In the historic Saint-Louis quarter of Versailles, Paris-based Iranian architect Saba Ghorbanalinejad renovated and restored a 90-square-meter (about 970 square feet) apartment for a family of three. The property was initially in rough condition with technical problems in the foundation and issues with humidity levels and insulation. But Ghorbanalinejad, who studied architecture at the University of Tehran and Paris-Est School of Architecture before collaborating with firms in Paris and London and starting her own practice, is practiced in the art of considered renovation. She reconfigured the apartment to form spaces more connected to the large 200-square-meter (about 2,200 square feet) garden, widened small and narrow rooms, and opened up corridors and doorways to allow for more natural light.
Above: Ghorbanalinejad enlarged the doorway between the kitchen and living room, curving the edges to bring in more natural light. The floors throughout the apartment are polished concrete and the walls are custom lime paint in a very light dusty pink. She worked with artisan Atelier Mayeul Gauvin, who made the lime paint bespoke and applied it in such a way that the surfaces are not entirely smooth and designed to shift with the changing light.
Above: A built in storage closet, designed custom by the architect, was built on site by the joiner and finished in the same lime paint as the walls.
Above: “The door handles are wood climbing handles that we bought in the market and varnished in the same finish as the window frames,” explains Ghorbanalinejad.
Above: The kitchen space is made up of what previously was a bathroom adjacent to a small dining space. Ghorbanalinejad moved the bath to the center of the apartment and opened up this area for a larger kitchen. The countertop is poured concrete done on site and the custom kitchen cabinets are oak. Above: Fragments of Murano glasses collected by the clients were integrated into the concrete kitchen countertop.
Above: A detail of the textures: hand-poured concrete and oak grain.
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