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Living ten floors up from the ground in this 19th Arrondissement building allows Romain to be both at the center of it all, yet “feel the hustle and bustle of the city as a sort of distant rumble.”
“I’d been living in this very building for over fifteen years,” begins Romain. “When looking to move, I wanted an apartment overlooking the Canal de l’Ourcq, one of the neighborhood’s main attractions. As luck would have it, I ended up buying a mirror image of the apartment I was living in… same building, same floor!” Romain wasn’t particularly attracted to the building’s oh-so-seventies style. Rather, its dominant position is what attracted him: “Living at this altitude means constant daylight, no neighbors across the way, and above all, a splendid view. The balcony takes on a different air here.”
Apogée Architecture co-founder Thomas Housinger was entrusted with bringing the place back to life: “I’d spotted his work on the Sloft Magazine website. It was actually a project he’d handled in this building,” explains Romain. I liked the way he reinvented the space, so he seemed like a natural fit for this project. It was important to me that the building’s architectural character be preserved and undisguised, and that the style remain simple.”
Using a skilful combination of straight and curved lines, Thomas transformed the compartmentalized layout inherent to this type of construction into a harmonious, structured whole. Vanishing edges, rounded walls, new perspectives and an interplay of materials combine to streamline the floorplan and lend a strong character to the space… all the while prodding Romain’s aesthetic sensibility: “I thought of myself as only vaguely interested in design,” he says. When I moved into this space, I got the bug. I changed my mind several times, three times in the case of the coffee table, until I found the furniture that was just right for the place…” “I don’t consider myself a collector,” he continues, Besides, the size of my home doesn’t allow for it, and it would be presumptuous to think of myself as a connoisseur. But with this apartment, I’ve developed a taste for a certain ‘beauty’.”
