Pre-existence
A couple searching for a new home found an apartment where they could raise a family. This 101sqmt three bedroom apartment was within a solidly built 1980's block, with dividing concrete walls running from side to side, good solar exposition and preservation. The overall distribution of the rooms within the apartment was also quite balanced, which did not pose much doubts.
Nevertheless, some technicalities, comfort and aesthetic driven problems arose. The fridge sat in the laundry room, which was just outside the kitchen. The kitchen, on its hand, had quite old and unpractical furniture. This also applied to some of the bathroom's pieces adding to the arguable taste of their design. And adding to this, a ceramic flooring made of fake terra-cotta glossy tiles. These were the problems that had to be solved.
Motif
Coming from a much smaller apartment, this couple set as the main requirement of the project to create as much storage as possible. This became a driving force which helped taking decisions.
Some other key wishes were important regarding the search for the final solution. Lots of shelves so that no book would be left behind. Keep the laundry facility. Storage for shoes in the entrance hall. A kitchen with as much working area as possible. A lively feeling. And a tight budget.
Solution
A big shelve for the living room was experimented in different places, but soon a solution that would integrate the shelve with corridor storage and part of the kitchen was found to be a way to compact this services in a block that would appear as an alien within a virtual open space, thus creating the illusion of a wider area. To make the "architectural promenade" go inside the living room, we used form to achieve this effect: perspective shaped opening was modeled and funneled inside the 80 cm of opening in the concrete. As a pivotal piece within the house, the color yellow was chosen as a differential factor.
To aid this feeling of an open space punctuated by the yellow block, we wanted to use the same pavement in the distribution spaces, living room and kitchen. Vinyl flooring was chosen for its comfort and hygienic values.
Distribution space
This space is the soul of the apartment as it, beyond being the entrance, leads to all the three different areas. It is all surrounded with flat panels of site-painted MDF, which are cabinet doors, wall coverings, or real doors. These doors are integrated and invisible in the wall covered panels, making the walls look like big pieces of furniture that run from top to bottom. The closet houses various storage, umbrellas, keychains, networks distribution, shoes and a bench for putting on... shoes. Round holes were a solution to keep the planar and abstract character of surfaces.
Kitchen and laundry room
A pair of frosted glass doors are the main feature of this space, hiding a closet, or blurring drying clothes while admitting light to the house. Countertops and backslashes are made of engineered stone quartz, while the cabinets' structure is made of particle board and clad in painted MDF.
Public bathroom
Here the vinyl flooring invaded the space going all the way inside the shower base and walls. The remainder of the walls were covered in triangular mosaics, and a new washstand with a small cabinet for perfumes display was added.
Bedrooms bathroom
A playful ceramic tile made of a plethora of circles was chosen, giving motto to this compartment: round. The wash basin became round, the mirror is a circle and even the shower head is round. The wash stand is an exercise of geometry in its own with different tangencies, creating a piece that maximizes space without compromising use.
Master bedroom
This was the only room that was interventioned. Once again the trigger was the lack of space. The double bed was put in the corner, and a wide wainscot was created to provide that side of the bed with a night table. The bed itself and a wardrobe were pre-bought IKEA furnitures that the couple wanted to use and the remnant carpentry was adapted.
