apartment with a total area of ​​175 m2 Elena Kochetkova, Natalia Golovina, Elena Otarova, Elena Frolova

Passing the gallery

A photo: Karen Manko

Text: Evgenia Chistikova

Architect: Elena Kochetkova, Наталья Головина, Елена Отарова, Елена Фролова

Magazine: N1 (68) 2003

Как сохранить ощущение объема на сравнительно небольшом пространстве, одновременно решая ряд практических задач, и при этом не лишить это пространство собственного характера? Elena Kochetkova последовала тому вектору, который задан изначальной планировкой So, the most winning layout of this apartment is a bay window with seven windows along the outer wall. The abundance and uniformity of light, the perfect completeness created by the spherical shape, is something that could not be lost. The desires of the customers - the young family - and the authors of the project spoke about the same thing: air, light, space should have become the main components of the interior. Therefore, the choice of furniture was predetermined: solid massive objects that always act as carriers of history, traditions, antiquities, here obviously would not have come to court. The logical basis for interior design was minimalism. The amount of furniture is minimized - built-in racks with glass shelves, wardrobes with sliding glass doors, a glass desk in the office. Everything emphasizes the self-sufficient organization of space - clear, clear, transparent. In the same vein, the basic planning problem has been solved: without disturbing the architectural datum, enter another room into the already existing coordinates - a room. The decision can be called not only extremely functional, but also extremely delicate: the area for the office is set up right in the living room, in the bay window, and fenced off by glass panels. This transparent wall has another function: a flat screen TV is placed on it. Thus, the zoning of the living room responds to three tasks at once: in addition to the seating area, there is a kitchen-dining room and space for the owner’s business activities. The choice of colors is also dictated by the original concept - the maximum of air and light. Cream, almost white walls, a sofa in the living room and leather chairs in the dining room, the soft gray color of the walls in the office optically increase the space. But the customer had one more wish - to create not only an open, air-saturated space, but also a feeling of a warm, “sustainable”, comfortable home. Therefore, light, "airy" shades are complemented by rich chocolate tones that are associated with dark wood - the color of floor tiles, parquet, kitchen furniture. Atmosphere of stability, at home "with history" (often the role of family value is played by antique or pseudo-antique, antique, furniture) is created in this apartment not only due to color: the texture of materials is also an important success factor. Thus, the surface of kitchen worktops is made of volcanic stone: the pronounced natural texture of hardened lava contrasts with the light, airy space, creates a bright accent in the interior of the kitchen-dining area. A dark rectangular-shaped dark oak dining table (MATHIAS) is another iconic point in space, another roll call with a classic concept of a house. The lamp above it (FIRE AND OF EGMOND), reminiscent of a free-style glass fantasy on the theme of a Christmas wreath, continues the line of a subtle, almost parodic hint of tradition. A rare feature of this apartment is that nothing - not a single element of the interior - is a curtsey in favor of style. The comfort and "smoothness" of architectural and design solutions are the main tasks, decoding is not an end in itself, but a means to create a living environment. Tactfully, without resorting to any frills, Elena Kochetkova did not restructure the space, but revealed its possibilities.Elena Kochetkova: “Correcting the space in the process of the architect’s work is a common thing for our profession. But when I saw what was originally there - two rectangular columns and a hemisphere - only one thought arose: not to spoil. It seemed to me that the minimalist interior would be the best But pure minimalism is already somewhat old, but the time has not yet offered a fundamentally new style. I would call the style we prefer, bourgeois minimalism. "