The 43-storey De Rotterdam is Europe’s largest building. Inside, however, it’s a study in how to live inside a small space: The behemoth’s tiniest unit is only 59 square metres, yet because it’s kitted out with incredible transforming furniture, it functions like a five room apartment.
The building opened earlier this year after 16 years of planning and construction, in the hometown of its architect, Rem Koolhaas. The interiors were designed by Clei Italia — an Italian company that designs transforming furniture. In a new video about the building’s smallest apartments, we get an awesome peek at what those systems can do.
For example, one living room wall that transforms into a sleeping space — a kind of updated murphy bed:
And these geometrically-printed chairs that hang on the wall as decoration when not in use:
Meanwhile, the home office can also serve as a guest bedroom when necessary:
Plus countless other tiny details — like this fold-down foyer detail — that make life inside the microapartment a little bit easier:
With New York’s first micro-apartment complex not far off , we would all do well to take note. [44 Floors, ArchDaily]