Architect: loft buro
Type: apartment
Location: Kyiv, Ukraine
Area: 197 m2
Status: built (2020)
Team: Oleg Volosovskiy, Olena Logvynets
Photo Credits: Andrey Avdeenko

The captured image showcases a long timber deck that has been thoughtfully designed with a row of assorted potted plants.

The captured image offers a view of the primary living area as seen from the upper level of the house.

The captured photo highlights the simple dining area that has been seamlessly integrated with other areas of the house, as seen from the living area.

The captured shot taken from a high perspective viewpoint provides a bird's eye view of the living area, highlighting its interior design. — The captured shot taken from a high perspective viewpoint provides a bird’s eye view of the living area, highlighting its interior design.

The captured interior shot offers a glimpse of the house loft, as viewed from within the living area.

The captured image showcases the view of the loft as seen from the ground level of the house.

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The captured image showcases the view beneath the cable-stayed staircase.

The captured image showcases the interior of a room situated beneath the loft, with a focus on its open door entrance.

The captured image features the view of the living area as seen from the dining area.

The captured image, taken from a vantage viewpoint, features the pathway leading to the staircase, as viewed from within the house.

This image showcases the view of the loft as seen from the dining area.

This photo offers a complete interior shot of the kitchen area as seen from the dining area.

A photograph that highlights the absorbing ceiling height of the house, as well as the emerald green tiled furnace which is reminiscent of the 17-18th century housing tradition of Kyiv.

This low-angle interior shot offers a view of the dining area and extends up to the loft and ceiling, as seen from the fireplace.

The captured photo focuses on three vintage leather steel tube dining chairs, drawing attention to their design and style.

The captured interior shot showcases the emerald green tiled furnace, which is reminiscent of the housing tradition of Kyiv during the 17th-18th centuries.

This image highlights the antiques and art objects that were carefully curated and incorporated into the interior design.

A close-up image of the kitchen area provides a more detailed view of its interior design.

The captured image showcases the design of the kitchen island table, while also offering a glimpse of the large metal and glass dimensions of the kitchen, which are partially obscured by the blinds.

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A visual representation depicting a specific area of the house featuring the wooden wall divider as the centerpiece.

The captured view shows the staircase extending up to the ceiling, as seen from the living area.

This view offers a look at the cable-stayed staircase and the bridge leading to the lobby and private zone, as seen from the ground area.

The captured interior shot showcases the bridge leading to the lobby and private zone, which features archaic gates that serve as a stunning entrance.

This provides a view of the bridge and loft, as seen from the staircase.

This interior shot showcases the other side of the loft, providing a different perspective of its design and layout.

It highlights the interior design of the lobby area, displaying its unique features and elements.

A shot showcases the overall interior design of the house's loft, while also providing a glimpse of the bedroom area with its door open. — A shot showcases the overall interior design of the house’s loft, while also providing a glimpse of the bedroom area with its door open.

This photograph exhibits the exterior design of the bedroom area, with a particular emphasis on the archaic gates that serve as a striking entrance.

This photograph captures the interior of the lobby area, with a primary focus on the open gates of the bedroom, which serve as the central point of interest.

This image depicts an antique wooden table adorned with red candles in their stands, accompanied by an art piece displayed on the wall.

This image showcases antique items arranged on an old wooden table for display.

This image portrays a large wall painting, with a door on the side.

This image captures a particular room with its door open, as viewed from the outside of the room.

This photograph showcases the interior design of a specific bedroom.

This photograph showcases the interior design of a specific bedroom from a different viewpoint, providing an alternative perspective.

This photograph exhibits the interior design of a different bedroom.

This image highlights a clothed mannequin displayed in a bedroom.

This photograph captures a distinct perspective of the interior design of the bedroom, offering an alternative viewpoint.

This photograph offers an additional distinctive viewpoint of the bedroom's interior design, emphasizing the bed as the central focal point. — This photograph offers an additional distinctive viewpoint of the bedroom’s interior design, emphasizing the bed as the central focal point.

This image highlights a red ladder displayed at the side of the bed.

This image showcases an array of antique candle lights of various designs positioned beneath the expansive glass wall of the bedroom.

This is an interior photograph of the bathroom that displays a combination of modern and vintage design elements.

This photograph presents an alternative perspective of the bathroom interior, with emphasis on the bathtub.

This is a visual representation that showcases the bathtub located within the bathroom.

A close-up photograph of the bathtub provides a detailed view of its design features.

Designs of sculptures are depicted on a white object or surface.

Hayloft is the house that a couple of architects built for their family based on two ideas: to renovate the large volume of the building and to maintain a solid industrial appeal as previously it worked for commercial activities designed with exposed utilities, metal ceilings, concrete and brick structures, double heights; and, on the other hand, the owners’ will to create a private refuge where new technologies and sustainability act as a continuous background for the eclectic compositional mix.

All these were synthesized and imagined as a philosophy that combines high-tech and antique solutions in a constant contrast between ancient, modern, and contemporary. This spacious, two-bedroom apartment is filled with vintage and antique furnishings and an exuberant collection of artworks exploring family and land tradition and memory concepts.

While exposed concrete columns, metal decking, and salvaged brickwork evoke the design of typical loft conversions, ornate elements such as carved wall paneling, antique woodwork, hand-crafted ceramic tiling, and hand-sculpted stone basins both soften and enrich the industrial undertones of the once derelict commercial building.

Being entirely out of attractiveness, the building was of some benefits: it is located in a modern cottage village surrounded by water on both sides of the house and at minimal accessibility to a busy metropolis.

The most significant is preserving the space’s breathtaking volume, harvesting the most natural light, and using it in the interior. Therefore, the architects designed a new facade of the building with panoramic windows, an attached terrace, and a suspended garden. It made the building look modern and became attractive for six more families.

Even during construction, Hayloft got the neighbors’ attention, and after the completion of the work, the open interior view through giant windows and the terrace with trees prompted the villagers to begin the reconstruction of their houses and terraces, seeking advice from architects.

The height of the inner space allowed the construction of the second level. The structure’s skeleton forms the rooms with metal and glass, so the maximum natural light penetrates the darkest corners of the room.

The volume of the first-level bathroom is tiled with scratched mirror panels. This makes the sunlight be reflected and get more natural light. The cable-stayed staircase has a pivot point and leads to the private area via a suspension bridge.

The main idea of Hayloft is a space free of air and sight. Even the Master bedroom and bathroom walls are made from transparent or reinforced printed glass. So you can still enjoy the view of the whole interior and the river through the front windows at the house’s farthest place.

The only isolated space is the guest bedroom, an actual secret room, the entrance to which is hidden with destructive wood paneling. To preserve the original profiled sheet ceiling and obtain a comfortable temperature all year round, designers have found the most non-standard solution. These are Liquid nano-ceramic thermal insulation coatings, four air stirring fans, and an Antrax heating system.

Traditional ceiling fans do not require energy consumption like cooling or heating, so the ducting system has been simplified and left the ceiling clean. Heating elements, made of 100% recyclable carbon steel, are composed of tubular elements with a diameter of 25 mm and feature a rhythmical alternation of solids and voids.

Designer radiators guarantee significant energy savings, thanks to the reduced water content and low-temperature operation, supporting the “green” vocation of the intervention and the great ambition of architects to live in a sustainable, welcoming home, where every detail has been meticulously thought, designed or chosen.

Hayloft is not just housing. It is a compilation of restaurants, experimental cuisine, a bartender area, a showroom, a DJ place, and a friendly atmosphere for the family and multiple guests. The kitchen features an integrated cooking counter for standard food preparation and a cooking show from the chefs. It includes professional equipment similar to a restaurant, a bar station, a fireplace stove for cooking on a fire, and a large dining table.

The adjacent kitchen, tucked underneath the mezzanine level, combines an elemental palette of stainless steel, natural wood, and textured marble with state-of-the-art appliances, while the master bedroom upstairs was conceived as an inner sanctum with imposing, ancient-looking double-doors guarding the entry.

The apartments’ stylistic eclecticism is crowned by a collection of vintage finds, antique pieces, and contemporary furniture, including bespoke light fitting by local designers and the architects themselves, which is complemented by an evocative selection of colorful tapestries and artworks like the pair of Soviet space dogs, Belka and Strelka, that greet visitors at the entrance.

Antique doors and temple gates originated from Indonesia and have received a second functional life. Some are part of a sliding wardrobe system, while others are impressive entrances to the master bedroom. All the original elements of the gate have been preserved and even used in a complex opening system, including the room’s soundproofing.

Most of the furniture tells its own stories. The Japanese cabinet was once used for tatami storage and was 90 cm deep, later reduced to 60 cm depth and moved to Europe. The chest table in natural wood color is manufactured in India. A low drawer in deep gloss red color is a typical Chinese tradition, and a naturally aged rare console with colored drawers tends to the culture of Tibet.

A bench table near a TV was found at an aircraft factory in Ukraine, and a two-hundred-year-old wooden horse was found in a Chinese village. Each item got a second life and took an important place in the interior.

A few antiques became the icon for Hayloft and shaped a remarkable atmosphere. Hayloft tells about tradition and memory, the ability to preserve history and create legends, family values, creativity, and art objects as a life philosophy.