This semi-basement apartment has been renovated with the use of half levels, utilising the height of the house. It has created more space on the upper storey and the levels are connected by small steps and internal stairs. It uses a mezzanine with a wooden slatted structure to let light to flood through. And the living room is raised with a tall arched window. I feel this will influence my project as I have tall arched windows surrounding my room which I could fully utilise by bringing the floor levels up to reach this window height as my client grows plants, this could be very beneficial for them.
Austin Maynard Architects works within the narrow space with the addition of a raised indoor bed beneath a skylight that sits above the dining area. A range of species are planted in the bed including a philodendron and ferns which creates a leafy border and a living backdrop to the built-in dining room. It has a greenhouse-like/conservatory effect, blurring the lines between the indoors and outdoors. This will help my project as I also explore this concept of building my client’s collection of plants within the way he lives and uses the space.
This seating area is designed to look like a terraced landscape or a set of hills, which is portrayed by stacking layers of thin cushions covered in green surfaces of leather and fabric. This could be an inspirational design for my project as I would like to incorporate my client’s work of growing plants into the space by stacking cube structures in this layout. The cubes will hold the plants so it will be very similar to the green layered design here.