PROJECT BALZAN

PROJECT ARCHITECT CLAUDE BORG

2018 | Arch-con Atelier

Under-construction multi-story residential building with exposed concrete and glass balconies, scaffolding, and a clear blue sky.

A Different Approach to Apartment Living

The scale of the site presented an opportunity to reconsider the conventional approach to apartment development. Rather than maximising the number of units through increasingly compact layouts, the project was conceived around a different principle: fewer, substantially larger apartments offering the space, amenities and external areas expected of a high-quality home.

With a minimum roofed-over area of approximately 220 square metres, each apartment occupies an entire floor. This allowed the planning to move beyond minimum spatial requirements and focus instead on proportion, comfort and the relationship between the different areas of the home.


Space as a Form of Luxury

The concept of luxury within the project is expressed primarily through space.

Generous dimensions allow the apartments to function as complete homes rather than a collection of rooms planned around minimum requirements. Living areas can accommodate different activities comfortably, bedrooms have the proportions expected of principal rooms, and en-suite bathrooms and substantial wardrobe space are integrated naturally within the layout.

Particular attention was given to the large open-plan living, dining and kitchen area. Its scale presented an important design challenge: creating a generous, continuous space while ensuring that each function retained its own identity and comfortable proportions.

The result is a principal living area conceived as the social heart of the apartment, with sufficient space for everyday family life as well as entertaining.

The Terrace as an Outdoor Room

External space was considered equally important.

Rather than providing a conventional balcony—a relatively narrow space attached to the façade—the apartments were designed with properly proportioned terraces that could function as genuine extensions of the living areas.

The distinction is fundamental to the concept of the project. A balcony may provide an external outlook, but a generous terrace allows the exterior to become part of daily life. It can accommodate outdoor dining, seating and planting while still retaining comfortable circulation around them.

The terrace therefore becomes another room of the apartment, albeit an open-air one.

Its relationship with the internal living spaces was carefully considered so that the transition between inside and outside feels natural. Together with good levels of daylight, this connection gives the principal living areas a greater sense of openness and extends the perceived dimensions of the apartment beyond its internal envelope.

A Complete Residential Environment

The generous floor area was not treated simply as additional square metres. The objective was to ensure that this space translated into better living conditions and a more complete range of residential amenities.

Bedrooms are comfortably proportioned and supported by en-suite facilities and practical wardrobe areas. Circulation, storage and ancillary spaces were given sufficient room to function properly rather than being compressed in order to maximise saleable accommodation.

This approach allows each floor to operate as an independent residence with the qualities more commonly associated with a private home, while retaining the advantages of apartment living.

Efficient Use of the Site

The same attention to planning efficiency extended below ground.

To rationalise the use of the basement and avoid unnecessary duplication of access infrastructure, a combined vehicular entry with the neighbouring property was developed. This allowed the basement arrangement to be used more efficiently while reducing the impact that separate access points would otherwise have had on the development.

Interior of a building under construction with unfinished concrete walls and ceiling, a rectangular opening on the wall, and electrical wiring on the floor.
View from inside an unfinished concrete building looking out through a window opening at neighboring buildings with a cloudy sky.
Interior view of an unfinished building with concrete walls and ceiling, with a large rectangular opening revealing an exterior balcony with a white building in the background; a person is standing inside, silhouetted against the bright outside.
View from inside a concrete building under construction, looking out through a large rectangular opening at a neighboring building with white walls and windows.
Photo of a small rectangular opening at the bottom of a wall with light coming through, framed with wood.
Ceiling under renovation with metal framing for drywall, wires hanging, and a window below.
A room under construction with a ladder, drywall or plaster walls, a window, and an unfinished ceiling with metal framing.
Marble tile bathroom wall with a small window and a partially finished built-in feature.
Construction site with a wall, window, ladder, and construction tools and materials.
Unfinished apartment balcony with concrete floor and partial wall railing, overlooking neighboring buildings with white facades and small windows.
Room under renovation with electrical conduit running along the wall and construction materials leaning against the wall.
Incomplete tiled floor in a room under construction with construction tools and plastic sheeting.
Room under construction with a rough concrete floor and construction supplies on the side.
A partially finished bathroom with beige tile walls and floor, with exposed plumbing and an unfinished ceiling.
Bathroom under construction with white marble tiles on the wall, a small window, and plumbing fixtures installed.
Empty room under construction with an unfinished floor, a recessed area in the wall, and a view of the city skyline through large windows.
Room under construction with a large sliding glass door, construction materials, and tools, overlooking neighboring buildings
Construction site with unfinished flooring and electrical outlets on the wall.
A sliding glass door with raindrops on the glass, looking onto a balcony with a white metal railing and a tiled floor, with buildings visible in the background.
View from inside a room looking out a large rectangular window at an urban cityscape with white buildings and construction cranes under a cloudy sky.
Interior of a house under construction or renovation, with beige tiled flooring, a white wall with a window, and construction materials including a tarp, a paint bucket, and cleaning supplies.
A construction site with a metal grid fence in front of a cinder block wall, dirt and gravel ground, and debris including a paper bag and wooden board.
View from a building under construction showing cinder blocks forming a low balcony wall, with wooden beams and a plank, overlooking neighboring apartment buildings with air conditioning units and windows.
Construction site with cinder blocks stacked against a wall, some bricks and debris on the ground.
Corner of a cinder block wall under construction, with unfinished brickwork and a concrete beam extending from the wall.
Construction site showing metal rebar and support framework laid out on a building roof for a concrete slab.
Interior view of a construction site showing unfinished cinder block walls, a partially broken concrete ceiling, metal rebar, and a wooden support beam.
Construction site with three red adjustable steel support poles holding up the concrete ceiling, and a yellow wooden ladder leaning against a gray cinder block wall.
Construction site with two workers inside a partially built building, surrounded by scattered wooden planks, construction materials, and support poles, with sunlight coming through an open wall.
Construction staircase with yellow treads and metal supports, next to a concrete wall.
Construction site with wooden framing, ladders, and tools, with a crane and sky visible in the background.

Residential Quality through Generosity

The project ultimately challenges the idea that efficiency in residential development must necessarily be achieved by reducing apartment sizes.

Here, efficiency was balanced with another measure of value: quality of space.

Large, well-proportioned interiors, generous bedrooms and amenities, abundant daylight and substantial external terraces combine to create apartments intended to be experienced as long-term homes rather than minimum residential units.

The architecture is therefore defined not simply by its overall floor area, but by how that area is used—providing space to live, space to entertain and meaningful external space as an integral part of the home.


Construction site with a partially excavated area filled with water, surrounded by brick and concrete walls.
Empty outdoor swimming pool with concrete and stone walls, surrounded by buildings and greenery under a blue sky.
Construction site of a modern multi-story building with unfinished facade, construction tanks, and a parked red car in front.
Front view of a modern multi-story white apartment building with balconies
View of a rooftop balcony with glass railing and surrounding cityscape in the distance.
Construction site with concrete blocks, rebar, and building materials, adjacent to existing buildings.
Construction site with concrete foundation and cinder block walls, surrounded by urban buildings and a clear blue sky.
A construction worker wearing a safety helmet and vest crouches on a plywood platform on a building roof under construction, with city buildings and satellite dishes in the background.
Construction site with gray concrete blocks being assembled into walls, wooden planks, and construction tools. A red mini excavator is visible in the background, with a residential building and street nearby.
Under construction multi-story building with balconies, parked car on an unpaved street, bright sun in the sky.
Under construction multi-story building with exposed concrete and balconies, clear blue sky in the background.
Building under construction with unfinished entrance and exposed concrete, debris on ground, and construction fencing.
Construction site with exposed brick and concrete wall, and a bag of construction materials on the ground.
Construction site with excavator and dug holes in the ground, viewed through a chain-link fence.
Construction site with a partially built concrete wall, yellow insulation or foam boards stacked on the ground, and residential buildings in the background.
Construction site with concrete blocks, a small excavator, and a reinforced steel framework for a floor.
Construction site with a partially built brick wall and a construction lift on a city street.
Cinder block wall under construction on a sidewalk with scattered cinder blocks, a yellow tape measure, and shadow cast on the ground.
Construction site with a partially built structure, construction materials, and a nearby street with parked cars, under a clear blue sky.
A dug-out construction site with exposed dirt and water, surrounded by concrete blocks and a partially built wall, with a street and parked cars visible in the background.
Construction site on a building rooftop with stacked cinder blocks, wooden support beams, and neighboring buildings with solar panels and clothing hanging outside.
A waterlogged construction site with muddy water, brick wall, and partially built or damaged concrete ground.
Empty construction site with a partially built brick wall and a large hole filled with water.