PC House by Formo Design Studio
Recently designed by Formo Design Studio, this industrial apartment is located in Taipei City, Taiwan.
Description
This Project – PC House, P stands for People and C stands for Cats, is the home for two people and two cats. The owners, Hsin and Franco, have a clear vision for the house. Their two main requests are the living space shared with cats and to optimize the space of 23-pings house in order to entertain friends and families visiting on weekends.
Taking the residents and cats living in this residence as the design standpoint. The owners cherish and respect the unique personality of cats. Rather than setting up separate pet installations, we take cat’s natural behaviors into consideration. Bear this in mind, we skilfully combine different materials to create composite furnitures and make flexibility to meet the need for both humans and cats. The pipes for the air-conditioner are thoughtfully covered with spiral tubes, letting the cats to leap and perch. The suspended cabinets next to windows are not just for storage, the irregular design creates the unique “hide and seek” tunnel, allows Baron, the shy cat, to hide in the tunnel and enjoy observing the visitors.The wooden bookcases with different depths placed on the racks in the working area are adjustable when it is necessary. Meanwhile, it also provides a hidden ladder to the extrovert cat, Annie, off to the ground straightaway.
The other challenge of this project is to tactfully integrate the industrial style into the newly finished house. It’s hard to not have some “demolishment” in a brand-new house when you want to achieve the roughness in the industrial style. In order to do that, we design exposed concrete walls with hand-pierced cracks made by artisans extended along from the foyer, creating a visual highlight to the space. The compartment in the tiny kitchen is removed to have an open structure. By doing that, the distance between the living area and kitchen is shortened and the space looks extended. Based on rugged red brick, the kitchen wall is polished with cement water to interpret the natural charm. To enhance the industrial style, the door panel is made of industrial galvanized steel and the door handle is actually a factory fixture. The kitchen island has a poetic ambiance after adding skip-trowel finishing to create a splash ink painting on the original plain concrete surface.
The compartment-free space, each area is defined by furniture. Without the limitation of walls, the vision gets wider, the lights reflected from the shutter blinds have more transparency. Turning to the working area, the furniture is composed of pine wood in warm tones. The asymmetrical design allows the two owners to see each other when sitting on the opposite sides. Inspired by the owner’s interest in Lego toys and puzzles, the majority furniture in the house is mobile and configurable.The working table, the OSB board sofa and the couch are all customized with wheels, which optimize the arrangement when a bunch of friends come over. The iron fixtures used in the space are painted with different metal finishes which lead the objects naturally oxidize. The house is like the progress of oxidation, gradually changing the appearance when time goes by.
Photography courtesy of Formo Design Studio
- by Matt Watts
