Renovation of "Sandro Pertini" seniors' home
Project type
RSA Technical Office renovates the entrance hall of "Sandro Pertini" seniors' home in Garbagnate Milanese.
Materials are chosen carefully to redefine and enhance the existing parts of the building.
The entrance hall of "Sandro Pertini" seniors' residence was originally divided into two separate areas: a reception area and a second room leading to various access routes, two elevators and a staircase.
The RSA technical office, in charge of the renovation, decided to knock down the dividing wall to create a single entrance hall.
The visitors' elevator is located in the centre of the new entrance hall, a single space measuring about 110 m2, while the side walls provide access to the lounge, chapel and common room on one side and to administrative offices on the other.
Two plasterboard steps around the elevator reduce ceiling height in the area, adding motion to the false ceiling and emphasising the elevator's central position with the aid of a step around the perimeter.
The floor is like a huge two-toned carpet, made of two types of tiles from ARIOSTEA's MARBLE series: glossy ESTREMOZ 40x 40 tiles around the outer perimeter and framing the elevator, with glossy ROSA PORTOGALLO (Portugal pink) 40 x 40 tiles in the central area.
A number of dots of 4 small white STATUARIO ARIOSTEA marble tiles are set into the pink central area to emphasise the function of the doors at the sides of the hall.
Light fixtures generating a concentrated beam of light are fitted into the ceiling right above these white dots to accentuate the white STATUARIO marble.
The elevator walls are covered with smoked glass mirrors; the four pillars at its corners are covered with glossy ESTREMOZ tiles framing the mirrors.
A waiting room has been created out of a part of the entrance hall enclosed between two walls, which are tiled with ESTREMOZ up to a height of 1.2 m, followed by a strip of ROSA PORTOGALLO , leaving the upper part of the wall free for exhibiting paintings and photographs.
The design formed by the floor and the ceiling is completed by a white handrail, matching the sets of white dots in the floor and the white false ceiling, running along all 4 sides of the entrance hall and around the elevator shaft.
The light colours used in the new entrance create a bright, calm atmosphere.
The predominant material is ROSA PORTOGALLO marble, followed by the light shades of ESTREMOZ and livened up by the white marble dots.
The glossy shine of ARIOSTEA stone makes the overall effect even brighter, enhancing the smoked mirror glass of the elevator.
In the ceiling, pointed spotlights are set into the frame which surrounds the elevator shaft and traces the perimeter of the room, lighting up the walls.
In the waiting room, the spotlights are set on rods so that they can be pointed toward paintings and photographs.This lighting arrangement creates a bright perimeter around the ceiling, alternating with a central area which is less strongly lit, imitating the graphics of the flooring.
The alternation of materials, the reflections and the play of areas of light and shadow liven up the room and emphasise possible directions of movement, improving the look of the entrance hall, which welcomes visitors and invites them to stay without requiring them to follow a certain set path.
Laura Puliti
