A sixteenth-century building in Milan has been transformed into Six Gallery – a plant-filled creative hub that includes exhibition space, a bistro and a florist.

The monastery was overhauled by Fanny Bauer Grung and David Lopez Quincoces – who will also run their architectural office Quincoces-Drago & Partners from the building and curate shows of collectible design in the gallery.

Conceived as ‘simply a place of restful, coherent beauty’, the space has been stripped back to its original architecture. The underlying brickwork is painted a dark grey, and arched windows – a trace of the building’s former monastic life – have been restored.

Six Gallery’s existing parquet flooring has also been refurbished, and paired with muted colours and classic pieces of furniture.

‘With Six being a space of discovery, it should all invoke a certain aesthetic feeling that we hope inspires our visitors,’ said Grung.

The building’s bistro, gallery and flower shop are arranged around a sun-filled courtyard – entered from an unassuming doorway on Milan‘s via Scaldasole – where visitors can bask on wicker chairs among trees, creepers and tropical plants. Overhead, the building retains the original shared balconies that mark out the typical casa di ringhiera in Milan.

The greenery continues inside, with the building’s interiors filled with huge palms and grasses, selected by florist Irene Cuzzaniti – who will also be selling plants and other objects inspired by nature from the building’s flower shop. The space will also be available as a backdrop for photo shoots, and to host events.

The Six design gallery, which is open from Tuesday to Saturday (12pm to 7:30pm), will show a mix of international design – everything from Vietnamese vases to armchairs originally created by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret for Chandigarh in India.

‘The gallery itself focuses much less on big collectors items than just pursuing research and aesthetic,’ added Grung. ‘It’s not about the one-off piece, but a setting that is always changing.’

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