The client, a recently graduated medical doctor that spends most of his time away from home, seeks the studio with clear but contrasting goals: a flat that works as a calm and predictable escape allowing friends to be brought over to informal parties. The challenge in organizing this space is, therefore, in weaving intimacy and sociability. The flat is initially divided in three bands: the first, a gallery next to the entrance, connects the social and private areas; in the middle, meeting and resting functions are located with living and bedrooms on opposite sides; the third and last band houses the static functions, a sofa, a utilities room and a home office attached to the bedroom.
The first contact, through the kitchen, reveals the path to the social area, a large space that brings together living room and cooking area. The flat’s small size demanded the kitchen to be treated as a component of the living room, with no physical barrier between them. Because of this need, the kitchen is designed to be part of the living room, with all the equipments hidden inside a cabinet.
From the marble counter that hides the oven, the chat with whom seats on the sofa has as a backdrop a library that transforms itself as the point of view changes. Its base is clad with the same material as the kitchen, a concrete slab usually used in façades and houses all of the electronic equipment.
Physically separating bedroom and social area wouldn’t make sense in such a small apartment; however, it is necessary to subtly flag the change in atmosphere. This contrast is achieved through changes in the materials used. While the materials used in the living room are perceived as being more industrial (concrete and stone), the bedrooms palette aims at a common idea of comfort and familiarity with dark wood and heavy fabrics.
