Black Forest Apartment – Flexible Suite Layout with Flowing Space

MANN Architects

Short description

Flowing space is a theory posed by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, which emphasizes classical balance, extremely concise and sophisticated details. It makes space a positive force instead of a negative and static existence. From a space design perspective, flowing space pursues a continuously mobile space, and creates a fluent, coherent, separated but not blocked space.

The client of Black Forest Apartment is a modern, independent female who works in the financial industry. She lives independently most of the time, her parents visit her at a low frequency. Based on this, we proposed a design concept with a big and open suite: most of the spaces are open normally to decrease the closed feeling. Different functions of spaces saturate and flow with each other, which could also be arranged flexibly according to function and emotion. The spaces are only separated to protect the owner's privacy when a guest is coming. Also, Black Forest is a famous community in Shanghai that is famous for its landscape and great views. The open space layout is good for the largest and best sight of views and the connection between interior and outdoor spaces. Uncertain possibilities and continuous changes bring a special experience that is different from the traditional apartment. Besides, we try to restrain the design method, use minimal design language and proper material expression, building a modern and minimalist space with the poetic effect that we are always aiming for.

Black Forest Apartment project is a positive investigation that applies flowing space to high-rise apartments in Shanghai, which offers a researchable template for the renewal of domestic high-rise apartments. The most important thing is that we provided a continuously changing, open, and saturated space experience.