One of the most requested contests among our community of 60,000+ architects, engineers, and design professionals registered on GoPillar are the ones focused on dividing a space into several residential units.
Our clients from all over the world have the benefit of having access to more projects and ideas, which allows them to save more than 70% of design costs compared to those who hire an offline professional.
Reasons to create two livable spaces
There are several different reasons for wanting to divide a space into multiple residential units; however, the most common reason is to create two livable spaces that can be used by various family members. Another common reason that has gained popularity over recent years is creating a second unit to rent out to others. This enters the new and growing business of short- term rentals.
This is just the case of the contest we are talking about today. A family of 3 from Monza has bought a new apartment in the city and has decided to create a small studio apartment to use for short term rentals.
The Brief
Starting from the brief,the customer’s request is clear: the 210 square meter apartment must be divided into two separate residential units. One must be a large 170 square meter apartment with two bedrooms, a study that can also be used as a guest bedroom, two bathrooms, and a laundry room. The second 40 square meter unit must be able to accommodate a minimum of 2 people and a maximum of 4 people.
After purchasing a new apartment in Monza, it is important for the client to optimize costs. One of their main requests in order to achieve this is to limit the movement of walls as much as possible, keep the living room marble, and keep the parquet of the bedrooms for the main apartment. Our client is therefore asking us to obtain the best results while keeping costs as low as possible. This challenge was taken on by our professional community, with 28 complete projects submitted to the client.
Our professionals are experienced designers that excel in completing the client’s requests while adding their own ideas to the design. For this contest, the client requested that the interior must have a modern retro design, using furniture that they already own from the early 1900s. Additionally, both owners have lived abroad and the theme of travel is a large part of their design taste.
On the other hand, the client had fewer requests for the smaller apartment that will be rented out. Their main focus is to make the space functional and enjoyable for future guests.
Reversibility
As mentioned above, the client had a very detailed brief, especially in regards to the larger unit. However, throughout the contest and design process, needs often emerge that had not been considered in the beginning of the renovation. Fortunately, our professionals are highly equipped and specialized to deal with any additional requests that arise later in the design process. In fact, among all the winning projects for this contest, the professionals had considered this possibility. As we all know, family situations can change, for this reason the option of keeping a single large apartment can be evaluated at a later stage.
All the winning professionals for this contest have made their design without modifying the apartment layout or characteristics too much. In doing this, it is possible to reunite the units into a single apartment without having to complete major renovations. This approach allows the property to not only be split up from a cadastral point of view, but also to maintain any tax benefits.
This consideration is very appreciated by the client, who may not have considered this possibility in their initial brief.
The Master Apartment
The solution proposed for the master apartment certainly contributed to determining the ranking for this contest.
Respecting all the initial requests, while also reinterpreting the space in order to achieve the best solution earned architects Monica Campana of Mazara del Vallo and Filippo Colombetti of Milan the first and second place rankings in this contest.
The first place ranking was achieved by specific furnishing tables, shared furniture choices, the addition of recessed spotlights and LED tubes, and suspended lamps presented in false ceilings and lighting plan.
