The Hidden Genius Behind Milan's Blue Moon Redesign
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The gallery is glazed, with blue steel frames and a new roofline which remodels Milan's casa a ballatoio.
Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor
Blue steel set off by Maria Theresa yellow. In central Milan, this contrast is the key point. Blue Moon has transformed the attic of an early-twentieth-century building into a series of new houses, terraces and shared circulation areas, using what is already there. The street fronts on Corso di Porta Romana and Via Orti retain their pattern of openings, restrained decoration, projecting eaves, and timber shutters. The courtyard side uses a different version of the same language. ITCH Studio leaves a lesson: the extension is not something placed on the roof. It is part of the building.
On the street side, nothing stands out; the traditional casa a ballatoio has been preserved. When you turn into the courtyard, the atmosphere changes.
Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor
The fully glazed facade is dynamically shaped and includes a new access gallery. The granite slabs beneath your feet mirror the material weight of the buildings in the Milanese courtyards. Above these, a series of blue steel frames transforms the old gallery dividers into a rhythmic arrangement. These frames organize the facade and appear at every point along the gallery; they then continue into the perforated-metal staircase and the canopy above the vertical circulation.
A single gesture repeated until it becomes a system. The blue deliberately contrasts with the courtyard's yellow, linking the memory of the old building on one side with the addition's identity on the other.
Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor
The shape is irregular, and the front face is transparent. The colour completes the effect. As you walk along the gallery, the inner surface changes, and so does the light.
In the recovered attic, the interior arrangements follow the building's non-orthogonal geometry rather than altering it. The rooms open up towards the gallery and the terraces.
Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor
The technical systems are integrated into the architecture, including heat pumps, underfloor heating and cooling, air distribution, and home automation. The photovoltaic panels are located on the roof and are not visible.
In the gallery, the blue frames divide the sky into long, thin rectangles, and the area below the courtyard remains yellow.
Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor Blue Moon. Photography by Omar Sartor
Blue Moon. Wooden model: ITCH Studio
Information & Credits
Project: Blue Moon
Location: Milan, Italy
Surface: 420 m²
Architect: ITCH Studio — Milan & Lugano (TCH Società d’architettura S.r.l.)
Project team Giulia Castelli, Marco Corazza, Alessandro Mingolo, Daniele Torresin, Vincenzo Di
Salvia, Gabriella D’Aprile
Client: Mast srl
Site Supervision: Antonella D’Ambrosio
RCVS: AB Project
Structural Engineering: Ing. Raffaele Bettoni
Acoustics: Arch. Morandi
Contractor: SAIE Spa
Photography: Omar Sartor
