This listed apartment is housed in a former showroom of the imperial court cabinetmaker Bernard Hieronymus Ludwig. When we first saw it, much of what once defined it had been removed. What remained were the bones: generous proportions and two extraordinary original panelled ceilings that immediately set the tone.
Rather than reconstructing a version of history, we approached the project by listening. We researched the building carefully and allowed its character to inform every intervention. It was important to acknowledge the changes the apartment had already lived through, rather than attempting to erase them.
The kitchen naturally became the centre of the home. We chose a richly textured granite, not for effect, but because it gives the space a sense of permanence. It reads less like a kitchen and more like a room, grounding the apartment materially and spatially.
The rest of the apartment moves between restraint and expression. The bedroom and bathroom are calm and retreat-like, places to withdraw. The living room and study are more layered, designed for family life and work. The atmosphere is composed rather than decorative, shaped by proportion, material and use.
- Category: Residential
- Completed: 2020
- Location: Vienna, Austria
Photographs by © Ana S. Barros. This project was published by AD Germany, Est Living, Deco Home and Homes & Gardens.