Tatavla House Micro-Apartments
Urban Lofts
Office Tornavida Design Type Gut Renovation Role Concept · Design · Limited coordination and construction documentation Client Hasan Şahan Budget 400.000 ₺ Size 360 m² Location Kurtuluş, Istanbul Year 2013
The challenge outlined in the brief was to fit two, functional, medium-stay flats on each floor of an existing 60 m² Armenian apartment building circa 1950s – without resorting to gimmicks. The ample floor-to-floor height allowed for split-level apartments, and beds were stowed away under the bathrooms to transform the main spaces from bedrooms into functional and presentable living areas.
After an analysis of the existing masonry structure, it was determined that a new steel frame would be needed within the existing walls, which in turn defined the industrial loft aesthetic and subsequent material choices.
The entrances to each apartment are glass partitions that allow the full floor to be perceived as a single, continuous space in which the colored bathrooms are merely freestanding objects. This configuration eschews the social isolation that occurs when traditional ideas of privacy are made physically manifest. It provides inhabitants ample opportunities for social interaction, but also the ability to modulate the privacy and intimacy of their personal spaces (with blinds, curtains, etc.).
To maximize the limited space, "transforming" items of built-in furniture were planned, including a kitchen countertop extension, a flip-top cover over the induction domino stovetop, and a desk that pivots over the steps. Ordinary sofa beds were not deemed sufficiently durable, so double beds with standard mattresses were arranged to roll under the raised bathroom such that the protruding part could be used as a daybed.
Rigid insulation was applied to the exterior of the building, and domestic hot water – as well as an in-floor cooling and heating system – are supplied by two heat pumps installed on the roof. The top floor apartments feature independent sleeping lofts and access to an irrigated, green roof.
During construction, the new steel frame had to be erected without undermining the existing, load-bearing masonry structure. Holes were opened in the floor slabs and niches were excavated in some walls on the lower floors to allow the columns to be dropped in from the roof in sections (by crane). The exterior masonry walls were reinforced and tied to the new structure with continuous steel plates bolted together through the walls at each level. Once the structural load was shifted from the masonry to the steel frame, the old interior walls, concrete floor plates, and stairs were removed and replaced. An expansion joint around the perimeter of the new floor slabs allows the masonry walls to move independently.
The steel structure also made possible the addition of an additional floor that was allowed by the zoning code but which would otherwise have been precluded by the limitations of the existing masonry structure.
The asymmetric placement of the original stair could not accommodate the efficient division of the floors into two units and was removed. A new, steel stair with marble treads was suspended from the structural frame. Original, traditional çini cement floor tiles were carefully removed from various locations in the existing building and reused on the stair landings as a foil to the polished concrete floors in the units.
The client later decided on eclectic, retro-themed decor and casework for the furnished apartments.