Homes designed to be lived in

Architecture and interior design projects managed end to end, from planning permission and site management through to bespoke furniture. A turnkey service, with a single point of contact from start to finish.

Kitchen with a wooden island and black stools on herringbone parquet – VCB Architecture, Milan

“Before a home is designed, it must first be imagined through the eyes of the people who will live in it.”

About me

I'm Vittoria...
an architect and...
...in every project, I leave nothing to chance...

Portrait of architect Vittoria Cesara Barbirato

My path

My story begins between Milan and London. After my bachelor’s in Architecture, I moved to London for three years, working at an interior architecture practice while completing a master’s at the University of Westminster: an experience that taught me to see space differently.

Back in Milan, I completed my master’s degree, qualified as a licensed architect and worked at one of the city’s leading studios, before setting up my own practice.

My method

I oversee every project from start to finish, from planning permission and site management to electrics, plumbing and interior design. To me these aren’t separate stages but one continuous process, in which every technical decision is already shaped by the end result. That is what allows me to offer a genuinely turnkey service, with me as the client’s only point of contact: I coordinate contractors and suppliers myself, so whoever entrusts me with their home never has to deal with anyone else. Much of my work happens before the site even opens: meticulous groundwork means that by day one, everything has been thought through, ordered and is ready to go. That is why my sites run smoothly, quickly and without interruptions, keeping timelines short without ever leaving clients with rushed decisions made under pressure.

Space and materials

I love planning spaces cleverly, making the most of every centimetre, and working with a restrained palette of materials in a range of forms and finishes: a consistency of design that never tips into monotony, but brings coherence to a rich and varied whole.

Where the setting allows, I like to salvage period features (a creaking parquet floor, an original window…) and give them new life in a fresher, more contemporary space, without ever losing the character of the place.

Vittoria Cesara Barbirato on site, testing a wall finish sample

When I’m not on site, you’ll find me on my yoga mat, in the kitchen or out walking Giovanni, my Jack Russell, who rules the house more firmly than any client. I’m a little obsessed with order: my bag matches my outfit and everything at home has its place. Friends say I overdo it. I call it an occupational hazard.

But before I’m an architect, I’m someone who lives in spaces. I put myself in the shoes of the people who will live in them, listen closely to their needs and tastes, and turn them into harmonious, workable spaces, because

“before a home is designed, it must first be imagined through the eyes of the people who will live in it”.

Let’s talk about your project

Projects

Selected architecture & interior design projects

Kitchen with a wooden island, stools and tall larder units – Classic vs Modern, Milan, Cinque Vie 01 — Classic vs Modern Milan, Cinque Vie A classical language, reread in a contemporary key Milan, Cinque Vie · 160 sqm
Build time 7 months
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Entrance with a black-and-white chequerboard marble rug inlaid in the parquet – A classic in Brera, Milan, Brera 02 — A classic in Brera Milan, Brera A family home redesigned from scratch in a historic Brera building Milan, Brera · 150 sqm
Build time 4 months
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Steel kitchen in front of a French window with plants – Natural light, Milan, Risorgimento 03 — Natural light Milan, Risorgimento A sensitive restoration in the heart of old Milan Milan, Risorgimento · 150 sqm
Build time 8 months
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Bronze glass wardrobes along the hallway leading to the terrace – Blank canvas, Milan, Vercelli 04 — Blank canvas Milan, Vercelli A home to be lived in and filled over time, with indoors and outdoors in continuity Milan, Vercelli · 300 sqm + 150 sqm terrace
Build time 9 months
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Curved sofa, stone coffee table and French windows with wrought-iron balconies – A Parisian soul, Milan, Missori 05 — A Parisian soul Milan, Missori A Milan apartment with its eyes on Paris Milan, Missori · 80 sqm
Build time 3 months
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Balcony set for an aperitivo, with views of the square and the Baroque church – A box seat on the square, Milan, Missori 06 — A box seat on the square Milan, Missori An apartment in the historic centre, with a balcony overlooking a Baroque square Milan, Missori · 100 sqm
Build time 3 months
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Fior di Bosco marble kitchen with a gas hob and wall-mounted pot filler – Material rigour, Milan, Brera 07 — Material rigour Milan, Brera Brera, in marble, travertine and pared-back surfaces Milan, Brera · 80 sqm
Build time 6 months
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Bedroom with a blue bed and a French window onto the garden – On board, Santa Margherita Ligure 08 — On board Santa Margherita Ligure An apartment in the Ligurian hills with the soul of a boat Santa Margherita Ligure · 100 sqm
Build time 5 months
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Pale sofa with dark piping and a storage pouf – A revolution in space, Milan, Sempione 09 — A revolution in space Milan, Sempione Sixty square metres rethought for a couple Milan, Sempione · 60 sqm
Build time 3 months
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Living area with a marble table, Cesca chairs and a balcony – Home, five times over, Milan, Brera 10 — Home, five times over Milan, Brera A large period apartment divided into five homes for short stays Milan, Brera · 400 sqm
Build time 8 months
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Waiting corner with a globe lamp and a shelf – A mauve oasis, Milan, City centre 11 — A mauve oasis Milan, City centre A family-run beauty salon, an oasis of calm in the heart of Milan Milan, City centre · 70 sqm
Build time 1 month
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Racks and equipment for functional training – Form and substance, Milan, City centre 12 — Form and substance Milan, City centre A personal training studio a short walk from the Duomo, for functional training and Pilates Milan, City centre · 180 sqm
Build time 3 months
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Living room with a sage-green sofa and a window onto the mountains – Mountain hideaway, Crans-Montana, Switzerland 13 — Mountain hideaway Crans-Montana, Switzerland A mountain studio turned into a weekend pied-à-terre Crans-Montana, Switzerland · 20 sqm
Build time 2 months
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Flush door and warm grey microcement wall – Warm grey, Milan, Guastalla 14 — Warm grey Milan, Guastalla A one-bedroom flat reimagined in microcement, oak and shades of grey Milan, Guastalla · 50 sqm
Build time 6 months
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White corner sofa in front of floor-to-ceiling windows – Finding its soul, Milan, Fondazione Prada 15 — Finding its soul Milan, Fondazione Prada A newly built apartment turned into a home, in microcement, oak and black Milan, Fondazione Prada · 120 sqm
Build time 4 months
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Rendering of a room with a porthole window and writing desk – A timeless address, Milan, Bocconi 16 — A timeless address Milan, Bocconi A boutique hotel of speakeasies, attic rooms and rooftop views Milan, Bocconi · 400 sqm
Design stage
View project →
Contact

Tell me about your home

Every project starts with a first meeting, where I listen to the needs and tastes of the people who will live in the space. Drop me a few lines about your home and what you’d like to change, and I’ll get back to you to arrange a meeting.

VCB, Vittoria Cesara Barbirato, Architecture and Interior Design
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Arch. Vittoria Cesara Barbirato Member of the Milan Order of Architects Milan vittoria@vcbarchitecture.it
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Project 02 · Milan, Brera

A classic in Brera

A family home redesigned from scratch in a historic Brera building

Entrance with a black-and-white chequerboard marble rug inlaid in the parquet – A classic in Brera, Milan, Brera
Living room with a marble fireplace, white panelling and pale sofas – A classic in Brera, Milan, Brera
Location
Milan, Brera
Floor area
150 sqm
Build time
4 months

A home that opens up

You arrive by way of a period staircase, past wrought-iron railings and stone steps worn by more than a century of footsteps: this is the heart of Brera, in one of those buildings Milan keeps like a secret. Behind the front door, though, the apartment had lost touch with that history: closed off and fragmented, designed for another way of life. So I redesigned it from scratch, with an entirely new layout, new materials and a new idea of home for a family with two children.

The only thing I kept was the original parquet. Right there in the entrance, I set a black-and-white chequerboard “rug” of marble into the wood, as if it had always been there: the home’s first gesture, its welcome. From here the living area opens up all at once. Kitchen, living room and dining room connect through wide marble-clad openings, thresholds that frame rather than divide, turning every passage into a small scene.

In the middle of the living room stood a load-bearing column that couldn’t be moved. Rather than hide it, I made it the heart of the kitchen: the walnut island wraps around it with a softly curved breakfast bar, turning a structural constraint into an architectural feature. The fireplace was rebuilt in marble, with a niche for the television that will eventually be closed with doors, so it disappears completely when not in use.

The bedrooms follow the same care. The main bedroom has its own walk-in wardrobe and en-suite bathroom. Then come the twins’ rooms, a boy and a girl: two matching rooms, identical in shape and different in just one detail, the ceiling, pink for her and blue for him. Each has a bathroom of its own: hers en suite, his off the corridor, which doubles as the guest bathroom.

A few materials, used with consistency: marble, walnut, white panelling and brass. A classic home, considered down to the last detail, that restores the building’s elegance and gives the family room to grow.

Kitchen with walnut tall units, a marble worktop and splashback and an induction hob – A classic in Brera, Milan, Brera
The building's period staircase with a wrought-iron balustrade – A classic in Brera, Milan, Brera
Marble-clad opening between the living room and the entrance – A classic in Brera, Milan, Brera
Glass-fronted bar cabinet between the entrance and the kitchen – A classic in Brera, Milan, Brera
Brass wall light on white panelling – A classic in Brera, Milan, Brera
Built-in bath in dark marble beneath the window – A classic in Brera, Milan, Brera