This space was designed as a new building in 2005-2007 by Carlo Bagliani, Vittorio Caponnetto, and Valter Scelsi of Sp10 as a garage for cars, and then published in 2011 by Casabella as a “space for art,” as it quickly became a temporary space for artists.
When Sp10 closed, it was decided that the building would house an office of architecture and would need to be refit for this purpose. In 2013 the interior space was completely redesigned by Carlo Bagliani with Stefano Mattioni and Pamela Cassisa in order to create this new office.
The office is set in a populated residential eastern neighborhood of Genova, close to downtown. It is located in a freestanding building with a large garden surrounded by six-story buildings.
The new design intended to respect the original open layout designed by Sp10, and form a new concept with minimal effort.
Only three spaces were secluded: a meeting room, restrooms, and an archival space. The archive is defined by a dramatic monolith set in the open space, and can be circumnavigated, creating different areas.
The surfaces were insulated and then colored black (rubber for the floor and paint for walls and ceiling).
On the garage ramp a platform was used as the reception area, with a large window.
Most of the machinery was concentrated (the electrical system on the floor and the air conditioning on a single wall under a window) in order to achieve large, clean surfaces on the entire ceiling and most of the walls.
The wooden-metallic furniture (designed by Antonio Norero of Sp10) was concentrated in a compact sequence; each table displays two lamps creating variable effects of light and shadow.
The office is very comfortable, like a quiet cavern that looks out on the peaceful grasslands through the large window.
Project: Carlo Bagliani
Project Assistant: Stefano Mattioni
Design Team: Pamela Cassisa
Furniture Design: Antonio Norero
Location: via Vassallo, Genova, Italia
Surface: 3283 square feet