Forget additions, think: subtractions. Interior design is often thought of as a completely additive process – a start-to-finish creative intervention or method for remodeling an old space into something fresh, modern and entirely new. Designers took different approach to this peculiar interior, adding only what was necessary to make a place livable while subtracting elements to reveal the intrinsic aesthetic traces of aged spaces.

This Tokyo warehouse-building apartment redesign by Schemata reverses typical interior design strategies, by using ‘subtraction’ instead of ‘addition’ as the driving concept. In short, they focused on deconstruction rather than construction, treating rough walls and worn materials as assets rather than liabilities. The result looks, in some ways, like a forever-half-finished remodeling project – but that would be seeing the glass as half full, so to speak.

As a result of this unique inverted design process, what was once run-down company housing – and originally envisioned to become fully-modernized luxury apartments – instead turned into something distinctly attractive to potential renters, blending aged elements of the existing spaces with only the most minimal requirements for modern living.

Thus, using fewer materials, a limited budget for materials and the current condition of these condos, Schemata managed to create something contemporary that appeals to a demographic of creative individuals seeking to live in one-of-a-kind spaces. They look great in photos, but really: who wants to live in boring modernist box?