In the heart of Milan’s Fashion District, the new Oxblood store occupies 220 sqm within a historic listed building. Designed by ML Architettura and built by Toptaglio, a General Contractor specialising in building renovation, the space emerges from a dialogue between the memory of the existing architecture and a new design language defined by materials, technology and bespoke solutions.
The project preserved the building’s most valuable features, from marble columns and stone capitals to wooden coffered ceilings. The protected flooring was also removed during the stripout phase and stored for subsequent reinstatement, while the irregularities of the historic walls called for custom-designed solutions. Building services and new technological systems were integrated within wall linings and suspended ceilings, maintaining a clean and seamless perception of the space.
The project is defined above all by the dialogue between historic elements, tactile surfaces and contemporary technology. Along the staircase, an approximately 50 sqm resin-coated LED wall – one of the first installations of its kind in Italy – becomes a striking visual feature alongside vintage mirrored surfaces. In the basement, the industrial character of the interiors is combined with unexpected elements, including a kitchen and mock refrigerators transformed into display units; on the ground floor, dedicated to jewellery and clothing, invisible speakers integrated into the walls create an immersive soundscape.
Completed in just nine weeks, the project required close coordination between design and construction. To optimise the schedule, ML Architettura and Toptaglio adopted a “box-in-the-box” approach, with selected spaces, modular systems and furniture components prefabricated off-site and subsequently assembled inside the store.
The result brings preservation and transformation into dialogue, turning the building’s historic elements from features to be simply protected into an integral part of the space’s contemporary identity.
Photo: Filippo Tagliabue.
For more information, visit www.toptaglio.com, ml-architettura.com, oxbloodbrand.com.
