Giovanni Muzio - Italy
Ca` Brütta
Via della Moscova 12, Milano
1919 - 1922


The apartment building Ca' Brütta is considered to be an emblematic manifesto of the Italien architectural movement, which is known as Novecento.
The Building is the result of a collaboration between three architects, one of them was Giovanni Muzio. It is uncontested, that Giovanni Muzio
was the thriving force behind this design. Often it is considered to be the first ambitious architectural accomplishment by Giovanni Muzio.
Ever since it came into being, this building was subject to clashing opinions. Among others, it was criticised because its construction imposed the dismantling
of one of the few small but noteworthy private green areas of Milan. The building has a remarkable presence in the urban situation, whit its compact volumentry.
But above all it stands out as one of the first buildings with a diminishing influence of classicism. This concerns neither the volumse nor the spatial distribution
of the apartment units, the utility block, or the infrastructures, but rather the decorated surfaces of the façades which contributed to the appearance
of the Novecento. Ca' Brütta stood out as an example of this architectural style, which soon after became opposed by rationalism.
It was named for the negative impression which aroused at the time, caused by the use of extravagant elements of classical language.
The building consists of two bodies, separated by a private road which increases the façade surface and interlaces the massive building with the urban context.
The two volumes are connected by an arch. The facade is divided into horizontal bands of which the lowest is formed by courses of travertine,
the second is characterized by gray plaster and the third, at the top, is decorated with white, pink and black marble.