Milano Effect

P. 158

A love affair between a young fashion designer and the architecture of Gio Ponti

The prospective buyer’s first visit turned out to be an unusual gathering. He brought an architect friend, for expert advice. And the agent arrived with an elegant older gentleman, who turned out to be the owner, who loved the property and wanted to make sure it fell into “good hands”. After all, we are talking about a building designed by Gio Ponti in the late 1930s.

Damir Doma, of Croatian origin, founder of the fashion brand that bears his name, and his wife Charlotte, also a fashion designer, decided to take the plunge, and to move into this building that with its polished exterior reflects the moment of Ponti’s transition from neoclassical to modern architecture. The windows made the first impression, Doma says: «Their rhythm of rectangles and arches, crossed by the continuous line of the balcony, magically echo to volumes of the rooms». Lucid spaces where light flows freely, making any other ornament superfluous. «We agreed with the seller that the spirit of the place should be conserved, so we reached a compromise: to keep the image but update the function».

The architect in our story is Andrea Caputo, who has overseen the process of rebirth, adapting the L-shaped layout to contemporary needs. This implied radical change, however: the living area has been placed parallel to the long balcony on the street, while the master bedroom has been set back, and the vestibule expanded. All with a “surgical” touch, respecting the original character: glossy Palladian flooring in the enlarged entrance, moldings reprised on the built-in furnishings, casements and overdoors duplicated in the living area to frame a visual sequence that unifies the kitchen, dining room and living area.