Apartment Barjanska by Arhitekti Počivašek Petranovič: A Modern Apartment Renovation Rooted in Material Simplicity

In the heart of Ljubljana, Slovenia, Arhitekti Počivašek Petranovič has reimagined a 68 m² flat within a typical 1960s residential block. The modern apartment renovation embraces openness, material honesty, and spatial cohesion, transforming a once-fragmented layout into a contemporary home that speaks the language of clarity and quiet sophistication.

Reinventing a Mid-Century Layout

The original apartment was characterized by compartmentalized rooms, with the kitchen accessible only through the living room. This inefficient circulation and spatial fragmentation prompted the architects to radically reconfigure the plan. By removing internal partitions and opening up the layout, they have created a continuous flow of space where kitchen, dining, and living areas now merge into one unified environment.

At the heart of this transformation stands a freestanding Carrara marble monolith, which functions both as a fireplace and the core housing a compact marble-lined bathroom. This sculptural centerpiece not only anchors the apartment but also brings a tactile monumentality to the otherwise fluid interior.

A Neutral Palette and Material Coherence

The material and color palette is minimal yet meticulously curated. A light grey polyurethane floor seamlessly meets pale grey plaster walls and built-in elements, wrapping the apartment in a calm, continuous envelope. The use of neutral tones accentuates the warmth of the wooden furniture while allowing the marble core to take center stage.

The design choices aim to visually expand the space. Light bounces gently off the grey surfaces, and the openness between zones allows natural light to flow unimpeded through the angularly repositioned window. This adjustment reduces the depth of the loggia but significantly extends the livable interior space, creating a more generous and integrated home environment.

Custom Furniture and Craftsmanship

Every detail in this renovation is considered, including the custom-designed furniture. A dining table and low storage units crafted from birch plywood and stainless steel legs maintain the same language of simplicity and continuity found throughout the apartment. Even the leftover Carrara marble was repurposed to create a small club table, a sustainable gesture that reflects the careful resourcefulness of the design process.

This restrained approach to materiality and form ensures that the apartment’s aesthetic is not overpowered by decor but elevated through consistency and craftsmanship.

Monumental Intimacy in a Compact Space

The Carrara monolith becomes more than a design feature—it’s a spatial strategy. By consolidating multiple functions into one compact volume, it frees up the surrounding floor plan and creates a dynamic experience of movement around it. The architecture encourages users to navigate around the core, offering shifting perspectives and an active relationship with the space.

Despite the modest size of the apartment, the intervention achieves a sense of monumental intimacy—a balance between scale, material depth, and programmatic efficiency that is often elusive in small-scale renovations.

A Model for Modern Apartment Renovation

Apartment Barjanska demonstrates how modern apartment renovation can honor an existing building’s history while introducing new life through clarity, openness, and tactile refinement. Arhitekti Počivašek Petranovič has crafted a dwelling that is both sculptural and livable, formal and intimate. It reflects a belief that small spaces deserve big ideas and that material restraint can amplify spatial quality rather than diminish it.