With their sensitive approach to the existing fabric, Marcante-Testa Architetti have preserved not only a valuable piece of architectural history, but also a distinct chapter of Italian and female architectural history. In the heart of Turin’s Borgo Crimea district, the studio has carefully carried a maisonette flat once designed and inhabited by Ada Bursi—who passed away in 1996—into the present day. The four-storey corner building from 1958 still bears her strong and unmistakable architectural signature throughout.
Ada Bursi was the first female architect to be admitted to the Turin Chamber of Architects in 1940. She graduated from the Politecnico in 1938, becoming only the second woman to do so—and one of the first to establish herself professionally. Giuseppa Audisio, the first woman to graduate (in 1930), was denied that opportunity. Bursi was a multifaceted architect and artist, confidently navigating between painting, graphic design, interior design and architecture. She was also politically astute, understanding that an academic or freelance career was virtually impossible for women at the time. Strategically, she joined the city’s building authority, where she shaped the design of many public buildings in Turin. “Beauty, for this Verona-born architect, lay not in expensive materials but in how they were handled,” says Andrea Marcante. “Bursi believed in democratic luxury.” This ethos also shaped the social housing development on the corner of Corso Giovanni Lanza, which was to become her home later on. The building’s design combines practicality with a remarkable lightness—curved ribbed wooden panels in the entrance hall, amoeba-shaped glass handles and confetti-like mosaic tiles adorning the columns and balcony undersides. Thanks to a sensitive refurbishment, the 200-square-metre flat has lost none of its original charm. On the contrary, additions by later resident and architect Maria Grazia Conti Daprà—such as the built-in cabinets in the living room—now enhance the overall impact of the interior through their sophisticated treatment. Marcante-Testa have highlighted them with respectful updates. A metallic laminate closure, for instance, fills the gap left by the removal of the original base unit, while a new marble step marks the base of the staircase. This beautifully restored architectural gem was made possible through a long-standing relationship of trust between the clients and the architects from Studio Marcante-Testa. All those involved in the project agreed: only a sensitive, open dialogue between past and present can ensure historical design values are fully respected. Bursi’s idea of “democratic luxury” lives on—in the refined composition of colours, surfaces, and forms, and attention to detail. The clients, Marco Lobina (founder of the resin surface company Rezina) and Isabella Errani (owner of a Milan-based fashion communications agency), contributed a refined design sensibility. Notable new additions are resin floors with slender inlays of glass mosaic. Echoing Bursi’s own designs for corridors and balconies, these patterns subtly connect inside and out, guiding the gaze and engaging with the original 1960s staircase that links the ground floor and attic. This renovation can be seen as both a political and artistic manifesto. Through their design, Marcante and Testa reveal and celebrate Bursi’s legacy and her vital role in the architectural history of Turin—as a woman. The result is a fundamentally transformed home that remains true to the spirit of its original author, standing as a built declaration of love and a contemporary reflection on architecture’s cultural, social, and inherently democratic value. Even in the summer of WIA 2025, true equality between female and male architects remains out of reach. But one thing is clear: the transformation of the building sector—so urgently needed—will only succeed with women at the forefront.
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