Futurist Architecture

The architect transforms this apartment into a spacious, unified light-filled vessel for living. There are also many challenging technical difficulties but the sensuous fluidity and a peaceful backdrop of the apartment space has emerged. With the understated and subtle details. the calm ambiance can be brought into the apartment easily.

Just like other double-height loft apartments in the city of San Fransisco, all windows of this loft sits along one side only. The architect works together with Marissa Tucci, a lighting designer, to create a bright atmosphere in the dark areas by highlighting architectural details using warm-tone LED strip lighting. This lighting scheme can highlight the backlit floating mirrors in the bathrooms, shower walls, media-loft built-ins, and kitchen cabinetry.

The industrial feel can be seen in every detail of the interior space such as pipes, open ceiling, and the lighting. The colorful atmosphere comes from the walls and the furniture. The natural and simple look can be brought to the building interior through the wooden floor, wooden meeting table, and neutral color of the wall. The interior is not only modern but also designed in a comfortable atmosphere to support the working activities.

There are five gardens with different themes and sizes. Those gardens can be found at different locations and levels of around this townhouse that consist of a flower welcoming garden upfront, a linear ground bamboo garden, a rooftop vegetable garden, and a sunken play garden.

The architect cuts some existing building features such as decorative plasterwork, staircase, and roof into the joinery faces. In order to define the house unique characteristic, some materials like brick and wall are used as they are, without additional painting or more details. From the outside, Etch House looks like a total brick house but the modern interior will surprise everyone who visits it.

The name of Ladder House comes from the ladder design in the kitchen. With this sliding ladder, the owners can put and take some kitchen stuff on the top storage. This kitchen is located in the same space with the dining and living area. There is also a small stair made from wood, providing easy access for the owners to reach the upper floor.

The new kitchen becomes a perfect place to cook and enjoy the outdoor view. In the middle of the room, there is a kitchen island and some wooden stools. The floor is designed with woods which are placed crosswise to each other. Near the kitchen island, there is a wooden dining table and two benches.

In order to improve the cost-effectiveness during the design process, some existing building materials are also retained as much as possible. The commercial paving is used too in the garden. And the off-the-shelf carcasses are used for the cabinets in the kitchen and put bespoke the doors.

The architect preserves the existing structure of this studio as much as possible while working with a limited budget. They use timber studs to create some new partitions and also splitting the studio spaces into a living area and bedroom. The off-the-shelf fixtures are also added, creating a new, larger kitchen.

In 2010, this studio apartment has a dark and poorly space with a narrow area of the living room. With the new design, a large window is added on the eastern area of the facade. This window brings a much-needed morning light for the interior. There are also folding, sliding full-height partitions to maintain the open-plan character and allowing to create a master bedroom.

For the materials, Benn and Penna Architects uses a lot of wood to design the floor, the frame of the door and window, furniture, and storage. This material is balanced with white paints to create a bright background that comes from the wall and ceiling. And in order to create an open and large space, only essential furniture and elements are inserted into the house space.