Roi
Just as Charlotte Perriand talked about her perch nestled in the roofs of her Parisian building, this corner apartment was designed as a refuge at the top of a building from the beginning of the century. « We would like a safe space to take a step back from our daily lives, a view over the city with different perspectives and a skyline, and a confidential environment for our family»
The intentions of the complete renovation project were to modernize the initial plan where the kitchen was completely separated from the living spaces -formerly assigned to the servant- while respecting as much as possible the heritage of the building and the lifestyle of the inhabitants.
The apartment has two corner facades with large windows, which makes it a very bright place with different types of sunlight at any time of the day. The aim was to take advantage of this magnificent light to create various sequences. Outside, a small balcony is longing the whole apartment as Parisian Haussmann housings.
Like a second skin, a double interior wall was added inside the facade to be able to integrate the curtains. This establishes a feeling of a protective shell.
The apartment consists of 3 wings. Each one denotes with a specific identity depending on usage. Although, one can find in each raw materials and spatial radicality. The first wing contains the kitchen, central in the use and spatial organization, and the living room. The stainless steel kitchen works as a sculptural boat where all the storage is integrated and on which the owners are taking part to exciting culinary creations facing the dining room and the city. The confrontation between the stainless steel kitchen and the black stained herringbone parquet flooring is a straight decision and it offers a lot of fine nuances to the living space. The second part is the dressing room-hallway and the master suite with bathroom. This part is starting with a small step as the rest of the apartment has a lower ceiling height. Indeed, given that we had to move the kitchen techniques from the back to the front, the rear part of the apartment is raised. This little step also marks the fact that we are entering a more intimate space. The entrance to the master suite is made confidentially through a Jules Wabbes steel door, reused from the former general bank in Brussels. Once through this door, you immerse yourself in an intimate room lined with carpet, soft sheets and burlap hangings. Fabrics in the same spirit than the raw materials used. The link to the bathroom takes place via a glass brick wall. In the bathroom, a sculptural art deco bathtub, reused from the 1920s’ Roubaix swimming pool museum. We can also mirror the balls details on the bed. And finally the last part holds the children’s sleeping area : more playful details in the interior carpentry and warmer tones.
The whole furniture was curated by the office gallery. In contrast with strict and radical architecture, the furniture is more decorative : an Austrian chandelier from the 1960s by J. T. Kalmar is hanging above the 1980s Ettore Sottsass tripod dining table, while Josef Hoffmann’s chairs were reupholstered with a woolen fabric from Pierre Frey, with a modernist pattern developed by Elise Djo-Bourgeois. Hoffmann was a co-founder of the Wiener Werkstätte, and one of the main figures of the Viennese Secession. The influence of this creator on modernism in the 20th century is huge. One can find the details of this movement such as the curves and the structural balls. Above the sofa, 5 candlesticks by swedish designer Pierre Forssell are elegantly standing. Facing the the sofa against the wall, a very sentimental piece for the owners : a brutalist cabinet signed De Coene. In the bedroom, Jules Wabbes and Christophe Gevers are close together chronologically through the massive door handle and the wall lights on either side of the bed.
Through its 3 spatial sequences within the perched homy shell, the project is defined as strict but subtly sensual and intimate with its curves.
