Oblique Strategies

The project concerns the refurbishment of a 100 m² apartment within the Monte Amiata housing complex in Milan (Carlo Aymonino with Aldo Rossi, 1974).
The unit, a 10 × 10 m square plan located at the eastern end of building A2, makes the diagonal reinforced-concrete frame — a defining feature of the whole settlement — particularly legible.

The intervention stems from a very limited budget (€25,000), which directed the design towards an economy of means, reuse and minimal construction work. Materials recovered from long-term residents of the complex (tiles), existing elements repaired or reinterpreted (the cement tiles), and minor works became the primary tools of the project. The design therefore operates largely on what is already there, reducing additions and replacements to a minimum.

The transformation is conceived as an act of repair. The project works by subtraction, removing the compartmentalisation and hierarchical layout of the original plan: the sequence of rooms is replaced by a continuous, permeable space in which functions are not rigidly prescribed and may be separated by lightweight elements such as curtains.

The architectural language is intentionally raw and direct. Irregularities, structural traces and existing finishes are retained as active components of the project, while new elements are inserted without imitation or contrast. The permanence of marks and signs is understood as a value, allowing the apartment to register both its past and the present intervention.

The result is a dwelling that preserves the strength of the original structure while accommodating contemporary ways of living.