza delle Erbe. Also among the main squares of Mantua is
Piazza Broletto with its striking seat of government, the Palazzo Broletto.
The poet Virgil, who was born near Mantua, is immortalized on the
façade of the palace. Right in Piazza Broletto, Archiplanstudio was com-
missioned with a new concept for an 84 square-metre holiday apart-
ment in a listed building from the 15th century. Fragments of frescoes
on ceilings and walls, terracotta floors, untreated walls as well as aged
doors, frames and windows from various epochs tell about the long
history of the living spaces. The architects honoured these relicts with
plenty of respect. Instead of concealing the building stock with a preci-
sely composed, uniform spatial concept, each room is allowed to have
its very own atmosphere. New furniture and installations of ash and
birch designed by the architects and specifically made by a carpenter
contrast with the existing patina and give the apartment a new time
domain. Particularly interesting are the living- and sleeping areas which
were elevated by three steps. Both are merely separated by a partition
of plywood and Viennese wickerwork as it is known from bentwood
chairs. The living room is dominated by a customized piece of furniture
– sofa, table and shelves all in one. Relicts of frescoes, some of them
with landscape motifs, terracotta tiles, pale green walls and lots of light
give the dining room its earthy-fresh look. The bathroom appears
archaic with the tough-shaped washbasin and visible copper lines. A
Grundriss • Ground floor plan reference to what is past as well as modern aesthetics of design!

AIT 7/8.2018 • 121