Milan-based Hannes Peer Architecture is quintessentially European and the attention to detail and gorgeous selection of furnishings and finishes puts them high up on my list of favourite firms.
The constant theme is the search for eclecticism as well as high quality in the design at all scales through the study of the close relationship between architecture, historical context and new technologies mediating between craftsmanship and industrial production. The language used in the design is stratified and eclectic, uniting poetic vision and rigorous design. The studio’s projects are recognizable by their strong iconographic identity, based upon continuous research on colours and materials and the contamination between the various contemporary languages. The style is a mix of traditional and contemporary, the overlapping of different styles, highlighting the respect for historical elements, including and superimposing contemporary elements, giving the whole project a sense of eclecticism and uniqueness. The projects are sophisticated also in terms of materials. This has much to do with the richness of the palette of elements that are used, such as silk rugs, oxidised metals, aged timbers, surfaces with different transparencies, textural surfaces, etc. The opulence of these textures mixed with the drama of the natural lighting imbue the space with a sense of theatre. The lusciousness of the textures and the theatrical nature of the space undoubtedly carry the stamp of a deeply Italian architectural and decorative research.