ELEMENT HOUSE
Politecnico di Milano, 2015
Studio: Minor, Interior Design
Site: Milan
Interior design project during my minor at the Politecnico di Milano. Our design motto was to be, allow, or cause to be visible. The building itself is standing on top of a small hill, at the Politecnico campus, along an outdoor route leading to the the far end of the park. The building consists of 4 cubes, each representing a different element, thus representing nature.
One starts in the first cube, made of copper, standing for the element fire. It is the biggest cube and very massive, there is loud music playing and it is not a nice environment - you want to get out of there, and the only way is up. Furthermore, the amount of zenithal light is minimal. Within the triangular pattern, only small stripes of light enter the room. When going up the stairs, which are massive as the cube is, one arrives in the next cube. This cube is made of wood, representing earth. Both the material, the stairs, the music and the space itself gets lighter, but above the stairs you see more light and you want to go up. When going up you arrive in the third box, representing water. This space is already really light, but one can still not fully see the sky. When one takes the last stairs, you arrive at the top of the pavilion, at the cube of air. This cube is literally made of air, and from here, one can experience how beautiful and pure nature is. The zenithal light here is fully visible, not being restricted by any kind of material.
The idea of the work is to offer a place where students, in their everyday hurry, can find a place of reflection, of reuniting with nature in its purest form: the elements.