Behind the front door of a Milanese building—which once housed an industrial warehouse—stands Casa Archi: a newly built urban villa designed by 23Bassi around a private garden.
Over 600 square meters in which architecture, interior design, technology, and landscaping were developed as parts of a single project.
Its most striking feature is also the one from which it takes its name: 24 large arches, each 3.40 meters high, which punctuate the facade facing the garden and set the rhythm of the entire building.
A nod to classical architecture, but without nostalgia. The arches become large contemporary openings, bringing light deep into the rooms and creating a continuous connection between the home and the greenery.
.01
.02
.03
Casa Archi was designed by arranging the main rooms along the perimeter of the property and leaving a large open space in the center.
The result is a house built around its own garden.
The living room, kitchen, dining room, and bedrooms overlook the greenery through large arched windows, while the white facade creates an almost abstract backdrop against which the shadows of the trees and the plants on the roof constantly shift throughout the day.
On the ground floor, one of the sections juts out toward the garden, forming a bay window that houses the kitchen’s dining area.
The same volume continues on the upper floor and defines the geometry of the octagonal master bedroom: a space built around large arched openings and overlooking the greenery directly.
Behind the facade’s clean lines lies an important part of the project: the technological aspect.
The building’s main structure is made of reinforced concrete, while the exterior envelope consists of a dry-set facade, designed as an integrated system rather than simply as a finish.
The large windows are constructed with steel frames and feature Griesser adjustable venetian blind systems.
Window systems, solar shading, and insulation are coordinated through a single unit integrated directly into the building envelope.
The technology is thus concealed within the architecture.
A principle that runs throughout Casa Archi: utilities, home automation, mechanical ventilation, and lighting control systems are present everywhere, but almost never visible.
While the arches set the rhythm of the house on the outside, the vertical layout creates some of the most striking spaces on the inside.
The dining room is a double-height space—nearly eight meters—designed to be one of the focal points of the living area.
On the upper floor, a suspended bridge spans the void and leads to the master bedroom, offering ever-changing views of the spaces below.
The domestic space is therefore perceived not only through its floor plan but also vertically: views, double-height spaces, and passageways create a sequence of perspectives that changes as one moves through the house.
Art also plays a direct role in the project. The dimensions of certain works already owned by the homeowners helped determine the proportions of the spaces, transforming the architecture into a setting designed around the lives and passions of those who live there.
The main staircase is one of the most complex features of the house.
It was constructed on-site using reinforced concrete, with a curved shape that rises toward the large skylight on the roof, and is topped by a continuous steel railing.
Here, the design had to be directly adapted to the construction: the geometry, structure, and visual perception were adjusted and refined during the construction process, because each step in the curve is different from the next.
More than just a connection between two floors, the staircase thus becomes a true architectural and sculptural element.
In the living area, the Venetian-style terrazzo floor creates a continuous, bright surface that flows seamlessly through the living room, dining room, and kitchen.
Against this neutral backdrop, warmer materials—such as brass, wood, glass, fabrics, and works of art—take center stage.
The kitchen is centered around a large island and opens onto the bay window through the dining area, where the windows make the table feel almost like part of the garden.
The furnishings, wood paneling, and many architectural elements were designed or selected in conjunction with the house, avoiding a clear separation between the building’s design and the interior design.
Because in a house built from scratch, the interior design process must begin long before you choose the furniture.
The greenery doesn’t stop at the ground floor.
The roof becomes a roof garden, an integral part of the building’s design. Some plants extend to the edge of the facade and cascade downward, gradually softening the white geometry of the architecture.
The private garden in the center of the courtyard and the rooftop garden thus become two distinct levels of the same landscape.
You live one.
The other one can be glimpsed from the outside as it slowly descends toward the house.
Casa Archi is the result of this balance: architecture with grand proportions yet designed for everyday life; highly sophisticated technology that remains discreet; and a classical style reinterpreted without being copied.
Twenty-four arches, a garden in the heart of Milan, and a home designed—literally—from the exterior down to the very last detail.
