Audemars Piguet opens new house in Milan designed by Piero Lissoni

Manufacture Audemars Piguet is pleased to announce the inauguration of its new AP House in via Bagutta, in one of the most prestigious neighborhoods of Milan, seven years after the AP House concept made its debut in this famous center of history, culture, design, fashion and gastronomy. Located in the former Garage Traversi, which has been entirely renovated in recent years to restore its original aesthetic, the new space extends over five floors and combines heritage, technology and contemporary design to bring the Manufacture’s experiential approach to retail towards new horizons.

Designed as a timeless space for lovers of the brand, the initial concept of AP House was created in collaboration with some of the Manufacture’s most esteemed clients, imagining how brand founders JulesLouis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet would live in the 2017st century, traveling around the world and sharing their passion for fine watches. The result is a refined space, the AP House, in which feeling at home and human relationships have priority.

The first AP House made its debut in Milan in 19 with a conceptual space located in via Pietro Verri, which strengthened the Manufacture’s presence in Italy, a market that has played a fundamental role for the watch industry and for Audemars Piguet in particular, especially with the Royal Oak and the Royal Oak Offshore. Seven years after the launch of the first AP House, Audemars Piguet takes this retail concept to a new level, opening a space in the heart of the city to allow watch lovers to immerse themselves in the Audemars Piguet universe and offer them personalized experiences.

The new AP House Milan joins the XNUMX existing locations located in some of the most vibrant cities in the world, including Amsterdam, Bangkok, Barcelona, ​​Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Munich, New York, Shanghai, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and Zurich.

The new AP House Milano is located in the iconic via Bagutta, a few meters from Piazza San Babila and the famous via Montenapoleone, the fashion street. Adored for its architecture and culture, Via Bagutta was once home to many artists and intellectuals, including the playwright Carlo Goldoni and the writer Alessandro Manzoni. The AP House is located inside the historic building of the former Garage Traversi, the first multi-storey car park in the city which operated from 1939 to 2003.

Innovative for its time, the Garage Traversi was designed by architect Giuseppe De Min as part of the wider urban development project of Piazza San Babila. The rationalist-style building, featuring curved facades and steel-framed windows, was considered a notable example of architectural innovation thanks to its car elevator system. After being abandoned for a long time, the building has been completely renovated and transformed in recent years to become one of the city’s landmarks for luxury shopping.

This center of heritage and modernity, so dear to the locals, resonates strongly with Audemars Piguet which has always fostered dialogue with a wider cultural world to broaden its horizons, nurture its creativity and bring people together. “The new AP House Milan introduces a new and forward-thinking perspective on the initial concept of AP House, which began in Milan in 2017. Andrea Cardillo Country General Manager Italy

With a surface area of ​​over 1.600 m2 spread across the 5th and 9th floors of the building, AP House will offer watch enthusiasts an unprecedented brand experience thanks to an original concept that reflects the vibrant energy of Milan. The AP House Milano was designed in collaboration with Lissoni & Partners, an architecture and interior design firm based in Milan and New York that combines a strong sense of rigor and simplicity with a strong attention to detail, coherence, elegance and harmony.

For this project, the studio was inspired by the natural environment of the Vallée de Joux, home of Audemars Piguet, incorporating different materials such as wood, glass and metal into the design and giving the space a Milanese touch. Each of the five floors combines the aesthetic codes of the brand with the design heritage of Milan. On the ground floor, a modernist pattern that recalls the brand’s iconic Petite Tapisserie guilloche motif, which debuted with the launch of the Royal Oak in 1972, immerses guests in the world of the Manufacture, while evoking human connections and the complex savoir-faire at the heart of the brand.

Playing on texture, contrast and light, the entrance hall combines a side glass panel offering a myriad of optical illusions with a solid ebony wall reminiscent of historic Milanese villas from the 1900s, setting the stage for this unique AP concept House at the meeting point of two worlds. In addition to AP House’s traditional lounge space, where visitors and guests can relax in a homely atmosphere, the new location includes a watch display floor where contemporary and historic timepieces live side by side in a futuristic exhibition environment (visible or hidden on request).

The exhibition space is embellished with a selection of vintage furniture and design creations created by famous Milanese designers such as Osvaldo Borsani, Franco Albini, Ettore Sottsass, Vico Magistretti and Achille Castiglioni. The AP House also includes an entire floor dedicated to reviewing timepieces, where visitors can admire watchmakers at work and learn more about the Manufacture’s craftsmanship.

The various floors are connected by a spiral staircase that resembles the spring of a clock. As the heart of the building, this staircase represents the inextricable links of space between tradition and modernity, between Milan and Le Brassus.

Finally, the AP House boasts a panoramic roof with a breathtaking 360° view of the Milan skyline and historical monuments, including the Sforzesco Castle, the green dome of the church of San Carlo al Corso and the “Madonnina”, the spire taller than the Cathedral.