HH Apartment. Two-level penthouse in Chisinau

Architect
IGOR SCHNEIDER design solutions, Igor Schneider
A type
apartments
Status
Implemented
Year
2018
Size
240 sq.m.

IGOR SCHNEIDER design solutions studio of Moldovan designer Ihor Schneider designed a two-level penthouse with an open terrace in Chisinau for a young family of four. False walls, secret doors, mirror surfaces, elements "floating" in the air - the entire semantics of space is built on the effect of numerous illusions, in which the author immerses the viewer, delicately leading him through a gallery of unexpected images.

When Igor Shnyder's studio started designing these apartments with a terrace on the top floor of a high-rise residential complex in Chisinau, they were faced with the task of creating a home — a place where you don't just want to return, but which, in fact, you don't want to leave even for a moment. Hence the name of the project - HH Apartment - an abbreviation of the English words Hearth Home (hearth in translation from English is "home hearth"). "We started designing long before the appearance of the floor itself, accordingly, we redid a lot of things, for example, the floor between the floors was filled under our own stairs, and instead of one of the terraces we made a mansard-type extension with Velux windows - windows in the slope of the roof. In fact, from the previous project, which was taken as a starting point, only two input groups remained,” says the author of the project.

As a result, there was an open common space with a minimum of doors and a maximum of air, including a hall, a living room, a recreation area, a dining room, as well as three bedrooms and three bathrooms. The total area of ​​the penthouse was 240 square meters. m, and the area of ​​the open terrace is 80 square meters. m. By the way, the exit to it is a large panoramic window of a sliding structure, opening a wide opening for access to the terrace. Practically all partitions hide ventilation shafts or other engineering communications.

"The interior is designed in strict functionalism and abounds in solutions with illusion effects," shares Igor. — Let's say, there are three walls lined with panels in the form of set bars of different widths and depths. Even standing next to it, no one knows about the existence of revolving doors in these walls, which hide the entrance to other rooms. They are mounted on offset axes. You push the wall, and it suddenly starts to turn. The rest of the doors are made of glass in an aluminum profile. And we also like to use mirror surfaces to discourage, so, for example, it is easy to get confused in two bathrooms."

Igor calls the implementation of the main staircase leading to the second floor one of the most difficult decisions. "It is made of metal strips and sheathed with parquet board," says the designer. "Despite the serious difficulties that arose at the stage of pouring the floor under it, visually it turned out to be light, as if floating in the air."

As for the furniture, part of it was made according to the author's sketches of Igor Shnyder's studio specifically for this project. And some of them are from well-known Italian factories. For example, in the relaxation area by the window, there are two Zeno Light sofas by Flexform designed by Antonio Citterio, upholstered in an exquisite gray fabric, and Jiff coffee tables of the same brand made of toned solid ash. By the way, the living room area is decorated with the same sofa, but with light upholstery, paired with Guscioalto armchairs, distinguished by the harmonious contrast of leather backs and textile-covered seats.

According to the author, here you never leave the feeling that you are not in an apartment, but in a private house, and not in Chisinau, but somewhere far abroad - so atypical for the city, and more precisely, this space looks cosmopolitan.