LIT Apartments (Air BnB Apartments)

The existing condition

The area we had available was a 2 + 1 apartment, with a usable area of ​​82.4m2, which was located on the third floor of an existing Moscow palace, built around the 1930s. The main challenge we faced from the moment we were introduced to this apartment, were the retaining walls, the thickness of which went up to 45cm. The attached planimetry gives us the existing state of the space.

The concept of functional separation

Referring to the location in the area of ‘Blloku’, as well as the close distance to the main road and the most attractive points of the city, the client asked us to transform this space into three small AirBnB apartments, where each apartment had all services included inside it, such as: sanitary alcoves, kitchen and dining area, living room and sleeping area. Being impossible to intervene in the construction, due to the age of the building and due to a typology not very well known by us, arose the need to keep the rooms in the condition they were, without having the opportunity to enlarge or reduce them. Here began the concept of functional separation of the first two rooms which had an area of ​​19.6 m2 each. Within this area of ​​19.6m2, all facilities should be included. But, we had a big favor, floor-to-ceiling floor height: 340 cm. This fact enabled us to intervene in verticality, having the horizontality impossible. But, the division of the room into two floors had to be realized in a very elegant way so as not to fade the feeling of space inside it. The client should not enter the apartment and feel like he was living in a narrow, low tunnel. Therefore, only the part of the space that would be used less had to be divided into two floors, and possibly not be visible as soon as the door of the room was opened. Thus was born the idea of ​​the mezzanine under which the kitchen would be positioned, and above it would be the bed. The rest of the room would be one storey. Given that inside the room we had to have a sanitary alcove, we had to think about it, to leave the necessary space and position it in such a way that the wastewater discharge pipes did not have obstacles up to the column which was relatively far away. The attached planimetry give us a clearer idea.

Colors and design

In terms of interior design and colors, we had three conditions:

• the apartments should not be the same
• the third apartment had to be luxurious
• the design should not be expensive

These two conditions put us in front of another challenge, we had to be very creative to realize two identical apartments in functional division, but totally different in design, all this, under the pressure of cost. In the end, we again managed to realize all three apartments with all the requirements of the client.

Attached photos are the final product of our work: functional, beautiful and inexpensive apartments.