Small apartments are common in older European cities such as Paris, and so far we've seen a multitude of wonderfully designed small spaces that make the most out of not that much square footage. Working along those lines, Paris' Freaks Architecture transformed this 30-square-metre (322 square feet) apartment in Paris' 13th arrondissement into a weekend home in the city for two architects who have retired and live mostly in the countryside.

Called La Tournette, the name is a reference to the French term for a a kind of rotating stage element that's used in theatrical productions in order to quickly change the stage scenery. As designer Guillaume Aubry tells Dezeen:

One of the clients had worked on theatre projects so she was very seduced by the idea of re-exploring the 'tournette' rotating element in a domestic use.

The tournette in this micro-apartment has a minimalist arched form, recalling the setting of a kind of domestic scene and conveniently divides the apartment's more public front from the more secluded rear, which contains the kitchen, lofted sleeping space and bathroom.

The unit not only acts as storage, but also has a hidden table that can fold down for dinner parties or for work. Best of all, this arched object is on wheels, meaning it can be moved to any spot in the apartment: it can be moved out of the way to accommodate the couple's two grown daughters when they visit, or turned around to the kitchen to provide an extra table for preparing food.

While the apartment doesn't seem to have a lot of space to initially work with, versatile elements and multifunctional walls such as the one above make a big difference to any small space; not only does it increase functionality, it also helps to provide an extra bit of partitioning for greater privacy. To see more, visit Freaks Architecture.

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