Sloft, Issue 6

Sloft is a magazine about architecture, design and decoration with a specific focus on compact interiors. We promote a vision of a more sustainable city, more accessible and nicer. [Bilingual version: French/English]

In this issue:

• From Antwerp to Milan, via Lyon, Marseille and Paris, we bring you a selection of habitats that perhaps express the notion of the cocoon more than usual. At least five of them are compact. But also by their location: perched under the roof, inserted into a large complex or hidden at the end of a cul-de-sac. Or in their virtuosity, where, freeing themselves from the constraints of size or plan, they each reveal a singular universe that makes them veritable jewels to be lived in. The homes that complement them also express this notion of refuge, in the sense that each in its own way, whether through color, materials or ambiance, they are the ideal shell dreamed of by the human creatures that inhabit them. Cocoons, then, but open. Through the journeys of their inhabitants, we discover that their design is the fruit of encounters, curiosity, experience and a desire to welcome.
• How good it is to let off steam outside the cocoon! In the run-up to the Paris Olympics, we explore how people living in large cities reconcile their urbanity with the human body’s visceral need for movement. In our “When sports come to town” feature, we discover that, even if it’s not always welcome, sport always manages to find its way into city life. We’ll take this opportunity to look at those who have made the city their playground through their disciplines, many of them newly-registered Olympic disciplines. Whether they practice parkour, breakdance, skateboarding or BMX, how do these urban athletes experience the city? How has their relationship with it evolved? What are their favorite spots? Encounters.
• And when the cocoon inspires us? We invite ourselves to the home of Venezuelan-Brazilian artist Rosa Maria Unda Souki, whose apartment in a residence designed by Marcel Lods at the end of the Second World War has become a major source of inspiration. In her series “La Recherche”, the exiled artist expresses her search for a home, made almost impossible by her status, until she found the apartment she now occupies with her family. Her vision is both dreamlike and soothing, giving us a powerful grasp of the indispensability and wonder of shelter. Superb.

Eclecticism, poetry, art, escapism, beauty and good ideas are definitely not a function of square metres!