The Onion Apartment is a 141㎡ home renovation in Beijing by WAG ARCHITECTS. Faced with a poorly lit living room and a long, narrow corridor, we reorganized the public and private spaces to make room for both social connection and quiet solitude. Taking the homeowner’s personality as our starting point, we gave the home a distinct sense of “me.”

 

Onion Theory

Before designing, we thoroughly gathered information about "me," to understand "me," and to analyze "me". "Me" is like an onion, with the outermost layer being the most solid and seen by the most people, while the inner layers are softer and seen by fewer. This “onion” also applies to our home: the outermost layer is the living room, displayed to outsiders, while the bedroom truly belongs to oneself and reflects the most authentic mental world.

To understand the homeowner's identity, interviews were conducted with both the individual and the friends. In the eyes of the friends, we summarized the homeowner's personality into several design-related keywords: bold and creative, inclusive, lively, and optimistic. From the homeowner's self-description, the keywords are cautious, quiet, and valuing alone time.

This revealed contrasting personality traits: lively vs. quiet, bold vs. cautious, which led us to another experimental goal: to reflect these psychological contradictions in space.

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Solving Spatial Problems

The main purpose of renovation is always to solve spatial problems. In this project, the home’s existing layout posed challenges, such as poor daylighting in the living room and narrow corridors.

Since the apartment is mostly occupied by the homeowner alone, we opened up the south-facing secondary bedroom to the living room and widened the corridor, turning it into a small hall. A curtain is installed between the bedroom and the small hall to protect guests' privacy when needed. A huge mirror was added to the living room to reflect daylight, and the kitchen wall was opened to make the living space brighter and more welcoming.

The private space was redesigned for comfort and introspection. The adjacent bedroom became a study connected to the master bedroom, forming a suite. A previously unused balcony next to the master bedroom was transformed into a tearoom, allowing the homeowner to enjoy solitude without leaving personal space.

Through the adjustments, the original home layout was transformed into two main space combinations: an outward-facing space centered on the living room and an inward-facing space centered on the master bedroom. The outer combination wraps around the inner combination like the layers of an onion, forming a new spatial configuration.

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Turning "Me" into Space

Design elements reflect the homeowner's dual nature. The outward-facing spaces feature bold, lively colors, we adopted Mondrian’s primary red, yellow, and blue, to convey creativity and energy. To reflect psychological contradiction, we incorporated terrazzo and wood alongside the vibrant, dynamic colors. This material contrast not only emphasizes the vividness of the colors but also enhances the texture of the space, reflecting the homeowner's inclusiveness.

 Meanwhile, the inward-facing spaces emphasize warmth and calm, with wood tones dominating, yet with occasional bright accents to reflect the complexity of human psychology. This thoughtful design unifies the space with the homeowner’s identity, creating a home that reflects both outward presentation and inner self.