Storagemilano is a design and architecture studio founded by Barbara Ghidoni, Marco Donati, and Michele Pasini in Milan in 2002. Working on design scales from architecture to product design, the constants in their approach are attention to composition, details, materials, and forms.
Their professional practice is grounded in a full spectrum of design inquiry including in the worlds of fashion (they have worked for labels such as Dsquared2, Bally, Dolce&Gabbana, Neil Barrett; and companies like Ceramica Bardelli and Gebrüder Thonet Vienna), art, and everything connected to concept, form, volume, space, and material. They describe this approach, “Since we first started working together, our aim has always been to experiment with unusual or different materials, particularly with light and space, proportions, composition, and attention to detail. We join this with elegant, conceptual ideas. This is what we do in our professional practice and what we look for in what surrounds us and inspires us.” We met up with them in their Milan studio in a two-story 1920s building. Decisive volumes organize the space, and fragments of history emerge on the upper floor.
How long has storagemilano been around?
BG – Since 2002. Michele and I met at university before the admission exam to the architecture department. We met Marco in our third year.
What unites you and what are each of your particular identities?
MD – We are united by our differences [smiles].
BG – That’s part of it. By putting together our heads with our tastes and conflicting ideas, we always manage to squeeze out a project by finding common ground that we all three get behind.
MP – We speak the same language, which comes out of our education. We always start from the space and how it is divided – fundamental factors – when we design. That is our major common denominator.
So the division of the space is the starting point?
BG – More than just the division of the space, it is the architectural dimension within the space. Microarchitectures within architectures. These are the simplest projects that move us the most. Then there’s material, our second major focal point.
How does your interest in material translate?
MP – There are our pet materials: metals, cement, wood; for instance, brass, which we discovered almost by chance ten years ago. By using certain metals and spreading them over large areas, you cut up the space as well as create a relationship with light, which is key.
Speaking of materials, one of your first projects that I saw – quite a while ago now – was a stand made of polystyrene at a fashion trade fair.
BG – That was quite an experience, with these very big volumes, almost Anish Kapoor style, which created an acoustically insulated space. Using materials in ways they weren’t designed for can lead to some nice surprises. We handled the projects “live” in person at the time. Twenty years ago, rendering and 3D design weren’t what they are now. Our training was with a drafting board, not a computer. It’s a different approach because you have to hold the space in your mind not in the software.
What is your most important project to date?
BG – That’s like asking someone who has three kids, “Which one do you love most?” They’ll never say.
MP – We started off the bat in the world of fashion because we thought it would give us intense creative highs. Working in the retail realm at a particular moment in time did let us create spaces with the bases we talked about that were also intense in their emotional impact. We have been working with some clients for over 20 years, which is a nice accomplishment.
BG – In some instances, it was almost like having a patron who gave us free rein. No restraints, not even commercial ones.
Have you ever designed houses where the design might have that kind of dynamic?
BG – No. But that’s to be expected. With residential projects in general, you have two points of contact instead of one so things get more complicated. And then there is how a person lives, which is, naturally, very personal. We try to give fresh interpretations to situations without imposing ourselves on them. I guess we’re not quite archistars [laughs].
Back to how you design, you talked about the space’s design concept. What are the next steps?
MP – After we have divided or created the space, then we study the materials and assess the visual importance of each architectural element. We go from this emotional, tactile, and visual realm to engineering the project. This is a fun part of the work; studying technical details means visually codifying the look of what you want to see, create, and make perceptible.
How do you relate to the historical context of your projects?
BG – When there are good cultural and aesthetic layers, we always try to preserve them and perhaps work in contrast to them. When existing elements are worth preserving, it is gratifying to work in relationship to them.
Do you have a “signature”? A specific detail or finish?
MP – I would say that the answer is no. Though people do often say that our projects have recognizable features in their forms, materials, and balance of proportions. Once we answered that same question by saying “elegance,” which is the silliest thing to say. But I do think that when all three of us sit down to define a project, we say, “OK, this is the right point of arrival.” We all are looking for the right balance.
MD – The filter is that of understatement. We do not have a rule. It’s the joining of things as a whole. We decided to call our studio storagemilano because it is a container of experiences, critical operations, and collaborations. Adding “Milano” is about wanting to refer to our cultural origins, our training at the Politecnico, the “Milanese school.” Though maybe someday we can create other containers in other cities: storagenewyork, storagesidney. Who knows?
