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Typical of the late 1800s Haussmanian period, this Parisian apartment has all the architectural elements we’ve come to love – ornate mouldings, fishbone parquet, a long linear balcony and so on. Designed for a young family of three, the recent renovation by Gabrielle Toledano of Toledano Architects is anything but typical.

The concept was to create contemporary architecture – a light element that would allow the safeguarding of all the existing heritage features that confer the apartment’s strong character while unveiling new uses and a new appreciation of space that are better suited to the 21st-century context. Consistent with most other heritage renovations, the challenge was preserving the layers of history while giving the home a strong contemporary identity. The answer came in the shape of a curving timber ribbon partition that circulates through the interior, in and around the load-bearing ornate rectilinear walls.

“The layout became quite obvious once I released myself from the constraints imposed by the original partition walls that we decided to demolish entirely, and mouldings on the ceilings that would be preserved no matter the shape of the new partition wooden walls,” says Toledano.

The ribbon wall is deliberately lower than the ceilings in order to maintain the integrity of the building, retaining the apartment’s original character. All along its curves, the new insertion is part inhabitable wall, part sculpture. The curved ribbon installation, dissimulates the entrance to the rooms and bathrooms, wrapping its way around to the kitchen, creating joinery and bespoke niches detailed with brass and travertine.

The renovation came with its own unique challenges, not merely the construction of the ribbon wall but compounded by a tight budget. The new wall is created entirely from timber, from the laser-cut rails inside to the curved surfaces made using moulds – it was pre-fabricated and assembled off-site at a carpenter’s workshop and reassembled on-site within a day.

The two sides of the ribbon define the areas of the household. On the one side is the master suite, with a bedroom, open bathroom and dressing room and on the other, the children’s area, with a bedroom and a bathroom. In between, the void creates tensions but also openings. A narrow corridor separates the entrance from the wide and spacious common spaces—the living room, the kitchen and the dining room.

In the children’s area, there is a departure from the simple, natural finishes used throughout the apartment. Instead, bright playful colours are used such as white and orange resin. The ceilings, made of alveolar polycarbonate, provide a whimsical twist to the classical architecture and allow additional natural light.

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