Sarette apartment renovation organised around a green cube

Rafael CunhaINTERIOR2 months ago3.7K ViewsShort URL

The Sarette project reimagines a family apartment inside a residential building dating from the 1970s and 1980s. The renovation completely reorganises the interior layout in order to introduce an additional bedroom, transforming the original three room apartment into a four room home while maintaining spatial clarity.

At the centre of the design stands a compact architectural gesture: a green cube that structures the entire plan. This volume concentrates technical functions and defines the circulation routes, allowing the surrounding living spaces to unfold with a clear and fluid spatial logic. Rather than dividing the apartment into isolated rooms, the central core acts as an organising element that connects daily activities while maintaining continuity between spaces.

Materiality plays a defining role in the project’s character. The original parquet flooring is preserved and extended throughout the apartment, reinforcing the memory of the existing interior while establishing a warm domestic atmosphere. In contrast, sections of exposed concrete reveal the mineral presence of the building’s structure. The dialogue between preserved surfaces and raw materials reflects an approach that is both pragmatic and expressive.

Colour becomes an architectural device. The central cube, coated in glossy green paint, captures natural light and reflects it into the deepest areas of the apartment. This chromatic intervention transforms a functional core into a luminous focal point that subtly animates the interior.

The project ultimately relies on the tension between roughness and refinement. This balance appears in details such as marble shelves suspended on slender threaded rods with visible bolts, where delicate craftsmanship meets an almost industrial logic. Through these gestures, the renovation turns a conventional apartment into a compact spatial composition structured by colour, material contrast and architectural clarity.