00:04The key idea for this apartment was to combine the sleeping areas, part of the
00:09kitchen, and the storage areas into one central unit. And the unit itself is
00:17inspired by the age-old Japanese Tansu chests.
00:33This apartment building is located in Sydney, in a small suburb called Elizabeth Bay, which
00:39is in very close proximity to the Sydney CBD. This building was built in 1970. All four
00:47sides of the apartment block are open, and each unit benefit from having a balcony and
00:53gain cross ventilation from its proximity to the harbour. And there's a beautiful park
00:59right on the doorstep of the building.
01:04The original condition of the apartment was quite tired. There was a makeshift kitchen
01:08in the studio space, and a bedroom had been inserted where the kitchen once was.
01:16The common theory here would be that we shift all of the utility to the perimeter, and we're
01:21left with a fluid space in the middle, and that gives us a sense of space. So what we
01:24decided to do was remove the party wall that divided the kitchen from the studio space,
01:29and create an open plan. Although it seems a somewhat ironic solution, we conceived of
01:36a double-sided storage unit, and we were inspired for the storage unit by the age-old Japanese
01:41Tansu chests. And this storage unit would, in a sense, dictate how the apartment could be
01:47used and manipulated for everyday use.
01:56The living space is a multi-function space. It doubles as the bedroom at night, and it's
02:01a space to sit down, relax, benefit from the view, and be separate to the utility spaces.
02:09The built-in bench seat has a considerable amount of storage, but we wanted to give this
02:13element a sense of lightness. On three sides it has a reflective surface, and there is
02:17a continuation therefore of the floor running through, and it appears as though it is a
02:21floating element, rather than a bulky element. There's a small surface to one side of the
02:27bench seat, which allows the occupant to come in and place items that they may have at hand
02:31directly on the bench. The pod is deliberately separate from the structure. We wanted it to feel
02:41more like a piece of furniture, and for that reason it doesn't extend all the way to the
02:45ceiling. There's a distorted mirror to provide reflection immediately upon entry, and what
02:51that does is it reduces the visual bulk of the pod, and reflects the other part of the
02:55living room, and immediately gives you a greater impression of space than you would have if
02:59it was a solid element.
03:06The elevation of the storage unit that faces the living space houses a queen folding bed,
03:14and an integrated storage niche behind the bed, television and AV cupboard, and there is
03:22also a folding bedside for use.
03:26The storage pod contains integrated lighting, there is an integrated light behind the bed,
03:31there is illumination on top of the pod that provides a soft bounce light, and there is
03:36integrated light in the art niche.
03:40At the ends of the pod, there are matching folded integrated tables. What this enables us
03:46to do is exploit the space that is otherwise left void simply for circulation. We've imagined
03:53one as a dining surface, and one as a work surface. The dining surface is linked to the kitchen,
03:59and the work surface is by the window.
04:09We have split the kitchen into two sides. One is the primary kitchen for cooking and for washing,
04:15and on the other side the kitchen has bled into the storage pod, where we have the pantry,
04:21the bulk of the storage, and the integrated refrigerator.
04:26The client was very particular about how he wanted the kitchen arranged. For instance,
04:32he's put the oven very, very low because he doesn't prioritise cooking with the oven. Instead,
04:37he prioritises cooking on the bench top surface, and he prioritises having all of the things
04:42that he needs while he's cooking at hand and higher to the bench top.
04:51At the far end of the pod, we exploit the hallway, and it's imagined almost like a walk-in robe.
04:56The robe is positioned directly opposite the bathroom, so we've linked those two pieces of utility.
05:05The bathroom is accessed via a sliding door, so that we don't inhibit the space upon accessing the
05:10bathroom. The client had a preference for a black geometric tile in the bathroom,
05:15but we've paired that with areas of blank white wall, so that the black wasn't over dominant in
05:20the space. The three-quarter height blade wall doesn't make the shower feel hemmed in because
05:25it's quite a small shower. The joinery in it is shaped or angled to allow greater circulation within
05:33the space. Because the cabinet is cut on an angle, we've decided to have the mirror on the back of
05:39the
05:39cabinet, so that when you open the cabinet, all of your stuff is accessible and the mirror faces the user.
05:47There's a full height and full width mirror at one end of the shower. This reflects the length of
05:53the bathroom across its longest axis and really gives us a really nice sense of space.
06:00One of the key advantages of the central pod is that the walls are blank space,
06:05and this allows the client to put their touches on the place, be it art, decoration, etc.
06:13We employ an experimental approach that attempts to exceed the expectations of our clients
06:21and create dynamism in small spaces and improve, ultimately, the livability of small spaces.
06:29of small spaces.
06:30We continue to be upright and feel시�isation.
06:33We continue to bring here very quickly to know how we can clean the silence.
06:34Now open our meals through the cycle of pandemic
Comments