Home Made Delicate Food Delivery
on Milan’s via Tortona is homey in a supremely stylish way. And it
should be, being as it is located right at the epicenter of Salone del
Mobile. Owner Monica Bangari with architects Riccardo Salvi and Luca
Rossire envisioned a real home and created a cozy flow from the living
room to a little garden (by landscape architect Carlo Callari of
Milan’s ARePA studios). The fabulous AGAPE bathtub on the patio is an
example of the clever partnership deals that the architects made with
several prominent suppliers – all of whom are keen to be present where
the world of design mingles. The suppliers, including the architects,
are listed as “sponsors” on the restaurant’s website, which perhaps is
an indication of their home-grown version of “let’s all work together
for a common good and forget being so greedy.” Salvi and Rossire have
collaborated since 1998 and completed many innovative projects
including the design of furniture and accessories for various
manufacturers. The food at Home Made is healthy and fresh — slow food
at its Italian finest — and take out is delivered in swanky and lean
50s retro baggies. Handy and simple menus are published online for easy
online ordering. By Tuija Seipell
It's no surprise that Italy's fashion capital,
Milan, is the location of what has been described as the country's most
avant-garde hotel, The Straf.
Behind its classic facade ́an 1880s buildinǵ lies an ode to
minimalism; an ultra modern space that utilizes industrial materials
such as polished concrete, burnished brass, iron and gauze effect glass
to create a futuristic palazzo unlike anything else in Italy.
Located
amid Milan's busy streets, lined with architecture from eras gone by
including the historic Duomo cathedral and iconic La Scala opera house,
which are both within walking distance, the ultra modern Straf
represents a neat cultural juxtaposition; the new Italy thriving right
in the centre of the old. It's a rarely achieved harmonious union of
tradition and urbanity.
The 66 room hotel was lovingly brought
to life by brother-sister team Daniela and Gerardo Bertazzoni, who
purchased the late 17th century building in 2000. Joined by architect
and fashion designer, Vincenzo de Cotiis, they set about transforming
the internal space into an alternate universe underpinned by an
industrial aesthetic and a penchant for zen-like austerity. Every inch
of the hotel is a showcase of raw materials; rooms with concrete walls,
black-stone baths and shimmering copper paneling balanced by oversize
pieces of art everywhere you turn.
Some reviewers have
described the interior as too extreme, calling it ̣hard edge' and
̣bunker-like' but to do so is to miss the point. The Hotel Straf
doesn't pretend to exist in isolation. It is the gleaming new kid on
one of the world's oldest blocks - and one that is steeped deeply in
ornate tradition and history. Experienced in this context, the Straf's
futuristic industrialism is about creating balance and sending a gust
of crisp air through one of the world's best-loved historic cities. by Billy T
