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It is the outcome of meticulous research into fifty years of Milan home design, from 1928 to 1978, and features two hundred and twenty interiors, many of them fresh discoveries even for sector professionals. We asked design and architecture historian and critic Enrico Morteo to tell us about what makes this research project so timely and what the developments during this fifty-year period can teach us today.
What is the underlying lifestyle concept of the homes of the decades you cover in the book?
What is their legacy for contemporary design?
It’s always difficult to trace similarities and identities, but there is a linking theme. Milan was the birthplace of the modern idea of home design and this period marked the transition in focus between objects and spaces. Milanese design, which extends from light fittings and chairs to large wardrobes and modular systems, provided the constant factor that shaped the individual rooms (kitchen, living-room, utility and bathrooms, etc.) into a whole where every room had its function but they became more fluid, and functions were defined by furnishings. It was also a period of intensive experimentation, with adaptation to changing lifestyles. It was in those homes, their search for modernity and their functional concepts, that modern lifestyles evolved.
The book quotes Gio Ponti’s affirmations that “External architecture makes its way to the interior …. and welcomes ornaments and artworks,” and creating a comfortable home means “using architecture to set the scale of our ideas”. What did he mean by that?
It’s an area where different planes intersect. Ponti brought the language of architecture indoors and encouraged the idea that the home should embrace everything that has beauty or interest: art, culture, plants and light. In contrast with the European rationalist concept of the ‘machine à habiter’, here the home is viewed as a refuge for the soul and habitat for the spirit. This approach explores not just technological aspects but also humanistic considerations. Its influence is still very strong in Italian home design.
Is interior design still able to be all-inclusive? Can we still think in terms of opposing styles and “isms”?
It’s certainly true that the world has changed, so our living-spaces have too. Homes have accepted machines in their “domestic” manifestation: technology is portable, commonplace and ever-present. Technology is now integrated in our living environments without any of the effort on our part required until a few years ago. For many years, interior design focused on contrasts: decoration versus purity, functionalism versus romanticism or the organic versus the geometrical style. Today all these “isms” are combined: anything goes and we’re free to adopt as many of them as we want, simultaneously.
What is the legacy of those years for current trends?
Today, spaces are becoming more and more fluid. Only a few rooms are still closed off, functional or private; the rest of the home is a continuum and this has also implied profound changes in the use of materials. The idea that high-end finishes should be used in some areas (e.g. marble in entrances) with lower-grade materials elsewhere no longer applies. Today we use the same materials, in terms of both appearance and technical performance, throughout the home; porcelain stoneware is emblematic of this major change in interior design. During the years covered by the book, ceramic tiles occupied the opposite ends of the spectrum: they were either artistic and prestigious or utilitarian and used in functional areas. Now they’re used everywhere. The idea of decorative languages as restricted to just a few materials has also been left behind: now, decoration is found in all materials and all locations.
Do the homes in the book reflect any themes that today we consider central to sustainability?
There was no awareness of this issue as no-one knew about the problem and its extent. The world was ‘big” or ‘infinite’ and thus perceived as immune to the impact of our actions. Nowadays, on the other hand, we realise that everything we do also has environmental implications so we must all act accordingly, on every scale. At that time, talking about ecology – as the quotes from Ponti and also Muzio reflect – meant having a nice garden, being fond of gardening. Obviously a lot has changed, and there are many more changes in store with regard to impacts on building design and construction.
