Apartment G
The project is a renovation of an 100-square-metre flat in Paris,11th arrondissement for a couple and their three children.
The main structure of Apartment G was kept intact and a few modifications concentrated on key spaces were done to improve its quality of light and circulation, and the coherence between different spaces.
The different axes of the renovation were :
Light:
The quality of the double exposed living room, the kitchen and the entrance has been reinforced by the demolition of a piece of wall and the exposure of the original metal load bearing beams, as well as the demolition of a massif and obstructive entrance cupboard. These modifications have made the room more open, lighter and has created a stronger relation between the different 3 spaces, that still maintain their functions and identities.
Fluidity of the circulation :
By restructuring the walls in the passage leading to the bedrooms the circulation becomes more fluid. The width of the kitchen elements are integrated in angle of the new wall and this makes them part of in the open volume of the room.
The initial parquet floor has been revealed in the passage of the kitchen and assures thus a material continuity between the living room and the bedrooms. The reorganisation of the bathroom has made possible a continuous storage wall in the parental bedroom.
Floor texture as common thread:
The cement tiles used through the apartment function as a common thread and provides a continuity in the apartment. From the floor in the old stove in the living room to the parental bathroom, a variation of motives, colours, and sizes is developed, all containing one common feature: a dark blue colour. This colour also comes back as a wall paint in certain rooms (parental room, corridor, kitchen)
Materials:
The number of colours and materials used throughout the project is limited in order to create coherence and unity in the apartment. Simple and robust materials have been privileged. The parquet has been restored to it's original colour, the bathrooms tiled with cement tiles, the kitchen furniture are clad in poplar plywood, and bench surfaces are in Corian. The glass separation is in steel responding to the original load bearing steel beams.
