For the purposes of this project, travel is considered the main feature of a three-member family’s culture and routine; we attempted to redesign their residency in accordance with their way of life. Drawing on the above quote by Saint-Exupery, minimal aesthetics and the objective to stick to the bare necessities were our basic synthetic tools. All areas are designed and organised following the principles of functionality, necessity and usefulness, aiming to leave no room for redundant and mismatched elements.
The residence is organised in two levels. The first level, covering an area of 100m2, houses the main living room, along with a large bedroom. The living room is organised around the hearth. The fireplace, overlaid with white marble and framed by a large composition with bold shades of grey and wood, dominates the room. The kitchen is a meeting point for the Mediterranean family, a space they use and inhabit daily. The design here is more introverted and furbished with pronounced wooden details. To counterpoint the kitchen’s design, the great dining room is placed in the light, under large windows, creating the impression of hospitality and extroversion.
In the living room, the hardwood floor, with its linear wooden linings, frames the bed and gives off a sense of familiarity. Large linear windows allow the light of the Mediterranean to flow in unobstructed, while broad curtains serve as a necessary filter to preserve the residency’s privacy.
The main bathroom is organised in tree zones, while the materials used are again marble and wood, consistently with the rest of the residency. Marble is used to a greater extent, aiming to preserve the mystical quality that has always been associated with the liquid element, water. Wood, a warmer material, is used for surfaces that come in contact with the user.
Shades of beige and grey are dominant across the first level, creating an elegant frugality and a hospitable result by virtue of bold wooden elements, architectural lighting and modern furnishing. The second level, covering and area of 50m2, is designed as a small independent residency for the third and youngest member of the family.
It is accessed via an interior staircase, made out of light-coloured wood. The kitchen is placed in the main area, the study room and playroom in the back. The room’s height enabled us to place the bed in a higher level and create an allusion to travel bunks by means of the dimensions and the materials used. Under the bed there is a much-needed storage space.
The bathroom remains a frugal and bright space, where wood and the colour white dominate. In this independent space, white walls and large bright openings are framed by light-coloured wooden floors and ceiling, creating the impression of a Loft.
The design attempts to meet the need of the young user, maintaining a sense of freshness and a modern attitude seasoned with bright colours and other individual decorative elements. If the prerequisite for a happy traveller is a certain frugality as to the objects they bring along, then the traveller’s residency –accommodating contemporary needs and comforts – should take shape under the same principle, reflecting its resident’s philosophy.
