Created as part of Container 03 – Il cielo in una stanza, an event within Genova Design Week curated by Simona Finessi, founder of PLATFORM Architecture and Design, the installation interprets the container as a device for reflecting on micro-living: a minimal space that becomes a place capable of embracing aspirations, desires and the quality of living.

From this perspective, the container is transformed into the manifesto of a post-Brutalist reinterpretation of Le Lavatrici di Pegli 3, a critical transfiguration of one of Genoa’s most controversial and iconic residential complexes. The intervention reinterprets the architectural features of the building, amplifying them and translating them into an immersive experience, where light, material and geometry construct a new narrative of space.

The porthole form is monumentalised and becomes a symbolic threshold: a metaphysical portal towards the design within, and at the same time a perspective telescope looking outwards. The aesthetic of residential repetition, intrinsic to the original complex, is thus transformed into a perceptual sequence capable of enveloping the visitor.

Upon entering the space, one of the most distinctive elements of Pegli 3 re-emerges: the stairwell, which in frontal perspective recalls the shape of an X. This sign is isolated, abstracted and reinterpreted as the generative module of the internal three-dimensional facing. Its geometric pattern, partially permeable to the eye, allows glimpses of what lies beyond the surface, inviting a slower and deeper observation of the elements on display.

The relationship with the morphology of the site is also reinterpreted. Pegli 3 challenges the verticality of the Genoese hillside through a system of horizontal walkways; in the same way, the container manages the difference in height through stepped platforms, guiding the transition from the exterior to the threshold and continuing through the interior space. This progression creates a physical and visual continuity, transforming the entrance into a journey.

The sequence of platforms is emphasised by the use of two distinct finishes on the side walls. The lower section, more tactile and sensory, becomes an exhibition surface and contributes to the musealisation of design, while the upper section amplifies the perception of space and reinforces its monumental dimension.

The archetype of the circle runs throughout the entire project and returns in the selection of elements: lighting and heating fixtures, seating, wall coverings and the three-dimensional components of the scenic backdrop, positioned in the most remote area of the container. Here, the concept of monumentalisation reaches its fullest expression: the lighting fixtures graze the sculpture placed on a pedestal like a laser-beam security system, while the design object is elevated to the status of a precious artefact, almost an object of veneration.

The project thus invites visitors to perceive Pegli 3 as a monument of Genoese Brutalism: an architecture to be observed through a new lens, to be preserved, reinterpreted and enhanced.

The illuminated lettering on the exterior seals this tribute, transforming an industrial module — the container — into an urban display case dedicated to the beauty of Genoa.