A 19th Century sqm family sized apartment in the 7th Arrondissement Rue de Lille of Paris has been newly refurbished to suit the needs of a Parisian based fashion designer and african art collector.
The space, although primarily a private residence was conceived to be a social space where the designer could potentially host intimate industry events associated with her profession. The aim was to create two distinct areas: one more public, with living room, cooking space and guest WC and the other more private, housing a master bedroom with dressing room, a guest bedroom and a private bathroom for each bedroom.
The pre-existing interior partition walls of the flat were removed to create larger spaces in a new arrangement with a clear separation between private and more public zones. The threshold between these two zones is a vestibule, which serves to articulate the plan and to buffer both areas from each other.
In order to tailor the plan to this occupants specific needs, the many individual rooms and corridors were consolidated into fully usable open spaces.
Like many Parisian apartments the building plan is arranged around two quiet interior courtyards and thus sheltered from street. The new floor plan arrangement ensures that each room receives a courtyard window offering natural light and ventilation to all the rooms. One major requirement from the client was that the cooking space would have to be as inconspicuous as possible as she rarely cooks at home. For this reason, the kitchen has been understood as a type of lobby for the apartment and it's positioning is immediate upon arrival.
