When architect Paul Coudamy was asked to convert 32 square meters (344 square feet) of empty space (formerly part of a larger home) into a tiny apartment in Paris’s 13th arrondissement, he chose to digitally print some of it in order to maximize the space.

Most of the kitchen and bedroom are crafted in CNC-cut plywood. “Plywood is not very expensive. The really interesting is that if you cut it, like with CNC and things like that, you don’t have to finish it, you don’t have to paint. It’s very interesting because you can put it out the machine and put the pieces together and it’s done.”

The small apartment is on the ground floor on a street without much light so to brighten the home, Coudamy created a sculptural “cloud” that hangs from the ceiling. He calls it Nuctale: nuage (“cloud” in French) + fractal. Inspired by sailing navigation, it’s constructed of 76 frosted acrylic triangles connected by 206 hinges and can be manipulated to change shape and brightness depending on one’s mood.

Coudamy believes created a custom environment is worth the extra cost, especially in a city where space is at a premium. “A lot of people to prefer to buy as much square meters as possible and they have no money after to build a nice space. So maybe it’s better to have 5 to 10 square meters small and have a very nice space with a really optimized space.”