Copenhagen design brand Frama has contrasted modern furnishings against dark wood panelling inside this hybrid apartment and workspace in Florence, which belongs to Spanish director Albert Moya.
The self-contained residence occupies a number of rooms inside the Villa Medicea di Marignolle, a Rennaisance villa and estate nestled among the hills of Florence’s southwestern suburbs.
The building once belonged to the House of Medici – a powerful Italian banking family that achieved prominence in Florence in the 15th century – and was often frequented by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei.
Today, it is split into multiple apartments including Moya‘s, which was renovated in the 1970s and consequently has a different feel and appearance compared to the more traditional parts of the villa.
Moya, who became known for his 2013 short film American Autumn, asked Frama to turn the space into a modern residence that encourages “artistic encounters” by offering spaces for living as well as for hosting small events and collaborative workshops.
“I teamed up with Frama to create a studio, a space acting as a school where artists can meet students, a place where everyone can learn something new, absorb knowledge and exchange ideas,” he explained.
“There is a natural interaction between the interior architecture, Frama’s universe and each selected piece. It is a harmonious, unified and balanced approach.”
Despite the need for introducing “contemporary comforts”, Moya wanted the final design to respect the building’s heritage.
As a result, the Frama team didn’t make any structural changes and didn’t mount anything on the walls in order to preserve the warm wood panelling that was introduced as part of the renovation.
Instead, understated furniture, lighting and textiles from the brand’s collection were brought in to style the flat, using a simple material palette of wood, cork, marble, stainless steel and aluminium.
Apart from Moya’s own bedroom, the apartment encompasses a kitchen and studio space, a living room, a second bathroom and two mezzanines – one housing a gym and the other a guest room.
The interior is designed to encourage socialisation, connection and meaningful conversations between the filmmaker and his guests.
For this purpose, it features two different kinds of workspaces: a quiet area in the kitchen designed for independent work during the mornings and more social areas in the living room and on the mezzanines for gathering in the afternoon.
“The residence will allow the creative mind to wander in solitude or in relation to others,” said Frama.
“Albert seeks to explore silence and spaciousness and, at the same time, to experience a non-conforming living studio where focus, imagination, expressiveness and mindfulness are free flowing.”
Frama is a multi-disciplinary brand that creates everything from homeware to furniture, lighting, scents and skincare, all the way up to entire interiors projects.
Previously, the company has designed a Beirut concept store with limewashed surfaces and simple concrete fixtures, as well as a collection of fabrics made from biodegradable materials such as algae and terracotta.
The photography is by Teodora Kaolchagova and Fredrik Aartun.
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