In the 1960s, the Victoria housing commission worked with a group of remarkable architects from the middle of the century to design the Hotham Garden's apartments in North Melbourne.
The co-founder of maps, Tahj Rosmarin, who recently moved to one of the apartments in the double Brick building with his partner, said that the complex had passed the test of the time, especially thanks to its robust structure, “solid floor plan”, and has taken into account the connection to the surrounding gardens.
'One of the best parts of the apartment was his natural light. Each room has a window so that light always comes in, ”says the architect.
“Being on the top floor of the building also meant that it felt very private … like a tree house. His balcony is literally in the canopy of a large tree,” added Tahj.
But almost six decades, since the apartments were built for the first time, it was not to deny that the house in the city center had improvement rooms.
“Certain aspects felt suffocating,” he says. “A big one was the layout of the kitchen, which felt Pokey and had a strange layout, which meant that only one person could be in the room.”
A wall between the kitchen and the living room separated the two rooms with just a low small servery window, which does not allow a visual connection. And on only 66 square meters, it was important to maximize every centimeter of usable space.
“The idea of the project was to prioritize small furniture interventions and inexpensive improvements compared to a comprehensive demolition,” says Tahj.
This meant considering carpentry as furniture and infrastructure, which “increased” the functionality in every room and focused on budget -friendly materials such as cork floors.
In the new and improved kitchen, plywood cabinets and a red laminate bench gave the tone for the rest of the playful renovation, since a larger vertical opening of the diving wall was added to create the illusion of a room in a room without eating in the floor plan.
Tahj also designed a clever multi-purpose handling, which extends the length of the living room.
'This long piece of furniture collects precious objects, books and records and offers long -term storage. But it also creates a dedicated food corner in which the need for overcrowded furniture or independent pieces, ”he adds.
The couple was inspired by other permanent compact houses such as the Cairo apartments in Melbourne and the Le Corbusier studio apartment to contain subtle colored accents. Paint half of the walls a soft blue color.
And while the entire integrated memory could have been born from the necessity, the small apartment gave so much character to show all of your favorite objects in this way!