What’s better than stumbling upon a secret space? We all like to discover hidden rooms, don’t we? Italian artist Biancoshock’s latest project taps into this curiosity.

Borderlife is a street art intervention by Biancoshock in which three abandoned manholes in Milan’s Lodi district have been transformed into miniature dwellings. The three domestic settings are located in maintenance vaults and hidden underneath heavy metal doors. Each miniature dwelling offers a different domestic space — a shower including a clean towel, a kitchen with all necessary cookware, and a hallway completed with a classical painting.

The motivation for Biancoshock’s project goes even deeper than the manholes. With Borderlife the street artist wants to make us aware about the distressing living conditions of many fellow humans who are forced to live in confined spaces, especially manholes. He got his inspiration from the reportedly hundreds of people that are occupying manholes and sewer systems in the Romanian capital Bucharest.

Although Borderlife may look like an innocent, fun intervention, its message is a strong one. As Biancoshock stresses, “if some problems cannot be avoided, make them comfortable.”