DARSENA LIVING MODULOR | BUILD TO RENT MILAN

Designing compact living with human proportions.

Not all apartments tell the same story. When designing over seventy apartments for a Build to Rent development, every typology demands its own solution. There is no universal formula, only the need to understand what makes each typology specific, and to respond with honest design.

For the studios and one-bedroom apartments at Darsena Living, we developed 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 precise vision: transforming it into a comprehensive Build to Rent development. Our role as interior designers and art directors was to create scalable design solutions that worked across different apartment sizes while maintaining recognisable quality and identity.

The creative filter: Modulor

Le Corbusier’s Modulor was revolutionary: a proportional system based on the measurements of the human body, capable of creating spaces that instinctively feel right, harmonious, liveable.

For compact apartments in Milan’s competitive rental market, this philosophy became our design compass. Studios and one-bedrooms require precision. Every centimetre counts. Furniture cannot simply be beautiful, it must be exactly the right scale. Storage solutions cannot be an afterthought, they must be integrated from the very beginning.

We applied Modulor principles to create harmonic grids guiding the distribution of volumes, furniture placement and colour application. The result is apartments between 30 and 50 sqm that feel deliberately designed, not compromised.

The design choices

Spatial intelligence is the central theme of every choice we made for Modulor.

Multifunctional furniture is the rule, not the exception. Coffee tables with integrated storage, beds with drawers, dining tables that work equally well for meals and remote work. For apartments addressing young professionals and relocating workers, flexibility is not an optional extra: it is the design.

Visual continuity avoids breaking already compact spaces into even smaller fragments. Colour flows from zone to zone, flooring remains consistent, sightlines stay open. Thirty-five square metres can feel more generous than the measurements suggest, if the design works in the right direction.

Storage disappears into the architecture. Clutter destroys the illusion of space. Built-in wardrobes, vertical shelving systems, under-bed organisation, everything residents need, without being visible.

Furniture selection respects human proportion within those specific square metres. Oversized sofas overwhelm small rooms. Undersized pieces look lost. Every dimension is calibrated with the same logic Le Corbusier applied to architecture.

Lighting is designed to expand perceived space. Natural light maximised with minimal window treatments, layered artificial lighting, wall-mounted fixtures that free the floor, mirrors positioned to multiply light and depth.

The colour palette is rational: neutral foundations create calm, strategic accents add personality without visual weight. The apartments feel cohesive within the building as a whole while maintaining the recognisable Modulor identity.

A Build to Rent project in Porta Ticinese

Darsena Living is located in one of Milan’s most dynamic neighbourhoods, between the Navigli canals and the city centre. The Modulor studios and one-bedrooms address the broadest segment of Milan’s rental market: young professionals, corporate relocations, international workers seeking quality housing in a central location.

The design must work in photographs, those that create the first impression on rental platforms, and deliver even more when inhabited physically. Modulor is designed to do both.

Small does not mean compromised. It means more considered. Every decision carries more weight. Every centimetre demands attention. Darsena Living Modulor demonstrates that proportional design produces real satisfaction in spaces where size is a challenge, not an excuse.

Client: Kervis SGR Interior Design and Art Direction: Valentina Elmiger, VANDA Designers Typology: Studios and one-bedroom apartments Concept: Modulor, proportional design for compact living Location: Porta Ticinese, Milan

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