Double Apartment by Abaco
In the heart of Paris, nestled among the rooftops of the Bastille neighborhood, Abaco has reworked a duplex “Double” apartment, designed for a young family, and transformed its architecture into a fluid organism where every element contributes to sculpting space and guiding movement. The project operates within a tension between gravity and lightness, between geometric rigor and freedom of movement.
Circulation Defined In A Paris Apartment Renovation
In the heart of Paris, nestled among the rooftops of the Bastille neighbourhood, a duplex becomes an opportunity to rethink the modes of circulation that define domestic space. Located on the top floor of a historic building, the apartment is redesigned for a young family, transforming its architecture into a fluid organism, where every element contributes to sculpting space and guiding movement.
Dynamic Sequence Marked By Two Staircases
Double is a project that completely reimagines the internal layout, freeing the centre and constructing a dynamic sequence marked by the presence of two staircases. The goal is not merely to connect two levels, but to do so without compromising light, depth, or spatial perception.
Strategic Positioning Generates A Continuous Flow
Movement becomes a compositional principle: instead of a central staircase – which would have disrupted the openness of the living room and diminished natural light – the project embraces a dual solution. Two staircases, positioned along the perimeter, shape circulation into a continuous flow, turning each transition into a spatial experience.
A Circular Path In Which Space Expands And Contracts
Movement is the key concept: the layout is no longer static but organized around a circular path in which space expands and contracts, alternating degrees of intimacy. This circulation does not simply connect the rooms – it structures them, giving form to a dynamic, evolving experience of space.
Staircases Conceived As Architectural Devices
The two staircases are complementary, mirrored, and in dialogue. Placed symmetrically around the central roof truss, they are not just functional elements but true architectural devices that shape domestic life.
The first is a bold graphic gesture embedded into the kitchen layout: it conceals itself while simultaneously affirming its presence. Though discreet and integrated into the furnishings, it becomes a defined sign, tracing a boundary between service and living areas.
Sculptural Elements Serve As Bookshelf And Seat
The second staircase, light and suspended, is both sculptural and functional: not just a vertical connection, it also serves as a surface, bookshelf, and seat in the living room. This dual strategy liberates the centre of the space, concentrating fixed furnishings along the perimeter walls: the kitchen, wardrobes, desk, and bench are conceived as a continuous system that hosts the essential functions of the home without fragmenting the central volume.
Structural Elements Organize The Home’s Circulation
The original roof truss structures the symmetry of the apartment and becomes the axis around which circulation is organized, establishing rhythm and the interplay between mass and space. Upstairs, the truss takes centre stage and is theatrically revealed: the path is intentionally interrupted, compelling one to cross and confront its presence.
The double-height living space becomes a point of connection between the two levels, amplified by the glazed openings of the bedrooms overlooking the void. At the center of the upper floor, around the truss, an empty space takes shape, giving rhythm and coherence to the spatial sequence.
Exploration Of New Modes Of Experience And Inhabiting
The entire project operates within a tension between gravity and lightness, between geometric rigor and freedom of movement. It is an architecture born from the desire to explore new modes of inhabiting and experiencing domestic space, defined by a carefully composed sequence of relationships.
Space expands and contracts, adapts and transforms, revealing its meaning over time and through the lives it embraces.
Photography by BCDF Studio
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