Many of the colors we use in the apartment
are traditional Sevillian colors.
These can be easily found on the streets around here.
So a lot of inspiration for the apartment came from the cityscape itself.
It used to be a very dark space before, like very limited,
by walls, and it was kind of claustrophobic somehow.
And now it feels like very airy and very bright,
and it gives, beautiful energy.
The apartment is located in Triana
a historic district in Seville, Spain.
Triana is known for being the place
where flamenco originated from
because of its traditional local vibe with many small streets.
And the Guadalquivir river.
The real estate in this area of Seville is in very high demand.
my name is Antonio Mora, and my name is Eduardo Tazon.
We're architects and co-founders of Studio Noju
based in Madrid and Seville in Spain.
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We like to work with color as architectural element
each area is distinguished
by its own zigzag, colorful alcove.
They're made from readily available and low cost aluminum
roof ridges, known as cumbreras in Spanish.
The effect of the vibrant colors imparts a sense of greater spaciousness.
My favorite part of the apartment
is the theatricality of the blue curtain.
It just makes it much more fun.
So you're constantly
changing the appearance of the apartment with a very kind of easy gesture.
The client is a young dentist who's very organized and lives here with her pet rabbit, Lennon.
Casa Triana is located in a residential complex built in the sixties.
Our client inherited this apartment
from her grandparents after they passed away.
The apartment originally had three
small bedrooms along a narrow L-shaped corridor.
There was a bathroom, a separate kitchen, and a living room and a narrow
balcony that spans the entire length of the apartment.
We removed almost all of the interior walls in the apartment.
This allowed us to increase the size of the bathroom
and add a walk in closet.
The bathroom was kept in its original place,
but a second entrance was added so that it can be accessed from the bedroom.
The living, dining and kitchen is now one large open plan
with the main functions along the walls.
The living room can be closed off using curtains to give some privacy.
It can also be used as a guest room.
As you enter the apartment, the first thing you see
are the blue curtains that hides the living room.
The front door is the original door, and we could not change
the outside appearance due to the building rules.
But we were able to add cladding to the inside to blend it
in with the rest of the entrance.
At the entrance there is a small open closet
where the client can store her bags, coats and shoes.
We added a mirror to reflect the colors
in the space.
The living room is behind, not blue floor to ceiling curtain.
It shares the same open space as the kitchen and dining room.
We chose the furniture in the living room together with the client.
We wanted the color tone of the furniture to be neutral.
a mirror side table that reflects the surrounding
colors and creates a bit of an illusion.
The only non neutral item in the living room
is the custom made plinth in the alcove.
It was designed to blend into the curtains,
To zone the living room area.
We designed a custom made carpet with grey to blue gradient.
this carpet together with the folding curtain
creates a visual sensation of a defined space,
One corner of the carpet
has a rounded edge to match the curved rail of the curtains.
The marble floor tiles are also original.
It was actually added by her grandparents and she wanted to keep it to
remind her of them.
We added a metallic, white ceiling light, which has a ripple effect
to remind us of the waves of the curtains.
Just outside the living room,
there is a custom made zigzag shelving system that is not visible
from the entrance to keep the area from looking cluttered.
We maximized storage by adding cabinets throughout the wall along the window.
The kitchen was relocated
to a more hidden area away from the entrance of the apartment.
We pushed the baseboard back to give the kitchen some depth
and make it appear like it's floating off the ground,
making the kitchen feel lighter.
the kitchen countertop is made from black granite
to match with the black sink and appliances
There are two pantries on either side of the kitchen.
One hide the fridge and all the small appliances.
And the other hides the laundry room with a washer dryer.
This allows us to have a kitchen that is always tidy and visually clean.
The dining area is between the living room and the kitchen.
We custom designed a yellow dining table with a slight curve on one end to mimic the same curve
of the carpet and curtains in the living room. When the table is not in use,
it can be pushed into the yellow niche to become a desk and create a study area.
There is a hanging light in the niche to illuminate this space.
When the dining table is moved to the center of the room,
the light can also be rotated to illuminate the space.
The dining room chairs are by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen,
and we chose black to add contrast to the yellow niche.
Beside the yellow niche, we added a large floor to ceiling
closet with lots of room for clothes and other household items.
We also added a smaller enclosed storage
under the windows.
For the private areas of the apartment, such as the bedroom and bathroom,
we chose to use neutral tones such as charcoal
and pale white.
Instead of a door,
the walk in closet can be hidden using curtains.
This helps to tie it in with the alcoves in the rest of the apartment.
This vibrant yellow color conveys energy
and liveliness in the mornings and was actually chosen by the client.
It is a very generous space
and provides hangers and shelving for clothes and personal items
We custom made an upholstered headboard
with integrated reading lamps and bedside tables.
The sides of the headboard
angles in towards the bed to make you feel cozy.
The angle also provides a bit of a division
to the bathroom entrance.
For the bathroom.
A charcoal gray tone was chosen for the sink area.
To continue the zigzag theme of the apartment.
We found a dark triangular ceramic tile
for the area around the sink of the bathroom.
Due to the exact nature of the tiles
the mirror looks like it's floating in mid-air.
The rest of the bathroom is white.
The client preferred to have a more functional and spacious bathroom.
So we removed the bathtub and replaced it with a large shower.
This freed up space to add a second entrance from the bedroom.
We added built in
storage opposite the sink and a niche behind the sliding door
with just enough space to hang bath towels.
The blue curtain creates a pop up
guest bedroom whenever there there's someone staying over.
So this allows for flexibility to use the living room
also as a separate bedroom.
There's a very strong sense
of community in the city center of Seville.
Which is something that you lose when you're going towards the suburbs.
of course it's important to think of small spaces
and the challenge of designing them in terms of optimization
and getting the most out of every inch of the apartment.
But the challenge for designing small apartments
is to add a lot of character and a lot of personality.
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