Project: La Grande Bleu Apartment
Type: Remodeling
Architects: HOCH Studio
Project Team: Bertrand Chapus, Thomas Hostache, Marielle Strenzke
Location: Paris, Île-de-France, France
Area: 62 m2
Finished in 2019
Construction: 3 months
Budget: 90 k€
Text and photos / HOCH Studio
The owners of La Grande Bleu apartment moved in just after buying it without making any changes to it. After they had their first baby, they decide to completely remodel the space, in order to have at least one window in each room, having today a blind bedroom and a blind bathroom. Three windows out of five had to be replaced. But the main idea was to maximize the size of the living spaces. The owners then decided to engage in a heavy construction project.
The concept was to articulate the spaces around the open kitchen acting as the central element of the flat. Thereby, a functional blue façade integrates both the kitchen as well as invisible doors accessing to other room. From the entrance, transformed into a dressing corridor, we access through a sliding door, to the parents’ bedroom which gets natural light with a window. Another sliding door allows the access to the WC which is tiled with the same tiles as the ones in the bathroom. The kitchen with its wide center island, serving as diner table, is completely opened on the living room. A stair shaped cabinet playing with the existing horizontal and vertical shapes of the room, slowly lead from the entrance towards the sofa.
The beautiful surprise during construction was the discovery of wood beams under the ceiling plaster that we have brushed, cleaned, and painted white to enlarge the height of the space. All the kitchen and cabinets are custom made, and the use of fine materials such as Silestone or Popham cement tiles made in Maroco, give a strong and unique identity to this apartment. The shades of blue used in painting, coating and furniture inspired the owners to baptize the flat “La Grande Bleu”.
