The best interiors of 2023

Through apartments, Renaissance churches and flagship stores, a selection of interiors published along this year where reuse and evolution are key.

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Giovanni Comoglio
11 December 2023

For 2023, as physiologically might be the case for years to come, the selection of interiors is getting closer and closer to that of renovations, with its meaning embracing above all the concept of reuse. More and more rarely do ex novo projects dictate trends, while reuse interventions show two relevant facts: the possibility of architecture to germinate even where new volumes are not developed – interior architecture exists, and it is very healthy – and the inherent capacity of existing spaces to evolve with the evolution of the people, and the history they experience. Dwellings transformed by new “resident interior volumes” with the budget of a parquet makeover, recyclable set-up designs inside Renaissance churches, mini-apartments inside Niemeyer mega-structures, contemporary and rationalism co-inhabiting the same kitchen: stories of evolving interiors from around the world are what we have selected to map the status of interior design this year.

A flat renovated with 10,000 euros in Barcelona

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Photo José Hevia

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Drawing TAKK

TAKK, 10K House, Barcelona, Spain, 2022

Drawing TAKK

Spanish architecture firm TAKK has completed the renovation of a 50-square-meter apartment located in Barcelona with a total material execution budget of only 10,000 euros. After already several experiments in redefining domestic space, the studio was oriented in its choices with the goal of updating the house toward new patterns of use and environmental awareness in the context of the current energy crisis and climate change. Read more

Inhabiting Niemeyer’s architecture: a renovated apartment in Belo Horizonte

BIRI, JK semi-duplex renovation, Belo Horizonte, Brazil 2023. Photo Jomar Bragança

BIRI, JK semi-duplex renovation, Belo Horizonte, Brazil 2023. Project drawing

BIRI, JK semi-duplex renovation, Belo Horizonte, Brazil 2023. Drawings from the original project

Biri Office has recently completed the renovation of an apartment in the Juscelino Kubitschek housing complex, designed by Oscar Niemeyer over seventy years ago. The project appears emblematic of a possible approach to modern heritage and exhibits position statements and compromises generating a delicate balance between historical values and use values, as Alois Riegl would have called them. Read more

Dialoguing with rationalism, inside an apartment in Padua

vianello gasparin progetti, CASA AS, Padua, Italy, 2023 Photo Marcello Mariana

vianello gasparin progetti, CASA AS, Padua, Italy, 2023 Plan.

vianello gasparin progetti, CASA AS, Padua, Italy, 2023 Original project, axonometry.

vianello gasparin progetti, CASA AS, Padua, Italy, 2023 Demolitions.

vianello gasparin progetti, CASA AS, Padua, Italy, 2023 Project.

In Casa AS, Serena Vianello and Tommaso Gasparin have sought the shaping of a bright and functional home, through the renovation of an apartment in Padua, inside a 1935 rationalist building designed by engineer Gino Briani. Compared to the existing state, the interior design proposes a new spatial layout that allows the rooms to dialogue and natural light to easily flood all surfaces. Read more

A flexible and affordable micro-apartment in contemporary Milan

Tenet, Casa Celeste, Milan, Italy, 2023 Photo Francesca Iovene

Tenet, Casa Celeste, Milan, Italy, 2023 Floor plan before renovation

Tenet, Casa Celeste, Milan, Italy, 2023 Floor plan after renovation

In the Italian city, as in all the world’s great metropolises, lifestyles are changing rapidly: in such a complex context, Tenet’s project, with a limited budget, rethought a 45 square metre space. Read more

A farmhouse in Tuscany converted into a single-family dwelling

architettura-m, Farmhouse renovation, Impruneta, Tuscany, 2022 Photo Niccolò Vonci

architettura-m, Farmhouse renovation, Impruneta, Tuscany, 2022 First floor plan.

architettura-m, Farmhouse renovation, Impruneta, Tuscany, 2022 Ground floor plan.

A farmhouse overlooking the Tuscan landscape of Impruneta, an area known for its terracotta production, has been transformed into a versatile and spacious residence. The original building, once a farmer’s house and stable, also had a farmyard and a barn on two levels. Architettura-m, the studio that developed the project, wanted to preserve the typical features of rural architecture, intervening particularly in the interiors: the studio aimed to emphasise the local tradition while eliminating the clichés of the farmhouse. Read more

A sculptural intuition for a flat in Milan

Llabb, Appartamento Sequences, Milan, Italy, 2023 Photo Anna Positano, Gaia Cambiaggi

Llabb, Appartamento Sequences, Milan, Italy, 2023 Plan

Studio Llabb renovated a 60 square metre house by linking spaces through sliding panels: for an ever-changing environment blending fluidity and geometry through rhytmic sequences. Read more

A photographer’s bright house, once an industrial warehouse

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Luis Díaz Díaz

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Luis Díaz Díaz

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Luis Díaz Díaz

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Luis Díaz Díaz

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Luis Díaz Díaz

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Luis Díaz Díaz

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Luis Díaz Díaz

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Luis Díaz Díaz

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Luis Díaz Díaz

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Luis Díaz Díaz

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Luis Díaz Díaz

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Luis Díaz Díaz

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Maru Serrano

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Maru Serrano

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Maru Serrano

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Photo Maru Serrano

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Plan

Burr Studio, Eulalia, Madrid, 2021

Section

Eulalia is the renovation of a former warehouse in Madrid, part of the “Elements for Industrial Recovery” series of projects curated by the local architecture firm Burr Studio. A former warehouse full of different types of objects, Burr Studio’s design protects the building from demolition by proposing a renovation that suits its past. Read more

The new, eclectic identity of an Art Nouveau flat in Verona

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini, Casa Caleido, Verona, 2023

Photo Beppe Brancato

Manuel Barbieri and Marco Magalini renovated a 140 square metre residence, preserving the original elements and drawing inspiration from the Riads of Marrakech and Brazilian modernist rationalism. Read more

A tiny 45-sqm apartment overlooking Paris from a modern tower

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment

Photo Giaime Meloni

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment

Photo Giaime Meloni

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment

Photo Giaime Meloni

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment

Photo Giaime Meloni

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment

Photo Giaime Meloni

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment

Photo Giaime Meloni

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment

Photo Giaime Meloni

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment

Photo Giaime Meloni

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment

Photo Giaime Meloni

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment

Photo Giaime Meloni

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment

Photo Giaime Meloni

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment

Photo Giaime Meloni

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment Map.

Photo Giaime Meloni

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment Structure.

Courtesy Hyper Architecture

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment Plan.

Courtesy Hyper Architecture

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment Axonometry.

Courtesy Hyper Architecture

Hyper Architecture, Super 18 Apartment

Courtesy Hyper Architecture

To refurbish a mini-apartment in Paris, Hyper Architecture has moulded a functional and flexible 45-square-metre space. The apartment is located on the 12th floor of the Boucry Tower, known as Super 18, a discreet landmark in the north-eastern Parisian skyline, designed in 1974 by Jean-Robert Delb. The building presents a wide variety of housing typologies inside, blending perfectly into the city. Read more

A contemporary “land of in-between” to reshape an old house in Belgium

Bauclub, BKMN House, Bruxelles, Belgium, 2022 Photo Nicolas da Silva Lucas

Bauclub, BKMN House, Bruxelles, Belgium, 2022. Project drawing Stephane De Groef & Bauclub.

BKMN house is the result of a renovation project commissioned to Bauclub office with two objectives: to strengthen the connection to the garden and to obtain brighter spaces. Therefore, the main action was adding a truncated pyramid cover to the area in between inside and outside. Read more

From cramped old home to versatile space valorizing its own history

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera Axonometry.

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera Axonometry.

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera Original plan.

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

Atzur Arquitectura, Ca na Riera Plan.

Photo Judith Casas / Aide Monge

A flat in Barcelona, in a building located in the Eixample, has been renovated by enhancing its narrow floor plan. The special super-extended shape of the house, due to its location in the block, was transformed through new solutions and targeted additions to gain space. Read more

A house reimagined by Harquitectes as a forest of pillars with a staircase facade

Harquitectes, Casa 1616 Photo Adrià Goula

Harquitectes, Casa 1616 Section and ground floor plan.

Harquitectes, Casa 1616 Ground floor plan.

Harquitectes, Casa 1616 First floor plan.

Harquitectes, Casa 1616 Second floor plan.

Located in a densely populated district of Barcelona, Casa 1616, the residence renovated by Catalan studio Harquitectes looks towards the street while maintaining its original features such as the arches and brick cladding on the facade. Read more

An exhibition setup by Fosbury Architecture, inside an Italian Renaissance church

Fosbury Architecture, Installation view Ducato Prize 2023. Photo Flavio Pescatori.

The temporary project for DucatoPrize 2023 has combined plastic membranes and reusable materials to turn an iconic location in Piacenza toward a more intimate exploration of the works on display. Read more