ester bruzkus architekten has transformed a top-floor apartment in berlin into a home that blends cool and warm by mixing rich colors and materials with raw concrete walls and ceilings. the project’s circulation is defined by a single but complex millwork box placed at the center of the elongated floor plan. the box, lacquered in a deep green, works with the warm gold, violet and brown tones of the interior, making a home that is at once cool and cozy.all images © robert rieger

before the renovation, the top-floor berlin apartment had floor- to-ceiling windows on two sides and exposed concrete walls on the other sides. rather than create a series of conventional rooms, ester bruzkus architekten placed a single but complex green millwork box at the center of the floor plan and away from the walls to make rooms between it and allow circulation to flow around all sides. ‘it is a really simple idea – to put one box in the middle of the space – but it does so much,’ says bruzkus.

the apartment’s living room occupies the space between an existing wall and the green box. the fireplace takes center stage in this space, featuring travertine sierra ebru stone, red travertine, brass, and thin plates of stainless steel. meanwhile, the kitchen takes up one of the long sides of the green box, while hidden within it is also a roll-out modular sauna.

‘I thought it would be fun to have a green kitchen,’ explains ester bruzkus. ‘when you expect everything to be one way, it should absolutely be another.’ sheets of natural green-and- violet quartzite work with the lacquered wood, while the cooking island combines the two with black-tinted glass. the bathroom occupies the space between the green box and another existing wall. sinks are made from green marbles, black steel and pink basins; the shower and bathtub are made from a pale limestone that harmonizes with the other tones. the design also uses the simple geometry of the circle in a number of ways: in the design of handles for the cabinetry, in an oversized round mirror, and in a circular skylight that was built above the shower.

the project’s design strategy is is a study in contrasts: a mix of efficient planning with exuberant materials and colors and textures; all between planes of cool concrete. ‘we like boxes within boxes, rooms within rooms, the blurring of inside and out, material contrasts and surprising color combinations,’ says partner peter greenberg. ‘this is the essential strategy of mies’ farnsworth house – a box of richly contrasting material inside another box.’