An ode to the golden era of “I Maestri” - Italy’s ‘50s and ‘60s - Tuya Milano is conceptually designed around the idea of minimal volumetry, stripping away excess and fluidly mixing elements in a place where lines dissolve into curves, without sharp corners and abrupt separations.
Its city position, at the meeting point of Renaissance charm and Milanese modernity, enhances its design approach, nostalgic yet forward-thinking, where the elegance of mid-century design is reinterpreted with a contemporary pulse.
The interior unfolds like a super-premium arena, an open space with clear design direction, easy-to-navigate flows, a sleek perimeter sofa, and constant vertical wooden hatching, lending unity all over the place. At the same time, the location is a stage for elegance, where brass, marble, solid wood, glass, and velvet intertwine, making it both timeless and timely.
Beneath the feet, a floor made out of terrazzo with its classic patterns deconstructed through stereotomy, seamlessly adapted to the space’s rhythm. A contrast of shades and an interplay procedure that anchors the space while allowing it to flow.
The heartbeat of Tuya Milano’s design is suspended above - a lighting installation made out of 10,000 hand-crafted glass icicles, merged with the location’s furniture in a fluid configuration of curved edges. As a whole, it can shift in tone and intensity to match the moment, each piece being individually illuminated by a customized LED. Besides aesthetics, the installation conceals the technical intricacies (ventilation, electrical networks) while shaping the mood of the space.
Tuya aims to be a living expression of the Milanese spirit, where design is not just aesthetics but a statement of the city’s unmatched creative legacy. A fusion of mid-century elegance and contemporary fluidity in a city where heritage and innovation interact effortlessly.
Tuya Milano
Mihai Popescu Studio
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Peter Meinders
Lecturer
at Saxion University of Applied Sciences
7
7
6.5
6
6.63

Hong-Bo Cheng
Founder and Creative Designer
at LubanEra·Design
6.5
7
6.5
6
6.5

Sarika Shetty
Partner
at SJK Architects
The Lighting installation in my opi...
6.5
6.5
6.5
6
6.38

Sam Derrick
Managing Director
at Brinkworth
Not for me, just far too much going...
6.5
6
6
6
6.13
Designer
Client
Tuya
Floor area
900 ㎡
Completion
2024
Floor
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