Moving into a tight studio apartment doesn't mean having to sacrifice style and clean lines. Space-saving guru and architect Michael K. Chen and team members at his firm MKCA confirmed this by redesigning a client's 225-square-foot apartment unit in New York City's West Village into a beautiful and multifunctional space.
Before Chen and his team members Braden Caldwell and Julian Anderson embarked on the renovation, the unit barely had enough room to fit a bed. So they decided to use an attic space that was only five feet tall as a place to install fold-out elements. The nucleus of the room became a six-foot dining table that folds out from the wall and functions as a desk, counter space, and place to eat.
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"Our approach is always based on measuring and modeling a space carefully, and being extremely sensitive to the body, and thinking about how people move in a space," Chen told Hunker. "When we design multifunctional spaces, we think about as many different scenarios for use as we can, and map out how they will take place in a space."
But making the best use of the tiny space wasn't the only challenge faced by Chen and team. The unit is located in an 1840s landmarked apartment building. In order to modernize a unit that has seen close to two centuries, the team had to rebuild the inside to make the unit safer, more economical, and more sustainable. They had the space gutted to the studs and rebuilt using new thermal and waterproofing systems. The team also made extensive upgrades to the wood structure. The result is a home that feels modern and spacious, and is an example of the future of urban living.
