Frank Lloyd Wright once wrote that he ‘thought [Eugène- Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc’s] Raisonée was the only sensible book on architecture in the world.’ Le-Duc’s writings have long been considered major resources amongst preservationists and architects, and one of his guidelines for restoration is that one must compensate for the way restoration inevitably unsettles old buildings ‘by giving power to the new parts, by perfecting the structure, by clamping walls, and by introducing greater resistances, for prolonging the life of the building is the true task of restoration.’ In one sense a tribute to this statement, and in another a mark of respect to architect Sven Markelius, who designed the original building in 1935, this well-planned conversion features black oak floors and walls clad with white glass. Natural light filters through the space, blending seemlessly with artificial light sources. The kitchen standard has been carefully updated to cater for contemporary needs, and the overall feeling of the apartment is one that communicates what it might have felt like had Markelius been around to modernize it today.
Photographs by Daniel Hertzell.