Millennium Tower Loft
The unit is in the mixed-use high-rise building faces east and overlooks the historic city skyline. Clients are a family of leading professionals in technology and design industries with eight year old child needed privacy for themselves, accommodation for overnight guests, entertainment and hosting for art and design community. Clients were very particular about the quality of industrial design and sustainability:
- Overall Acoustical quality of the space with the barrier from the outside noise
- Energy efficient, quiet appliances, heating and plumbing
- Wireless technology and home automation systems with hidden computers
- Low VOC paint
- Preservation the existing height of the ceilings and open space
- Transforming lighting
Flexibility. Combine wide open spaces for entertainment with enough privacy for a small family with a child and comfortable place for guests to stay. The main floor layout is designed to transform from a single-volume entertainment space to distinct kitchen, dining, entry, and guest mini-apartment (discreet built-in closets, an extra deep sofa that combines with the ottoman to create a full bed, and a hidden shower tucked away behind angled privacy glass panels in the powder room). The second level has flexible office space that can be used for different family activities and can, in the future, be transformed into a third bedroom if the need arises.Variety. Humans like variety. Single look and feel, no matter how good, cannot work perfectly in all situations, day vs. night, rain vs. sun shine, big party vs. quiet evening with a family. Glass, in variety of colors and patterns, takes on multiple functions - transparent, muted with bronze tint, layered with graphical elements, used on vertical and horizontal surfaces – and becomes the main theme in layered transparency of the space. The aluminum-framed floating glass floor of the office space, as well as movable partitions, helps to make different impression and to change perspective.Cool that means sustainable. The engineering and design background of the clients made our work easy and hard at the same time, everything had to be perfect in quality and look, like the aluminum-finished Bulthaup kitchen which we used to support clients’ minimalistic tastes.Sustainability, for the clients, is not just the obvious aspect of using renewable resources and construction techniques, but more importantly, using long-lasting materials efficiently.Computers, all office equipment, and the media tower are tucked away in Poliform cabinets and accessed by wireless technology. Instant water heater, highly energy-efficient home appliances, variable speed heating and cooling units (one per floor), z-wave wireless technology for home automation system, mechanical shades and electrical are used to satisfy requirements.Scale. To achieve the maximum physical and perceived height of the ceilings, we used reflective stretch membrane ceilings, saving 3” of the height compared to a drywall ceiling. Symmetrical floor plan, glass floor, showing full height of the wood shelving, repeated vertically stacked forms (Poliform cabinets, wood shelving, second floor child’s bathroom on top of the powder room, double height weaved metal mesh) all combine to produce the feel of airy spaciousness which goes beyond the physical dimensions of the space.Transparency. Full-height glass windows and sliding doors are used in all spaces to achieve variations in light, color, spaciousness, and to control privacy.Historical References. The original concrete floor was hand-troweled to mimic the weathered leather. Concrete tile floor in the powder room, with the look of antique pewter, end-grain reclaimed parquet and the sole aluminum pendant light symbolizes the original warehouse look. Stair design resembles trusses of a railway bridges. The burned, battered texture of the two-story wood shelving connotes the sense of old, structural beams. Velvet and white linen upholstery on the sofa and chair, from Nairobi collection by Helmut Jousten, chaise by Jasper Morrison, walnut furniture by Thierry Portier, in combination with contemporary, antique, and vintage art bring the feel of “time” and journey.Light. The lighting fixtures used the throughout the space, mostly designed by Ingo Maurer, use halogen and LED lighting sources (with two exceptions). LED lighting is used to support overall look and feel of the architecture. While the sun’s UV rays are blocked by motorized shades, the night scene of the city fills the space with such energy and movement, extroverted passion, and intimacy, that one can feel being absorbed by it.
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