DARSENA LIVING MODULOR – Build to Rent Milan
Designing compact living with human proportions
When you’re designing over 70 apartments for a Build to Rent Milan development, every typology demands its own solution.
For Darsena Living’s studios and one-bedroom apartments, we created Modulor—a concept rooted in Le Corbusier’s proportional system, reimagined for contemporary compact urban living.
Kervis SGR acquired an entire building in Milan’s Porta Ticinese district with a clear vision: transform it into a comprehensive Build to Rent development for the digital rental market. Our role as interior designers and art directors was to create scalable design solutions that worked across different apartment sizes while maintaining quality and identity.
Modulor addresses the specific challenge of smaller units. How do you make a studio or one-bedroom feel spacious, functional, and desirable? Moreover, how do you achieve this across dozens of units while respecting investment criteria?
The Modulor philosophy for compact apartments
Le Corbusier’s Modulor was revolutionary: a proportional system based on human measurements, creating spaces that instinctively feel right.
For Build to Rent design in Milan’s competitive rental market, this philosophy became our foundation. Studios and one-bedrooms require precision. Every centimeter matters. Furniture can’t just be beautiful—it must be exactly the right scale. Storage solutions can’t be afterthoughts—they must be integrated from the start.
We applied Modulor principles to create harmonic grids guiding volume distribution, furniture placement, and color application. The result? Apartments between 30-50 sqm that feel deliberately designed, not compromised.
Design strategies for studios and one-bedrooms
Our Modulor concept for Darsena Living’s compact apartments focuses on spatial intelligence.
Multifunctional furniture – Every piece serves multiple purposes. Coffee tables with storage. Beds with integrated drawers. Dining tables that work equally for meals and remote work. In Build to Rent apartments targeting young professionals and relocating workers, flexibility is essential.
Visual continuity – We avoided breaking compact spaces into smaller fragments. Instead, color flows from zone to zone. Flooring remains consistent. Sightlines stay open. Consequently, 35 sqm feels more generous than its measurements suggest.
Smart storage integration – Clutter destroys the illusion of space. We designed storage solutions that disappear into architecture. Built-in wardrobes. Vertical shelving systems. Under-bed organization. Everything residents need, nothing they see.
Proportional furniture selection – This is where Modulor thinking becomes practical. Oversized sofas overwhelm small rooms. Undersized pieces look lost. We calibrated every furniture dimension to the human scale within these specific square meters.
Strategic lighting – Natural light maximized through minimal window treatments. Artificial lighting layered to expand perceived space. Wall-mounted fixtures free floor area. Mirrors positioned to multiply light and views.
Rational color palette – Neutral foundations create calm. Strategic accent moments add personality without visual weight. The palette makes apartments feel cohesive across the building while maintaining the Modulor identity.
Build to Rent design for investment performance
Studios and one-bedrooms represent the highest volume in most Build to Rent Milan developments. Therefore, these units must perform both aesthetically and economically.
Modulor achieves this balance. Design quality attracts tenants and justifies rental rates. Material durability withstands turnover. Spatial efficiency maximizes perceived value. Moreover, the modular system means Kervis can replicate this concept across future developments.
Located in Porta Ticinese, these apartments target Milan’s dynamic rental market: young professionals, corporate relocations, international workers seeking quality housing. The design had to work on rental platforms where photos make first impressions, then deliver satisfaction when residents experience the space physically.
Expertise in compact urban living
If you’re developing Build to Rent projects with significant studio and one-bedroom inventory, VANDA brings specialized expertise in compact apartment design.
We understand that small doesn’t mean compromised. Rather, it means more thoughtful. Every decision carries more weight. Every centimeter demands consideration.
Darsena Living Modulor proves that human-centered proportional design translates directly to resident satisfaction and investment performance.
Darsena Living Modulor, Milano
Client: Kervis SGR
Interior Design & Art Direction: Valentina Elmiger for VANDA
Typology: Studios and one-bedroom apartments
Concept: Modulor – proportional design for compact living
Scope: Build to Rent development, Porta Ticinese
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