Apartment in Monte Carlo
A first class suite on a cruise ship gliding across the sea: this is the desired effect behind the design of this apartment in Monte Carlo. A total of 135 square meters of covered area and 38 square meter loggia were created through the fusion of two different units divided by a load-bearing reinforced concrete wall. The idea was thus to exploit the stunning ocean view and create a unique, continuous and fluid space, animated by different combinatory possibilities.
To bring the landscape inside the apartment, the loggia was rendered an integral part of the interiors, expanding the dimensions of inhabitable space. Designed like the bridge of a ship, it is defined by a platform-balustrade that, together with a translucid glass volume, frames the view of the sky and sea, screening the city’s tangle of streets and skyscrapers. On the exterior, the glass volume of the loggia changes in consistency and colour under natural light. The effects are analogous to those created inside using artificial illumination.
The interior space is a true architecture of volumes that change with the intelligent use of light. The concrete wall, longitudinally cutting apartment, was dematerialized by cladding it in mirrors. Perforated by steel doors it becomes the centre of gravity for a series of glass volumes-containers. These elements can be opened up to create unexpected reflections, offering constantly new chromatic combinations and perspectives. Rotating large three-dimensional door leafs mounted on steel posts reveals luminous planes set into the wall. Coloured gels applied to the light fixtures permit continuous mutations in the appearance of the space of the apartment. The result is a composition of rotating volumes that, as they move and capture white or coloured light, produce perspectives that render the interior spaces dynamic.
This effect is maximised in the large mirrored door-volume that divides the living room from the bedroom. Rotating on its own axis, it multiplies the logia, inverting sea and sky in a clever play of reflections.
