apartment with an area of ​​171 m2, located in the attic (St. Petersburg) Sergey Erofeev The original atmosphere of the apartment, created in the attic room of a historic building in the historical center of St. Petersburg.

Passing the gallery

A photo: Alexey Babaev, Victor Vasiliev

Text: Alexander Solovyov

Architect: Sergey Erofeev

Magazine: N5 (61) 2002

The defiant originality of this apartment, even among the bizarre variety of modern private interiors, is striking. The fact that it is under the roof plays a primary role in shaping this impression. The roof, in turn, "belongs" to one of the old buildings in the historical center of St. Petersburg From time immemorial in the house there was an attic, which, as befits most gloomy Petersburg attics, silently kept its secrets and treasures. According to the customer, the apartment was supposed to preserve the atmosphere of former mystery, the spirit of bygone eras. Hence the categorical denial of synthetic materials in the decoration: here only brick, wood and metal. It is these features of "naturalness" that give the apartment warmth and clarity, which distinguishes it favorably from the all-conquering standard. The author of the project, Sergey Yerofeev, possessing the gift of a decorator infrequently among modern architects, showed the qualities of an experienced designer. Namely - resourcefulness and fantasy. For the materials did not have to go far: almost everything necessary for restructuring was preserved here in the attic. Gorgeous old bricks, beams of selected larch, remnants of plaster, picturesque drips crawling on the brick walls. These materials, which have acquired new life, give a special "goodness" to the interiors of Erofeev. The architect deliberately exposed the constructive elements: for example, lintels above the windows, which are ... authentic rails of the mid-19th century. All the above-mentioned details, anxiously preserved in the apartment, do not just beautifully complement its interior: they truly lead the author, dictating the style. The floor of ostrugannoy manually tinted larch harmonizes with wooden lintels and props from old larch beams. They went on to create pieces of furniture. A huge bed in the bedroom - the same "attic" larch, carefully treated by craftsmen. The fireplace is made of genuine old stove - great-grandmothers of the well-known "stove". The other two fireplaces in the house have already been solved in a completely different way. A fireplace of the English type in the living room (it’s a dining room, it’s also a kitchen), laid out of brick, evokes thoughts of comfort and tranquility. But the metal fireplace in the owner’s office in the second tier is a piece of art, not so much architectural and design art, as a modernist sculpture. The passion of the owner of the apartment for collecting frogs of all possible types and types (except, obviously, the real ones) found its artistic embodiment in the form of a huge green creature whose wide mouth is the combustion chamber of the fireplace. It is not even a frog, but rather a toast-shaped dragon. He "guards" the treasure next to him from the strangers - the exit to the roof, where a magnificent view of the city opens from the observation deck. Not everyone dares to use a wooden bath and sink! The so-called "kitchen" also demonstrates no less courage - three metal cabinets stylized as antique chests in the living room. The principal requirement of the customer was the absence of doors: the guest immediately falls into a narrow corridor created by brick walls, where openings with uneven borders do not imply the existence of door frames. ... "The connection of times has broken!" - the poet exclaimed. In the apartment of Sergei Erofeev era again connected - in the capable hands of the architect.Sergey Erofeev: "An architect should always take risks. But it is very important that the customer is not afraid to take risks with him. Many ideas are born in the process, sometimes significantly changing what was intended in the project. I consider myself more a builder and designer than an architect I’m not just preparing the project and giving it to the builders, but I am personally responsible for every detail of the interior, every brick, every plug. "