Cool Spaces: Tiny Apartment by Husos Architects

WORDS Cheri Morris IMAGES Imagen Subliminal via Designboom

Husos Architects transforms a tiny apartment in Madrid, Spain into the perfect shapeshifting home for a musician; it is at once a living space and an auditorium, a stage and a multimedia studio.

The renovation saw the 44 sqm site in Lavapiés upcycled and enlivened to reflect the character of its inhabitant, Spanish Musician and Performer Niño De Elche. The architects focused on four key points: preservation of existing elements, creation of budget-friendly and multifunctional storage spaces, integration of versatile lighting solutions and the employment of movable furniture.

The original floor and wall tiles in the bathroom and kitchen remain intact while a generous lick of paint helps turn the most aesthetically brutal area of the home, the kitchen, into an object de désir. The now sculptural space features blocks of white broken by brightly coloured luminaries made of household objects such as mop drainers, sieves, funnels and citrus juicers. Each can be activated independently to engage in playful conversation with the ethereal silver gloss of the curtains, creating interior atmospheres to suit every mood.

A metal rack system around the perimeter supports wooden shelves that are complemented by custom-made boxes for vinyl records, bracket speakers and guitar hangers. Curtains reveal and hide stored objects and create mini domestic stages. Customised furniture pieces, like a table on wheels and a sofa with reconfigurable cushions, further allow the apartment to morph from a multi-narrative living area into an abstract, seemingly taciturn space. Finally, a screen lowers and raises from the ceiling, turning the bed-couch area into a cosy auditorium or the living room into a multimedia studio.

Love this space? Check out House in Komabacho for more small space inspiration.

h/t: designboom.com