Flat #1 by Ecole
Ecole, a French architecture and design studio, has designed an apartment interior in Paris.
Full description after the photos….
Photography by: Xavier Lucas
Flat #1 by Ecole
Facing the Eglise Saint-Gervais on one side and the Hôtel de Ville de Paris on the other, this 95 sqm apartment occupies the whole of the the two top floors of an 18th century building. The project comprised a full restructuration of the existing space and the conception of some design elements. The first floor, formerly consisting of a long corridor and four rooms has been largely cut open. Thus, the entrance, the living room and the kitchen form one single continuity. The guest space (a bedroom and a bathroom) has been built on the same floor. A steel staircase links the living room to the owner’sv private space underneath the roof.
Visit Ecole’s website – here.
.
.
Umberto on 14 Jan 2010 at 5:52 am #
Great work!
Amazing stairs.
Themis on 14 Jan 2010 at 5:58 am #
This is one dangerous staircase. Fabulous neighborhood, though…
Bahayhaus on 14 Jan 2010 at 8:50 am #
SCARY stairs, nice shelves.
S.Lemon on 14 Jan 2010 at 11:23 am #
Wow, fantastic staircase. Maybe not entirely practical when taking into account safety, but beautiful nonetheless.
Heleno Suassuna on 14 Jan 2010 at 12:30 pm #
scary but wonderful stair…so nice and clean work for the flat. greetings from brazil!
DJ on 14 Jan 2010 at 1:23 pm #
beautiful interior, we built a similar staircase in Texas but we had to put a rail on for the inspection, then cut it off later – not very kid friendly, but workable for sober adults
Gordon on 14 Jan 2010 at 1:54 pm #
That staircase would have me nervous
-Older folks
-Little kids
-Nighttime half sleep walking downstairs
Bill on 14 Jan 2010 at 2:41 pm #
Likes white.
John on 14 Jan 2010 at 3:31 pm #
I’d hate to walk up those stairs drunk. looks fresh.
graham on 14 Jan 2010 at 4:34 pm #
I think it is sad that people from obviously over regulated places like the US and Australia only seem to comment on the apparent unsafe stairs. I love the fact they don’t have a hand rail and that the design aspect is allowed to shine through. How often do you actual use a stair rail on a normal staircase any way? It obviously hasn’t been built for an elderly person or small children. Even then my 3 year old can climb stairs quite safely without using a hand rail.
Mickey Ichiro on 14 Jan 2010 at 7:08 pm #
I love the starkness of the design. Allows different occupants to show their personality through the things they use everyday. The steps on those stairs look too narrow (someone wearing heels would have to look for sure footing every step of the way). Maybe use those thin vertical stair wires that go from plank to ceiling–in white.
@John: Agreed.
@Graham: “Don’t it always seem to go,
That you don’t know what you got til
it’s gone.”
– Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi
Samantha on 15 Jan 2010 at 12:36 am #
The stairs is so covetable ! I want one in my house too, but is it for real ? It doesn’t look secure to me haha.
Bau Outdoors on 15 Jan 2010 at 1:55 am #
Stairs are fantastic – must be a steel frame behind the wall to give them the strength. I’ve never fallen off a staircase sideways…
Helena on 15 Jan 2010 at 5:09 am #
black, white, simple, minimalist….just perfect:)
Robert on 15 Jan 2010 at 9:34 pm #
As one American that shares the disdain for our over regulated fear generated safety conscious litigious society, I love the free form stairs. I think that just the visual of no rail would instill a cautionary stroll up or down the stairs. I like the comment about having a hand rail installed for the inspection and then removing it.
In this case I suppose one could add some decorative but structural ring along the wall through which a cabling could be strung when a hand hold becomes necessary.
sdfsdd on 15 Jan 2010 at 9:45 pm #
didn’t no one else notice the bathroom has no door?!?
Bahayhaus on 17 Jan 2010 at 9:43 am #
I aint American nor an Aussie but yes a 3 year old can literally do it safely.. yea i got your point BUT psychologically looking at it bothers u that makes it look really scary, and on hectic conditions like being drunk or sick or just being in a hurry can leave you visiting the orthopedic.
Tom on 17 Jan 2010 at 4:19 pm #
GORGEOUS. Hey, a home is alll about function and aesthetics following that. If we take beauty over function, it just wouldn’t be comfortable living there. IF I was to do a railing for those incredibley beautiful stairs, I’d see if I could cut out from the wall and do an inset railing, still painted white. To the person who said he or she never falls off stairs sideways, well, that’s because there is usually a wall or railing there. Keep in mind, they are also STEEL! You make one slip on that and you first get bashed by steel, then a sharp steel edge/corner, then hopefully, the floor underneath or worse, several more steel stairs. Yeah, the bathroom with no door might be a bummer if there is not a good ventilation system right above the toilet and/or if you have a guest. They would feel uncomfortable and would not want to hear the sounds of your S#@! as they lay in your bed. I thought the upstairs was called a “personal space”?
andrew on 19 Jan 2010 at 2:55 pm #
hello, i’m wondering what color is this floor, i love it and i would like to have the same one in my flat. pls help!
Curtis on 19 Jan 2010 at 9:42 pm #
that stair case is a piece of art. must have been fun detailing the drywall on those treads.
Bahayhaus on 23 Jan 2010 at 8:23 am #
@ Andrew, its bleached wood flooring
shrey on 29 Jan 2010 at 7:04 am #
i totally agree with the Graham the designers idea behind putting those stair are damm innovative and actually he has gone totally with his concept…. if you people observe the place it is really minimal even the color also…and he has tried to take that idea of minimal contemporary art and shown it into the stair …which is really amazing…..really great….
Tee on 18 Feb 2010 at 6:24 am #
F&@k it!! I’m taking the elevator!!
Well, the problem with the stairs is simply it makes you dizzy.. makes you fall, and those steps seem to be floating in the air. The main reason they are not very safe is not that you don’t have a handrail to ‘lean on’ but that you will have the impression you Are Going to Fall.
As for the rest of the house, it is simply beautiful. His website and work follow the same direction and approach to layout and color. no surprise.
But yes, not sure how Practical the house is. No doors for bathroom is a Big problem. Say you have your girlfriend, or someone you just hooked up with, upstairs in bed, and you want to use the loo… well… (sounds/smell)!!
I have similar color scheme at home (black,white, dark brown) and it’s very elegant with a masculine touch.
Kathryn on 25 Mar 2010 at 10:04 pm #
Just an FYI for everyone who’s shocked by the staircase: you can’t build that in the US. According to the ADA building code, staircases that high mush have a handrail.
I wish I lived in Europe so I can have one like that in my house.
Zach on 31 Mar 2010 at 12:34 pm #
i’ve never needed my car’s seatbelt either, but i’m damn sure i’ll appreciate it when i do.
that said, the apartment is absolutely magnificent. scary staircase and all.
Blogo on 05 Apr 2010 at 9:14 am #
stairs exceeding 3 treads require a handrail. That is the code. Building codes are one of the trademarks of a good civilization.
Blogo on 05 Apr 2010 at 9:19 am #
Also (sorry) but either the top most tread is out of plumb or the top landing is. In fact that doesn’t appear to be enough rise at all.
Luqman on 06 Apr 2010 at 1:10 pm #
If it was the designers intent to make the stairs the focal point of the room then mission accomplished. On the other hand if they intended them to dissolve into the room then they failed. Whether intended or not it is obvious by the comments that the stairs are a functional issue. They draw away from the other design elements and create uneasiness in the viewer. Maybe it was intended as such.
@ Graham I’m curious as to where you live that there are no building code requirements. Also I’m surprised you didn’t notice/wouldn’t have commented on the stairs.
colleen on 08 Aug 2010 at 11:55 am #
amazing stairs. kind of scary but amazing.