Creating live/work areas can be challenging in tiny apartments—and all the more so when the homeowner’s occupation requires room to move. This was the bind a professional ballet dancer was in when he recently tapped Intervention Architecture to turn a micro-flat into a space to live and practice his routines.

The young client owned a small flat in the city’s Barbican Estate and wanted to reimagine the space to serve as both his home and ballet studio. Up for the challenge, the Birmingham-based firm imagined a multifunctional bed, storage, and dining unit to serve the space’s many needs.

“As a young dancer, the client’s energy and dynamism was something we really wanted to capture in the ergonomics of the design,” explains Anna Parker, studio director at the firm. “We also wanted to allow the original features to shine through as much as possible.”

To achieve their vision, the team “injected movement throughout the space with a changeable joinery solution to maximize storage and create alternate uses and zones within the compact floor area.” Shape-shifting furniture creates and contains a fold-down bed, hidden bookshelf, bench seating, as well as a flat-pack table which rests on removable legs when the bed is folded down.

Engineered oak flooring was installed in the living area, complementing the plywood unit. The design team selected a light-gray Marmoleum for the kitchen and refreshed the bathroom with gray grouting.

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Related Reading:

11 Transforming Apartments That Make the Most of Minuscule Spaces

8 Transforming Furnishings For Tiny Apartments

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Intervention Architecture / @interventionarchitecture

Cabinetry Design: The Winding House

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A Ballet Dancer’s Tiny Barbican Studio Has a Choreographed Routine of Its Own