I always feel a bout of excitement when I come across a beautifully executed project, one that inspires creativity and proves that the simplest of ideas completed with an impeccable attention to detal can not only leave you feeling uplifted but also pondering – “Why has this not been done before?”

Like most libraries, Shanghai Apartment by Atelier TAO+C brings you to a whisper. Achieving the perfect balance between absurdity and simplicity this apartment, located in one of Shanghai’s earliest residential high-rises, features a 12- meter long terrace on its northwest side, overlooking the cityscape of the French concession. Its layout goes against the traditional organisation of a home in China where the bedroom and living room take priority, and instead, celebrates the study – and so glad that it does!

The architects removed all existing internal walls breaking the confines of rooms and blending separate spaces into one. Two exceptions. Partitioning the apartments only bedroom, glazed pivot doors provide privacy to this space. Framed in bronze the elegant hotel-like pivots bring luxury to the design. Similarly partitioned is the stone clad bathroom.

Speaking to this feature material of the home, bronze mesh, Carrara marble, and soft oak elevate this humble interior. A selective pallet of finishes contributes to a feeling of unity and minimalism, maximising the openness of this space.

The 95 square-meter, open-plan home is laid with herringbone timber floors and enveloped by white walls, bringing about a Parisian air that speaks to locality. Original French doors open to the terraces wrought iron balustrade, decorating this project from the outside in. Leather furnishings and silk-blend rugs add a layer of warmth and softness to the living room.

To gain extra height in the space the architects have exposed the buildings concrete and steel beams and their supporting columns, injecting a trace of raw industrialism into the project.

Now, to the reason we are all here, gawping over this project – the boundless oak bookshelf. Lining almost every wall and beautifully framing openings in its path, it drives the entire apartment to bleed into a single home library, leaving room for the residence to fill its empty structure with their favoured literacies. The bedroom and living room appear to almost fold beneath the shelves, creating a clear path for it to unfold.

A modern all white and stainless steel kitchen sits to the left of a mezzanine that houses a secluded reading space. Reached by a small, duel-material set of stairs, it provides a lookout to the entire apartment. Planted into the room, it intercepts the uniformity of the space and provides another ‘level’ to this playful design. Pun intended.

[Images courtesy of Atelier TAO+C. Photography by Santiago Barrio & Shen Zhong Hai.]