We spotted this converted Oslo loft by Haptic Architects on a little known mobile image sharing app and immediately contacted the team behind it – Nikki Butenschøn, Aleksandra Danielak and Peder Skavlan. Haptic have been designing homes from their headquarters in London since 2009 and have recently taken their architectural talents across the North Sea, pollinating Norway with their worldly and modern design ethos. This architecture firm may indeed be London based but their outlook is an international one, having recently won proposals to design airports in the Maldives, Riga and most recently what is to be the worlds busiest airport terminal in Istanbul.
With such a diverse portfolio we peered inside this home with a sense of curiosity. What would a forward thinking firm accustomed to designing conceptual and grand scale structures come up with for a 19th Century residential refurbishment and conversion in the heart of Oslo? Needless to say, we liked what we saw.
The space commissioned to Haptic to redesign consisted not only of the top floor apartment, but also the loft space above it, presenting the large scale project with the challenge of creating a more unified space. Born out of this very necessity is the centrepiece of the home – a stunning suspended steel staircase, minimalist, functional and space saving all at once. Three design features we love to hear in one sentence! This staircase is design genius.
Haptic’s clever design and thorough surveying has resulted in newly formed nooks throughout. Playing with dimensions, the architects have created what they refer to as “spatial drama”. One look at the bathroom and we get it, organised over three different levels, the bathroom sink on the top floor looks over the serene, catacomb like tub surrounded in stone in subtle warm grey tones. Now this is what we call bathed in luxury.
The original kitchen was tight, inefficient and north facing. By moving it into the common areas the designers created a “light, airy and spacious space that becomes the social heart and integrates with the rest of the apartment.” About A Chair Dining Chairs by Hay, Hee Bee Bar Stool by Hay, Kitchen bench – bespoke lacquered MDF.
A small fireplace is integrated into the kitchen worktop while the material palette of oak flooring and painted joinery act as a counterpoint to polished concrete and grey stone. and the kitchen fronts are painted to match the colour of the fireplace
Tip Ton Outdoor Chairs by Vitra.
The bathroom, incorporating a series of level changes, uses large scale grey tiles to give the impression that the entire bath is carved out of a single block of stone.
This staircase. This is what caught our attention – a veritable stairway to heaven in our eyes. “The centrepiece of the apartment is the feature staircase connecting the two levels. A modular, powder coated, white steel stair is suspended between the joists and connects to a low storage/sofa unit that runs along the front façade.” – Haptic.
Knoll Bertoia Diamond Chair, Matis Schottlander Floor Lamp, Ella Coffee Table by Hay, Ink Side Table by Zanotta.
Photography, Simon Kennedy and Inger Marie Grini.
