Apartment Rue de l’Amiral Cloué

Number 2 rue de l’Amiral Cloué is an apartment block dating from the 1950s, typical of the post-war rebuilding of France in freestone. It was designed and built with its rear to the Seine and facing Paris rather than its suburbs.

AIM Hanemian Architects took the decision to reverse the alignment: the view out over the Seine is now the priority from within. The bathrooms, two bedrooms along a corridor and entrance have been turned into a living room and dining room. The former living room, dining room and kitchen have been replaced by three bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom.

The entrance to the property is now a curved space: doors on one side open on to the dining and living rooms and on the other to the bedrooms. The kitchen with its informal eating space for the family is now sited in the heart of the apartment and forms a unit with the bedrooms: the reception area can thus, if necessary, be separated from the family sleeping area.

The colour scheme overall is bright and lively. The carpeting combines traditional oriental pieces with contemporary one-off carpets designed by Olivia de Pazzis Hanemian. She has also designed the furniture which harmonizes subtly with Mies Van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair and the Louis XVI desk with its brass and brushed metal fittings.

The design is a perfect example of the harmonious marriage that can be achieved between the classic and the contemporary; an apartment can be opened up while retaining an atmosphere of warmth and intimacy.