An engineer and artwork collector, Paolo inherited the property from his grandmother: a former shop at the front, a storage room at the back. Forty square metres. One bathroom. Dark, cramped, noisy.
Paolo was emotionally attached to it but couldn't imagine it becoming anything more.
We worked with Paolo and nine months later, design, approvals, construction everything was done.
The 40-square-metre footprint was completely reimagined.
A new mezzanine level created a private bedroom, walk-in robe and ensuite above; below, the former shop became a living space, kitchen and dining area, and a powder room. A tiny 40 sqm shop had become a home.
The mezzanine was designed as a floating tramdriver's cabin with a floor thicknesses of 100 millimeters, an architectural nod to the building's history as an old tramdriver's house.
It hovers over the main space, past suspended above present.
