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Sloft Édition 06

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Our cocoons protect us as much as they reveal us.

In this sixth bilingual issue:

  • From Antwerp to Milan, via Lyon, Marseille and Paris, we bring you a selection of habitats that perhaps express the notion of the cocoon more than usual. At least five of them are compact. But also by their location: perched under the roof, inserted into a large complex or hidden at the end of a cul-de-sac. Or in their virtuosity, where, freeing themselves from the constraints of size or plan, they each reveal a singular universe that makes them veritable jewels to be lived in. The homes that complement them also express this notion of refuge, in the sense that each in its own way, whether through color, materials or ambiance, they are the ideal shell dreamed of by the human creatures that inhabit them. Cocoons, then, but open. Through the journeys of their inhabitants, we discover that their design is the fruit of encounters, curiosity, experience and a desire to welcome.

  • How good it is to let off steam outside the cocoon! In the run-up to the Paris Olympics, we explore how people living in large cities reconcile their urbanity with the human body's visceral need for movement. In our "When sports come to town" feature, we discover that, even if it's not always welcome, sport always manages to find its way into city life. We'll take this opportunity to look at those who have made the city their playground through their disciplines, many of them newly-registered Olympic disciplines. Whether they practice parkour, breakdance, skateboarding or BMX, how do these urban athletes experience the city? How has their relationship with it evolved? What are their favorite spots? Encounters.

  • And when the cocoon inspires us? We invite ourselves to the home of Venezuelan-Brazilian artist Rosa Maria Unda Souki, whose apartment in a residence designed by Marcel Lods at the end of the Second World War has become a major source of inspiration. In her series "La Recherche", the exiled artist expresses her search for a home, made almost impossible by her status, until she found the apartment she now occupies with her family. Her vision is both dreamlike and soothing, giving us a powerful grasp of the indispensability and wonder of shelter. Superb.

Eclecticism, poetry, art, escapism, beauty and good ideas are definitely not a function of square metres!

« Head in the clouds », Léonard’s microduplex. 25 m² in Paris’ 18th arrondissement

In his search for an apartment for his infant son, himself and all his books, Léonard stumbled almost by chance upon this microduplex on the top floor of a rather typical Parisian building, right in the heart of the 18th arrondissement. A bit off-kilter and with magnificent views and plenty of natural light, it featured a mezzanine accessible only via an awkwardly positioned ladder that required a certain appetite for risk, alongside two load-bearing beams and a micro-washroom. No matter: Léonard saw the potential to build a real apartment, with a proper real area, accessible by a real staircase. All he had to do was find the architects capable of turning his dream into reality. The dream? Something bright, fresh, minimalistic, and very functional. With one major constraint, in this small, completely open-plan volume: to create a small, secure bedroom for his child on the mezzanine, that would be isolated from the noise of the rest of the house.
A friend recommended Chayeb & Paradis (Sarah and Pauline, respectively.) It was like a daydream come true: “we treated the apartment as if it were actually 200 square meters,” the architects joke.

« Good Vibes Only », Céline and Loïc’s inspired interior. 85 m² in Marseille’s 6th arrondissement

Céline Le Dez and her partner Loïc Prosperi didn’t have to look too far to find their apartment in Marseille’s 6th arrondissement: “we were already living in the building, but we wanted a bigger place,” explains the interior designer and founder of the Weekender creative studio. The three-bedroom, located on the fifth floor of the 1960s construction, was a gem ready for the polishing, which a complete renovation – and the knocking down of a few partitions – would take care of it, revealing the unit’s spectacular panorama in the process: “from the balcony, you can see the city, the Vélodrome stadium, the mountains, and even Le Corbusier’s Cité radieuse,” emphasizes the woman who took on the task of overhauling these eighty-five square meters into the perfect perch for the couple.

« Roll the dice », Enya and Daan’s bohemian, experimental nest. 53 m² in Antwerp, Belgium

A place that’s at once nomadic, dynamic, urban and versatile – all notions gracefully encapsulated by 31-year-old Enya Pannecoucke – art director, scenographer and founder of the PYLOT design studio, soon to be joined in her Antwerp two-room apartment by her partner Daan. “Having just returned from Sri Lanka, where I’d been living, I needed a place where I could settle down, refocus, that I could also rent out from time to time. A place that was, above all, a sensible and profitable investment – even though I had only a limited budget to begin with”. The apartment is rather small compared to those usually found in the area, but it has everything going for it: “an ideal south-west exposure coupled with plenty of natural light, no direct neighbors, a terrace and infinite parking possibilities in a peaceful area,” explains the globetrotter. Above all, it could be transformed without breaking the bank. Its potential was obvious from the first visit.

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