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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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Grand Things Come in Small Packages
ApartmentsRebecca Gross

Grand Things Come in Small Packages

Australia

Tsai Design demonstrates how small-footprint architecture can be generous and achievable.


Good things come in small packages, and that’s certainly the case for Tsai Design’s renovation of a 50-square-metre studio apartment in the Grand Hotel Melbourne. Designed for a singles’ lifestyle, it’s comfortable for one person, potentially two, and easily able to accommodate family and friends.

While the exterior and public interior of the former Victorian Railways headquarters is grand and civic, the original apartment was dark and poky. The client, Caroline, had seen Tsai Design’s Type Street Apartment and admired its simple, elegant style and flexible, functional living. She engaged Tsai Design to create a minimalist open-plan apartment with space-saving furniture and a simple kitchen. With a great choice of eateries in the CBD, the client only needed the kitchen for occasional use.

 

Slender joinery and slightly exaggerated proportions enhance the sense of space in the kitchen.

 

The entry opens to the open-plan kitchen, dining and living, with the bathroom concealed behind a hidden door, and the bedroom and walk-in-robe in an arched alcove. Slender joinery and slightly exaggerated proportions enhance the sense of space in the kitchen. The 8-metre-long benchtop wraps into the bathroom to become the vanity, and a slim overhead shelf mimics the flow of the benchtop. The timber flooring continues up the kickboard, which is taller than typical to help the apartment feel more spacious, and a drawer integrated into the kicker has a tray for the cat – an important factor in the design of the apartment.

A built-in television credenza also incorporates dining and window seating. Tsai Design’s Drop Leaf Table, custom designed for the apartment, seats two when folder, and six or more people when expanded. “The Drop Leaf Table addresses the client’s lifestyle, but also satisfies many others,” says Chen, director of Tsai Design. The table has won a Red Dot Award, and Jack is looking to produce it in limited numbers soon.

 

Tsai Design’s Drop Leaf Table, custom designed for the apartment, seats two when folder, and six or more people when expanded.

 

What was a tiny windowless space for the original kitchen is now a warm and cosy bedroom and walk-in-robe. Lined with timber, the vaulted ceiling mimics the arched doorway, and joinery along both sides provides storage. At the back of the nook, the mirror enhances the sense of light and space and conceals a fold-down queen-size bed.

“Through smart planning, clever storage and enriched spatial experience, the project progresses small-footprint architecture as both generous and achievable,” says Jack.

Tsai Design
tsaidesign.com.au

Photography by Tess Kelly

Dissection Information
Built by Q Space Melbourne
Woodcut Carbonised Oak flooring and joinery
Corian Rain Cloud benchtop
Tsai Design Drop Leaf Table
RJ Living Camellia Dining Chair
RJ Living Armadale Sofa
About Space Amendo 2 light

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About the Author

Rebecca Gross

Tags

About SpaceapartmentArchitecturecoriandesignGrand Small ApartmentMelbourneQ Space MelbourneresidentialRJ Living


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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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