water and light
Living with glass | English translation
Architect: Michael Morten Neumayr, Munich - Los Angeles, Project: historic apartment, Munich
Architect Michael M. Neumayr converted the master bathroom of a historic Munich apartment, in 2001 for a family with small children. To be able to incorporate all necessary plumbing installations, the floor needed to be raised by 18cm (7”). However, this allowed also for the installation of a pedestal, clad in American walnut, with sunk-in bathtub. The pedestal and be used for seating or relaxing in the cushioned area. In front of it is a glass covered lit floor trough, filled with river rocks. The meticulously designed, lit glass shower was placed in the opposite corner of the room. Its access is without a threshold and the glazing of the floor trough is sandblasted to provide an anti-skid surface in the walkway area. The shower floor is made of four frosted, 10 mm (3/8”) square glass sheets, which are lit from underneath resting on flexible rubber bases attached to a concrete base. Drainage is provided through 10 mm (3/8”) open grout between the glass sheets. The drain itself lies invisible underneath the glass sheets, which can be removed if needed. Even the shower walls are made out of glass, whereas the two sides facing the room are transparent, the ones facing the walls are frosted are back lit and set at a slight distance from the wall. The lateral openings on its sides were closed with aluminum moldings. Especially at night the master bathroom unfolds an enchanting atmosphere. The room’s atmosphere lives off the warm interlude of Wood, glass, light and stone.
Even the vanity is in keeping with the artistic motive “back lit glass”. The double vanity out of colored concrete stand in a stark contrast to the fragile appearing corpus, which is made of back lit glass and American walnut. A steel frame construction, anchored in the floor and wall carries the massive concrete vanity. The corpus of the Vanity has two floor-to-ceiling pullout cabinets, with shelves to provide ample storage space. The faucets penetrate the backlit-glazed backsplash. The water seems to flow from the light.
Caption: the vanity made of colored concrete poses a hard contrast to the corpus made of backlit glass and wood.
Caption: the raised floor needed for running the plumbing is finished in Brazilian walnut. It allows for a decorative light channels and a “threshold-less” access to the shower.
Live-in kitchen
Architect: Michael Morten Neumayr, Munich - Los Angeles, project: historic apartment, Munich
Inside the 250 sm (2690 sq ft) apartment in Munich, which was protected by cultural heritage laws, interior architect and designer Michael Morten Neumayr created a new use concept in which one can find various feng-shui elements in regards to colors, lighting and materials.
The existing kitchen was much too small. So the former 50 sm (538 sq ft) study, whose interior design was protected by cultural heritage laws, was converted into a live-in kitchen. To protect the wall paneling of this representative room, one erected a white high gloss, free standing partition wall at a distance of 35cm (14”) to the white lacquered wall panels, to accommodate all necessary installations. Also the center island was elevated onto an 18cm (7”) high, white lacquered pedestal, which houses the installations. This allowed for a formal separation between kitchen and dining room.
The actual preparation area is marked by two towers, which contrast through their clear severity with the historic built-ins and Ceiling beams of this 1904 apartment. A freestanding center block with integrated range separates the kitchen from the dining area. Towards the dining room a back lit wood framed translucent glass front, accentuated by a frame of solid stainless steel can be seen, which features cabinets towards the side of the kitchen.
In front of the freestanding partition wall one finds a tower on each side, which house the stove, microwave and refrigerator respectively. In between one can find a long worktable made of hickory and stainless steel with white, hanging cabinets underneath. Above the work surface a
A wide upper cabinet with frosted horizontal glass sliding doors. Since the partition was place 35 cm (14”) in front of the original wall, it was possible to move the tower far back so only 40 cm (16”) are actually protruding from the wall. the counter is 60 cm (24”) deep. In between the counter and the upper cabinet, is glass backsplash that also functions as a sliding door hiding a 30 cm (12”) deep shelf to store cooking utensils, herbs and glasses etc? Both glass sliding doors run behind a stainless steel track, their handles are glued directly to the glass with UV-hardening adhesive. Because of the freestanding back wall it was possible to find an elegant design solution to create a kitchen with extra large and deep storage compartments. The homogenous designed cooking area separates itself from the dining area and answers the room’s historic claim with a sovereign modern gesture.
