Parisian studio Les Ateliers Tristan & Sagitta has recently refurbished this two-storey apartment in Paris’ 17th arrondissement for a family with two young children. The clients already owned the ground-floor flat and adjoining garden, but bought up the first floor of the building to house a children’s room as their family expanded.
To connect the two floors, the architects suspended a white metal-framed staircase from the upper floor plate. “The main challenge of this renovation was to find the place of a staircase as discreet as possible,” said the architects. “As often in Paris, space is precious,” they added. “Although they are appreciated, the storage spaces cause loss of habitable surface. We imagined a large piece of furniture.”
A small storage area is integrated into the lower portion of the staircase, which features solid wooden steps. But the upper section of staircase features open risers and banisters, allowing light to filter between the two floors and reduce its visual impact on the space.
In the child’s room, the distinction of two spaces allows the two brothers to define their respective territories. This old bourgeois building is composed of architectural elements: solid wood doors, enamelled handles, moldings, rails, rosettes. “We have tried through our project to conserve and magnify these elements” said the architects. For example, the blue partition in the children’s room is not continuous up to the ceiling. It ensures the separation between the rooms and the staircase. It houses a glass floor that allows daylight on the steps. It allows to preserve and to stage the old molding making the turn of the piece.
all images © Giaime Meloni