A house in Disentis, built in the 1970s, offered exciting potential for remodelling. Previously, this building—designed by the local architect Rico von Castelberg, a student of Rudolf Olgiati— had various rooms occupied by a veterinary clinic on the top floor.
The task set by the owners of this property was to repurpose the separated spaces into one flat. The firm «Spacial Design» in nearby Trun works in architecture and interior design, as well as furniture design. This interdisciplinary approach turned out to be helpful for the firm’s founder, Patrick Rothmund, when working on this project. He conceived very special solutions for this flat, all of which demonstrate his desire to experiment. His firm strives to design integrated concepts for living space. And here he had unlimited possibilities to do this.
Various integrated furniture pieces designed by Rothmund specifically for each room are one example of this. The architect worked skilfully with the floor plan here as well. In the living room, he also used some optical illusions. The depth of the multi-piece cabinet is not uniform, giving the room an exciting and at the same time pleasantly straight-lined look. The ceiling was suspended and redesigned. Rothmund deliberately made the archetypal shape of the roof asymmetrical; it is also slightly offset from the wall. The geometric lines are highlighted by the hidden ceiling lights.
The skilled furniture maker even designed the large dining table. It offers a reinterpretation of alpine typologies. The bedroom with its freely-standing bathtub is an attention-grabber of its own kind. The hidden entrance through a mirror door promises surprises beyond. The bed in the centre of the room is integrated within it, becoming a part of its architecture. It is made out of Eternit, which is not a material commonly used in furniture. The unusual tactile sensation of this material reminds you of the grey colours of the kitchen: the joints and surfaces of the sleeping area are thought through to the smallest detail. It is clear that a true inventor was at work here, one who was not afraid of trying new things. This is evident in the rear wall of the kitchen: made out of stone, and its other side faces the bedroom. In order for this crystalline-looking stone to be used as a wall element, it had to be reinforced with glass. This way, the light magically shines through the translucent stone: a gem for a unique home.
The first step was to rearrange the rooms. To highlight the restructuring of this living space, Rothmund chose a floor that offered broad design possibilities. With its small-piece structure, the Formpark Mini Oak smoked 14 natural-oiled parquet floor by Bauwerk makes different laying patterns possible. Rothmund used this skilfully to create various textures and nuances. This is particularly noticeable in the transition from the long corridor into the living room: while in the narrow corridor, the planks were laid in a lengthwise pattern (laying pattern 8); in the spacious living room, the designer went for a special laying pattern that gives the parquet floor unique plasticity, depending on the lighting (laying pattern 25). The smoked oak stands in contrast with the light walls and is perfectly suited to the unusual materialisation of the open kitchen. The filled and ground fronts have something almost metallic in them. Such remarkable details are everywhere in this flat.
