Decades before shoebox apartments became more commonplace in cities, the Ettore Sottsass-designed Casa Lana was crafted as an ingenious solution to a compact floor plan; it's now displayed as a permanent installation at Triennale Milano, a design museum in Italy
Long before the idea of a multifunctional interior became commonplace, celebrated Italian architect Ettore Sottsass had already designed an apartment with such versatility in mind.
First conceptualised in 1965, Sottsass envisioned Casa Lana as “rooms within a room” for lithographer and painter Giovanni Lana. Now, this iconic work has been faithfully reconstructed as a permanent installation at Triennale Milano, an art and design museum in Milan, Italy.
This interior concept offers clever solutions to a compact floor plan while creating a cosy haven; and many of these ideas are still highly relevant to contemporary small apartments.
A central wooden structure creates sections for various activities, including a central seating area for socialising and other leisurely pursuits; Sottsass himself described it as “a little piazza is created, where one can move and meet”.
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