The brief given to the team at Ojjo Studio, founded in 2020, was to emphasize the existing character of this unique apartment, but the team was also expressly encouraged to explore and experiment with their design for a renovation of the unit. The terrazzo floor remained, and the architects were inspired by the imaginative color palettes of postmodern design trends like Memphis and the Archigram movement. Contrary to the well-known “form follows function” maxim, both design moments embraced a sense of fun and daring color combinations.
The kitchen, in particular, sets the tone for the entire home. Using fronts from the Spanish manufacturer Cubro, the architects designed a row of cabinets that run along one side of the living and dining area and could easily pass for a work of art. The different-colored fronts visually divide the kitchen into sections while the wall above the porcelain worktop was painted yellow and the extractor hood and the wall on the left of the kitchen are a deep berry tone. In front of the kitchen work area, there’s a large dining table while on the opposite side of the living-dining space, a Togo chair from Ligne Roset is paired with a white bouclé sofa. The same shade of yellow that is found in the kitchen appears on the wall behind the seating area. A graphic rug with black and white stripes provides a contrast to all those fields of color.
Architects João and Pep carried their carefully developed color scheme into the other rooms too while also exposing reinforced concrete beams and columns. The bedroom now glows in a soft pink while the white hallway acts as a neutral transition between more colorful spaces with its generous built-in cupboards offering plenty of storage space. Ojjo Studio installed green tiles in the larger of the two bathrooms, while the smaller one has midnight blue tiles and a red vanity with yellow drawers. Sometimes if you are going to create a colorful apartment, you shouldn’t be shy and instead let yourself go completely, a lesson that this home embodies. If you want to be noticed, it helps to be bold and brave.
