The design story of this 310 sq m, duplex Medellín apartment began with an unusual existing condition: a vast void nearly six metres high, free of programme or spatial hierarchy. What might have been a limitation became the project’s conceptual core. For Danny Rozo - founding architect and creative director of OA+ - the real challenge was not filling the interior as such, but constructing meaningful architectural space within its emptiness.
Explore this Medellín apartment by OA+
The resulting design - titled Apartment SH - transforms this volume into a habitable experience by inserting a suspended second level: a large, wood-clad cube that houses the Medellín apartment's private areas and redefines the scale of the whole. This single gesture not only fits perfectly into the project's programme but also introduces a rich spatial sequence of contrasts, changing heights and transparencies.
Entry to the apartment is not upward but downward. The journey begins with a descent, a move that defies expectation and sets the tone for an unconventional architectural experience. Any suggestion of darkness or compression dissolves as a large door opens: light floods in immediately, and a generous vestibule gives way to a sculptural, curved metal staircase, painted white, which acts as the project’s first manifesto.
The first space to reveal itself is the open kitchen, conceived as a central object rather than a service area. From here, the eye moves uninterrupted towards the main living space, which quite literally floods the entire project with light. This is where the architecture asserts itself most powerfully: the six-metre-high void, the suspended timber-clad cube, the lattice that filters views, and a natural stone reflecting pool that introduces reflection, sound and an almost meditative dimension.
The project’s most striking element is undoubtedly the upper timber lattice, crafted in choibá wood. More than an enclosure, it functions as a permeable veil - a visual threshold that reveals without fully exposing, activating an almost scenographic reading of the space. 'It’s a screen that encapsulates the apartment’s private areas. It lets you see and not see. A private space that can be enjoyed without being closed off,' the architect says.
From the main living area - a tall, double-height space accompanied by the reflecting pool - the life of the apartment is perceived vertically. Bedrooms appear to float within the void, visually connected to the social areas below, reinforcing the idea of an open loft designed for a single occupant.
Natural wood, textured concrete, stone, stainless steel and glass exude permanence and tactility. They were selected not as a finish but as a sensory experience - for example, the warm wood balances out the rougher concrete surfaces. 'We were interested in honest materials - those that age, that can be felt, that hold value for what they are within a sensitive architecture,' Rozo notes.
This Medellín apartment does not propose a universal way of living, but a tailored, deeply personal one: transparent, coherent with its inhabitant's lifestyle, and free of unnecessary concessions. 'Spaces should reflect who you are, what drives you and what makes you happy,' the architect concludes.
In this sense, Apartment SH is not merely a residence, but a showcase of how architecture can support a way of life.
