“Self Modern”公寓丨意大利米兰

In a city that’s definitely not short on architectural history, Milan’s Piazza Carbonari now houses a renovation that speaks volumes about thoughtful design interventions. The “Self Modern” apartment, designed by Tenet (Chironi Passamonti Architetti) with Carlotta Garavaglia, is a 100-square-metre exercise in material dialogue and temporal conversation.

Situated on the first floor of the Mondelli building—a post-war masterpiece completed by Luigi Caccia Dominioni in 1961—this project posed a question: what would the original maestro have done if tasked with updating his own work for contemporary living?

The apartment sits within a distinctive clinker-clad structure that stands isolated in Piazza Carbonari like a sculptural entity. Once peripheral, now thoroughly urban, the building’s absence of balconies and playful window arrangement create a distinctive presence that demanded equal consideration inside.

Original drawings of the Mondelli building—a post-war masterpiece completed by Luigi Caccia Dominioni in 1961.

Custom terrazzo developed by Tenet.

Photo of the apartment under construction.

New apartment floorplan.

Rather than architectural erasure, Tenet’s approach embraces conversation between eras. The original layout—typical of mid-century Milanese upper-middle-class dwellings with formal reception spaces and separate service areas—has been reimagined while preserving key character elements.

“Continuity and crisis are the two faces of the same project, where ancient and new confront each other continuously,” explain the architects. “A project opportune and conscious never abandons experimentation or the opportunity for dialogue with the existing context.”

The transformation is self-assured, retaining the red lacquered wardrobes and grand glass door while introducing contemporary interventions that feel perfectly at home. The old bedroom has become a kitchen opening onto the living space through the repositioned glass doors. The former kitchen now houses a smart working nook, while the master bedroom gains an ensuite bathroom.

Materials are juxtaposed with delicious tension—raw meets refined, analogue meets technocratic. Custom terrazzo tiles coexist with a stucco ceiling, while stainless steel cabinetry plays against red lacquered wood. The mirrored wall dramatically amplifies light and reflects both the blue velvet sofa and views from the windows.

“Being modern in one’s own way” is a design philosophy referenced by Tenet, and this home offers exactly that—a philosophical position on contemporary intervention. The project succeeds by finding harmony between preservation and progression, creating spaces that feel both familiar and startlingly new.

The result is neither nostalgic nor revolutionary, but something more nuanced—a dialogue across decades that only architects with deep historical understanding could achieve.

[Images courtesy of Tenet. Photography by Francesca Iovene.]