Guard Tillman Pollock//Mark Guard Architects

Between 1961 and 1991 the percentage of one person households in the UK has risen from 12% to 26%. In the same period the percentage of households comprising of only one person or comprising of couples without children has risen from 33% to 62%. In the London borough of Westminster 69% of households consist of either people living on their own or living in partnership with one other adult. The conventional two or three bedroom flat does not seem appropriate given these demographic changes. Modern technology allows us to re-think the planning of residential accommodation.

With space in the inner city at a premium, large living spaces are not economically feasible for the average person. This project explores the maximisation of available space through flexibility of use; a flat that can be transformed from one bedroom to two bedrooms or to no bedrooms at all to provide a large space for living or working.

The master bed and the guest bed are contained in two free-standing boxes. A third box contains the cloakroom. The doors to these boxes form the moveable walls of the bedrooms.

A 15 metre storage wall contains the TV, hi-fi, kitchen, kitchen storage, laundry, drying cupboard, dressing table, wardrobes and wash basin. The doors to the kitchen can be slid back to expose three work areas, a washing up area, a cooking area and a coffee/drinks bar.

The three free-standing boxes which enclose the bathroom are bisected by a six metre stainless steel table. The bath, set into the table, is separated from the living area by 'Privalite' electric glass which can be switched from opaque to clear allowing a view from the bath. With the bedrooms folded away the living space is 5.5 metres wide by 15 metres long. The abstracted free-standing sculptural bathroom adds visual interest and the views through and around the bathroom increase the visual dimensions of the apartment.

A limestone floor provides a durable surface for both living and working. To achieve visual simplicity the space is painted white and is simply detailed. The 90 square metre apartment in Soho, London, was completed in March 1996.