Solutions adopted were designed to increase the feeling of well-being and to adapt the use of space to different users Located in a building of the early twelfth century in Paris (France), the studio with only 19 m², purchased by a Brazilian family in 2000, didn’t go through any renovation for 15 years:carpet, curtains and rose-colored furniture lent an air of picture squedecadence to the property.
In 2012, the Brazilian architecture offices CR2 Arquitetura and FGMF Arquitetos joined to sign a more functional and practical design. In a privileged location, the Studio is in the Île de la Cité, in a building built in 1118 and renovated in 1849. On the banks of the Seineriver, the building has on its doors the images of Heloisa and Abelardo, a kind of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ who lived at this address in the twelfth century. The Studio host the owners in their frequentvisits to the city and, when not occupied by them, it is rented to touristskeenof a lessconventionalsettingto get to know the city. With this in mind, the renovationshould make it functional, practical and contemporary, without losing its identity.
"The idea was to make the studio attractive, and for that, it needed to be practical, economical and, in a way, neutral, able to suitdifferent users," explainsthe architect Clara Reynaldo, partner of CR2 Arquitetura.
Beinga very old building with limited space, the solution was to have new apparenthydraulic and electricpipes. The pink carpetgave way to a light wood floor.The heavy curtains were removed and electric shutters were placed outside the windows.. The kitchen, which formerlywas inside a closet, was completely open. The oldwardrobewas replaced by open gray shelves with a fewclosed whiteclosedvolumes: a desk, an areafor clothes, and drawers for bedlinen.
Furniture had to be as practical and minimal as possibleso the architects opted for compact and versatile models. "Everything moves, it changes in some way. Only the bathroom remainsfixed”, says Lourenço Gimenes, partner at FGMF Arquitetos.
For the architects, simplicity was the solutionfor the space itself. "After all, what can be more sophisticatedthan Paris itself with all its splendor?" Clara concludes.
