Two years ago, I wrote an article for the Ottawa Citizen called It's a Dog's Life where I described Paul Kariouk's ingenious dog friendly entrance design. At the time he was planning to move into a new unit in the Mondrian, with plans to design a second dog shower and have a bronze tile with his late dog's paw print set into the floor in his bedroom. I recently came across photos of the architect's condo remodel, and it is amazing. He completely transformed the initial basic floor plan to better suit their needs and make the space feel much larger.
Above is what the original plan looked like. The many walls made the space very choppy and the options to arrange furniture were very limited.
In the updated floor plan, the architect managed to maximize the amount of natural light and significantly increase the amount of storage and living space.
Superimposing the two plans, you can see how he increased the amount of living space and considerably reduced the amount of wasted space, especially when it comes to the bathroom.
The shower enclosure with an extra sink also serves as a piece of art right in the middle of the space. I imagine that is also the new doggy shower (Nice upgrade).
For those who are not too keen on standing naked in a semi-transparent glass enclosure in the middle of a room, a drapery system was installed for more privacy. A more minimalist alternative would have been to use electric glass walls instead. But it's probably quite a bit more expensive as well.
I like the way he was able to conceal the concrete columns by adding more sculptural interest and storage in the space.
You can see in the top right photo, the bronze tile with Hannibal's paw print next to the bed as planned. The architect's new big dog is shown above next to a sleek doggy water fountain. Kariouk definitely designs with his dog's in mind, which is most likely one of the reason why the entire floor is tiled. I'm definitely taking notes for when I get to adopt my own dog.
Check out the video below for a tour of his 850 sq. ft unit. You can also find out more about the ideas behind his concept here
Redeveloper Apartment from Chris Davis on Vimeo.
Source : Contemporist | PdK Kariouk Associates |
