Located on a side street the hip 11th district of Paris, the job site was a boutique of an abandoned beauty salon that occupied part of the lower levels of[...]

© Mariela Apollonio
Located on a side street the hip 11th district of Paris, the job site was a boutique of an abandoned beauty salon that occupied part of the lower levels of a late 19th century working-class apartment building. The original space consisted a 19m2 ground floor that has been connected with a 32m2 flat upstairs and a18m2 basement right below. We have further sacrificed the precious square meters for thermal and acoustical insulation. Especially for the basement, we?ve literally built a box in the box and installed mechanical ventilation to make it suitable for daily use. The demolition and insulation had left us 3 boxes on each level. © Mariela Apollonio
The goal was to create a live-work pied-à-terre for a couple while they currently split their time between Paris and their home in the province besides their frequent travels to other places. Ideally, the place can also pay for itself by renting out a part to travelers. The fact of having three levels was quite ideal for a division. We naturally decided to create two independent units: the flat on the first floor to be the rental unit and the rest to be the office & pied-à-terre for the owners. However, we have kept the connection between the two so that they can be reunited seamlessly and without effort into a generous (Parisian standard) tr...