By revealing the raw structure of this 1960s apartment, Atelier Apara has created a luminous and radical project, where each design decision seeks to reveal the existing rather than transform it.
In the Convention district, of the 15th arrondissement of Paris, an 80-square-meter apartment built in 1969 is now rediscovering its architectural truth. Behind the drop ceilings and layers accumulated over the decades, Atelier Apara, the architectural studio founded by Charlotte Guillochon and Victor Mesguich, reveals what was already there: the concrete, the utility systems and the original structure imagined by the architects. Marc Villemant and Paul Verny: “This type of architecture naturally allowed us to bring out something raw,” says owner Kévin.
On the first visit, water damage in the kitchen revealed a section of the rough concrete ceiling.
“This is what set the tone on the aesthetic we were going to implement,” says the architectural duo. The project begins with a complete gutting. Reinforced concrete ceilings reappear, as do formwork holes and some forgotten metal plates. To adapt the apartment to a more contemporary, family-oriented use, the architects redesigned part of the layout to incorporate a second bedroom, while preserving the efficiency of the original floor plan. Designed to be rented out [Editor’s note: the apartment is now inhabited by a Michelin-starred chef], the project also had to consider a tight budget. Preserving rather than replacing became the preferred method: radiators were reused, existing doors were retained and the wall lining was kept to a minimum to avoid the systematic use of Placo®.
At the heart of the apartment, the kitchen becomes the showpiece of the project. Brown-and-white checkerboard flooring, brushed stainless steel elements, stained okoumé woodwork and and lines inspired by Charlotte Perriand come together to create a raw, graphic composition. And everywhere, on the ceiling, metal IRL tubes become a graphic motif in their own right: “Electrical conduits are usually hidden behind Placo®. This is where the time and attention to detail of the electrician’s work is finally revealed,” says Victor Mesguich. Despite the omnipresence of concrete, the apartment never veers to a cold aesthetic. With three loggias totalling almost 30 square meters, it is open to the outside and benefits from constant light.” The apartment had already done everything for us,” acknowledge the architects. In the end, this renovation is all about doing less to reveal more.
