A reimagined Spanish Home

 

There is a particular kind of theatrical intelligence required to insert a contemporary apartment inside a nineteenth-century palace — to answer ornate plasterwork and gilded ceilings not with deference, but with dialogue. Studiopepe did exactly that, transforming the Palazzo Castiglioni into a house within a house: a fully realised residential installation that served simultaneously as exhibition space, design manifesto, and meditation on how we actually want to live now. 

The project, Appartamento Spagnolo, was organised by Interiors from Spain and curated by Elle Decor Italia. Founders Arianna Lelli Mami and Chiara Di Pinto conceived a series of curved, organic volumetric units that established their own spatial logic inside the existing architecture — creating a dual spatial system in which the rigid historical framework of the nineteenth century hosts the fluid, temporary volumes of the present.

The installation's commitment to reversible architecture was its most discussed idea. Semi-transparent metal mesh curtains defined zones of living, dining, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom without enclosing them, allowing visual continuity while guiding circulation along a non-linear path across Sala Pavoni, Sala Sommaruga, Sala Liberty, the winter garden, and the courtyard. No fixed corridors. No permanent commitments. In an era when residential design must accommodate remote working, multi-generational living, and shifting routines, the question of how to subdivide space without locking in a configuration is genuinely urgent — and this project offered a precise, liveable answer.

A controlled palette of dark brown and chocolate ran across all six atmospheres, punctuated by pastel green and acid yellow. Lighting was integrated architecturally, used to emphasise transitions and surface changes across textiles, ceramics, and finishes. Contributions from twenty-two Spanish brands — among them Cosentino, Gandia Blasco, Roca, Sancal, and Bover — were treated not as isolated objects but as components within a coherent living system.