Rooftop Apartment

Nestled on the top floor of a heritage apartment block in downtown Shanghai, More Design Office has created a new home for its designers, a family with a 3 month year old baby.
Continuing MDO’s investigation into transforming old and unloved apartments in the city centre, MDO have taken a 50sqm unit with 20sqm roof terrace and created a flexible design which can be completely open or closed off to allow the baby to sleep in the evening and the parents still enjoy the living area.
As the apartment was to be one of the baby’s first memories, the designer’s chose to look back to their own childhood growing up in the English countryside for inspiration; tongue and groove timber panelling, mosaic tiling in the kitchen, the smell of lemon trees on the terrace.
The kitchen was moved to the entrance, allowing for the front door to be left open connecting the terrace as an extension of the inside, allowing light and air and for the dog to run in and out.
The lounge and bedroom are arranged so that the bedroom gets the privacy, however a glass screen between the spaces allows the space to feel completely open, flooding the small apartment with daylight and a creating a much more spacious feel. Many options were considered for the screen, including movable panels, fabrics and louvers, but the design had to achieve a certain acoustic isolation and be robust enough to handle its new owners.