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The Apartment of Perfect Brightness in Beijing

The Apartment of Perfect Brightness is a project completed by New York and California-based asap/ adam sokol architecture practice pllc. The 2500 square foot, Beijing apartment, which got its name from a local garden of the same name, began with a focus on natural light, per the homeowner’s request.

At the start of the project, they explored the concept of “perfect brightness” by researching how different colors and qualities of daylight affect people psychologically. That led to installing a system that allowed the ambient light to shift from warm to cool white based on the time of year, time of day, and exterior lighting conditions. In order to draw the eye in upon entering, they focused the light at the center in two shell-shaped feature walls

Another request by the homeowner was to rid the apartment of clutter by turning every interior wall into storage with folding wood doors. In total, there are 132 throughout the apartment. When open, TVs, headboards, storage areas, and bookshelves can be seen, but when closed, a unified expanse of door panels keeps a clean, minimalist look.

The curved exterior walls set the tone for the equally curved interior walls of the master bathroom. Every surface is covered in mosaic tiles for a clean, spa-like feel.

Photos by Jonathan Leijonhufvud.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.