A Small study of student converted in duplex. That is what we call a transformation. On the seventh and last floor of one of the highest buildings of Les Batignolles, in district 17, this small study of 30 m² needed a radical change. I had a single living room, a bathroom too large for space and a tiny kitchen with partitions, all with little natural light, although in theory it would go ahead. The Atelier 1060 architecture studio was called to review the distribution from top to bottom, literally, thanks to the purchase of the upper inclined roofs by the owner. This thirty -year -old financial executive needed more space. Atelier 1060 got it: from a small room of 30 m², this study has become a cozy duplex of 45 m².
The light
Founded just over a year by Fanny Boquien and Victoire Sebaux, the 1060 Atelier already multiplies their projects. While the duo works in large works, he is equally expert in the art of small spaces. Like this, designed for a single -year -old single who wanted to convert this small single department into a spacious and bright adult department, «where everything is integrated and nothing stands out.» A quiet place, where little is seen.
Thus, the architects opened the first level to recover the great window of the old bathroombefore hidden by partitions. The result is a great living room diaphanous, and the addition of a Veux window in the attic even enhances the light, bathing the entire sunlight space. «The passable appearance also offers thermal advantages,» explains Atelier 1060. The installation of a Veux window provides a natural ventilation welcome in an attic where you can heat. «After all, this duplex stands at the top of a building, offering, thanks to its double orientation, a fairly crazy view over the roofs of Paris.»
Amplitude and functionality
But how did the architects release so much space in the first level, apart from conditioning the attic? «We work with a long carpentry tape that runs through the entire area and serves all house service functions,» they explain. In fact, this tape runs like a conductive thread, offering storage space in the lobby, then transforming into a compact but optimized kitchen, becoming a laundry room under the stairs and, finally, in a bank in the room. With all these eliminated limitations, the center of the living room benefits from a large amount of space in the floor, as well as on the ceiling, where a double height is formed above the wooden bank, creating a cathedral room.
In front, «the sanitary block has been designed in the same way, optimized and reduced to its minimum functions. While being generous,» adds the 1060 Atelier, «because the toilets are separated, the bathroom has a large shower and each of the rooms has a window. Once these two main structures were installed, only the furniture was removed.» This task was facilitated by the fact that the spaces were subtly delimited by a slight narrowing in the area of the kitchenas well as for wood inserts on the ground, which separated the dining room of the living room.
An enveloping bedroom
«As the bedroom does not have a very high roof, we decided to treat it as a sober white cocoon that reflects the light,» explains the duo. In fact, the VELUX window enhances the luminosity, helped by the refined decoration, reflective materials and white tones. From the bed, the white steel metal carpentry is seen, which establishes the link with the first level, again with its clarity.
A warm atmosphere
Following the desire for minimalism of the owner, workshop 1060 opted for a light -colored concrete concrete floor and white walls to reflect as much light as possible. «Then we work more expressive materials to create a certainly sober, but warm environment.» The dark and varnished wood of the carved furniture Boil the space with a sixties spirit, and melts with waxed concrete thanks to its thorns translated into the soil. «In general, we have used four main materials, seeking balance and contrast between different materials,» the architects continue: concrete, which evokes minerality and rudeness, in contrast to the warmest notes of wood, the reflective stainless steel and the white steel of the upper metal carpentry. The bathrooms They have been treated in the same way, «with the added use of large mirrors to echo the reflective appearance of stainless steel and expand these small spaces«