Project of the Week: Massimiliano Locatelli was searching for a new office for his architecture firm when he came upon a glorious 16th Century abandoned church in #Milan. The “Firm in the Church” – a project created by the architects from CLS architetti at the end of 2014, is a structure located inside the church of San Paolo Converso. The church, dating back to the 16th century and decorated with fresco paintings by the Campi brothers, is divided in a front church and a rear church. The front church is open to the public and consists of a single chamber with an entirely decorated barrel vault and side chapels, at the centre of which rises the altar. The rear church is reserved to the cloistered nuns of the adjacent convent. A four-floor steel structure built in the rear section houses the offices and the various planning areas. All this without affecting the original construction in any way. A steel staircase connects the floors crossing the entire length of the parallelepiped structure. The last floor houses the partners’ offices and the meeting room, which protrudes over the front part through the lunette, thereby dominating the entire space with a unique view. The steel structure is open on all sides, thereby allowing one to admire the frescoes from different levels. The library, model lab, and the kitchen are located in the vaulted crypt, which features a double row of four columns. The entire project is made of natural black tubular steel, with cross-section repeated in different scales both in the construction of the load-bearing structure and in the furniture, such as the desks and bookcases designed for this space. 📸: @francoishalard, @locatellipartners #architectanddesign