Cosa Nostra — Casa Nostra

Creating harmonious spaces for a life well-lived requires balancing aesthetics with the functionality of everyday comfort. Behind every remarkable project stand people who love their craft, who make the impossible possible through talent, knowledge and persistence. Aram Manukyan and Asmik Kalantaryan, partners in life and work, share their distinctive philosophy as founders of a company NOAH that operates at the intersection of creativity and engineering, delivering turnkey projects of any complexity across the globe.

Today, our company brings together under one roof everything from architecture and design to decoration, interior furnishing, product design and project management — from initial concept to final flourish.

Our story began in Moscow during the turbulent nineties, when survival took precedence and few gave thought to design or architecture. We started with lighting, opening several showrooms for lights and furniture in Moscow that proved remarkably successful. We imported lighting from China and collaborated with well-known companies to outfit major shopping centres, offices and private interiors. We became recognised experts in the field. As time passed, we attended every interior and construction engineering exhibition across Europe and America, worked closely with architects and designers, evolved our showrooms' focus, engaged European craftsmen and luxury lighting and furniture brands, moving entirely into the premium segment. We could fulfil any request from private clients or architects. Irregular-shaped windows? Certainly, once we imported honeycomb-shaped windows from Germany for a project by a celebrated architect. Bespoke engineered floorboards? Of course, for one project, we sourced thirteen-metre boards, forty centimetres wide. Three-metre-high doors? Voilà. An Italian staircase shipped to Miami? No problem. Countless other extraordinary requests we've fulfilled over the years through our knowledge and experience.

In 2013, we established an architectural bureau in Moscow, developing our own projects whilst continuing to serve other professionals who remained loyal clients throughout.

Asmik, our lead interior designer and expert in creating vibrant, emotionally resonant spaces, believes genuine design begins with empathy. Interiors should respond rather than dictate. Her projects aren't templates, but personal narratives told through form, light, texture and colour. Our very first project graced the pages of the prestigious Salon magazine — the Vayner brothers' flat on Tverskaya. The project was bold: unconventional colour schemes, unusual materials, including those thirteen-metre boards in a wall-to-wall concept. We had to halt traffic on Tverskaya to crane the boards through the window. Certain influential connections helped make this happen. Today, nearly a decade later, we might approach some aspects differently, yet the project still impresses professionals. Our cherished client, having acquired properties in various countries, has since commissioned us to design those spaces too.

Amusingly, we recently mentioned those boards to an Italian flooring manufacturer. He categorically declared that twelve-metre boards simply don't exist — five metres maximum, and only by special order. We had to send him photographs of our project. His astonishment was priceless. This perfectly illustrates our philosophy: we don't accept standard limitations; we find ways to realise our vision, even when everyone insists it's impossible.

After Tverskaya came other projects, other publications in prestigious interior magazines, each with its own challenges and discoveries. Gradually, a circle of clients formed — people who value individuality and aren't afraid to stand out. Today, these include owners of apartments in Miami, residences in Dubai, villas in Switzerland and Italy, properties in Cyprus, mansions in Moscow's elite districts and surrounding areas. We're entrusted with creating interiors for the most discerning clients who could afford any world-class designer.

We now live and work in Italy, where our company is registered. Our son, Armen Manukyan, has joined us. From childhood, he inhabited a world of design processes: blueprints, construction exhibitions, discussions about lighting, textiles and furniture — all shaping his professional instincts long before his first working day.

Armen now serves as the studio's financial director, overseeing project economics, budget transparency, logistics and international development. His role ensures what underpins the creative work: stability, precision, strategy. Where we once relied on intuition and experience, we now also employ CRM systems, Notion and project planners. This systematisation of our creative flow is Armen's contribution — doubly valuable when the entire family shares a passion for the work.

Five years in this beautiful country have made us stronger, more experienced. We know virtually every manufacturer and understand their circumstances intimately. Once, a client decided to place an order with a renowned factory, but we dissuaded him, knowing the company teetered on bankruptcy. When it suddenly closed, the client was profoundly grateful we'd saved him from financial loss.

Russia, Europe, America, the UAE — our projects' geography confirms our approach's universality and flexible thinking. We work with private and commercial architecture across different cultural and climatic contexts. Creating aesthetically refined spaces matters, but so does precisely fitting them to clients' lifestyles, regional architecture and intended functions.

Today, we're open to partnerships with architects, interior designers and developers for private projects and within large development and international teams. We integrate at any stage: from concept to construction supervision, including procurement and contractor coordination. We don't conflict with architecture, we extend, enhance and reveal it through interiors. For developer projects, we consider market conditions, target audiences, operational requirements and economic viability. Clear communication, adherence to deadlines and precision in execution make us reliable partners for private clients and teams alike. We can now ensure any production volume at the highest quality.

Take our partnership with Busatto Mobile, an exceptional Italian factory. As their official representatives and agents in Dubai, we provide the market direct access to a factory capable of executing genuinely complex bespoke projects at their Veneto production base. Experience accumulated over generations, and the use of distinctive materials allow Busatto to complete the entire production cycle internally — from concept to finished product. Naturally, clients first ask what makes Busatto special, how it differs from hundreds of other Italian artisanal producers. Rather than burden the answer with standard advertising clichés about "super-quality" or "super-price," we emphasise two qualities that make Busatto genuinely special: integrity and meticulousness in everything — production, business and personal relationships. These values, established by founders Giuseppe and Elio Busatto, continue today with equal integrity through their successors, Mauro Busatto and Tiziana Nichele. Working in the luxury market, we understand our clients value not just aesthetics but quality, durability, exclusivity. They don't want interiors resembling others. We source special solutions, work with lesser known but talented producers, create bespoke furniture and décor. This is precisely why we've collaborated with Busatto Mobile for years without regret.

We significantly ease the burden for collaborating architects and designers. We offer valuable advice, compile material selections, propose solutions they might not know. Essentially, we undertake work they should do themselves but often lack time or sufficient knowledge for. Time scarcity remains a constant challenge in design. Architects juggle multiple projects simultaneously, physically unable to explore every market innovation and each manufacturer's potential.

Here emerges another advantage: we don't push certain factories, as many companies do. We can facilitate work with any global manufacturer, whether renowned brand or small family workshop. Our priority isn't factory commissions but perfect solutions for specific projects.

When we entered this field, the limited choices many designers made were striking. They used identical brands and solutions project after project. Safe, but dull. We chose differently — constantly researching the market, seeking new producers, materials and technologies. This demands considerable effort, but the results justify it. Our clients receive truly distinctive interiors.
A recent example: an architect initially selected Poliform furniture, the impeccable Italian brand, for a project. Seeing the eco-style interior with light oak, abundant plants, natural materials, we realised Poliform wasn't optimal. Not because it's inferior, but because better-suited solutions existed for this context. Aram suggested Van Rossum, a Dutch factory little known in Russia. This small producer handcrafts everything from solid wood. Each piece possesses character, history. Upon seeing samples, the architect fell in love with these pieces, and the project underwent complete revision.

Sometimes even professional architects and designers lack sufficient time to explore all possibilities the modern market offers. They choose proven solutions, known brands, avoiding experimental risks. Understandably so: managing multiple concurrent projects leaves no physical possibility to track every innovation, attend all exhibitions, study catalogues from lesser-known producers.

We constantly invest time and resources in market research. We personally visit factories to understand production processes, assess material quality, meet the people creating furniture, lighting, textiles. This provides enormous advantage: we know each manufacturer's capabilities, understand who can execute custom orders and who works solely from catalogues.

Good design, we believe, can transform someone's quality of life, their mood, even their worldview. Awakening in a beautiful space where every detail delights, where colours harmonise, where light distributes properly, one feels different. More calm, focused, open to the world. This isn't esoterica but spatial perception psychology, proven by numerous studies.

Therefore, we approach each project as an opportunity to create something special that will delight clients for years and become part of their personal history. We invest not just professional knowledge and experience but soul, emotion, personal commitment.
Our vision for the company's future involves further expanding project geography, penetrating new markets, integrating innovative technologies. We already actively employ virtual and augmented reality for client presentations, allowing them to better understand and experience future interiors during the design phase.

Each new project represents a new journey, a new story we create alongside our clients. We're grateful for the opportunity to pursue work that brings joy to us and those for whom we create interiors. Witnessing spaces transform under our guidance, seeing how people's moods and lifestyles change within our interiors — this remains the finest reward for our work.