The owner of this small 430-square-foot apartment, who works in events, truly gave me a free hand, says Anthony Authi, the head of Zyva Studio. As any architect will tell you, its not often that they are given so much room to create. But why hire Authi, if not for a chance to enter his inimitable universe? As the building didnt have any history that was especially remarkable, Authi chose to create one from scratch. He decided to immerse himself in the late 1980s and 1990s and the animated films from the time, including Roger Rabbit and Space Jam, which included cartoon characters moving through the real world. In interior design, it generates a kind of crazy contrast that makes you feel like youre watching a film. Suddenly, completely fantastic elements become part of the real world. Its great fun.In this triplex apartment, the ultra-thin metal staircase (Atelier Variable) has a cartoon-like banister that complements the glass bricks that form the bedroom wall. Painted in a swimming pool blue, the banister has a bold look alongside the Sander sofa in fluorescent orange Kvadrat x Raf Simons fabric (Objekte Unserrer Tage). Chairtoon chair, PLA print, and moulded Plexiglas seat (Zyva Studio).In this former loft space, Zyva Studio has recreated a neutral shell made of concrete, plastered walls, and a polished concrete floor. The kitchen, which is where one would enter the unit, is made of stainless steel. All the walls are painted in greige. This backdrop balances the many cartoon-like elements integrated into this three-level home, where the living room can be seen from the kitchen and the bedroom from the living room, which is protected by a glass-block wall. The staircase is the focal point of the project and the first element designed by the architect. This metal element is the bridge between two parts of the flat. Thin and light, it seems to float in space. Authi painted it in an intense swimming pool blue and added a curved banister, exaggerating the curve. We are in a cartoon world, specifically the cartoons of the 1950s, with an aesthetic that the glass-block wall emphasizes. The shape of these brickssquares with circular centers, brings to mind Pierre Chareaus glass houseas in many films, there are often multiple references in the same shot.An oversized, custom bookcase fits in with the proportions of the room and its orange matches that of the sofa. The geometry of the bookcase, staircase, and glass blocks is paired with the freer forms of the Spike n Roses coffee table, PLA print, and the galvanized steel table top (Zyva Studio).Opposite the staircase, an oversized bookcase with a strict geometric structure is painted a fluorescent orange. The color which is also used for the sofa helps define the living room as a separate space. The bookcase is the centerpiece of the living room. It lets us know where we are and the bubble-shaped sofa interacts with it, also helping to indicate that this is a distinct space. The fluorescent orange interacts with the equally intense blue of the staircase and, further on, with the kitchen table and wooden stools that look like they were carved from cartoon rocks. They are combined with the architects Mario Bros cabinet pulls, which contrast sharply with the cold, metallic appearance of the kitchens stainless-steel elements. Back in the living room and the bedroom, theres a coffee table, a floor lamp, and bedside tables all designed by Zyva and which will be familiar to fans of the studios work. This project allowed me to use my furniture designs and then think about the setting that surrounds them in a somewhat theoretical vision of cartoons and their fantastic, exaggerated worlds, which I can make coexist with our real world that is more rigid and serious.With its self-proclaimed cartoon-core style, the apartment follows a rigorous geometry of lines and curves, perfect for displaying objects in bright colors, Artoys, characters, and animated figurines. The Sander sofa is upholstered in fluorescent orange Kvadrat x Raf Simons fabric (Objekte Unserrer Tage).The owner is a fan of Artoyz, as is Anthony Authi, who has displayed many figurines and Bearbricks. This is with the intention of creating a theater set wherein these mini actors, alongside the furniture, and even the inhabitants of the apartment, become characters. They coexist particularly well with some of my furniture, which is itself personified as small animals or cartoon characters. This has created a large Toy Storystyle scene in which all these little characters could very well come to life once the door is closed.In the bathroom, rectangular tiles cover the entire space, including the ceiling, in contrast to the cartoon-core universe in the rest of the apartment. The owners had a specific material in mind with the goal of simplifying the aesthetic some. Namely they looked to the facades of Loewe shops, with their slender tiles in a uniform color. Here, the color is green, to create the feeling of a small indoor jungle. Working within this constraint, Zyva Studio has created an immersive monochrome cocoon that it has linked to its world with two lighting features, the round orange mirror, and the stainless-steel basin. Its something Ive been trying to develop for a while now and I really like it. Its surprising for those who know my work, but it works well. By using a material in the same way as one uses paint, the effect can be striking. I have become much more flexible when it comes to using a single material for a space. That free approach is exciting in a small room like this one and the effect is playful and rigorous at once.This 430-square-foot apartment was originally published in AD France.The three open levels of the flat make the most of the natural light it receives. The austere simplicity of the polished concrete floors and walls finished in greige paint is combined with playful touches like the Spike n Roses cabinet pulls (Zyva Studio) on the stainless-steel base units (Atelier Variable). The Meyer table is made of solid ash stained a sky blue and Fels stools are placed around it (Objekte Unserrer Tage). Tubo ceiling lights (O/M).The kitchens ambience is created with a palette of gray, blue, and stainless-steel elements. The Meyer table in solid ash with a sky-blue stain is surrounded by Fels stools (both Objekte Unserrer Tage). The glass front door opens onto a courtyard. The triplex is an apartment but it feels like a small house with an abundance of natural light.Lines, curves, tubes, rectangles, and a fan-shaped staircase form the basis of a rigorous and graphic geometry.The colors are bold and playful, bringing contrasts and life to the apartment.On the Spike n Roses coffee table (Zyva Studio), sculptures and cartoon figurines (Artoyz).The large glass-brick wall diffuses the light from the living room while maintaining a level of privacy that is always valuable in a small space. Bright bed linens and figurines punctuate the space with their colors and help to create a cartoon-like universe. Chairtoon bedside tables (Zyva Studio).The Spike n Roses pulls from the kitchen are also used in the bedroom (Zyva Studio). The wall lights are from the Tjoep collection (Fatboy).In the bathroom, rectangular tiles cover the space in an all-over pattern, including the ceiling. It creates a feeling like an indoor jungle with cartoon-like elements introduced with the Lorenz mirror in solid ash thats stained red (Objekte Unserrer Tage), a stainless-steel basin (Atelier Variable), and two Tjoep wall lights (Fatboy).