Shoji Apartment

Proctor & Shaw

Camden, 2022

Shortlisted

A study in materiality, transparency and enclosure. This apartment renovation project is conceived as a prototype for micro-living in existing housing stock with constrained floor areas but traditionally generous ceiling heights. Poky and uncomfortable cellular rooms are replaced by a generous multi-functional living space arranged around a translucent sleeping ‘pod’ inspired by Japanese Shoji screens. By cleverly stacking accommodation in a single height volume, additional floor area is conjured to provide a real sense of luxury and design quality in under 30 square metres.

By exploiting the vertical dimensions of the existing condition, space is somewhat conjured out of nothing. The innovative sleeping pod creates an architectural insertion into the existing volume that creates delight through new vantage points and a sense of sanctuary, whilst solving issues of limited functional space and inadequate storage.

The translucent and dynamic qualities of the pod and its surfaces maximise its benefits to the apartment. Open or closed, illuminated or opaque, its surface and volume are brought to life in use, acting at once as a lantern to the wider room, or a mezzanine with intimate views to the street

Learn more about Proctor & Shaw

“This project shows that design quality need not be compromised when addressing the issues of limited space and poorly performing existing fabric.”

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