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    Noiascape brings variety and maturity to co-living with High Street House

    Architects and developers Tom and James Teatum have launched a co-living building in west London where no two homes are the same, and residents can access spaces for working, learning and socialising.The brothers, who run both property company Noiascape and architecture studio Teatum+Teatum, designed High Street House in Shepherd’s Bush to offer flexible and sociable living to residents of all ages, not just young people.

    Every home in High Street House is different
    In line with the co-living model, the homes are small in size, but residents also have access to additional, shared facilities.
    These shared spaces include a co-working lounge that doubles as an events space, a spacious kitchen and dining room, a laundry, and a staircase that functions as a communal library.

    Skylights help to maximise natural light

    Meanwhile the homes – a mix of studios and micro-apartments – are designed to offer both quality and variety. They come in both single- and double-storey arrangements, and several have private outdoor terraces.
    Each one is also fitted out with custom-designed furniture elements, including a bed platform and a mobile storage closet, to ensure they are both space-efficient and high quality.

    Some units are arranged over two levels
    James Teatum told Dezeen that their residents include a mix of singles and couples, both pre- and post-family. What they usually have in common is that that are looking for an attractive place to live, but not a forever home.
    “Our members are typically coming to London for a specific period of three to twelve months, to work or learn,” he said.
    “They are able to work remotely and are very engaged in the cultural and social opportunities that cities provide. They want to live in modern spaces that are highly serviced, furnished and allow them to focus on living.”

    Each home features a Douglas fir kitchen and a mobile storage closet made from perforated metal
    The design for High Street House developed in response to learnings from previous rental homes that Noiascape has built and letted, including the smaller-scale Garden House and Hidden House.
    The founders observed that residents were increasingly looking to work from home – a trend that has only amplified following the Covid-19 pandemic – meaning that dedicated workspaces were becoming essential to residents.
    This led them to create the co-working lounge at ground level. It gives residents a regular workspace, but also a space that can host workshops, exhibitions, talks and other pop-up events that engage the local community.

    Beds are designed as multi-use platforms with surfaces and storage
    Another learning was that that the bed is no longer merely a place for sleeping, and is now used for relaxing and working too. Hence the bed in each High Street House home is a multi-use platform, integrating surfaces and storage.
    Likewise, the architects have created other multi-purpose furniture, including integrated benches and window seats.

    Spacious bathrooms are lined with geometric tiles
    “Flexible work patterns have changed the way members use spaces and what they need from the spaces where they live,” said James.
    “Lots of uses happen in parallel – working, cooking, reading, chatting, exercising – it all can happen in the same space. This was happening pre-Covid, but lockdown has amplified this transition. Therefore, we have simply expanded on the idea of home as a place not only to live, but to work, learn and socialise, all from one location.”

    A co-working lounge doubles as an events space
    The design aesthetic throughout is for bold colours, quality materials and simple, modern detailing.
    Floors are pigmented concrete in bright green and red shades, concrete and brick walls are left exposed, the bespoke kitchens and beds are built from Douglas fir, and the spacious bathrooms are lined in geometric tiles.
    There are also a number of furniture pieces created in collaboration with British designers.

    The main staircase also functions as a communal library
    “Modern urban renters want to turn up and start living straight away,” said James. “If we can provide fully integrated interiors with furniture it removes the need to buy flat pack furniture which is often then thrown out after a year.”
    “We will continue to invest in designing and making furniture with young British makers, it gives a clear identity to the interiors and allows us to work with emerging talent.”

    A large kitchen and dining room can be used by everyone
    The first High Street House residents moved in late 2020, and they include an 18-year-old music student and a couple in their 70s.
    As a result of Covid-19 restrictions, the building’s shared spaces haven’t yet been able to function as intended. But Noiascape plans to curate a diverse programme of events for them as soon as possible.

    Noiascape’s west London co-living space targets home-avoiding millennials

    One they do, Tom and James believes the building could become a model for how co-living developments can engage and contribute to their local communities, in a concept they call “hyper-local”.

    The aim is for High Street House to engage with the local community
    “Where higher local daily densities have been created during lockdown, we have seen some positive impact on local areas,” added James.
    “Co-living as a typology could be the catalyst to create this new density while providing the shared spaces to host a new type of public engagement.”
    Photography is by Nicholas Worley.

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    Minimalist micro-apartments in Seoul form “blank canvas for tenants”

    Interior designer Ian Lee has lined the walls of the LIFE micro-apartments in South Korea with birch wood to offer tenants pared-back spaces that they can personalise.Located in Seoul’s Gangnam District, the apartments form part of a 16-storey co-living building for young adults, developed by co-working-space provider Fastfive.
    The block contains a total of 140 rooms, which vary between 16 and 23 square metres in size, alongside shared living areas that Vancouver-based Lee also designed.

    LIFE micro-apartments are lined with birch joinery

    Lee’s goal for the LIFE apartments was to create deliberately simple, timeless interiors that were visually uncluttered.
    While helping to distract from the small size of the rooms, this offers tenants the opportunity to create homely, private spaces with their own furniture and belongings.

    The birch is intended to offer a minimalist finish
    “Like in many densely populated cities, most young adults in Seoul struggle to find homes as housing prices climb,” explained Lee.
    “I wanted this co-living space and the community it would build to be an accessible alternative to traditional housing options that can eventually give its residents a sense of belonging.”

    Built-in window seats and reading nooks feature in some rooms
    “One of my aims in designing these rental units was to find that balance, where the space feels timeless and comfortable as it is, but also like a blank canvas for tenants to personalise,” Lee continued.
    “The overarching goal was to evoke a sense of home.”

    Playful arched cut-outs are the only decorative elements
    Each apartment is fully equipped with a private kitchen and bathroom, with storage and appliances built-in or hidden within the birch-lined walls to maximise useable space.
    Some units are fitted with sliding glass partitions that can be used to divide the flats offering tenants flexibility while ensuring natural light can still filter through.

    Some apartments feature sliding partitions
    Lee chose birch as the main material for the micro-apartments to create a cosy finish, but also because the material forms a neutral backdrop for furnishings.
    The only decorative elements he has included are playful arched cut-outs, reading nooks and window seats, which he hopes contribute to the cosy aesthetic.

    A Little Design maximises space in tiny 22-metre-square Taiwan apartment

    “Rental homes can feel generic, cold and utilitarian,” Lee explained. “The soft spatial elements like arches and curves were used to infuse warmth and emotions into the rooms.”

    Storage is built-in to maximise useable space
    The shared living spaces, which were not photographed, include a communal kitchen, workspace, lounge, gym and rooftop garden.
    Finished with an equally minimalist design, these are hoped to help foster community amongst tenants.

    Each apartment is fully equipped with a kitchen
    Other micro-apartments on Dezeen that feature wood-lined interiors include A Little Design’s 17.6-square-metre residence in Taiwan, which features built-in, space-saving furniture.
    Elsewhere in Taiwan, the studio also designed a 22-metre-square apartment with storage spanning one entire wall, covering the 3.3 metres from floor to ceiling.
    Photography is by Texture on Texture.

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    Canvas House is a co-living space in Singapore with all-white interiors

    Ministry of Design has created completely white interiors for this co-living space, which occupies a traditional shophouse in Singapore. Situated at the heart of Singapore’s buzzing Tanjong Pagar neighbourhood, Canvas House provides shared accommodation for creative locals and members of the ex-pat community. It takes over a four-storey shophouse – a type of building commonly […] More

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    PriestmanGoode to design interiors of vast Indian co-living spaces

    PriestmanGoode has unveiled designs for the interiors and branding of Indian co-living venture Olive, which will launch with a 15,000-bed community in Bangalore. Launched by Indian real-estate group Embassy Group, the first phase of the Olive co-living project will be a 15,000-bed development in Bangalore. This will be joined by 2,500-bed spaces in Pune and […] More