Paris-based Iranian architect Saba Ghorbanalinejad has a way with difficult plans. Her work centers on transforming misconfigured spaces into functional interiors with the innovative quality of twentieth-century Modernism. Case in point: the complete renovation of a 65-square-meter apartment in a 1970s building in Paris’s 11th arrondissement. The original layout, typical of the era, strictly separated day and night areas. Ghorbanalinejad reconfigured the space as two openings carved around a central core: “a nucleus which organizes circulation and allows light to flow freely from one façade to the other.”
Completed in November of 2025 after a tidy nine-month renovation, the apartment was designed for a young couple—a book publisher and an engineer—and their baby. With a refined eye for architecture and materials, the clients were well matched with Ghorbanalinejad, who developed a considered palette of waxed concrete, stainless steel, and Okoumé wood. Join us for a tour.
Photography by Mary Gaudin for Saba Ghorbanalinejad.
Above: The ninth-floor apartment opens into an expansive kitchen, dining, and living space, with views over the rooftops Oberkampf. 
Above: The kitchen island conceived as a sculptural object, designed by Ghorbanalinejad and fabricated by Framaco, with an integrated Bosch cooktop. “The goal was to make the island feel as light and sculptural as possible, rather than a heavy, traditional centerpiece,” Ghorbanalinejad explains. “The integrated lamp accentuates this sense of lightness, enhancing the island’s sculptural quality.” 
Above: The lamp is a Joe Colombo Spider Arc Lamp from 1967. The cabinets are Okoumé wood, chosen for its grain; the wall oven is by Sauter. 
Above: Paint was stripped from sections of walls and ceiling, leaving the original concrete partially exposed. In the kitchen, it is paired with glass shelving and a custom stainless steel element, fabricated by Framaco. 
Above: The wall lamp is a vintage Murano glass sconce. 
Above: The faucet is the Dornbracht Tara Wall-Mounted Mixer.
