Between past and present
Residential
Private residence MUSE
A building designed by Ugo Luccichenti in Rome’s Piazza delle Muse, a 300 sqm space that combines the rigor of rationalist architecture with contemporary design: a house that speaks of itself and the historical context in which it was built. MUSE is a residence that combines, in a single space, a passion for large, bright, panoramic rooms and an interest in the architecture of the Fascist twenty-year period, “among the most interesting in the history of Italian architecture of the last hundred years.”
Contemporary Rationalism
The building designed by Ugo Luccichenti – known interpreter of architectural rationalism – overlooks the Piazza delle Muse with a play of cross-references between the full and empty fields of the maxi-glass windows.
Each of the 4 floors consists of 2 apartments of 300 square meters, each with rooms of large and bright cubages, just like the hallway that anticipates the monumental helicoidal staircase that makes a fine show of the marble and briar doors. The interventions respect the magnificence of the building by enhancing its details – the iron fixtures and doors – and only modifying the thermal functionality and the distribution of spaces to make some services more current and functional.
The halls are traversed by original oak parquet flooring from the period, while the marble at the entrance has been restored to its original luster. Wallpapers alternate with colors to enhance the chiaroscuros that define the atmosphere. The upholstery, mainly velvet and leather, veers from gray to blue and blends perfectly with the furniture, fine accessories from the 1940s and 1950s, and original art objects of innovative and contemporary design. A large bookshelf at the entrance is the center from which the rest of the space unwinds, the cultural and social pivot of family life.
Here and elsewhere
In the living area, Edra’s Brenno sofa and mega screen stand out. The dining room is the place for conviviality, so Wall&decò wallpaper is the touch of whimsy that harmonizes the furniture, achieved by summing up various creativities: the 1940s Venetian table to which Mummy chairs by Fratelli Campana revolve around, two 1950s briarwood storage units, and various other objects from distant times and places.
The main living room, lit by large windows, consists of two Beam sofas in blue velvet of our own design, two Giocanda armchairs by Promemoria upholstered in a fabric by Andrew Martin, and the table by Manuela Crotti, an eclectic and brilliant artist.
Many details seek their own pedestal, such as the tub in the bedroom positioned on a platform in a deep niche, against the backdrop of walls covered with woven vinyl material and lit by LED lights. Also in the master bedroom, a large full-height curtain conceals the walk-in closet. “You can change your skin without changing the substance.”
