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 Apartment S
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Apartment SStuttgart, 2006

Living and Working under One Roof. As Befitting an Internationally Acclaimed Graphic Designer.

Apartment S

Interior architects ippolito fleitz group have designed an atelier apartment in an exclusive apartment complex situated in one of Stuttgart’s prime residential areas at the foot of the Killesberg. The client is an international graphic designer, who intends to use this apartment as her new base for both her professional and private life. The interior should therefore be an emotional, personal and feminine living space, while at the same time creating room for a clear and focused working environment. The interior design was implemented in a comparatively small area of 94m².

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The apartment is on the third floor. A long strip of window stretches along almost the entire back length of the space, flooding the apartment with natural light. A spacious balcony lying diagonally opposite this affords an impressive panoramic view over the city.
The layout of the apartment is essentially an elongated rectangle, with two long hallways running along the two long sides and connecting up the apartment. Two built-in units, each housing a bathroom, serve to give basic structure to the space. As a result, the apartment is divided into clear zones, creating private, semi-public and public areas. In the middle segment, the apartment’s different functional areas are arranged one after another along its entire length. An upbeat is given by the bedroom, which has direct access to the main bathroom. Opposite this is a guest bathroom. A short connecting corridor running between the two bathrooms marks the vertical borderline of the private area. The kitchen is positioned along the rear wall of the guest bathroom, and is in turn directly connected to the dining and work space. This main room is completed by a cosy seating area, behind which is a self-contained room, designed to serve as a children’s room or guestroom.
Clear-cut cubic forms and the uniform materiality of the smoked oak floor and furnishings establish the basis for a calm and uncluttered spatial impression. Colours and textiles are used in the different areas to set extra atmospheric accents.

On entering the apartment, your gaze first falls on the outer surface of the bathroom unit, with a textile covering that conveys both depth and softness. From the entrance, two horizontal sideboards run along the long wall into the apartment, thereby creating a visual connection with the balcony beyond. The mirrored wardrobe door to the left of the entrance multiplies this line of sight ad infinitum.
The two dark sideboard elements are backlit, creating the impression that they are floating in space in front of the turquoise-coloured wall. Incorporating 55 drawers and 12 storage compartments, they offer sufficient storage space to house both tools and the client’s archive of work. The space between the sideboards is perfectly lit and serves as a gallery for displaying artwork.

The kitchen is located in the very centre of the apartment, an idea that perfectly suits the character of the client, who is herself a keen cook and has designed many cookbooks. The concrete work surfaces provide a compelling contrast to the wooden kitchen units. A light patina and slight wear and tear to the work surfaces are an expected and desired effect that contribute to the kitchen’s charm and vibrancy.
A clear sheet of glass separates the kitchen from the dining and work space. The latter consists of a long upholstered bench, which is directly attached to the back of the freestanding kitchen unit. The space beneath the bench contributes towards the dual function of this space; two capacious retractable elements at foot level house a printer and scanner and provide enough storage space for additional work materials.
The large dining and work table can be extended to double its size to create a work area of 3m x 1.80m.
A cosy upholstered seating area with a floor-to-ceiling side panel fills a niche in the corner of this space. Functioning as a space within a space, it creates a separate zone to which you can withdraw within the dining and work space. The velvet velour-covered, diamond-stitched side panel gives it an inviting and comfortable feel. A cut-out in the panel means that the amazing view from the balcony is not lost.

The adjacent guestroom is equipped with a wall unit into which a small desk is incorporated. The spacious bed is enclosed on three sides by white leather chesterfield upholstery. Above this upholstered panel, a bookcase closes the room to the ceiling. A door also leads onto the balcony from this room.

The rear hallway connects the seating niche with the main bedroom and thus marks the horizontal axis of the private area. It runs along the long strip of window, which is contained by a broad window sill with supports at rhythmic intervals. The rear face of the supports is painted orange and indirectly lit. At night time, a warm orangey-red light is thus reflected back into the room from the window panes. This hallway is bordered on the façade side by a mauve-coloured bookcase made of folded steel, and a textile wall covering on the opposite bathroom unit side. The combination of the quiet material depth of the textile, the rose-coloured wall and the play of light from the strip of window results in an impressive spatial composition with an almost mysterious feel to it.

A small connecting corridor connects the two main hallways. This is clad with flush-mounted, bronze-anodised aluminium sheets on both sides. A concealed door leads into the guest bathroom, which offers a really special visual experience. The powerful orange of the bathroom walls in interplay with the violet ceiling, ceramic washbasin and the dark wood of the bathroom cabinets provide a delightful contrast. An illuminated natural rain shower is set into the ceiling. The shower walls are solid surface from floor to ceiling and are engraved with a selection of quotations selected by the client herself, thus giving the room a very personal note.

Anchored on the mauve-coloured rear wall in the bedroom, a three-armed Serge Mouille lamp protrudes deep into the room. The head of the bed is covered in the same material used in the seating niche, thereby picking up on the idea of the bedroom as another private retreat and relaxation area. The bedroom gives directly on to a dressing room and the main bathroom, where the walls are also made from solid surface, engraved with specially chosen quotations.

A field of flowers was designed by Monica Trenkler to decorate the ceiling and connect all areas of the apartment. In designing the motif, the artist was inspired by the client’s own artwork. The flowers are affixed to the ceiling using two different techniques – either paint or mounted wallpaper – thus creating a three-dimensional collage effect.

The kitchen is located in the very centre of the apartment, an idea that perfectly suits the character of the client, who is herself a keen cook and has designed many cookbooks.
The interior should be an emotional, personal and feminine living space, while at the same time creating room for a clear and focused working environment.

Facts & Figures

Location
Seestraße
Status
Completed (2006)
Photo­graphy
Zooey Braun
Exper­tises
Private Residential
Team
  • Gunter Fleitz
  • Fabian Greiner
  • Peter Ippolito
Partner
  • Stefan Gabel, Color Consulting
  • Monica Trenkler, Artwork
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