KC design studio designed a small apartment in Taipei with an area of 33 square meters. The space, which is located in a building with a non-standard layout, required all the skills of the architects to accommodate everything necessary here while leaving a feeling of spaciousness.
Taiwanese architectural bureau KC design studio is able to turn unusual tiny city apartments into comfortable living, masterfully eliminating any imperfections. Their latest showcase project, Residence C, is a refurbishment of an apartment in New Taipei, Taiwan, where the designers were faced with an awkward wedge-shaped floor plan, lack of views, and low ceilings. However, the team took the restrictions as an excuse for fantasy, and once again demonstrated that the aesthetic of minimalism can be complex and far from generally accepted conventions.
The interior layout of this building, whose windows face different sides of the street, was rather fragmented before the reconstruction, and residents often experienced inconvenience when moving from one part of a small apartment to another. The architects decided to fill every unused meter with useful functions and created a holistic space, where there are both private and public areas.
Some parts of the small apartment were poorly lit due to the wedge-shaped layout, so its configuration was changed entirely. The new layout divides the apartment into two complementary open areas: a public area that includes a living room, dining room, and kitchen, and private areas that combine the master bedroom, office, dressing room, and bathroom. Thus, it was possible to avoid getting residential areas into a windowless corners. From each part of the apartment, there is access to narrow balconies. Partially glazed double doors separating the two units allow natural light to filter in throughout; and if the doors are fully opened, you get a single L-shaped space.
Ceiling height restrictions had to be taken into account: in order to accommodate all the necessary equipment (air conditioner, piping, lighting equipment, and a projector), the bureau had to develop a new ceiling system where the form was adapted to function. The best solution turned out to be a ceiling with a multidirectional curved surface. In this way, residents could get comfortable modern housing, and at the same time not directly feel the insufficient height of the original space.
“In interior design, we wanted to create a sense of diversity, but not disorder. Therefore, we used contrasting materials and furniture of different heights in the decoration, the architects say. — The design idea of this open space is the alternation of semantic layers. The living room has an important role as a link between all the rooms: thanks to its openness, you will sit in the dining room and kitchen when you enter the house from the balcony.”
“The gray texture of concrete served as the basis for the project of a small apartment. The use of wood, ironwork, terrazzo, and striped glass creates a soft tone accentuated by golden metal details. Add black accents, bronze details, and sculptural pieces of furniture, and you get a vivid example of how simple discrete gestures transform a once modest residence into a trendy space.
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