Compact Living:: Haruki’s Apartment by The Goort

Haruki’s Apartment is located on the first floor of an old two-storey building in the historic center of Mariupol, Ukraine. Such houses are also called pre-revolutionary. Designed by the Ukrainian design bureau The Goort, the apartment has one bedroom and a total area of 35.7 square meters. Its owners, a young couple, chose a format of a modern city apartment, spacious and bright, with a minimum of furniture but a maximum range of functions.

The main feature of the apartment is a ceiling height of four meters which allows to divide the space into two levels: the first level is used for a lounge area while the second level houses a bedroom area with a dressing room. There is no separate working area – a long window sill can be used as a desk as well as a table for breakfasts or light dinners.

The owners of the apartment are very sociable people, they have a lot of friends and enjoy meeting them at home. So the largest part of the apartment is occupied by the lounge area which can be easily transformed according to the task. The program includes four different scenarios:

– a formal dining (8-10 persons)
– buffet table, house party (6-8 persons)
– cinema hall for a small company (4-5 persons)
– overnight stay for friends (2-3 persons)

All required items for these modifications are hidden in a large built in cabinet – its lower part holds a dismountable table and folding chairs, the central part – cushions and futons. The other space inside the cabinet is occupied by personal items. A ladder with rollers allows to reach the uppermost shelves.

This article is a part of the ‘Compact Living’ series. You can read about other designs of compact houses and apartments on this page.