Bold geometry, exposed ceilings and stainless steel details are the center stage in this bright and airy attic. The apartment is located in one of the oldest settlements in Bratislava, Slovakia, "500 Apartments", which has managed to remain largely unspoiled since its inception in the early 50s. It is a culturally significant relic in a city that has undergone major urban development.
Architect Alan Prekop created a consistently quirky design. Interesting collage style rendering gives way to the same fantastic practical project, and this 70m2 two-bedroom apartment is no exception. Stripped to its carrier components, the apartment is largely untethered by traditional areas. Instead, you will find the apartment connected by wooden and glass frame doors, replacing the original brick walls of the bedrooms. This partition cleverly separates the space from night and day. Open the door and make the space feel bigger and brighter by connecting the windows to the east and the west. Night mode creates a more comfortable, private space. The circular aperture in the center of the apartment is reminiscent of Carlo Scarpa's modernist masterpiece, The Obion Cemetery, but by no means gloomy. This playful architectural element creates a portal from the kitchen to the living room. Essentially, when you look at it, it frames any one space.
Materiality runs through the entire interior, with stainless steel used on window sills, kitchen counters and the edges of circular entrances, proving that metal can be used for projects outside of the ultra-cool retail interior. While the damp rooms remained largely unchanged, stainless steel covered the facades, adding clarity to the open floor plan. Colors are used sparingly in the design. The touch of the cream is spread throughout the space through styling and custom joinery. The kitchen unit is separated from the walls and soaked with personality cream, like a small-scale intervention sitting indoors. In your cool friend's house, you'll usually find small details — a blue glass tabletop sits on cinder blocks, acts as a ledge, and tiles line up in the living room. While these elements add character, they are also at the heart of the design scheme, recovering surplus materials from previous projects that would otherwise be thrown away and reused in this interior. This versatile and ethically conscious design of Prekop is an alternative to the current state of the home and is a good reminder that our spaces for interaction are constantly evolving.