The team at Sadie Snelson Architects envisioned an open-plan living room to accentuate the full potential of the warehouse’s space. Dividing walls were removed and parts of the floor were taken away to create double-height areas that maximise light. A new mezzanine floor was added with a steel balustrade and folded steel staircase.

Materials used throughout the property are intended to complement its industrial nature. Walls are left unpainted to expose the plaster finish, and structural I-beams are left exposed. The architects designed the concrete kitchen that the client cast himself. 

Architect:  Sadie Architects
Photos:  Rory Gardiner

The architects accepted the challenge and soon discovered the hidden beauty of the sloped ceilings, converting them into a row of skylights for the seamless flow of natural light into the three-decade-old living space that opens into a balcony terrace. Using their creativity, the architectural team found out a way to reveal the spectacular yet concealed view of the city that once lay hidden behind the slopped ceiling.

Deliberately choosing to create a space that provided a home-like ambience in a hotel setting, the G Architects Studio team exposed the unique character of the bare concrete apartment and added an oomph factor by introducing typical hotel features and achieving harmony between the old and the new. The marriage of raw industrial finishes with modern day amenities has helped make it a more welcoming space for people who seek home comforts in an apartment rental, exposing guests to the “real culture of Tokyo.” The magnificently decked bare concrete space now boasts an inviting bar area and a cozy freestanding bathtub.

Making the best use of the industrial attic interior, the architects used soft painting techniques on the raw concrete walls to create a panoramic effect of the traditional Japanese Washi paper, uniquely lifting the aesthetics and adding to the beauty of the interiors. The astounding effect of spray painting A4 sheets of resin and then removing them is clearly imminent in the form of a spiral-like texture, beautifully blending the old and the new walls and adding to the overall appeal of the setting.

Other forms of aesthetically beautiful introduction to the otherwise boring bare concrete space are the wooden floorboards and the exposed plumbing features and electrical wires in dark orange hues, designed to perfection to enhance the industrial look.

As the first model for similar projects involving bare concrete loft, the G Architects Studio project offers architectural hope for rejuvenating other disused “pencil buildings” in Tokyo. Built in the 1980s during Japan’s economic growth, these uniquely constructed buildings stand tall on a land disproportionate to their altitude.

The interior of the apartment is contemporary and rich in details, integrating artistic elements with industrial ones. The predominant color on the walls and ceiling is white and a dark reflective floor offers contrast along with the dark tones of the side walls that are painted black.

The overall neutral tones create a very elegant ambiance with long white curtains adding privacy and large windows allowing a good view of the surroundings. The lounge area is separated from the kitchen through a large island and the second floor is accessed through a spiraling staircase that also acts as a sculptural element in the living area. Another interesting characteristic of this space is that there is a separate room for the motorcycle so that it also becomes a part of the ambiance.

The Wrigley Lofts are the real deal. This is the type of place you picture when you think of a hard loft. No cookie-cutters here. There are multiple lofts in this former factory – each unit is unique with different finishes and layouts – from the floors to the lighting. The first owners got the space from the developer about as raw as possible so each person put their own stamp on their unit. Because the ceilings are so extraordinary, many units have a mezzanine level and some even have direct freight-elevator access. Like in the movies. Except you are the hero.

Suites feature original industrial windows, 14-foot ceilings, original concrete mushroom-style columns and the exposed pipes and duct work that one would expect in a true hard loft conversion. One of the best things about this building is the uniqueness of individual suites. Original purchasers of this building bought raw space from the developer for about $100/square foot, and each owner made these blank canvasses their own – consequently no two suites in the building are alike.

Yet, in the end, made the decision to give the loft a complete modern transformation, creating a striking visual aesthetic with open spaces for entertaining that the homeowners could enjoy for years to come. Greater functionality, clean lines and an enhanced material palette are just some of the details that were improved.

The kitchen features custom stained oak cabinetry and White Macauba quartzite countertops. The upper cabinets are covered with perforated metal panels. The oven, steam oven, cooktop, and warming drawer are Gaggenau. The refrigerator is Sub-Zero. The barstools are from Holly Hunt.

The 3,000-square-foot home is an open-plan space designed for entertaining.

The fireplace is located at the original chimney stack of the building. Robb Studio created a sculptural fireplace using exposed concrete, steel, and Shou-sugi-ban wood for the hearth seat.

A SHY 04 pendant light from Bec Brittain adorns the master bath. The custom vanity is made from oak charred with Shou sugi ban. The fixtures are Grohe.

Chicago-based STUDIO GILD is the compelling story of three talented designers — Melissa Benham, Jennie Bishop and Kristen Ekeland — who have joined forces to create a fresh and approachable interior design firm. Founded in January 2014 the collective draws from its principals’ experience in residential, hospitality, retail, commercial and graphic design. Taking inspiration from fashion, art and architecture, Studio Gild infuses each project with whimsy and sophisticated style.

Time makes us grow and mature, but we have to always keep our souls playful, no matter how old we are

claim the talents behind tAMINN Design studio. Proving their point, in July 2015, they completed the “Fun House”, a redesign of a 165-square-metre apartment in a brand new residential building, in Zhubei, Taiwan. The interior designers carefully abided by the client’s request that the final result hint at industrial style, albeit infused with colour.

The most important guideline though set by the clients, a young couple who now live in the apartment with their child, was that their names, somehow, appeared in their home. As a result, the main feature of the flat became “Mike & Isa”, a big light box that has become the centrepiece of this strange mix of styles, including French, industrial and country seen in the bistro-like dining area, a big barn door that is cleverly split between a storage room and the master bedroom, tough concrete walls and soft wooden doors which all fall playfully into place.

The designers’ ingenuity also brought together a large variety of materials, endowing the house with a unique character: iron accessories, titanium plating, brass, vintage wood, coloured plywood, handmade and metallic tiles, wallpaper, all seem to have been used in harmonious excess. As the designers claim: “We tried to divide the flat’s central, open space by using the diversity of various materials, especially on the floor. Wood and rugs were placed in the living room, black metal tiles at the entrance and concrete was used for the kitchen and the dining room”.

At the same time, the space remains connected through the dialogue encouraged between its different parts: the floor tiles at the entrance extend to the living area, while the kitchen island imposes itself on the dining table. In a similar vein, the desk shares its presence between the living room and the dining hall, while the bookcase is placed behind the dining table with its metal plated finishing clearly reflecting the TV area, thus blending one part of the room into the other.

The harshness of the strong materials used is lightened up by little details that have given a homey feel to the place, such as the brass, wood, iron and concrete “hello” carved on the floor, the metal coffee table that resembles a suitcase and an old railway clock placed strategically between the windows offering a breathtaking view of the city below, a big frame that looks like traditional Asian art is actually a magnetic blackboard that invites the young family to leave each other loving memos on the wall.

Exposed pipelines, exposed-concrete room dividers and unrefined woodwork create a half-done, “in progress” feel. Begging the question as to what this may have to do with maturity, the answer perhaps lies in maturity not as seriousness, but as something full of life, and when one us fully aware of the importance of fun and surprise in our lives.

Looking at this huge, honest-looking industrial loft with the old walls of rough brick, cracked wood beams, rusty mechanisms and flaky creaking doors, instantly forgetting that it is located on the top floor of a modern business center, and more recently was a new, blank and impersonal space.

The idea of converting  an empty floor of an apartment buildingto a loft was brought by a customer, and Leo Lugovskoy was happy to help, skillfully transforming a bare concrete space into a lively industrial interior. Good thing, he had plenty of space to work with: the area of the space is 130 sq meters and the ceiling height is 4.2 meters.

The master room all was imagined as a bachelor pad, along with a host experiencing a midlife crisis!

says the architect. Such description says that the customer is okay with humor and irony. In addition, he is an intellectual, lover of music and reading; so the main areas of the loft became a music library and a living room.

A special pride of the architect is the texture of the walls, beams, decking. The effect of the old shabby, “seasoned” surfaces appeared thanks to the artists studio Gregory Protasov.

The effect they have created is so natural

says Lev Lugovskoy

that people, once here, always asked me the same question: Why did you not paint the wall? Did you need to leave the wall to rust and with old paint ?

And that is the main evidence that the decorative component turned out to be very natural.

Equally convincing is the window, with a typical industrial look, old handles and a beautiful arched masonry of old bricks. Many of the objects and ideas in our interior were produced a long time ago – says the architect. We were hunting for them in stores, waiting for weeks of inspiration and joining solutions, dug antique shops in search of the object corresponding to the time and place.

For all his scrapes and authenticity of an old-fashioned loft, it is packed with modern technology: lighting equipment for organ concerts, high-tech sound system for high-quality audio playback and video projection installation to accompany private concerts.

In 1997, Aderhold Properties began the renovation and redevelopment of the historic Fulton Cotton Mill in Atlanta into a community of 505 loft apartments.

Heirloom Design and Build has outfitted this loft in the Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts.

The loft is called ‘recall house’ in Taiwan; the client intentionally requested for the dwelling to instill a vintage ambience. Balancing an industrial and rustic aesthetic, this is highlighted in the open plan arrangement consisting of the living, dining and kitchen, all three spaces have been unified and simultaneously, scaffolding-influenced and wooden features have been chosen for the shelves and dining table.

The residents have three pet cats whom they have requested the designers to specially create an individual nook next to the dining space as well as miniature arched doors for them to freely roam about. The unique character has been further enhanced by the materials used, shown in the careful combination of exposed brick, timber and metal, allowing the home to feel industrial but not cold. From the punctuated iron panel to the the vintage and collective pieces adorned around the house, the project achieves the harmony between comfort and contemporary.

OK, in hindsight there should have been wheels on the ladder.

Steel is the kitchen’s main ingredient, cladding the nearly floor-to-ceiling cabinets, the massive island and even portions of the redwood structural posts. Its rawness fits well with the former early-1900s lithograph-warehouse setting and lends an edge that seems to permeate the entire project.

The original kitchen sat tucked underneath the loft seen on the left here; it was a dark and uneventful space. Bayon and the homeowner brought everything over to the double-height, brick-walled former living room, where large windows bring in lots of natural light. (The living room is now where the kitchen used to be.)

They wanted to get everything on the one wall, so the two brick columns basically were all they had to work with. Tall appliances, like the refrigerator, wine fridge and double stackedovens, took up most of the available space, so the upper cabinet “bridge” storage was left for the pantry and extra dishware. Given the height of the loft, though, the tall cabinets helped cut down visually on the void.

Though the homeowner isn’t an avid cook, he still wanted a working kitchen. In some places it’s just that style trumps function. There are kitchen standards of how far things should be apart, such as the sink in relation to the cooktop, Bayon says.

We broke a lot of rules and tried to find the balance of looking like an art installation but making a functional kitchen.

The homeowner didn’t want solid metal cabinets that would create a clanging racket every time he dropped a piece of silverware into a drawer or shut a cabinet. So Bayon’s firm designed and built wood cabinets, then had another company, Berlin, fabricate steel panels to cover everything.

All the steel still created heavy cabinets, and while earthquakes were an immediate concern, the team didn’t have confidence in the support that the old brick walls offered either. They brought in a structural engineer and decided to use vertical metal bars that connect the cabinets to the ceiling for additional support.

The island houses the sink,dishwasher and a pullout for garbage. There’s also a bank of drawers on one side and an open cubby on another for often-used dishware.
The homeowner had planned to keep the previous small-plank oak floors, but because the crew had to rip everything up to run plumbing to the island anyway, he decided to switch to concrete.

The island is 42 inches deep and acts as the main cutting and prep space. It’s topped with marble that has a warm wood tone.
Shades on magnetic rods can snap into place to conceal the lowest pane of window glass so people on the street can’t look in. Mechanical roller shades up top can close everything off to cut back on glare or create more privacy for the sleeping loft.

Bayon painted the window mullions dark to help focus eyes toward the views.

Pendants: Restoration Hardware; countertop: Fox Marble Silver Brown Wave; faucet: KWC Systema; sink: Julien Summum in Black Granite.