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      Jeanne Schultz designs Passeig de Grácia apartment around period features

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      Ornamental details including a stone fireplace and a gilded mirror take centre stage in this minimal revamp of a Barcelona apartment overseen by Jeanne Schultz Design Studio.

      Located on Passeig de Grácia, the two-bedroom flat boasts a range of period features including a Catalan vault ceiling, wooden parquet flooring and an antique chandelier.
      Period details in the flat include a stone fireplace and wood panellingThese ornamental details command attention, yet Barcelona-based Schultz and her team have managed to make the interior feel bright and spacious by adding new furniture sparingly and adopting a sensitive colour strategy that enhances what’s already there.
      “We maintained almost all elements of the flat,” Schultz told Dezeen. “Architectural interventions were all in the interest of preserving the home and refinishing it.”
      Furniture was added sparingly to offer a minimalist feelPasseig de Grácia 97 is owned by a young entrepreneur who recently relocated from Paris. As he is often travelling, he wanted his home to feel both functional and peaceful.

      Schultz felt it was important to retain as many of the apartment’s existing features as possible, but to make them feel fresh by pairing them with characterful modern pieces.
      “The client wanted just the essentials, so the space is carefully curated,” she explained. “Each object plays with our core ideas of earthiness, handcrafted, local and comfortable.”
      Green tiles within the fireplace influenced the colour schemeThe starting point for her design was the living room, where a pink stone fireplace with chequered green tiles is set against a wall of wood panelling and shelves.
      “One the things that struck me most about the flat was the living room with its charm: all the existing wood shelving and millwork, the crown moulding and antique details,” said Schultz.
      Old patio doors were sanded and repaired, then repainted greenTo complement these elements, a green tone was added to doors, window frames and ceiling mouldings, to announce this room as the centre of the home.
      The same green features in the velvet dining chairs, which surround a wooden table at one end of the room.
      Other key details in this room include a curvy white armchair, a bulky black side table and a bulbous leather floor lamp.
      Walls are painted in subtly different shades of white, to enhance light contrastsFor the rest of the home, Schultz was keen to maintain the vistas through the floor plan.
      The flat has an unusual layout that contains no corridors. The lobby, kitchen, living room and dining space are laid out in sequence, connected by arched doorways, while two bedrooms and bathrooms are set alongside.

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      “There is a linear focal point starting from the entry leading to the terrace, which allows for this amazing procession through the spaces,” said Schultz. “The sunlight hits all the way from the terrace to the entry.”
      To highlight the lighting contrasts, the walls in different rooms are painted in subtly different shades of white.
      Rooms in the apartment are arranged in sequence, connected by arched doorwaysThe gilded mirror was found in the apartment, but was deemed too large to be hung from a wall. Instead it is propped up in the corner of the main bedroom, offering cloudy grey reflections of the room.
      To balance the visual of this element and emphasise the high ceiling, Schultz chose a low, platform-style bed.
      A gilded mirror is the focal point in the main bedroomThe biggest challenge for the designer was the project timeline; she was given just five weeks to complete, which provided challenging when many existing elements – the patios, for instance – needed to be repaired.
      To ensure she completed on time, Schultz sourced all of the furniture from retailers with shops in Barcelona, including Dareels, Kave Home and Oliver.
      Other examples of refurbished apartments in Barcelona include a geometric design for a flat in Ricardo Bofill’s Walden 7 and a yellow scheme for a home in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi.
      Photography is by Adrià Goula.

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      Studio Okami Architecten exposes brutalist skeleton of Antwerp apartment

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      Belgian studio Studio Okami Architecten has renovated a duplex apartment in the brutalist Riverside Tower in Antwerp, allowing its original concrete structure to take centre stage.

      The project was led by and designed for Bram Van Cauter, founding partner of Studio Okami Architecten, who lives there with his partner, art collector Doris Vanistendael.
      Studio Okami Architecten has renovated a duplex apartment in AntwerpRiverside Tower is a 20-storey apartment building positioned in the bend of the river Scheldt, completed by architects Leon Stynen & Paul De Meyer in the 1970s.
      The 230-square-metre apartment is on the thirteenth and fourteenth floors of the building, three storeys above the Studio Okami Architecten office. The couple also owns a duplex in the same building, which contains a guest suite and Vanistendael’s art gallery named Soon.
      The apartment is located in the brutalist Riverside TowerStudio Okami Architecten’s first step of the renovation was to tear down the walls of the apartment and strip away all the surface coverings.

      While revealing the concrete structure of the apartment, this transformed its layout from a five-bedroom dwelling to a lofty open-plan space with a single bedroom.
      All of its concrete surfaces were exposed”With the Riverside Tower being a brutalist building, it seemed logical to strip the apartment to the bare concrete, showing the space in its most honest and raw form,” Van Cauter told Dezeen.
      “Removing the walls allows for unobstructed views over the city,” the architect added. “Being childfree, an open-plan space was a logical choice.”
      A sculptural kitchen island was added. Photo is by Matthijs van der BurgtA few brick walls in the dwelling were retained but covered with cement mixed with small stones, creating a finish that matches the original concrete structure.
      To counterbalance the rough concrete surfaces, a peach-hued resin floor has been added alongside plants and artworks hung from existing holes in the concrete.
      A pastel blue staircase links the two floors of the duplex”The aim was to balance out the rough concrete by adding colourful elements to the space,” Van Cauter explained. “The artworks, furniture and plants all combine to create a homey atmosphere.”
      Double-height pivoting windows also brighten the space by providing natural light and views out over the river and a neighbouring forest.
      Pops of colour contrast with the concreteOn the lower floor of the apartment is an open-plan kitchen and dining area. Above it is the living room, bedroom and home office.
      The apartment’s upper level, which is intended to feel more secluded than the floor below, is arranged around a technical block containing the bathroom, storage and utility facilities.
      The upper level contains more private spaces”The duplex setup creates a special division between the downstairs entertainment area and the more private upstairs functions like a home office, living and bedroom,” Van Cauter explained.
      Linking the two levels is a pastel blue spiral staircase, chosen to stand out against the concrete. It was welded and painted in place due to the limited size of the tower’s circulation areas.

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      The pastel colour palette continues in the bathroom, which is lined with smooth peach pink surfaces.
      These surfaces ensure the bathroom is watertight, but they also create a sharp contrast with the rough concrete beams overhead.
      Rietveld Crate Chairs are among the furnishingsStudio Okami Architecten chose a mixture of contemporary vintage furnishings to complete the apartment. Among the classic furniture are the patchwork De Sede DS88 sofa and Rietveld Crate Chairs, while contemporary pieces include a Long Table by Muller Van Severen and a red Bold chair by Big-Game.
      There are also a series of bespoke elements, including the kitchen island, designed by Studio Okami Architecten to resemble “a sculpture in the room when out of use”. This is teamed with cabinetry that references the work of American artist Donald Judd.
      A pastel pink bathroom features upstairsOther apartment renovations featured on Dezeen that are located in brutalist buildings include a New York residence by General Assembly in a 1970s tower block and a flat at the Barbican estate in London that Takero Shimazaki Architects infused with Japanese details.
      Alongside the Riverside Tower apartment renovation, Studio Okami Architecten also recently completed a brick and concrete home that is embedded into a sloping hillside in Belgium.
      The photography is by Olmo Peeters unless stated.

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      NOA creates tailor-made interior for pied-à-terre in Le Marais

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      Network of Architecture has used curved lines, custom oak furniture and marble details to heighten the character of an apartment in a converted hotel in Le Marais, Paris.

      NOA has created a completely custom interior for Nicolai Paris, located in the former Hotel Nicolai, which serves as a pied-à-terre for an Italian family.
      Nicolai Paris is located in a converted hotelThe renovation involved designing the layout of the two-level home, then adding playful furniture elements that help to optimise the functionality of each space.
      “We started by defining the final atmosphere of the future apartment,” explained architect and NOA co-founder Lukas Rungger.
      The Le Marais apartment has a completely custom interior”It was essential that the space would feel cosy, ‘hyggelig’, and convey a feeling of wellbeing,” he told Dezeen.

      “The choice of interior layout, materials and geometry all serve this purpose.”
      A mix of terrazzo and parquet flooring helps to define different zonesBuilt in the 17th century, the property has plenty of quirks. What’s particularly unusual about this apartment is that it has an L-shaped layout, with most of its windows located at one end.
      As a result, it made sense to locate the family living spaces here, nearest the entrance, and two large bedrooms in the back.
      A curved line is defined by flooring, walls, lighting and furnitureA staircase in the centre of the floor plan leads up to a snug and a third bedroom on the smaller attic floor, which are both lit by skylights rather than windows.
      To avoid creating wasteful corridors, NOA used two different floor surfaces to subtly mark the distinction between rooms and the connecting spaces in between.
      Custom oak furniture pieces include an in-built window seatA strong curve of terrazzo cuts through the living space, which is defined by bleached oak parquet in a chevron pattern, known as French herringbone. This divides the room into two “islands”.
      The larger island contains a lounge, dining area and kitchen, while the smaller one is occupied by a single piece of in-built furniture, providing a window seat and shelving nooks.

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      The terrazzo curve is emphasised by other elements, including a screen wall beside the entrance and a partition wall that encloses a cloakroom, laundry room and toilet.
      It is also matched by lighting fixtures overhead and the organically-shaped staircase.
      A double-curved staircase leads up to the attic”The layout of the interior spaces was definitely the biggest challenge,” said Rungger.
      “We wanted to create a space of comfort within a bigger space,” he explained. “Each island is a space within a space, intimate in itself but in dialogue with the rest.”
      Beds are set on oak platforms and defined by oak wall panellingCustom oak furniture features in every room. The beds are set on tiered platforms, continuing the islands concept, while the dining table is framed by an upholstered L-shaped bench.
      Marble is also dotted throughout. A grey-blue Bardiglio Imperiale features in the kitchen and around the fireplace, and the main bedroom boasts a bathtub carved from a single block of Botticino Fiorito.
      An attic room can be used as a snug, study or home cinema”We wanted to reflect the elegance of the Parisian ambience in the flat,” said Rungger.
      “The colours of the Parisian rooftops influenced the choice of fabrics and marble colours, especially in the living area.”
      Bathrooms and washroom feature mosaic tiles in varying shades of grayNOA has offices in Berlin and Turin, so typically works on projects in other parts of Europe. The studio recently completed a hotel and wellness centre and a glacier-top viewing platform, both in South Tyrol.
      With this project, they hope to show a more craft-focused side to their practice.
      “From the furniture’s roundness to the staircase’s double curvature, we have consistently drawn a line that fluidly touches the whole flat,” added Rungger.
      The photography is by Antoine Huot.

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      Takk perches communal bedroom on stilts in Madrid apartment renovation

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      Spanish architecture studio Takk has pulled back the walls of an apartment in Madrid to create an outdoor terrace alongside an insulated space that contains a bedroom on stilts.

      Takk removed all of the 110-square-metre flat’s interior walls to create a new 60-square-metre space enclosed with insulated pinewood walls, dubbed the winter house.
      This space contains an open-plan kitchen and living room as well as a self-enclosed bedroom perched on stilts, which is designed to be shared by a couple and their young daughter.
      Takk has pulled back the walls of a Madrid apartment to divide it into two spacesBoth the bedroom and the flat’s new exterior walls are made from low-carbon, heat-retaining materials, with pinewood frames sourced from Spain’s famed winemaking region of La Rioja and insulation made from duvets and charred cork.
      Takk nested the spaces in the winter house inside each other like the “layers of an onion” to retain heat and conserve energy during the colder months.

      Alongside the apartment, the studio created an exterior terrace by relocating the external walls and removing the previous north-facing windows.
      The apartment’s self-enclosed bedroom is raised on stiltsNamed the summer house, this space is connected to the inner areas of the home by sliding glass doors.
      According to the studio this arrangement eliminates the need for air-conditioning by passively cooling the interior and helping to lower the apartment’s carbon emissions in operation.
      Its door is hidden inside a book shelf”Climate change will modify all the routines of our existence,” Takk co-founder Mireia Luzárraga told Dezeen. “The way we think and build our environments should also adapt to this new situation.”
      “The project tests possible ways of organising a house to minimise energy consumption while using materials with a low carbon footprint.”
      From the outside, the door leading to the apartment looks like any other in the residential block. But on the interior of the flat, the entrance is hidden inside a built-in shelving system that runs along one side of the winter house.
      Surfaces throughout the apartment are clad in cork insulationA similar storage wall is mirrored on the other side of the open-plan space, forming a low counter that functions as a kitchen worktop on one side and a dining table and work desk on the other.
      Like most surfaces in the winter house, this is almost entirely clad in blackened cork panelling, which stores carbon and holds onto heat in the winter due to its colour and porous structure.
      In contrast, the summer house external space is finished with cement mortar, which doesn’t hold onto heat from the sun during the warmer months.
      An open-air terrace lies beyond the apartment’s pinewood wallsThis outdoor area consists of a narrow plant-filled porch that runs along the apartment’s entire north-facing wall to maximise natural light.
      At one end, it opens up into a covered terrace, separated from the interior by a pinewood wall with a row of tall vertical vents that can be opened to create a through-draft.
      In summer, the space can be shielded from the sun by an aluminium-foil thermal curtain normally used in greenhouses, while folding glass doors allow it to be turned into a kind of winter garden once temperatures drop.
      A communal outdoor bathtub is hidden behind a sheer pink curtainOn the other side of the folding doors lies a balcony housing a speckled bathtub, which is shielded from view only by a sheer pink gossamer curtain.
      This bathroom is designed to be used only in summer and by multiple members of the family at the same time, much like the open-plan living area and bedroom.

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      “The aim is to test the benefits, both energetic and emotional, of sleeping, playing or working together,” said Takk’s other half Alejandro Muiño.
      “In the past, rooms used to be bigger because they were communal and easier to heat. We want to recover this popular knowledge that was forgotten due to the emergence of cheap energy.”
      Vents in one of the terrace’s walls can be opened to create a draftThe stilted bedroom is the warmest part and the centrepiece of the home contained within the cork-panelled winter house and fitted with an extra layer of insulation in the form of duvets.
      These are strapped to the outside of the pinewood box alongside garlands of fake flowers, while huge stones from a quarry outside Madrid dangle from the ceiling, acting as a structural counterweight to prevent the thin wooden panel from bending.
      On the inside, the bedroom is entirely panelled in pinewood and split over two levels.
      The pinewood bedroom has two different levels”The advantages of sleeping together are countless, both for climatic and energy-saving reasons and for the reinforcement of emotional links,” Takk explained.
      “Elevating the bedroom also allows the kitchen to be more present in the daily routine of the residents because it is visible from any part of the house, which helps fight the gender and class cliches associated with these kinds of spaces.”
      The bedroom is fronted by sliding glass doorsAlthough elevated rooms such as this are rarely found in interiors, a number of architects have raised entire homes up on stilts in a bid to tread lightly on their surrounding environment.
      Dezeen has rounded up 10 of the most impressive examples, from a cork-clad cabin above a tidal salt marsh to a summer house perched on the rocky edge of a Norwegian island.
      The photography is by José Hevia.

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      Gisbert Pöppler designs Berlin apartment like a “tailor-made suit”

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      Architecture and interior design studio Gisbert Pöppler has overhauled an apartment in the heart of Berlin, adding a number of one-off furnishings and custom fixtures to suit the clients’ needs.

      The apartment, which was renovated from top to bottom, occupies a glass pavilion on the roof of a 1930s residential building in the borough of Mitte.
      Gisbert Pöppler has renovated a Berlin apartment and opened up its floor plan”In this project, our clients gave us a lot of freedom,” said Gisbert Pöppler, the studio’s eponymous founder. “That, however, does not mean that we imposed our design and taste on them.”
      “A good design is like a tailor-made suit,” he added. “It should fit perfectly without being the centre of attention.”
      Teak walls visually separate the study from the lacquered walls of the entrywayThe studio reorganised the floor plan so that the main bedroom, guest bedroom and bathroom are the only areas of the apartment that are completely closed off.

      Instead of walls, living spaces are now demarcated by different materials. In the study, surfaces are overlaid with teak while the entryway is panelled in red-lacquered wood.
      “The original plan was classic: hallway, room, room, room,” Pöppler explained. “We turned it into an open village.”
      The clients sourced the limestone used for the kitchen’s relief wallIn the kitchen, Gisbert Pöppler collaborated with the clients to design a simple geometric relief wall. This was crafted from a pale grey limestone that the owners sourced during a trip to Verona, Italy.
      The space is finished with an olive-green prep counter and mint-coloured cabinetry, both tailor-made to accommodate the owners’ selection of pots and pans.
      Bespoke storage cupboards hold the clients’ belongingsThe cane-inlaid storage cupboards that run throughout the apartment are also bespoke.
      Inside there are several shoe cubbies and shallow drawers, perfectly sized to hold the client’s array of shirts. The interior of the storage unit is lined with orange Formica, as the clients wanted it to be durable and easy to clean.

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      More unique details appear in the guest bathroom, which features a rounded washbasin made of white-glazed lava stone from Sicily’s Mount Etna. In contrast, dark oakwood was used to construct the basin’s base.
      The bathtub is set inside a deep wall niche clad in South American marble, with a dropped ceiling giving this space a cosier feel.
      A custom sink made from lava stone can be found in the guest bathroomThe ceiling in the living room was also lowered and covered with stainless steel panels.
      “One could assume that metal seems cool but it is the contrary,” Pöppler said. “The hazy reflections in the steel give the room a sense of height and have a comforting warmth to them.”
      Stainless steel lines the living room’s ceilingBespoke furnishings in the living room include the pentagonal white oak table in the breakfast nook and the formal wooden dining table, which Pöppler says has an “elaborately designed” underside.
      “We knew that the owner of the house often lies on the carpet listening to music, so we didn’t want him looking at a technical construction,” he said.
      The dining table was also made bespokeGisbert Pöppler isn’t the only studio to forgo off-the-shelf furnishings in its projects. Dutch practice i29 recently created a custom storage system for an Amsterdam apartment to accommodate the client’s extensive compilation of artworks and books.
      And in San Francisco, architect Jamie Bush filled a residence with an eclectic mix of custom furniture and vintage finds to make it look as if the owners had collected the pieces themselves.
      The photography is by Robert Rieger.

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