Co-living is a strongly emerging asset type.
UKO Newtown is a new addition to UKO, Australia’s first co-living brand.
Co-living is a short or long stay collaborative way of living, bringing together the essentials to live, work, and play under one roof.
Interior Designers MOSTAGHIM looked to the early modernists and their vision of bringing quality housing to the masses for inspiration.
In particular, they were inspired by Le Corbusier’s notion of the house as a ‘machine for living.’
Their design brings good design to the masses.
It makes living in a desirable location and in a well-designed space affordable in an expensive city like Sydney.
The efficient design along with the use of clever joinery makes the most of the small footprint of the 20m2 micro apartment.
Despite its small footprint, the space delivers flexibility, privacy, and spaciousness.
The room has been designed as a series of planes with joinery units placed to help define the space.
The plywood joinery softens the space and the yellow ceiling plane brings a warm glow to the room without being dominating.
The floor is a dark plane and helps create the illusion of space, while the walls are kept white to brighten the space and form a neutral background.
The primary colours are also a nod to Le Corbusier and his Unite de Habitation.
The queen size bed was raised to provide separation between the sleeping area and the living area and give the bed views out of the window over the living room.
The kitchenette is placed alongside one side of the bed to provide privacy.
The kitchen reads as one item with the bed base.
And the wardrobe, shelving unit, and table are on castors so they can be pushed under the bed.
There’s enough room there for bulky items like surfboards and luggage too which is unusual in a micro-apartment.
The design decisions taken by the MOSTAGHIM team have created remarkable spaciousness.
The flexible design allows the room to be configured for different uses.
And ample storage options help avoid visual clutter.
Each apartment also has a compact private ensuite with bright and bold primary-coloured accents that combined with a white and light grey base palette contrast with the black tapware.
This bathroom element was deliberately minimized in size, without sacrificing functionality, to allow more floor space to be allocated to the living and sleeping areas.
The MOSTAGHIM design creates a sense of community too.
The communal room is spacious with a fully equipped kitchen and an island bench, a big communal table, a lounge, and outdoor seating outside in the front courtyard.
The communal room is south-facing, so instead of combating the low-light room with light colours, the designers embraced it by using a dark, moody, urban-inspired colour palette.
They elected to paint the entire room with chalkboard-effect paint in black.
That not only gave an attractive matt texture but also adds a twist of fun and functionality to the space too.
Given its bohemian inner-city location, the furnishings in the common room are all refurbished vintage pieces including the modular sofa by renowned Australian designers Grant and Mary Featherstone.
Project Details
Project Size – 934 m2
Site Area – 411 m2
Completion Date – 2020
Building Levels – 4
Project Team
Interior Design
MOSTAGHIM
Since being founded in 2009 by director Ashkan Mostaghim, the firm’s Sydney-based studio has grown to comprise of architects and interior designers who work passionately and persistently to deliver considered outcomes, enriched by design.
Construction
Greenpoint Construction Group
Established in 2006, Greenpoint Construction Group is a Sydney-based construction company providing services to all sectors of the construction industry.
Tailoring its talents to assist both clients and consultants; the Greenpoint aim is to be recognised as a ‘user-friendly’ builder.
Project Management
Construction Assignments
Construction Assignments’ core business is client-side project management.
Based in both Sydney and Melbourne, the firm’s role typically includes responsibility for full project delivery from the feasibility stage, through to concept design, planning approval, procurement, construction, and handover.
www.constructionassignments.com
Photography
Tom Ferguson
Tom is a Sydney-based commercial photographer who is regularly commissioned by leading architects, developers, and major brands within Australia and internationally.
Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge it.
Design © 2022 MOSTAGHIM. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2022 Tom Ferguson. All Rights Reserved.
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