In their St. Petersburg apartment, Boris and Anna Lvovsky from DA bureau tested all the ideas that they offer to customers.
Kitchen area. The black overall cabinet is suspended and can withstand the load — a refrigerator with a freezer is built into the rightmost section. Lamps, Fild.
This minimalistic apartment of 38 m2 is a real field for experiments. ”We wanted to test for ourselves all the technologically complex components and materials that we usually offer to our customers,” says architect Boris Lvovsky. He and his wife Anna bought an apartment on the top floor of a historic house in the center of St. Petersburg. No one had lived in it for fifteen years, so it was in a ruined state: the windows were broken, the roof leaked, plaster and shingles from the ceiling collapsed. “There was nothing to save here,” Boris says. — And we believe that everything has its time. If no historical details have been preserved in the interior, then it is wrong to recreate them”” Therefore, on the contrary, they decided to completely clear the space and leave the brickwork and concrete floors in sight.
Living room area. All furniture, except chairs of the Muuto brand, is designed by the authors of the interior. Felt carpet designed by Andrey Budko. Behind the white panels there are storage systems and radiators – they are given out by the perforation in the lower part. A convector is built into the threshold in front of the balcony.
Photo: Dmitry Tsyrenshchikov
The apartment is small in size, but it had a lot of responsibilities: it is both a space for living and a place to meet friends. In order not to clutter it up and leave it visually clean, Boris and Anna closed everything around the perimeter with MDF panels. They hide storage spaces, engineering systems and even radiators and floor convectors that are built into the thresholds before going out to the terrace and balcony. Only the installation of cabinets took three months: the house is old, all surfaces are curved, there are no right angles, so the masters first mounted everything on the spot, trimmed or increased it where it was necessary, and then disassembled, taken away for painting and returned to the apartment again. Thus, the architects managed to get perfect joints.
Living room area. All furniture, except chairs of the Muuto brand, is designed by the authors of the interior. Felt carpet designed by Andrey Budko. Behind the white panels there are storage systems and radiators – they are given out by the perforation in the lower part.
Photo: Dmitry Tsyrenshchikov
All cabinets were deliberately not brought to the ceiling – firstly, so that it was easier to reach the upper shelves, and secondly, so that the contrast of the old and the new was obvious. This was even emphasized by the illumination built into the upper part, which also goes around the entire perimeter and “snatches out” the textured brickwork and a fragment of the ceiling. On a white background, one black volume stands out — a large suspended unit, in which, in addition to the usual shelves, there is a built-in refrigerator.
Kitchen area. The black overall cabinet is suspended and can withstand the load — a refrigerator with a freezer is built into the rightmost section. Lamps, Fild.
The sleeping place in this small apartment is located above the block with a bathroom. At first it seems that there is not much space under the ceiling, but there is a surprise – a 3 × 3 meter light lantern. Historically, the glazing was double: in the pitched roof and in the concrete floor – but the architects left only what was in the roof, replacing the glass with armored and strengthening the walls of the structure itself. Therefore, in some places the bed can even stand in full height. In order to sleep comfortably upstairs, Boris and Anna provided blackouts, installed a ventilation and air conditioning system here, and the bathroom unit was additionally soundproofed.
The area of all MDF panels that frame the 38-meter apartment is almost five hundred square meters.
Photo: Dmitry Tsyrenshchikov
By the way, there is also a surprise in the bathroom: the bath bowl has a flexible drain, so it can be moved. The mirrored panels in the sink area hide the boiler and filters, as well as shelves for storing cosmetics and household appliances. Such a huge number of cabinets in all spaces allows the owners to effortlessly maintain order in the apartment, and this is a guarantee that a minimalistic interior will always look as intended. ”We are always ready to receive guests, we do not have to clean up before their arrival,” Boris rejoices.
A light lantern above the sleeping place, which is located on the block with a bathroom. In order to maintain visual cleanliness, the architects put all the wiring in the attic.
Photo: Dmitry Tsyrenshchikov
Hallway area with hanging wardrobe. All elements are designed by architects and made to order.
Photo: Dmitry Tsyrenshchikov
Bathroom. Behind the mirrored panels there are lockers for cosmetics, a boiler and water filters.
Photo: Dmitry Tsyrenshchikov
Bathroom. The cabinet with the sink and the toilet are suspended, and the bathtub is on a flexible connection that allows you to move it away from the wall or, conversely, move it closer.
Photo: Dmitry Tsyrenshchikov
Under the light lamp, which is located at a height of four meters, there is a sleeping place.
