A12 Aparment through the eyes of designboom

Published in August 2026, the article looks at how the project works with the existing architecture rather than concealing it, creating new connections between rooms while preserving the character and spatial rhythm of the original apartment.

In Rome, DKA – Diele Kerciku Architetture renovates A12 Apartment, a 100-square-metre home where the existing architecture becomes the basis for a more open domestic layout. Brick vaults, generous ceiling heights and a sequence of enclosed rooms defined the original apartment, and instead of concealing these features, the studio used them as a framework for the intervention.

[…] The clients asked for a larger and more convivial living area capable of connecting the kitchen, living room and everyday spaces. DKA responded through a process of subtraction, opening portions of the load-bearing walls to create new visual and spatial connections while preserving the rhythm of the original openings.

[…] The entrance works as a central distributive axis between the apartment’s two wings. Along it, a long pale-blue bespoke joinery element integrates wardrobes, storage and access to service spaces into one continuous volume. Deeper blue portals mark the transitions between rooms, framing views and giving the thresholds a stronger architectural presence. […] The same strategy continues into the private spaces. Shades of blue, pale blue and red identify volumes, emphasise passages and connect architecture with bespoke furniture, rather than operating simply as decorative accents.

[…] Through selective structural changes, custom-made elements and a tightly controlled chromatic palette, DKA preserves the legibility of A12 Apartment’s historic fabric while adapting its spaces to contemporary life.

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