House and Studio Museums between Art and Design

House and studio museums of artists, architects, and designers – the spaces of the faber – constitute the core subject of this volume, which examines how these dwellings and workspaces, already configured as museums or envisaged as such after the disappearance of their owners, may be systematically studied, classified, and enhanced through the disciplinary lenses of art history, museology, and design. Originating in the D.E.SY research project (Designing Enhancement Strategies and Exhibit Systems for Italian House and Studio Museums), the book advances a typological framework for the spaces of the faber in Lombardy, with particular attention to Milan, and investigates their narrative, experiential, and curatorial potential in relation to contemporary design and curatorial strategies. The contributions address house museums, house ateliers, studios, and studio-archives, engaging with issues such as the aura and genius loci of these places, processes of musealisation and reconstruction, and analog and digital storytelling devices for their valorisation. By integrating historical, museological, and design-based approaches, the volume proposes a polysemous reading of the faber’s spaces as vital microcosms and three-dimensional self-portraits, offering a shared methodological ground and operative tools for researchers, curators, designers, and cultural institutions.