Architect: Rina Lovko/Pavel Botvinovskiy

Location: Kyiv, Ukraine

Type: Residential

Area: 50 sq m

Year: 2020

Photo: We made an experimental shooting on iPhone

The owner of this apartment and co-author of this project is Pavel Botvinovsky. He is a lover of Soviet architecture of the era of brutalism and modernism.

The apartment is located in the Soviet-era block house of the 70-s. To increase the aesthetic emphasis on the bedroom, we used a large round mirror, to see it in the reflection from hallway. The uniqueness of this project is primarily determined by its functionalism. Three main materials and colors prevail - white, stainless steel and natural wood.

The layout of this apartment in the heart of Kyiv previously fragmented into a series of separate elements. The space layout change began with the idea of paring away everything to a state of emptiness and using three axes from the underlying structure to shape the new geometry of the one-bedroom apartment. white shapes become the medium for quietly ordering all other elements of the living space. A few objects that the client brought into the project — paintings, a wooden table and a figure of the Lenin — serve as a storyline points within the space, alongside framed, elevated views out into the urban skyline.

The Interior combines a brutalist aesthetic with soft minimalism, that emphasizes the personality of the owner of this apartment. We have minimized the amount of finishing materials so that space will be perceived as a whole. Taking advantage of the huge windows, we have swathed the space in reflective surfaces, from stainless steel to white walls. Another strong element worth noting are graffiti mirror, vintage armchair, and figure of the Lenin, that instilling the interior with a modern, almost hipster vibe.