The MUSC project - an appartement in the historic heart of Paris

Our project resides in a 17th-century building in the Marais, the historic heart of Paris. Located on one of the top floors, which were historically intended for the lower class, the apartment consisted of several small spaces with low ceilings. This layout rendered the apartment dark and difficult to imagine as a contiguous space. One façade faces a narrow street; the other faces a courtyard.
The place required a complete renovation which had to both account for the essential needs of the clients while finding ways to bring in as much natural light as possible.
The day area, on the street side, is now one totally open room. Bespoke furniture allows diffe- rent uses of the space. It can function variably as an entrance, kitchen, living room, dining room, office or reading space.
A broad hallway acts as transition from day to night spaces. The wooden and opaque-glass doors fade the natural light from the living room into the passage toward the two bedrooms. On the night side, each bedroom has its own bathroom, closet and work station.
While augmenting the light with natural tones and medium-dark tinted wood, we preserved the fireplace and most of the existing moldings to achieve a contemporary remodel without betraying the apartment’s historical heritage.