above: kitchen open. below: kitchen closed. left: free standing shower shell.
b etween 1961 and 1991 the percentage of one person households in the UK has risen from 12% to 26%. In the same period the percentage of households comprising of only one person or comprising of couples without children has risen from 33% to 62%. In the London borough of Westminster 69% of households consist of either people living on their own or living in partnership with one other adult.The conventional two or three bedroom flat does not seem appropriate given these demographic changes. Modern technology allows us to re-think the planning of residential accommodation. With space in the inner city at a premium, large living spaces are not economically feasible for the average person.This project explores the maximisation of available space through flexibility of use; a flat that can be transformed from one bedroom to two bedrooms or to no bedrooms at all to provide a large space for living or working.
Transformable apartment, Soho, London
Mark Guard Architects
49
O n S ite review
W eight
I ssue 10 2003
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