Paris Apartment with movable walls


Alcoves, cubbies, and niches, oh my! This Paris apartment began as a tiny, dark, cramped space with far too many doors and barriers. H2O Architects turned it into an open, light-filled, airy home with abundant storage for the owner’s extensive collection of comics.

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Paris Apartment with movable walls storage cubbies

The Front and Back Apartment started out with a mind-boggling six rooms squeezed into its small 60 square meters floor space. Too many doors and too many walls made the home feel even smaller than it really was.

Paris Apartment with movable walls kitchen

Thanks to a series of movable walls, the apartment became a fantastically open space. The walls all feature ample niches in which the owner’s collection of comics, books and other objects can reside comfortably.

The reverse sides of the moving walls hide functions like a work space, a bathroom or a closet. They can be shifted to change the layout of the apartment or simply to give the resident a new view of his collections.

Paris Apartment with movable walls built in storage

More from the architects

“It was a singular brief from a young Parisian advertising executive also avid collector of comic strips. He wished to live in a fresh environment, both serene and sparkling despite the fact that his existing space was dilapidated, its geometry confusing, compartmentalized and contorted. The original apartment consisted of 6 rooms squeezed into 60 sq. meters, the entry space alone was 5 sq. meters and had 7 different doors!”

Paris Apartment with movable walls open plan

“The new design offers a continuous wide open space which expands, becomes more complex or dense depending on orientations and uses. These variances are defined by the variable geometries and the usable thickness of the casework and walls. A study on sculpting these depths allowed to create a variety of cavities, niches and alcoves. The sculpted shapes vary in size and colours to adapt to multiple functions in different locations. They can harbour either the vast collection of comic strips or a bar, a bathroom, a closet, and so on.”