VIVA Architecture: Gustav

For an apartment in the new building project Louise Marie, VIVA came up with a total interior design concept. The apartment is located on the tenth floor of the complex, with a breathtaking view of Antwerp's Singel.

The client moved from a spacious town house to a two-bedroom apartment. In the apartment, all living spaces are intertwined. The living area, dining area and kitchen together form one, open space; in a rather small area. The coming together of all these functions in one space, can create crowding and turmoil.

Tranquility and unity are the foundations of the design.

Full text

How can we create a multifunctional space with the functions of living, eating and cooking; without getting in each other's way? The residents themselves choose at what point the space becomes a kitchen, a dining room or a living space.

To create a whole, we add vertical wooden slats, both in the hall and in the kitchen. When the kitchen is “closed”, it is experienced as one continuous wall to the hall. The kitchen no longer looks like a kitchen. The space now serves as a living space, where you can relax without, for example, seeing the dishes.

The kitchen quickly becomes functional again by fully or partially opening a sliding panel.

The wooden framework connects the various functions in the apartment. They are the translation of the concept of “peace and unity”. Starting in the entrance hall, the vertical slats lead you through the hallway to the kitchen. Surprising details were integrated: coat hooks in the framework in the entrance hall, light strips between the wooden slats in the hallway and openings between the slats in the closed kitchen. The alternation between closed and open, with lighting behind it, creates a suggestive image of the closed kitchen.

The wooden slats are consistently extended into the TV and bathroom furniture. This creates one peaceful whole. The wood is complemented by a light green cast floor, these materials provide a warm homely atmosphere that exudes peace and unity.

The residents are art lovers. Gustav Klimt is a great inspiration within the family. His work served as the basis for the materials and color palette. Gold-yellow colors in the wood; the green cast floor; the black accents; beige-gold marble,…

The same elegant, decorative and noble atmosphere of a Klimt painting, without the suggestive eroticism.

Location : Antwerp

Date : 2021

Photography : Lucid