A Close Look at the Brera Design Apartment

Brera Design District presents "Orizzonti," the new setup of the Brera Design Apartment, designed by the Zanellato/Bortotto studio with Nathalie Borgeaud. This project serves as a true design manifesto, embodying themes of worlds, contaminations, visions, and connections in the studio’s distinctive style.

The apartment’s restyling showcases the designers’ ability to celebrate craftsmanship, artisanal quality, the history and unique characteristics of places, memory, and tradition. They achieve this by using surfaces, colors, and materials as a medium to narrate a new story. The project, which will both precede and continue beyond the days of Milan Design Week, will feature talks, dinners, and meetings, all strictly by appointment and by invitation only for industry professionals selected by the project’s partner brands.
The main partners of "Orizzonti" are Bolzan and Botteganove, with the contribution of Artecasa.

The Brera Design Apartment is divided into six rooms:

Campi - ENTRANCE
The interpretations of summer rural landscapes by Luigi Ghirri come to life through artisanal ceramic applications and chromatic and textile compositions. The steel kitchen counter by Alpes Inox is covered with handcrafted glazed refractory ceramic surfaces, part of the new collection designed by Chiara Andreatti for Botteganove. The walls and floors feature chromatic fields developed together with Rezina to recreate tactile materiality. The flexible textile wall, part of Bolzan’s Walls collection, is double-sided and covered with fabrics from Fischbacher 1819’s Nomad collection, also used for curtains and Ola stools by Saba. The space is illuminated by the Sottile lamp by Davide Groppi.


ph Valentina Sommariva

Barene - DINING ROOM
A large portal introduces the dining room, where the marine landscape of San Giorgio in Venice, depicted in Virgilio Guidi’s paintings, defines the chromatic composition of the glazed walls by Sikkens. A wooden sideboard, crafted by the historic Lunardelli Venezia workshop, stands against the wall. At the center of the room, illuminated by the Moon lamp by Davide Groppi, is the Patio collection by Ethimo: a large travertine and technical rope table surrounded by teak armchairs. In the background, a Sardinian pibiones tapestry by Saba Italia, designed by Zanellato/Bortotto, is inspired by traditional lateen sail patterns. The lagoon’s hues come to life on a wall adorned with the precious tiles of Botteganove’s Barene collection, decorated with refined metallic glazes. These same glazes enrich the backrest of the new Clay armchair for Moroso, blending handcrafted ceramic surfaces with tailor-made upholstery.

Caìgo - LIVING AREA
Along the entire perimeter, defining this undefined horizon, a wooden shelf crafted by Lunardelli Venezia supports and displays works and sculptures by contemporary artists. At the center are a pair of Vela sofas by Saba Italia, upholstered in soft Fischbacher 1819 wool felt, enhancing their nautically inspired quilting. Between them, placed on a knotted wool rug from CC-Tapis’s Everyday collection, rests an onyx coffee table produced by Delsavio 1910 using an exclusive stone gradient technique. A custom sideboard by FENIX® features inlays inspired by the horizons of vintage Japanese prints.


ph Valentina Sommariva

Deserto - BEDROOM
The Namibian desert is captured through warm tones and natural materials, starting with a large custom gradient boiserie by FENIX®. A space dedicated to rest, where one of the main elements is the wooden and wrought iron bed by Bolzan. Also from the Venetian company’s Walls catalog, a series of textile-covered walls with Fischbacher 1819 embroidered fabric conceals a wardrobe with a fan door system. The floor is covered with a Radici carpet and a CC-Tapis wool rug.

Spazio - CORRIDOR
The spine of the apartment, opening onto the various rooms, is inspired by the view of a sunset from an airplane. The orange line marking the fiery horizon at sunset is achieved manually by blending Rezina’s resin shades. Inside the wall niches, tactile panels with iridescent reflections from Arpa® are displayed, while at the center, a three-dimensional material composition is created using Botteganove’s Salomè tiles.


ph Valentina Sommariva

Vulcano - BATHROOM
A space where the horizon sometimes takes on irregular contours: the lunar landscape of Mount Etna inspired the bathroom design, clad in textured and iridescent mosaics and pigments derived from volcanic powders. This showcases a virtuous artisanal dialogue between Botteganove and Rezina. Completing the experience is the collection of bathroom furniture and fittings by Agape.

PARTNERS
Artecasa, along with Botteganove and Bolzan, are the main partners of the project.

The partners of “Orizzonti” include: Agape, Davide Groppi, Del Savio 1910, Ethimo, FENIX®, Fischbacher1819, Lunardelli Venezia, Moroso, Rezina, Saba, Sikkens, and Wall&Decò.
Additionally, layers of details and stories from various horizons have been complemented by a selection of collectible pieces from the Galleria Luisa delle Piane.

A special thanks also goes to Acqua di Parma, Alpes Inox, cc-tapis, Green Wise, Lanerossi, Radici Carpet, and Samsung, as well as to Nicola Ricciardi for incorporating artworks by Francesco Pedrini into the setup, alongside pieces by Giuditta Vendrame, Laura Sans Gassó, and Valentina Sommariva.