THE SCULPTED PENTHOUSE | Peny Hsieh

The Sculpted Penthouse: A Sculpted Retreat Above Taipei

On the top floor of a residential building in Taipei, The Sculpted Penthouse transforms a 230 m² apartment into a continuous refuge—one in which interior architecture becomes a sculptural work in its own right. Peny Hsieh Interiors begins from conditions that are atypical for a penthouse—a low slab height, a fragmented plan, and a terrace that was virtually unused—and proposes a solution that is at once serene and radical: softening the geometry and shaping space as a fluid, continuous gesture.

Before the renovation, the home bore the clear marks of time: narrow rooms, uneven light, discontinuous circulation, and a terrace that, despite its views and elevation, was rarely inhabited. The owner wanted the opposite: a luminous, calm home that would evoke his time in Spain—a place where inside and outside could flow naturally, and where the pace of everyday life could slow down.

Walls and ceilings are formed as continuous mineral-like surfaces in sandy tones, wrapping each room in a matte, tactile texture. Within this envelope, a continuous grey floor unifies the plan and allows light to glide across the interior without interruption. In this framework, living room, dining area, and kitchen unfold in sequence without rigid partitions: curves replace edges, and light becomes the true organizational element.

At the heart of the project is the staircase, reimagined as a sculptural object. Rounded wooden treads emerge from a curved volume that rises toward the light. On the upper level, a circular glass oculus pierces the slab and opens a void above the main living area, linking both floors through light and line of sight.

The terrace—previously too exposed and difficult to inhabit—becomes a natural extension of the interior. A lightweight pergola softens the daylight, while low furniture and gentle textiles invite pause. From here, Taipei’s skyline—with Taipei 101 outlined in the distance—enters the project as an everyday presence.

Upstairs, an intimate lounge is organized around the oculus, with soft light filtered through taut curtains. From there, one reaches the primary bedroom, composed in muted tones and warm textiles, leading to a bathroom conceived as a small mineral landscape: a freestanding tub in dusty pink, an open curved shower, and a pale stone vanity set over wood create a warm, quiet scene.

The guest bathroom adopts a more dramatic atmosphere through a dark mineral cladding, where a stone basin and layered lighting intensify the space’s sculptural character.

The Sculpted Penthouse is not defined by a single grand gesture, but by a coherent sequence of decisions: to soften geometry, extend light upward and downward, turn the terrace into a genuinely habitable place, and compose an interior in which matter and time operate with restraint. The result is a penthouse that embraces the city from an ideal distance, transforming daily life into an experience that is gentle, unhurried, and deliberate.