Mosaic takeover at SiMa Townhouse
Architect Massimiliano Locatelli is covering a three‑storey SiMa Townhouse space in ceramic mosaic murals as part of a bar concept that blends visual art, hospitality, and theatrical atmosphere during Milan Design Week. (wallpaper.com) (designwanted.com).
Massimiliano Locatelli has turned SiMa Townhouse in Milan into “Glazed Bar,” wrapping its three levels in ceramic mosaic murals ahead of Milan Design Week. (wallpaper.com) The installation is open now and runs through Milan Design Week 2026 at Corso di Porta Vigentina 12, the address of SiMa Townhouse. Milan’s official program says the citywide design week runs from April 20 to April 26, 2026. (wallpaper.com) (comune.milano.it) Locatelli Partners describes the project as a full takeover of the bar, with each floor treated as a separate chapter in one continuous interior story. DesignWanted lists it among this year’s Milan Design Week food-and-drink activations, where bars and dining rooms are being used as exhibition spaces. (robbreport.it) (designwanted.com) The material is the point. Wallpaper reports that Locatelli is using ceramic mosaic murals to pull a finish usually seen in trade-fair surface halls into a more theatrical hospitality setting. (wallpaper.com) The project also taps a local history. Wallpaper notes that mosaic murals date back to the Roman era and were still common in early 20th-century Milan, when architects used them in the decorated entryways of apartment buildings and galleries. (wallpaper.com) Robb Report Italia and Zero both say the tiled surfaces are made from hand-produced pieces that were cut, numbered, painted and kiln-fired before being assembled into square modules. Robb Report Italia says production was carried out in Vietnam. (robbreport.it) (zero.eu) SiMa Townhouse was already closely tied to Locatelli before this week. Locatelli Partners says the venue opened in 2020 as a narrow, three-floor townhouse for drinks and dinners, while other profiles describe it as the architect’s former home. (locatellipartners.com) (collater.al) That overlap between private interior, bar and installation helps explain why this project fits Milan Design Week’s current mood. DesignWanted says food-and-drink events are taking a larger role in the 2026 edition, and SiMa Glazed Bar pushes that shift by treating a cocktail bar as an immersive set built from tile. (designwanted.com) (wallpaper.com) By the time the fair opens on April 20, visitors will be walking into a bar that also works like a mural sequence, with drinks served inside Locatelli’s ceramic skin. (wallpaper.com) (robbreport.it)
