Set amidst a small valley of vineyards in Veneto, Italy, Texturised House by Bongiana Architetture is a carefully measured extension of a modest rural building. A contemporary retreat designed to host family celebrations and intimate gatherings, where architecture shapes atmosphere through light and raw materiality. The project is grounded in the principle of raw purity: rough surfaces, exposed materials, and details reduced to their essence. Each wall and floor is the result of a specific interpretation, turning every surface into a visual and tactile narrative.

The structure reveals its own body with pride, in a play of textures that multiplies spatial perception. At the heart of the project lies the double-height barn, conceived as a large luminous cavity. The intent is to bring in as much natural light as possible, which filters through carefully placed openings and reflects on the textured surfaces, animating the space with shifting shadows. Within this volume rises the light structure of a suspended bookshelf, creating a new intermediate, airy, and intimate space that dialogues with the openness below.

all images by Riccardo De Vecchi

decorative material motifs set Texturised House’s visual rhythm

The theme of fire weaves through the house, connecting memory and the contemporary. In the old part, the original fireplace remains, while in the barn, a cast-iron stove becomes the new focal point. Around it, the walls are clad with Split terracotta tiles, designed by Bongiana Architetture for Terraformae, where the interpretation of the joint becomes the sole decorative motif, a minimal gesture that creates a vibrant backdrop of rhythm and materiality. The new concrete floor further tells this story of reinterpreted tradition through a surface that recalls the Venetian terrazzo, but instead of marble fragments, it incorporates reclaimed terracotta slats, cut from the hollow bricks used to clad the portico’s pillars. A gesture that ties the ground to the structure, weaving memory and material in a contemporary key.

The furnishings add another layer of memory. Carefully selected reclaimed pieces, such as a 1950s kitchen, are salvaged from an old house and transformed to begin a new life here. Old and new intertwine naturally, giving shape to a coherent and lived-in narrative. In Texturised House, Bongiana Architetture Studio reaffirms its poetics, an architecture of subtraction that gives strength to emptiness and depth to matter, crafting a place that is both a collective stage and a private retreat, a space where every surface speaks, and every detail tells a story.

Texturised House blends old structures with new volumes

architecture defined by raw textures and minimal detailing

textured surfaces become visual and tactile narratives throughout the house

the structure emphasizes rough exposed materiality

a double-height barn forms the luminous core of the project

carefully placed openings bring natural light into the central space

reclaimed furnishings, including a 1950s kitchen, add historical depth

old and new elements merge into a cohesive spatial narrative

split terracotta tiles create rhythm and texture

shadows and textures animate the interiors with changing light

an original fireplace remains in the old section of the house

the concrete floor recalls Venetian terrazzo with reclaimed terracotta slats

designed as a contemporary retreat shaped by light and material presence

project info:

name: Texturised House – Casa Baone

architects: Bongiana Architetture | @bongianaarchitetture
lead designer: Pietro Bongiana, Silvia Codato
location: Veneto, Italy

photographer: Riccardo De Vecchi | @riccardodevecchi.photo

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With just months to go before the opening of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, Milan’s Olympic Village nears completion within the vast redevelopment of the former Porta Romana railway yard. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the village is set to host over 1,300 athletes during the Games before transforming into Italy’s largest publicly supported student housing complex (find designboom’s previous coverage here). The project responds to the pressing housing needs of the city but also highlights the role of large-scale events in driving long-term urban transformation.

Located between Via Ripamonti and Corso Lodi, in the Fondazione Prada district, the disused Porta Romana scalo was once a vast infrastructural void dividing Milan’s southern sector. The site is currently undergoing one of the most ambitious regeneration initiatives in Europe, coordinated by COIMA SGR and its institutional partners through the Porta Romana Fund. The wider redevelopment began in 2005 as part of the Scali Milano initiative, which sought to convert over one million square meters of obsolete railway land into new urban centralities. The Olympic Village, a key anchor within the masterplan by Outcomist and Michel Desvigne, with landscape input from Elizabeth Diller, marks a milestone in this decades-long process.

8th March 2025, The Basilico building | all images by Donato di Bello

A fast-track conversion for a post-Olympic legacy

As of February 2025, all six residential buildings that make up the Olympic Village have been structurally completed, alongside the restoration of two historic railway buildings: the Squadra Rialzo and the Basilico warehouse, named after photographer Gabriele Basilico. Designed by the international architecture firm SOM with conversion in mind from the outset, the village will be handed over to Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 six months ahead of the Games and returned immediately afterward for transformation into student housing— a record-setting turnaround for an Olympic facility.

The future student village will offer 1,700 beds, with 30% at subsidized rates. Thanks to support from COIMA’s ESG City Impact Fund and the Fondo Nazionale Abitare Sociale (FNAS), 450 of these units will be available at an average of €430/month, roughly 25% below market. The development has already been pre-qualified by the Italian Ministry of Universities as eligible for public funding under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), potentially reducing rents even further for up to 12 years.

5th February 2025, corner of the construction site between Ripamonti and Lorenzini Streets

A climate-conscious village for future generations

The Olympic Village is one of Italy’s most sustainable residential developments to date. Certified LEED Gold, the buildings achieve zero operational emissions thanks to advanced energy systems consisting of no fossil fuels, high-efficiency heat pumps, LED lighting, and a rooftop photovoltaic array producing 1 MW of power. Prefabricated timber facade panels reduce both construction time and environmental impact. Public green areas, designed by Desvigne, are fully integrated into the neighborhood network, promoting walkability and ecological continuity.

The internal programming, including fitness facilities, coworking areas, dining, and healthcare, will be converted into community-serving spaces after the Games. This approach ensures the Olympic legacy contributes directly to long-term social infrastructure.

8th March 2025, the West courtyard and building A

Public and private alignment

The project is supported by a wide consortium of institutional stakeholders, including Cassa Forense, ENPAM, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Intesa Sanpaolo, and CDP Real Asset SGR. The residential component of the Porta Romana site will also include 320 affordable housing units, covering the housing needs of over 2,500 residents and aligning with Milan’s municipal housing strategies and Confindustria’s national sustainable housing program.

As Italy eyes its post-pandemic urban future, the Olympic Village at Porta Romana stands as an example of infrastructure designed to serve beyond spectacle. 

8th March 2025, the South facade of the A building and the mezzanine

8th March 2025, the South facade of the D building

8th March 2025, Olympic Village, the east facade of the construction site

8th March 2025, the ex-Squadra Rialzo Building, train maintenance depot

project info:

name: Olympic Village Milano-Cortina 2026

architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) | @skidmoreowingsmerrill

location: Porta Romana, Milan, Italy (more info here)

site area: 46,620 square meters

building gross area: 53,380 square meters

masterplan: Outcomist

landscape design: Michel Desvigne Paysagiste

landscape advisor: Elizabeth Diller | Diller Scofidio + Renfro | @diller_scofidio_renfro

developers: COIMA SGR, Covivio, Prada Holding

project partners: COIMA ESG City Impact Fund, CDP Real Asset SGR, Fondo Nazionale Abitare Sociale

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After a three-year restoration, Torre Velasca, Milan’s iconic skyscraper, reopens to the public with a fresh identity that amplifies its brutalist-modernist legacy. First completed in 1958 by the avant-garde collective BBPR (Banfi, Belgiojoso, Peressutti, and Rogers), the concrete tower has long stood as a symbol of postwar Italian resilience and experimentation. Now, under the direction of Hines, with Asti Architetti leading the architectural refurbishment, Torre Velasca enters a new phase as a hybrid vertical complex that combines residential, corporate, cultural, and communal uses, anchored by a newly created urban piazza.

all images ©Albo

Hines and Asti Architetti restore Torre Velasca

The defining form of the tower, composed of a rational base rising into a dramatic overhanging crown supported by angled buttresses, is preserved in its entirety. Often likened to a medieval fortress or Lombard tower, its bold silhouette remains unchanged, but its skin and systems are carefully upgraded. The original clinker brick facade, one of the most distinctive features of the building, was subjected to extensive restoration, led by Milan-based Asti Architetti for global real estate firm Hines, using laser cleaning and manual repair techniques to preserve its original grain and irregularities. Windows, some of which had been replaced with incompatible frames in the decades since its construction, were returned to BBPR’s specifications, reintroducing uniformity and rhythm to the grid.

The restoration also involves an overhaul of the building’s technological core—HVAC, energy efficiency systems, acoustic insulation, and digital infrastructure—earning the project LEED Gold and WiredScore Gold certifications. ‘The restoration had to be invisible,’ explains Paolo Asti. ‘Every intervention had to match the design logic and constructive intelligence of BBPR, or it didn’t belong.’

after a three-year restoration, Torre Velasca reopens to the public

reimagining BBPR’s skyscraper as a civic platform

Spanning 34,000 square meters of mixed-use program across 29 floors, what was once a gated skyscraper now opens fully to the public. The base now includes flexible event spaces, an exhibition gallery, retail units, and informal lounges. The 75-meter-high tower, once seen as a fortress, now functions as a civic platform. ‘This isn’t just a real estate project. It’s a return of public dignity to a building that was always meant to be part of the city, not apart from it,’ notes Senior Managing Director of Hines Mario Abbadessa.

Internally, public and private programs are layered vertically in a manner that respects the original tripartite structure: a commercial and communal ground plane, a modernist office block midsection, and a residential crown above—now reimagined as the METT Hotel & Lifestyle residences. The 18th floor houses MIA, a new panoramic restaurant designed with restrained luxury, while the mezzanine floors accommodate SUSHISAMBA and other food and wellness amenities. The interiors feature bespoke terrazzo, restored wood paneling, original signage typography, and hand-finished ceramics in an effort to echo the material intelligence of BBPR’s original scheme.

Perhaps the most radical gesture is at street level, where the formerly vehicle-dominated area around the tower has been entirely re-landscaped as Piazza Velasca, a pedestrian piazza paved in natural stone and planted with magnolias, olive trees, and native grasses. Asti Architetti’s custom benches and Esa Engineering’s lighting reinterpret BBPR’s design language in a contemporary idiom. The original street lamps designed by BBPR have also been restored, bridging past and present.

Milan’s iconic skyscraper adopts a fresh identity

first completed in 1958 by the avant-garde collective BBPR

the concrete tower has long stood as a symbol of postwar Italian resilience

under the direction of Hines, Asti Architetti leads the architectural refurbishment

Torre Velasca enters a new phase

a newly created urban piazza anchors the project

a hybrid vertical complex that combines residential, corporate, cultural, and communal uses

its bold silhouette remains unchanged

its skin and systems are carefully upgraded

laser cleaning and manual repair techniques preserve the original grain and irregularities of the facade

a rational base rises into a dramatic overhanging crown supported by angled buttresses

project info:

name: Torre Velasca Restoration

location: Milan, Italy

original architects: BBPR (Gian Luigi Banfi, Lodovico Belgiojoso, Enrico Peressutti, Ernesto Nathan Rogers)

restoration lead architect: Asti Architetti | @asti_architetti

developer: Hines Italy | @hines

floor area: 34,000 sqm

height: 75 meters

engineering: CEAS (structures), ESA Engineering (MEP)

general contractor: ARS Aedificandi

heritage supervision: Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la città metropolitana di Milano

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Venice Sotheby’s Realty announces that Dries Van Noten has acquired the Venetian Palazzo Pisani Moretta. The Belgian fashion designer, who stepped down from his own label in 2024 after 38 years of helming it, is yet to reveal his plans for the palace. Given the history of the location, Dries Van Noten’s new venture can foresee him transforming Palazzo Pisani Moretta in Venice into a cultural venue. He describes it as a personal journey, adding that it is about creating something while respecting what came before.

Before he left his fashion brand, PUIG acquired a majority stake in his company in 2018. During the time, he was still the Chief Creative Officer. He still contributes to the brand and presented his final collection as the house’s creative director in June 2024. Julian Klausner has succeeded the designer as the label’s creative director, presenting his first women’s runway collection on March 5th, 2025. Now, Dries Van Noten focuses on his recent adventure in Venice, Italy, after having acquired the historical, 15th-century Palazzo Pisani Moretta.

portrait of Dries Van Noten | image courtesy of Dries Van Noten

Gothic- and baroque-style cultural venue and palace

A recap: the Palazzo Pisani Moretta in Venice stands along the Grand Canal between the Rialto Bridge and Ca’ Foscari. It belonged to the Pisani family since its construction in the late 15th century. The palace had demonstrated the Gothic Floral architecture, and then, between the early 16th and mid-18th centuries, it underwent significant changes and expansions. It wasn’t used in the late 19th century, so in the late 20th century, the palace was again restored. The efforts included bringing back original furniture and artwork to revive the palace’s historical value.

Because of this timeline, it now has its current appearance, the one that Dries Van Noten has acquired in Venice. Its facade keeps its Gothic-style mullioned windows, while the interiors present a Baroque style. The palace’s history states that renowned Venetian artists like Giambattista Tiepolo, Jacopo Guarana, Gaspare Diziani, and Giuseppe Angeli contributed to the interior decoration. Then, a prominent double-ramp staircase, also from the Baroque period, replaced the original external Gothic staircase. A report by the Corriere del Veneto says that Dries Van Noten has already had a house with his partner, Patrick Vangheluwe, for some time on the Grand Canal in Venice. Acquiring then the Palazzo Pisani Moretta may be an expansion step, a way for the designer to establish his new roots.

exterior view of Palazzo Pisani Moretta in Venice | image courtesy of Venice Sotheby’s Realty

double-ramp staircase that replaced the original external Gothic staircase | image courtesy of Venice Sotheby’s Realty

Main Hall | from here, all images courtesy of Palazzo Pisani Moretta

view of the Living Room

inside Palazzo Pisani Moreta at night

project info:

designer: Dries Van Noten | @driesvannoten

palace: Palazzo Pisani Moretta | @palazzo.pisani.moretta

realty: Venice Sotheby’s Realty | @sothebysrealty_venice

location: Quartiere San Polo, 2766, 30125 Venice, Italy

The post dries van noten to transform venetian palazzo pisani moretta into cultural venue appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

The Missing Room has escaped the rigid confines of a defined house, choosing to exist without walls or a ceiling — a place where nature becomes the main inhabitant and visitors are invited to act as respectful guests. A collection of abstract forms with a core activated by water and fire, the installation by the Carroccera Collective sits in what was once a vineyard in Piedmont, Italy, reimagining the most primal human rituals: resting, eating, cleansing, and conversing. These activities mix in harmonious ways in an open-air ‘shelter’. While guests cook over a crackling open fire, another inhabitant submerges in a heated bath, and a cow drinks from an integrated trough — all beneath a ceiling of tree canopies and the open sky. This space encourages visitors to set their own pace and redefine their pre-existing notions of domesticity.

To protect the land, Carroccera Collective’s modular, recyclable structure and use of a non-invasive screw-pile foundation ensures that no traces are left behind if the house is required to be removed from the site. The wastewater from bathing and cooking is also filtered and safely dispersed into the field, providing irrigation and wet areas that contribute to the overall biodiversity of the forest. While its stainless steel shell ensures that the refuge is resistant to weathering, a sail canopy can also be set up to offer shade or protection from rain. By day, the canopy catches dappled shadows cast by the surrounding foliage; by night, it reflects light from built-in recessed lighting, transforming the structure into a glowing lantern. 

all images courtesy of Carroccera Collective

Carroccera collective unravels the confines of a defined house

In 1986, investigators found that more than 300 brands of wine, including some from Piedmont, contained potentially lethal levels of methanol, a substance that occurs in small amounts naturally in wine making, but which some unscrupulous vintners added in large doses to raise the alcohol content of cheap wines. Wine laced with methanol was blamed for 24 deaths and severely damaged the acceptance of Italian wine, leading to some winemakers abandoning their vineyards, or moving on to different crops. Several hectares of the Carroccera land have thus been left undisturbed since then, and recently these areas have begun to regenerate through natural processes. Within this landscape lies a latent potential to renew the relationship between humans and their environment by reintroducing a healthy symbiotic ecosystem.

Meandering through this natural landscape, the Carroccera Collective’s Missing Room gradually reveals itself, with the wanderer catching shimmering glimpses of smaller secondary structures shining through the forest greenery. This collection of visual fragments prepares the visitor for the main encounter, enriching the landscape with its enigmatic shapes and forms.

At the core of the installation, the design team has placed a seven-meter-tall monolith: a multifunctional chimney. On one side, the fire powers the ovens, while on the other, it heats water for bathing and warms the area at the front of the space. This towering form responds to the scale of the surrounding trees, rising like a beacon above the canopies, marking its presence in the landscape and guiding visitors with its smoke signals. Concealed doors house two cooking ovens integrated with the chimney’s extraction system, which can transform the worktop into a spacious frying pan when needed. 

the Missing Room escapes the rigid confines of a defined house

the open-air pavilion embraces the flow of nature

Water, like fire, also plays a central role in activating the hidden features of the structure. The Carroccera Collective releases the flow of water at the entrance of the structure, filling the main collection channel that distributes the flow into various basins throughout the structure. Users are encouraged to interact with these systems by adding or removing plugs as needed to direct the flow; to fill the bath, use the sink or supply water to the cattle trough.

The bath next to the water channel has a built-in natural convection system and fits three to four people, and for solo use, its size can be reduced with a partitioning panel to conserve water. Once closed, it can be transformed into a heated surface and used as a resting place to sleep.

the Carroccera Collective sits in what was once a vineyard in Piedmont, Italy

at the core of the installation, the design team has placed a seven-meter-tall monolith: a multifunctional chimney

reimagining the most primal human rituals: resting, eating, cleansing, and conversing

primal domestic activities mix in harmonious ways in an open-air ‘shelter’

Carroccera Collective crafts a modular, recyclable stainless steel structure

the flow of nature weaves through the Missing Room

concealed doors house two cooking ovens integrated with the chimney’s extraction system

on one side, the fire powers the ovens, and on the other it heats water for bathing

the wastewater from bathing and cooking is filtered into the field

the released water provides irrigation and supports forest biodiversity

a sail canopy can also be set up to offer shade or protection from rain

by day, the canopy catches dappled shadows cast by the surrounding foliage

project info:

name: The Missing Room
architect: Carroccera Collective | @carroccera_collective

location: Piedmont, Italy

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: ravail khan | designboom

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Italian studio NAEMAS Architekturkonzepte takes to the South Tyrolean mountains to design a residence titled Zierhof with Parlor. The dwelling stands at the edge of a highland clearing in Brenner, where soft light grazes the terrain and winter shadows retreat more slowly than the seasons. This alpine site, chosen after careful consideration, was selected not for its similarity to the past, but for its qualities in light, slope, and spatial relation to the valley below. In this elevated position, the rebuilding of a family farm destroyed by fire becomes an act of anchoring memory in new ground.

The structure is shaped by the land as much as it is by the family’s intention to rebuild without retracing their steps. A southern-facing incline opens toward the valley with a wide gesture, welcoming daylight through every season. This position secures warmth even in winter and orients the structure gently along the natural topography, affirming the family’s bond with the environment rather than nostalgia for a fixed past.

images © Gustav Willeit

NAEMAS architekturkonzepte unites Two Volumes

Zierhof with Parlor, conceived by NAEMAS Architekturkonzepte, expresses its program through a dual-volume composition that resists symmetry without feeling discordant. A sharply angled gable roof echoes traditional forms but steps askew just enough to suggest something reimagined. The cladding carries a pattern derived from the façade of the previous house, and yet this translation feels like a whisper rather than a replica, signaling continuity through abstraction.

The architects curate the interiors to balance the weight of history with the clarity of a new perspective. One volume recalls the farmhouse idiom through materials drawn from the region: larch floors, linen drapery, and Silberquarzit quarried nearby. The stair’s guardrail quietly references an old facade motif, drawing a tactile thread between generations while allowing the space to breathe differently.

Zierhof with Parlor is situated on a southern slope in Brenner for optimal year-round sunlight

Parlor Recast in Concrete and Color

With its Zierhof with Parlor, NAEMAS Architekturkonzepte proposes a new form of domesticity through the second building, where a reinterpretation of the alpine parlor unfolds. Here, exposed concrete imprinted with timber grain grounds the space, while a centrally placed tiled stove anchors it in a ritual of gathering. Color appears unexpectedly. Reds and pinks in the kitchen, and terrazzo flooring flecked with pigment all suggest vitality as a necessary architectural gesture.

In the hands of NAEMAS Architekturkonzepte, the project becomes an architecture of dualities held in quiet conversation. The pairing of tradition and invention does not seek resolution. Instead, the material, volume, and tone all offer the family a way to live among memory without being confined by it.

the site was chosen through careful analysis of orientation light and topography

program is divided into two distinct building volumes that respond differently to memory and renewal

a gable roof and patterned facade are inspired by the original farmhouse

one volume is grounded in regional tradition with local materials including larch linen and Silberquarzit

intricate detailing reflects patterns from the lost structure, maintaining a tactile link to the family’s past

the second volume reimagines the alpine parlor in exposed concrete and bold color

project info:

name: Zierhof with Parlor

architect: NAEMAS Architekturkonzepte | @naemasarchitekten

location: Brenner, Italy

construction: Oberegger
carpenter: Holzbau Brugger
design, structure details: Architect Martin Seidner, Architect Nadia Erschbaumer

area: 627 square meters
completion: 2023
photography: © Gustav Willeit | @sangu

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After nearly a decade of operation, the OMA–renovated Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice shuts its doors (find designboom’s previous coverage here). Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) Group, the LVMH-owned travel retailer that runs the department store, posts a quiet notice on its website: ‘As of May 1, 2025, our store will be closed.’ The news is followed by a farewell post on Instagram, thanking friends and customers for the years of shared experiences.

Venice was home to DFS’s only store in Europe, a space that regularly hosted art installations, exhibitions, concerts, and cultural events, particularly on its rooftop and in the central courtyard. Locals often used the historic building as a shortcut between Campo San Bartolomeo and the Rialto, while tourists were drawn in as much for the panoramic views as for the luxury shopping.

all images by Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco Cappelletti © OMA, unless stated otherwise

the history behind the 800-year-old building

The closure, announced in November 2024, ends a project that aimed to rewire a 13th-century monument for 21st-century life. Located at the foot of the Rialto Bridge, across from the fish market, the Fondaco started life as a trading hub for German merchants, later became a customs house under Napoleon, and under Mussolini, a fascist post office. Over the centuries it burned down twice, was rebuilt, stripped of its towers, filled in with concrete, and altered so heavily that by the time the international design practice OMA stepped in, little of its original structure remained untouched. Still, in 1987, it gained protected monument status, freezing further transformation in place.

OMA’s approach, led by Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, Rem Koolhaas, and Silvia Sandor, treated the building as a palimpsest, layered and messy. Their renovation, commissioned by the Benetton family in 2009, carved out new public paths through the mass, added a hovering steel-and-glass floor over the central courtyard, and revived the rooftop by transforming a 19th-century pavilion into a wooden terrace with panoramic views over Venice. 

the OMA–renovated Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice shuts its doors

as DFS departs, a new chapter begins

Inside, they opened up vertical circulation with new escalators, retained key historic rooms, and reinstated the gallerias as surfaces for frescoes, this time in contemporary form. The courtyard, once closed to the city, became a kind of indoor campo, a public piazza at the heart of the structure. 

DFS operated the space as a luxury department store, but that is only part of the story. OMA’s design was also about public access, civic energy, and rethinking what a monument can be. It avoided nostalgia and challenged the idea that heritage buildings must be static or sacred. With DFS gone, the future of the building is uncertain. Its protected status severely limits what can be altered, but its history shows that the Fondaco always adapts.

the space that regularly hosted art installations, exhibitions, concerts, and cultural events

locals often used the historic building as a shortcut between Campo San Bartolomeo and the Rialto

Venice was home to DFS’s only store in Europe

tourists were drawn in as much for the panoramic views as for the luxury shopping

OMA treated the building as a palimpsest, layered and messy

the courtyard became a kind of indoor campo

a steel-and-glass floor hovers over the central courtyard

transforming a 19th-century pavilion into a wooden terrace with panoramic views over Venice

OMA’s revamp carved out new public paths through the mass

its history shows that the Fondaco always adapts | image courtesy of DFS

project info:

name: Fondaco dei Tedeschi (DFS Venice) | @tfondaco

renovation architect: OMA | @oma.eu 
operator: DFS Group 

location: Venice, Italy 

date of closure: May 1, 2025

lead architects: Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli | @ippopeste, Rem Koolhaas | @rem.koolhaas, Silvia Sandor | @silviasandor

renovation completed: 2016

The post OMA-designed fondaco dei tedeschi store in venice closes its doors appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Giorgia Longoni Studio centers MOGO — a new bar and dining concept in the Isola district — around a handcrafted, 360-degree sound station. Wrapped in steel, velvet, and carved wood, this grounding feature draws on the communal concept and retro aesthetics of the popular Japanese Jazz Kissa listening cafés which emerged postwar in the mid-20th century.

Embracing the contrasts of their layered materiality and their atmosphere of analog intimacy that brings people together, the design team reinterprets these influences through Milan’s own material language, infusing industrial finishes and tactile, contemporary details. Above, a luminous ceiling shifts color and tone throughout the day, casting bright light across the interiors before warming into amber hues at night.

all images courtesy of Giorgia Longoni Studio

giorgia longoni studio fosters togetherness around the bar

The venue derives its name from ‘Mmogo’, the Sotho (South Africa) word for ‘together’. ‘This term encapsulates the soul of venue,’ shares the design team. ‘It is a gathering place where people can share unique moments over good food, excellent cocktails, and refined sounds.’ The listening bar creates a natural space that draws people in to gather over a drink or music, positioned as both a social core and a spatial anchor. Giorgia Longoni Studio also carves out more intimate spaces, as with the private relaxation room veiled behind moss-green curtains inviting people in for barefoot relaxation.

While the material palette layers warmth, texture, and contrast, the color scheme follows suit. Terracotta tones wind through and reference both the earth and the venue’s Japanese influences, while aquamarine extends across floors and walls to evoke fluidity and add a contemporary edge. These are paired with natural textures — carved wood fixtures, custom tapestries by Andrea Corvino, and washi paper accents — that soften the industrial framework and lend the space a tactile, lived-in quality.

anchored by a 360-degree sound bar

custom tapestry by Andrea Corvino,

the material and color palettes layer warmth, texture, and contrast

private relaxation room veiled behind moss-green curtains

drawing on the popular Japanese Jazz Kissa listening cafés which emerged postwar in the mid 20th century

embracing layered materiality and an atmosphere of analog intimacy

steel, velvet, and carved wood wind through MOGO

Giorgia Longoni completes interiors for MOGO

project info:

name: MOGO

architect: Giorgia Longoni Studio | @giorgialongonistudio

location: Milan, Italy

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Populous teams up with Maffeis Engineering to unveil plans for a fresh city stadium in Venice, designed to bring top-tier sports and entertainment to the city’s growing Bosco dello Sport (The Sports Forest) in Tessera. Anchoring a new 116-hectare sports and social hub in the northern part of Venice, the project is set to host Serie A football, rugby matches, and concerts.

The upcoming Venice stadium seats 18,500 people and forms part of a wider masterplan combining sport, education, and well-being. The design follows soft, curved lines that mirror the surrounding landscape, placing the stadium like a pavilion inside a garden. ‘Populous Italia is proud to contribute to the Bosco dello Sport project, where entertainment and sports activities at all levels will have a transformative and regenerative impact on the area,’ says Silvia Prandelli, senior principal and general manager of Populous Italia. 

Populous teams up with Maffeis Engineering to unveil plans for a new city stadium in Venice

a versatile design that adapts to various events

The stadium’s elliptical footprint and vertical facade elements compose a lightweight structure. A crescent-shaped podium wraps around the stadium, housing parking areas and services without disturbing the landscape. Aiming to provide better sightlines for fans, the team of Populous Italia stretches the seating bowl semi-continuously across the south, east, and north sides. The west stand concentrates VIP hospitality spaces, offering premium services and full views of the surrounding area through a 360-degree gallery.

Stepping inside, the layout puts fan experience first, with a mix of dining and social spaces. The stadium is built to inclusive design standards, making it fully accessible. It can transform easily to host rugby matches and live events, ensuring it stays active beyond game days. ‘The time has come for us to have one of the most modern and cutting-edge stadiums in the world,’ shares Luigi Brugnaro, mayor of Venice. ‘This will be an important project not only for our metropolitan area, but for the whole country.’

For Maffeis Engineering, the project hits closer to home. ‘For us this stadium is by Venetians for Veneto,’ says Massimo Maffeis, CEO of Maffeis Engineering. ‘While we are used to working on international projects, there is an added emotion and motivation to work on a project that feels more ‘ours’ than many others.’

the stadium seats 18,500 people and forms part of a wider masterplan

the design follows curved lines that mirror the surroundings, placing the stadium like a pavilion inside a garden

Populous stretches the seating bowl semi-continuously across the south, east, and north sides for better viewing

project info:

name: Venice Stadium at Bosco dello Sport

architects: Populous | @wearepopulous, Maffeis Engineering | @maffeisengineeringspa

location: Tessera, Venice, Italy

comissioners: Costruzioni Bordignon, Fincantieri Infrastrutture, Ranzato Impianti

collaborators: Soil Engineering, Seingim, Gae Engineering

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LIT Studio presents its latest retail project, the new Missoni Home Boutique, inaugurated at Via Solferino 9 in Milan on the occasion of Salone del Mobile 2025. The project is the first retail space dedicated exclusively to the Missoni Home collection.

The interior design approach emphasizes the preservation and integration of the site’s original architectural features, including iron and brick vaulted ceilings, Art Nouveau column details, and historic display window moldings. These elements are combined with new satin-finished metal surfaces, establishing a contrast between historical and contemporary materials.

all images by Lorenzo Piovella

Retail interior references Missoni’s weaves and patterns

The design team at LIT Studio organizes the spatial layout to foreground Missoni’s textiles and patterns within a restrained, structured environment. The brand’s iconic colors dominate the overall palette. A continuous metal band extends along the perimeter, forming shelving and display frames. At the rear of the space, Missoni wallpaper developed with Jannelli & Volpi introduces a patterned backdrop. Two structural columns in the center serve as vertical connectors between floor and ceiling, while a deep red finish is applied to the upper ornamental features to define the vertical volume.

satin-finished metal contrasts with the building’s original textures

interior layout highlights Missoni’s iconic patterns and color palette

deep red accents emphasize ornamental features at ceiling level

brushed metal finishes are set to act as a neutral counterpoint to vibrant textiles

a continuous metal band defines display shelving along the walls

Art Nouveau column details frame the boutique’s central axis

Missoni Home Boutique opens at Via Solferino 9 during Salone del Mobile 2025

project info:

name: Missoni Home Boutique
architect: LIT STUDIO | @litstudiomilano

brand: Missoni | @missoni

location: Via Solferino 9, Milan, Italy

photographer: Lorenzo Piovella | @lorenzo_piovella 

The post gradient satin-finished metal envelops missoni home boutique by LIT studio in milan appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.