Search

A Sculptor’s Apartment With Curved Translucent Glass Walls + No Doors

05.23.24 | By
A Sculptor’s Apartment With Curved Translucent Glass Walls + No Doors

Located in a Prague housing estate, a unique project pushes the limits of conventional apartment design. NEUHÄUSL HUNAL designed the Sculptor’s Apartment with an experimental approach to spatial concepts and material fluidity, asking the question: What are the maximum possibilities of a classic prefabricated flat? Their solution is a one-of-a-kind apartment created for sculptor and glassmaker Vladimír Bachorík, featuring a glass workspace, a series of translucent glass walls, and the absence of traditional doors.

Frosted glass partitions divide a modern interior space, capturing the blurred figure of a person in one section and a shower area in another, with a potted plant nearby.

The client imagined an apartment that seamlessly integrates his workspace with his living area. His request was to eliminate the barriers that typically compartmentalize a home. Embracing this unusual brief, NEUHÄUSL HUNAL embarked on a plan to explore the maximum potential of a standard prefabricated flat. The result is a hybrid typology that blurs the boundaries between different functional zones through an open and flowing floor plan.

A modern, minimalistic indoor space with frosted glass partitions, a metal door, and a textured concrete wall. There are shelves with storage boxes on the right and a curved wall on the left.

A modern interior featuring curved, metallic reflective partition walls and a smooth gray floor. The partitions have a ribbed texture, and the base of the left partition is tiled.

Central to the apartment’s design are arched half-sections of U-profiled glass that divide the space. These translucent glass blocks not only allow light to permeate throughout the apartment but also reference Bachorík’s lifelong work with the medium. The lack of doors creates an uninterrupted layout, with the glass curves subtly defining areas like the cloakroom, storage, and kitchen workspace. This approach maintains a high degree of openness, allowing for future reinterpretation of the space, should the owner desire it.

Minimalist modern interior featuring a curved frosted glass wall, a sleek kitchen area with a sink and washing machine, and an elevator on the right.

The only constraints faced with this open design comes from having to accommodate for water and sewage connections. This necessity led to the creation of the most enclosed space in the apartment – the rounded bathroom, elevated to denote its spatial significance. The careful positioning of the bathroom, along with other key functional areas, showcases how constraints can inspire innovative solutions.

A modern kitchen with a metal sink, tiled backsplash, various stools, a small table with utensils, and a window with a view.

The minimalist kitchen is designed for function, as the homeowner uses it more to produce art that meals.

A minimalist room with two windows, a large potted plant, a folding table with art supplies, and two small stools. There is a frosted glass partition and white walls.

A modern kitchen with a stainless steel sink and faucet, minimalistic design, white tiled walls, and frosted glass partitions.

A modern laundry room with a circular frosted glass enclosure, a washing machine and dryer in the background, and a few plants in the foreground.

Curved, semi-transparent frosted glass shower enclosure with a large, round overhead showerhead. The floor is tiled with small white and black square tiles.

The translucent glass keeps the bathroom’s interior well-lit while leaving little to the imagination, which works for someone living alone or as a couple. The same small mosaic white tile with dark grout is carried over from the kitchen into the bathroom space for continuity.

Modern bathroom with white tiled walls and floor, a wall-mounted square sink, recessed mirror, and wall-hung toilet. Frosted glass partitions provide separation within the space.

A frosted glass shower enclosure with visible plumbing and a tiled wall.

Minimalist room with two concrete blocks, each topped with a blue sculpture. Room is decorated with potted plants in the corners, and has white walls and a light-colored floor.

A frosted glass window with vertical metal bars set in a concrete wall.

The reinforced concrete load-bearing wall stands as a central, stripped-down element that embodies the apartment’s identity. The rest of the space features plain white plaster walls and ceilings that provide a neutral backdrop, helping to avoid the excesses of concrete which can lend itself to becoming too industrial.

A modern interior featuring frosted glass walls, an elevator with a metallic door, and a partially exposed concrete wall, with large windows in the background letting in natural light.

A modern interior with a concrete wall, a metal bookshelf filled with books and decor, a glass partition door, and potted plants, providing a minimalist and industrial aesthetic.

A person blurred behind a frosted glass partition in a minimally furnished room with a large window, a potted plant, a radiator, and a green stool.

A minimalist room featuring a bed, a bookshelf filled with books, a small potted plant, and frosted glass panels on one wall. The door opens to a hallway with a window at the end.

View of a minimalist bathroom with frosted glass partitions, tiled walls, and a rough concrete doorway.

A concrete doorway leads to a minimalistic room with frosted glass partitions, a potted plant, and a large window offering a view of water and distant landscape.

black and white floor plan of a small apartment layout

New floor plan

portrait of two men standing side by side looking off in opposite directions

NEUHÄUSL HUNAL \\\ Photo: Jakub Zelenak

Photography by Radek Úlehla.

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.