An office in the attic © Studio d’Archi
The development of the attic has enabled the owners of this apartment to gain a bright office of 8 m2, and a terrace of 22 m2 with a clear view of the rooftops of Paris. A fine example of the optimization of space in an urban environment.
Roof spaces lost just above their apartment were a real boon for the owners. The dream opportunity to be able to expand and rethink their current place of life. They therefore consulted Gilles Lefèvre, co-founder of the Studio D’Archin agency and informed him of their desire to buy this unexploited area for gain square meters. The architect then studied the feasibility of the project, but very quickly noticed that the height of the attic was rather reduced. “The lost attic of this building had a ridge height of only 161 cm, so a priori, not enough to install a real living room”, he reports. To enlarge the place, the architect proposes to lower the attic floor by 30 cm. An operation which requires nibbling on the height of the corridor, the bedrooms and the kitchen located on the lower level and which, above all, generates work on a larger scale than those envisaged by the owners. “It was also necessary to modify one of the trusses of the frame, it was replaced by a metal gantry to free up space”, he specifies. “In the end, we were able to create 8 m² of real occupancy at the high level (Carrez law) out of the 19 m² recovered”. In order to optimize the surface available in the attic as much as possible, the architect decides not to use the two recovered sub-slopes in the same way. A daring choice that will make the atypical project. If one remains attached directly to the office and accommodates storage, the other is treated completely differently. It is … deleted and transformed into a terrace ! In addition to gaining an additional room, the owners therefore gained an outdoor space of 22 m2 with, as a bonus, a clear view of the west of Paris. The work was also an opportunity to make some changes to the existing one. The dimensions of one of the two children’s bedrooms have been reworked so that it has the same surface area as the other. In addition, the master bedroom has been embellished with an independent bathroom, thus transforming it into a suite. Finally, in the living room now throne a steel staircase which gives access to the office. Sculptural, it brings an undeniable cachet to the room. Thanks to the opening of the attic, it also gained a skylight.
Discover in pictures this atypical attic rehabilitation project …
An office in the attic and … on the terrace!
Rehabilitation of lost attics
Rehabilitation of lost attics © Studio d’Archi
Owners living on the top floor of a building have decided to buy the lost attic to expand their apartment. With an area of 90 m2 originally, the property has gained around thirty square meters: approximately 8 m2 of office space and 22 m2 of terrace.
Rehabilitation of lost attics
Lowering of the attic floor
Lowering of the attic floor © Studio d’Archi
The height of the attic made it impossible to stand. To make the project a reality, it was therefore necessary to lower the floor by about thirty centimeters. The missing height was “nibbled” on the rooms below, in the existing apartment. Automatically, they therefore saw their own height reduced.
Lowering of the attic floor
Installation of a custom-made steel staircase
Installation of a custom-made steel staircase © Studio d’Archi
The architect decided to open the attic onto the existing apartment. This last floor thus benefits from a new light contribution. To access it, a custom-made steel staircase has been installed. Sculptural, it brings an undeniable cachet to the living room.
Installation of a custom-made steel staircase
A living area of 8 m2 gained
A living area of 7m2 gained © Studio d’Archi
In the attic, the sub-slope on the right is an integral part of the office, it houses storage that nestles under the ramp. The sub-slope on the left has been used completely differently. The roof on this side of the attic has been removed to allow the creation of an outdoor space. “Opening was the only way to recover living space because, once again, the height available in the sub-slopes was extremely low”, explains Gilles Lefèvre, the architect in charge of the project.
A living area of 8 m2 gained
Custom-made openings to maximize light
Custom openings © Studio d’Archi
To make the office pleasant, the architect has multiplied the openings. In addition to the two roof openings, which have been preserved but changed, a large horizontal glass strip and a triangle window, nestled in a corner, decorate the place.
Custom-made openings to maximize light
Office with direct access to the terrace
Office with direct access to the terrace © Studio d’Archi
In addition to being spacious and bright, the office benefits from a clear view over the rooftops of Paris. An ideal setting for working in complete serenity.
Office with direct access to the terrace
Creation of a 22 m2 terrace
Creation of a 22 m2 terrace – An office in the attic © Studio d’Archi
The terrace offers a generous surface – 22 m2 – and an unobstructed view of the west of Paris.
Creation of a 22 m2 terrace
Bedroom transformed into parental suite
Bedroom transformed into parental suite © Studio d’Archi
A bathroom, delimited by a glass roof, has been added in the master bedroom.
Bedroom transformed into parental suite
Bathroom with glass roof
Bathroom with glass roof © Studio d’Archi
The glass roof is reminiscent of the staircase. The two metal structures echo each other, bringing a new cachet to the apartment.
Bathroom with glass roof
Technical sheet – An office in the attic and … on the terrace!
Technical sheet: an office in the attic © Studio d’Archi
Place : Vanves (Hauts-de-Seine)
Program : Rehabilitation of lost attics
Project manager : Studio D’Archi (Architect: Gilles Lefèvre)
Surface of the apartment before work: 90 m2
Living space gained: 8 m2 (office) + 22 m2 terrace
Duration of the work: 4 and a half months
Cost of the work: 130.000 € HT
Technical sheet – An office in the attic and … on the terrace!
