smart.space redux

I've written a good deal about AvroKO's total apartment living solution, smart.space. If you're interested in seeing it, they have two open houses coming up: one this Sunday, June 12 from 1pm-3pm and then the following Tuesday, June 14 from 6pm-8pm.

They had an open house a few weeks back, which was my first opportunity to check it out in person. I was especially keen on seeing it because there are several photographs on loan from my gallery there. (There is work from some of the winners of the Spring Hey, Hot Shot competition, as well as several pieces by Dana Miller.)

The apartment is located in a very cool building - you enter through a gate and walk down a long corridor which takes you to an interior courtyard. I really enjoy having that sense of remove from the bustle of street life upon entering a home. (Alas, my home has no such sense to it.) Word has it that there's a great roof garden too, but I didn't get a chance to look at that when I was there.

The apartment itself is a long and narrow, with very high ceilings. One of the greatest successes of their design is that it takes advantage of the vertical space - there's a small balcony that can function as a home office, and then the living room is a few step down from the kitchen and bathroom areas. The lighting is well done too - as a long narrow apartment denizen myself, I know first hand how gloomy such a layout can be if that aspect isn't handled properly. By using the vertical space inventively, the place feels quite spacious.

Some photographs (though there are many more on the smart.space site itself):

This is the view of the apartment from the entry way. The cabinetry by the window stores a Murphy bed.

This shot is looking from the sleeping area towards the kitchen + entryway.

Lovely blue tile plus a killer bathtub. I really like the fact that there's a bigger than fullsize tub. Bathrooms are so often shrunken down to make more space for living, but who doesn't love a good soak?

Comments

[Josh]

Have you seen the Muji pre-fab house they're selling in Japan? They have a full-scale mockup at the Muji store in Tokyo I wandered around in when I was last there. I originally thought the design wasted a lot of space but having now been inside a few Japanese apartments and houses I've changed my mind. It's just interesting culturally to see how they decided to layout a small space...

http://www.muji.net/infill/se/

[jamie pup]

I meant to go and see these places but never got around to it. Glad to see they managed to implement most of the look and function of their concept renderings. It looks like they did not do the lift platform which is a shame because I thought that that was such an innovative idea.

Maybe I'll go this Sunday to see for myself.