Dutch architects Van Beek en Dings collaborates with Musa to breathe life inside a long-uninhabited residence, showcasing new perspectives on surface design.
Conceived by Dutch architects Van Beek en Dings in collaboration with Musa, the project ‘Returning to Villa Casa Bianca’ revitalizes a long- uninhabited residence on Lake Como. Materials from Broadview, a leading global group in material technology, including FENIX®, Formica®, and others, come together to offer fresh perspectives on surface design. This innovative setup promotes forward integration, establishing synergies among the group’s diverse materials, iconic design elements, and elements of green living. As part of the Lake Como Design Festival, the project hosts the ‘When Nature Blooms’ installation by Italian flower designer Letizia Dei Fiori.
FORMICA® Singapore
Formica Group, now under Broadview Holding, a leading Dutch industrial company in material technology and energy, operates with Musa as its central design hub. This facilitates collaborative creativity and marketing efforts for the entire Broadview portfolio, fostering innovation and cooperation across the group. Renowned as the largest manufacturer of High-Pressure Laminate (HPL) globally, Formica Group stands as a premier provider of branded and designed surfacing solutions, catering to commercial and residential customers on a global scale. Diversifying its collection with new and innovative materials like DecoMetal® and FENIX®, it opens up possibilities to create unique interior designs. DecoMetal® is a metallic laminate, and FENIX® is renowned for its low light reflectivity, offering an opaque, soft-touch, and anti- fingerprint experience.
Experience material innovation firsthand at the Formica Showroom on Armenian Street, where visitors are welcomed to explore and engage with the products.
Villa Casa Bianca
Overlooking Lake Como’s promenade with its iconic white architecture, Villa Casa Bianca, envisioned by engineer Carlo Ponci in the 1920s, stands as a testament to Art Déco elegance. Throughout its history, this architectural gem underwent various renovations, witnessing the fusion of wood and terrazzo flooring during the design culture of the ’40s-50s. Renowned architect Luigi Caccia Dominioni, a maestro celebrated by Milanese high society, contributed unique elements, including original lamps, to the villa’s timeless allure.
The Kitchen
In line with the modern trend of spacious kitchen design and embracing the idea of perfect imperfections, the kitchen area embodies a sense of sharing and conviviality. The yellow hues of Formica drawers and cabinets echo the color beneath the ceiling paint, showcasing the durability of the group’s materials in contrast to the aging signs of the villa. The FENIX Nero Ingo kitchen tops unveil the material’s integrated solution with the sink in a flush-mount version.
The Dining Room
The dining room captures the sophisticated pleasure of the high bourgeoisie in harmonising diverse aesthetic references. Denim chairs inspired by the ‘70s encircle the focal point of the room: an oval table featuring fishbone inlays in two new tones of FENIX. Blu Shaba and Grigio Aragona align seamlessly with the nuances of both the floor and the lake.
The Living Room
Welcoming guests with captivating views through window-arcades, the living room becomes a canvas of picturesque scenes from the lake. An aquamarine cushion atop a FENIX Blu Fes coffee table harmonises with the armchair and sofa.
The Bedroom
In the bedroom is an unexpected play of complementary tones of FENIX Viola Orissa. The bedhead – in DecoMetal® Aluminium Mesh and FENIX Viola Orissa inlays – reveals a second background with the cabinet behind. With an intriguing work of Tuet, the cabinet shows the ribbed deep surface in a rhomboid composition recalling the armchair’s pattern and the door’s original decorations.
The Library
As part of Futuro Composto, a modular library made of FENIX Verde Comodoro shows the innovative materials’ bending possibility and extremely matt colour. The books, unexpectedly showing their fore-edge, recall the warm tone of silk and of Caccia Dominioni’s lamps, giving a sense of intimacy by maintaining the secretness about the family’s reading.
Formica Singapore
