Perched on the twelfth floor of a 1970s tower in Paris’s Belleville neighbourhood, this 57sqm/613sqft apartment is defined by a glass and concrete volume that acts as the key structural element of the project. Within it, a home office and library are set inside a wood and glass insert, creating a quieter, more enclosed space. An expansive balcony extends the living area outward, bringing in light and opening the home to the city beyond.
The original apartment was in good condition, but the enclosed rooms and fragmented layout blocked light from reaching deep into the home. A team effort from architects Mathieu Durbec of MDA and Taïna Pichon of Meraki architecture restructured the space around maximising the balcony-side light. By removing the dividing kitchen and hall wall and integrating generous storage throughout, the home evolved into an open space where light moves freely with daily life, using original and natural materials to bathe the raised home in even more sun.
An Entrance Niche That Sets The Tone
From the first step inside, the defining design reveals itself – a dark-stained maritime pine wardrobe and integrated seat – part of a wider volume that extends further back into a broader multifunctional element. The generous wardrobe holds outerwear essentials, as do the hooks behind the door. The recessed niche, or a “functional cocooning vestibule,” as Taïna describes it, provides a bench for putting on and taking off shoes, with storage below. Above the seat, a mirror extends to the ceiling, attracting light from the bright living space and balcony beyond. This reflective surface was strategically chosen to maximise the entryway’s brightness, ensuring that even in the entry zone, the flow of natural light is preserved.
The once dark, enclosed hallway has been redesigned into quite the opposite — a bright, multifunctional volume. A continuation of the black-painted wood in the entrance, embedded glass doors form the main border of the zone, with a home office inside. Lit by the living room’s natural light, the space is filled with a built-in desk, while the walls are wrapped in shelving for the owners, avid readers with an extensive book collection.
Concentrated on the top half of the wall, the shelving leaves space below for furniture to move freely, including room for a guest bed. Opposite the desk, a large built-in wardrobe sits within the exposed structural concrete, for even more storage in a space that balances function with flexibility. The decision to concentrate the shelving at the top was key, allowing the lower area to remain unobstructed for movement and accommodating the guest bed without compromising the room’s airy atmosphere.
A Home Office That Doubles As A Guest Room
Removing the wall between the kitchen and dining area allowed Mathieu and Taïna to replace the former disjointed, enclosed layout with something far more social, a compact island and a suspended shelf. Together, the two elements work as both a threshold and a multi-purpose unit. Beyond cooking, the island serves as bench seating on the dining side, with storage beneath. Above, the open shelving holds more special items, including more books.
Placed intentionally parallel to the apartment‘s existing concrete beam, the shelf appears naturally embedded, while the open design lets light continue to pass through, for a fluid connection between cooking and dining, without either element losing its functional identity. This arrangement ensures that the open plan remains cohesive, allowing the kitchen to remain the heart of the apartment while the dining area retains its distinct social purpose.
A Mirrored Wardrobe That Amplifies Light
The original bedroom lacked storage, which prompted a key new element, a large built-in wardrobe. Positioned along the wall opposite the windows, the mirrored doors from IKEA help the expansive joinery visually recede, while capturing both daylight and views from the balcony outside. Reflections bounce light and the outdoors back across the room, extending sightlines and enhancing the sense of space, while softening the presence of a very substantial storage element in such a compact footprint. By using these reflective surfaces, the designers have effectively doubled the amount of perceived light in the room, making the space feel significantly larger than its actual square footage would suggest.
Fluted Glass That Brings Light While Preserving Privacy
Once just for the toilet, this tiny room was extended to fit another function, a laundry. Set in the back, darker corners of the apartment, the room is lit by borrowed light, by way of fluted glass. A textured, light-filtering partition that keeps the connection between both sides, allowing light to move freely while maintaining privacy, even when doing laundry. Inside, a vivid red wall and shelf also bring an unexpected layer of colour to a functional room. The use of a bright accent colour in the laundry area provides a visual anchor, contrasting with the neutral tones of the rest of the apartment.
Rather than purely visual, light and material are treated as architectural tools that both structure and brighten daily life in a Parisian home that’s even more flexible and light-filled than before.
