Compact Oak Tube Captures Natural Light for a 5th Floor Apartment in Russia

<a href="http://www.kostelov.ru/">Peter Kostelov</a> is a master at giving old Russian homes new life. He recently renovated this 5th story apartment in Moscow, which is set deep into the back of a tall building and used to receive virtually no <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylighting">natural lighting</a>, making it a pretty depressing place to live. Kostelov inserted an <a href="http://inhabitat.com/pixelated-cube-tube-is-and-airy-bright-office-restaurant-in-china/">oak tube</a> to capture light that streams through the windows and replaced dead walls with glass.

Peter Kostelov is the master of urban renovation projects

The Russian designer has also mastered timber

Confronted with a poorly-lit 5th floor apartment in Moscow, the designer employed unique techniques to lighten the place up a bit

He replaced dead walls with glass, for starters

Kostelov then inserted an elevated oak tube into the oblong space

The tube acts as a portal between different functions in the home

The tube also funnels light through the apartment

Sustainably-sourced oak is finished off with a composite stone giving the home its sleek, polished look.

Albeit contemporary and beautiful, this home definitely has a minimalist touch

Very few furnishings are added to the fluid interior, as much of it is built in

Despite using fairly homogenous materials, Kostelov manages to give the home plenty of texture

This is the third project we have featured by this designer, and you can probably see why!