La Dolce Vita

Devoted to art, music, or fashion, these spaces are distinctively Italian

Mark McMenamin -- Interior Design, 6/1/2008 12:00:00 AM

5+1AA

project Open Care, Milan.

standout At this 16,400-square-foot art consultancy and restoration business located underground, the mood shifts from sprightly in reception, with its white leather-covered seating by Francesco Binfaré, to severe in the vault, lined with steel storage compartments.

Elena Lupi Architetto

project La Casa della Musica, Genoa.

standout Musicians at this 10,800-square-foot performance and educational center, housed in a converted brick warehouse, get inspired by views of the city's historic docklands, then wait to practice in a room filled with Ron Arad's melodious red polyester-resin chairs.

Sibillassociati

project Radio 19, Genoa.

standout The broadcasting arm of the newspaper Il Secolo XIX inhabits 1,600 square feet of Damien Hirst-style painted polka dots, which seem to borrow their juicy colors from the Vico Magistretti polypropylene stacking chairs in the lounge outside the cherry-red programming booth.



P+R+V

project Mila Schön, Rome.

standout White-lacquered MDF display fixtures and architectural details appear to float above this 1,100-square-foot shop's glossy resin floor, punctuated by inset clothing displays.

Studio Damilano

project Boîte d'Or, Limone.

standout This jewelry shop is a 2,000-square-foot jewel box of back-painted and transparent glass, marble, aluminum, and luminous doussiè, a hardwood from Africa.