In the generally accepted consciousness of people, there is a stable image of a man and the perfect space he should live in. While working on a new project, YODEZEEN studio decided to rethink the ingrained idea that a man’s home is characterized exclusively by dark colors, an abundance of metal, and a glass of whiskey on the table.
The Colossus Apartment project is a space for a young man who enjoys an everyday view of Kyiv’s historic downtown from the height of the 19th floor. The apartment is located in the residential complex “Skyline” of the green Pechersk district, which is rapidly being built up now. The entire apartment, 127 square meters, is occupied by a master bedroom with an adjoining bathroom, a dressing room, a guest bedroom with a bathroom, and a kitchen combined with a living room. The client fully trusted the vision of Yodezeen designers allowing the project to be executed as it was envisioned: including the choice of pedestals and lamps.
The main task was to create a calm interior where a young man could spend his leisure before setting new goals. The whole apartment is made in a nude palette with accents on natural materials. Wood, stone, and leather are the perfect end to a busy day.
When walking on the oak floor, you can get to know every corner of this apartment better. There is a custom island of stone and metal that smoothly blends into the dining table in the space that the kitchen shares with the living room. Instead of a full-bodied dining area, the tall bar stools on the sides are a technique that sets the tone for a slightly dynamic apartment. As for private spaces, the master bedroom and the guest bedroom are made in a somewhat ascetic style: nothing will distract the owner or his guests from a good night’s sleep. Our studio opted for exquisite graphite glass for the wardrobe with dynamic sliding partitions to add a deep, dark accent. If you leave the sleeping areas, note that the living room, in contrast, is more filled with designer items, pleasant textures, and textiles. The studio’s team was traditionally inspired by stone in this project. We designed an island in the kitchen based on our sketches and sinks and decorative slabs for framing walls and window sills in the guest bathroom and master bath.
The sophisticated calm palette of the interior is entirely equipped with a variety of iconic Italian furniture. The Luxurious Flexform corner sofa and B&B armchairs, coffee table, and Poliform bar stools are placed in the living room and kitchen area. At the same time, the Bonaldo and Interia beds are found in the sleeping areas. In addition, our favorite light accent in the guest bedroom is YODEZEEN studio’s recognizable drop lamp by the Flos brand.
A sense of sophistication and majesty in this calm interior is achieved not solely by the abundance of stone and designer furniture. To emphasize the objective of this apartment being made for a man, the design team chose massive art objects in the form of a statue to be set in the living room and a sculpture in the master bedroom. The bronze statue by Yegor Zigura called “Colossus Holds Up the World” inspired the studio to name this space after him. The sculpture “Space Around” by another famous Ukrainian creator Nazar Bilyk inclines to a newcomer that one will harmoniously fit into the created interior since a person is the center of a space.
“The idea of this interior was to reveal the concept of calm and subtle masculinity inside these walls. We didn’t want to focus on a purely “all-male” manifestation. The intention was to create a cozy and trusting atmosphere,” says the co-founder and lead architect of the studio YODEZEEN Artem Zverev.
Project Name: Colossus Apartment
Project Area: 172 sq m
Date of Execution: January 2021
Project Team: Artem Zverev, co-founder and lead architect; Arthur Sharf, co-founder, and lead architect; Artem Voskoboynik, lead architect; Anna Tarabanova, lead designer; Olga Kravchenko, finishing manager.
Photographer: Andrii Shurpenkov
