The 45° Apartment Renovation

With renovation Project 45°, we aimed to create a cosy, unique apartment. By taking full advantage of its area, the project results in a functional space that responds to the client’s everyday needs.  

Located in the city centre of Nicosia, Cyprus, the project involves the renovation of an unfinished, second-floor apartment in a family-owned building. The owner, a young, single man who had recently returned to Nicosia after several years abroad, desired a fresh, contemporary look for his apartment, rich in materials with a clean design. 

To optimise the use of indoor space while providing for an outdoor corner balcony, the social areas were realigned 45° to their original position, resulting in fluidity between the living area, the kitchen, and the outdoor space. A storage-laundry room was added to separate the private and social areas. The rest of the flat was completed by rearranging the private spaces to create a spacious and functional en suite bedroom. The two smaller bedrooms, together with the small balcony at the rear end of the apartment, were left in their original positions. 

Among the client's specifications was rich materiality that would endow the space with a relaxed, contemporary atmosphere. The original concrete ceilings, beams, and column were therefore left exposed. The walls were covered by wooden panels, which enhance the apartment's materiality while concealing its much-needed extended storage spaces. The kitchen colour extends to the adjacent wall panelling, further blurring eliding the division of different functional areas, while the diagonal bookshelf geometry merges the two directions of the floor plan, old and new, at 45°.

The result is a new apartment that redefines its boundaries and functional possibilities. It represents a contemporary take with hints of the old structure to deliver a space that responds to all the client’s desires.