Arper Milano’s new look

 “Contemporary and essential elegance that evokes and emphasizes the style of Arper’s collections, united by unique, simple designs, which express a timeless language.” This is the concept that guided Spanish firm Lievore Altherr in their redesign of the brand’s exhibition spaces in Milan.
The completely redesigned showroom in Via Pantano is distinguished by the use of a single material throughout the different areas, namely wood, a characteristic device for producing a softened, relaxing atmosphere, at the complete disposal of designers.

As Jeannette Altherr, LA Studio, explains, “wood creates a sense of continuity between the different areas of the showroom, thus expressing a coherent vision. It connects the area at the front, where visitors are received, to the area at the back of the showroom housing the workspaces and meeting rooms, also leading to the basement floor dedicated to design activities and experiments and to meetings with architects. Coupled with the extensive use of wood, the new stylish and minimalistic design of the refurbished space highlights the collections on display” .

Light is another key element, both natural (which floods through the large windows and permeates the central atrium) and artificial, designed to emphasize the colors of the collections.
Great attention has also been paid to the basement floor – accessed via a completely redesigned spiral staircase – which houses the materials library, namely the colorful catalog of fabrics and finishes that architects and designers can touch.

Officially opened in 2011, the Arper showroom in Milan marked the start of the brand’s international expansion. It was followed by the opening of 11 showrooms in major world capitals: from London to Stockholm, Dubai and New York, right up to the recent opening in Tokyo in November 2016.