The November issue of AD Magazine explores how traditional design can be revolutionized with contemporary vision, featuring five exceptional homes that demonstrate how creativity and innovation can preserve heritage while embracing modernity. These residences prove that tradition doesn't have to mean conservative or outdated – instead, creative minds are using unconventional approaches to honor and preserve traditional elements in fresh, exciting ways.

In Kitzbühel, Austria, a chalet renovation challenged every alpine stereotype with cosmopolitan flair. Robert Stephan and Peter Schlagböhmer from The Rope Studio in Munich had one clear directive: the house should absolutely not look like typical Kitzbühel architecture. They achieved this by incorporating fifty years of international design history and unusual materials like bog oak for dramatically veined wall panels – elements you'd never find in traditional Alpine homes. "The only antlers in this house," says Robert Stephan, "are those on the Stag Table by Rick Owens." This approach protects tradition by shielding it from false interpretations. The living room features a custom-made Boomerang sofa by Thierry Lemaire, paired with a coffee table from Liaigre, while The Rope Studio designed the kitchen, executed by Holzrausch. The balcony showcases furniture by Pierre Chapo, available through The Rope.

In Rome, an ancient apartment within Palazzo Taverna sits between Piazza Navona and Ponte Sant'Angelo, surrounded by five centuries of layered history. Architect Marco Ricci breathed contemporary life into the old walls for owners Daniela Bianco and Filippo Cosmelli through a single but radical intervention in the historic structure. The living room displays Enzo Mari's work "Non Ci Sono Alternativa" (There Are No Alternatives) on the mantelpiece, complemented by chairs designed by Luigi Caccia Dominioni and a Moroccan rug. Marble door stops appear throughout the apartment, while the master bedroom features a EUR stool by Kartell beside the bed.

Milan's hidden beauty emerges in a pied-à-terre transformation by Studio Dragó. Fanny Bauer Grung and David López Quincoces created a space for two Hollywood managers that embodies Milan's dual identity – both hidden and cosmopolitan, enclosed yet flowing. The designers restructured the floor plan, combining multiple rooms into one large space, replaced creaky floors with bright herringbone parquet, and enlarged doorways to match new proportions. Even the previously useless long hallway received a clever dual-function solution. The work and guest room features a custom sofa upholstered in Rose Uniacke velvet, a Peter Mikic-designed rug, three cocktail tables by Massimiliano Locatelli, and wall lights by Gio Ponti, topped with an Angelo Lelli chandelier and photographs by Mary Ellen Bartley. The bedroom showcases a Living Divani bed frame covered in burgundy Loro Piana fabric, Severin Hansen nightstands, Hans-Agne Jakobsson lighting from Sweden, a Bruno Gatta ceiling light, and an Osvaldo Borsani armchair, with photographs by Kenneth Josephson and Luigi Ghirri.

Vienna's architectural rescue story centers on Villa Rezek in the Pötzleinsdorf district, where architect Max Eisenköck and art historian Caroline Wohlgemuth saved this icon of Austrian modernism from decay. They meticulously reconstructed every interior detail of what's also known as the Glas House, named after architect Hans Glas. Their extraordinary persistence – a quality typically attributed to tradition itself – earned written recognition from the Austrian Federal Monuments Office. The eastern view reveals how cleverly the terraced house architecture follows the slope's gradient. Hans Glas designed the practical kitchen storage with bins and pass-through to the serving room, reminiscent of patented Erdo kitchen cabinets in Vienna's Werkbund Estate. Historical photos, reports, and conversations with descendants of the Jewish doctor couple Anna and Philipp Rezek, who fled to the US from the Nazis, helped perfectly reconstruct the entrance, with Carinthian specialist company Seidra recreating all curtain fabrics.

In Tuscany, New York designer Harry Nuriev and his husband Tyler Billinger purchased an old house in the region's most beautiful area, along with 53 hectares of surrounding land. Their goal wasn't just space but convincing Tyler's recently retired parents to move from California to Italy and manage the olive cultivation that represents local tradition. Inside their home, however, they took a dramatically different approach involving extensive use of chrome. Nuriev, who loves shiny objects and reordering them, furnished the space with silver leather-upholstered chairs with chrome frames, a stainless steel coffee table, and a sofa covered with fabric printed with old tapestry motifs. The dining room features a lighting sculpture over a stainless steel table with matching benches, all from Crosby Studios, along with cups and plates from Nuriev and Billinger's new label La Terra di Neena, and Nuriev's 2017 sculpture "Stavropol."

These five homes demonstrate that tradition is multilayered, complex, and inherently valuable when approached with new ideas and courage. By viewing heritage through a contemporary lens, these designers and architects prove that preserving the past and embracing the future can coexist beautifully, creating spaces that honor history while serving modern life.