Appartement Jīn

The apartment works on two lighting regimes. The entrance stays pale, white plaster and wide-plank oak; the salon tips into blackened oak, panelled floor to ceiling, and the room closes in on itself.

The threshold is treated as a filter. A black steel frame carries reeded glass that lets brightness through and holds back the silhouettes; under the bench, a recessed line washes the floor and lifts the joinery off the wall. The brass pendulum clock supplies the only bright point.

In the salon, three objects are enough. A mineral canvas, grey and grainy, split by a single vertical line, holds the wall; a chromed dome drops over the seating and returns the image of the room; the flecked wool sofa takes velvet cushions in ochre, blue and taupe.

The floor changes with use. Coarse terrazzo carries the circulation, a blue wool rug edges the seating area, and wide oak takes over beyond. The room reads by artificial light as much as by daylight, which is what earns it its name.