Architect Luca Cipelletti has renovated the lower-ground floor of Milan’s Triennale Milano museum, including its restaurant, music venue and children’s play area.
Led by Triennale Milano president Stefano Boeri and general director Carla Morogallo, the renovation encompasses 2,300 square metres of interior space in the Giovanni Muzio-designed Palazzo dell’Arte building, alongside 7,300 square metres of gardens, porticos and facades.
The renovation forms part of a wider redevelopment of the building, aimed at updating its energy performance, accessibility and functionality while “enhancing Giovanni Muzio’s original 1933 design”.
The first portion of the renovation to be completed was the Voce Triennale, a dedicated music space.
Created to host Triennale’s extensive music programme, the minimalist, rectangular room is supported by pillars that carve out a trio of asymmetrical naves.
A mixture of sound-insulating, sound-absorbing and sound-reflecting panels clad the walls and ceilings, while a large soundwall forms the centrepiece of the space.
Designer Philippe Malouin conceived a bespoke modular seating system for the venue, made up of a chunky sofa and a cluster of listening lounge chairs crafted from dark green felt with visible stitching.
Integrated dynamic lighting illuminates the space, which also includes a cocktail bar. At its entrance, a sense of nightlife is enhanced by illustrative neon signage by artist Marcello Maloberti.
Voce Triennale’s pared-back interior was designed to be “less distracting due to the absence of visual stimuli”, according to Boeri, allowing the music to take centre stage.
The second part of the renovation is Cucina Triennale, a restaurant and cafe refurbished to reflect the style and atmosphere of Muzio’s original 1930s design.
Overlooking the Triennale gardens, the eatery is spread across three rooms characterised by industrial timber flooring and white walls. Cipelletti also maintained the space’s original exposed rhomboid beam ceilings.
Central to the interior are stackable dining chairs by Studio Klass, which were custom-made for the restaurant.
The chairs were designed to complement the steel-framed tables originally created for the space by architect Gigiotti Zanini. Furniture brand UniFor reissued the tables for the project, but updated the tops with a more durable finish.
Two partitioned areas cloaked in retractable green curtains are used for exhibitions.
The third and final portion of the renovation is the sandy-hued Gioco Triennale, a dedicated creative area for children “of all ages” with furnishings by Smarin studio.
Smarin created a selection of modular cork blocks and flat solid pine surfaces for the play area. Free from nails and screws, the components are designed for kids to build playful seating, desks and other structures.
Gioco Triennale also includes an area to park prams as well as baby-changing facilities.
Triennale is Italy’s most important design museum, which hosts the Triennale Milano International Exhibition for architecture and industrial design every three years.
It’s also one of the key venues at Milan design week every year, hosting everything from an exhibition of walking sticks created by 18 designers for their future selves to an installation of furniture and homeware by Inga Sempé.
The photography is courtesy of Triennale Milano
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