Architecture studio VATRAA has won a Don’t Move, Improve! award with this London council house renovation featuring pink-toned plaster walls and an oversized window.
Called Council House Renovation, the project involved a full refurbishment and remodelling of the two-bedroom home in Bermondsey, south London.
An oversized window creates transparency from front to back in the Council House Renovation
VATRAA‘s client wanted a warm, contemporary interior that gave her more space but without an extension that would disrupt the appearance of the council estate, which was built in the 1980s.
Instead, the architects aimed to create spaciousness within the small, 76-square-metre flat by making only minimal interventions.
The architects created a warm and contemporary look
Seeing the opportunities the small seven-by-seven-metre footprint presented for enhanced front-to-back transparency, the architects swapped out an ornamental bay window for a larger clean-lined square one.
It forms a new aesthetic feature and frames views of the evergreen front garden.
Ceiling joists are exposed in the living room
Another key feature is the textured, dusky pink-coloured walls.
This effect is created with what VATRAA describes as a “banal” plaster, British Gypsum Multifinish, avoiding the cost and resources of wall paint altogether.
VATRAA applied the plaster carefully to achieve a textured and slightly reflective finish that responds well to daylight, creating different moods and effects at different times of the day.
Teamed with white ceilings and white-washed oak floors, it forms an aesthetic backdrop to the client’s collection of art and design objects.
There are white-washed floors and white ceilings
For the floor plan, VATRAA were guided by the existing stairs and heating source, a pre-feed water tank that is part of a communal system.
To take advantage of its heat, they placed the laundry room around it so clothing would air-dry faster, and the bathroom directly above so the floor tiles would be warmed without additional heating.
An angled pantry optimises the space under the stairs
Each of the other spaces is given its own atmosphere according to function.
The architects made the entrance lobby grander by opening the ceiling to the pitched roof and incorporating the old external loggia into the interior.
The kitchen has bespoke furniture and cabinetry
In the living room, they exposed the previously concealed structural joists in the ceiling, making the 2.4-metre-high space feel loftier.
In the dining room, they created an angled pantry feature that makes the most of the awkward space underneath the stairs and added bespoke solid oak dining furniture.
Different qualities of light create different moods in the house
Upstairs, the two bedrooms are finished in calming all-white to create a contrast to the stimulating warmth of the downstairs living areas.
“The morning transition between the night and day zones becomes an event, giving the homeowner a sensation of energy, immediately as she steps into the stairwell and descends to the ground floor,” said VATRAA.
“With thoughtful decisions fully grounded in the context we operated in, we managed to turn a nondescript ex-council house into a home with a distinctive character, now proud to tell its story through space, light and materials.”
The upstairs bedrooms are a contrast in clean white
VATRAA was founded in 2018 by Anamaria Pircu and Bogdan Rusu, who are based across London and Bucharest. They completed the Council House Renovation in 2020.
It was named the Don’t Move, Improve! Compact Design of the Year alongside Two and a Half Story House by B-VDS Architecture, another project in a council estate.
Fosters + Partners has restored and converted the Palazzo Marignoli in Rome into an Apple Store, uncovering historic features and opening up a central courtyard.
Apple Via del Corso is the largest Apple Store in Europe and occupies the historic Palazzo Marignoli, near the Piazza Colonna, in the centre of Rome.
Top: the store is located in the Palazzo Marignoli. Above: a courtyard is at the centre of the building
The Apple Via del Corso building sits on a site that held a church and a convent in the 16th century.
The current Palazzo Marignoli building was constructed between 1873 and 1878 and served as a home for Marquis Filippo Marignoli. It also housed the Caffè Aragno, a famous gathering spot for artists.
Original paintings were restored and placed in the ceiling
Foster + Partners wanted to celebrate its history by highlighting its grandeur and restoring its historic features.
“The idea was to celebrate different aspects and various areas of the history of the building,” said Foster + Partners partner Luis Matania.
“You have this juxtaposition of all these various areas in the building’s history, through to now, the 21st century.”
Ettore Ballerini’s Dusk was placed between ceiling panelling
L-shaped in its plan, the building is organised around a large courtyard that the studio opened up to be used by the public and to greet visitors upon entry into the building.
Camphor trees placed across the courtyard informed by the 16th-century convent that previously existed on the site.
Wooden tables were placed within retail spaces
“The courtyard is no longer private, it becomes a democratic space that the community is invited to come through into and enjoy,” said Foster + Partners partner Stefan Behling.
“We reintroduced trees as a reference to the old convent and it allows the community to come and enjoy this beautiful space.”
Artworks by Afro Basaldella that were found in the building were restored
Artworks by Italian artist Afro Basaldella from the building’s art cafe days abstractly depict imagery and scenes of Italy were carefully restored and set into the walls.
Large early-1900s ceiling paintings by Fabio Cipolla and Ettore Ballerini have also restored and incorporated above the marble interiors between ceiling panelling.
“It has been a complicated building and we have discovered things along the way,” said Matania.
“It has been an evolving design process, that has amended and adapted as we found new things, new painting and new aspects of the architecture”
The grand staircase was fitted with local marble
White marble was used throughout the interior of Apple Via del Corso, covering the floors of each room and framing large windows that provide glimpses into adjoining rooms.
To the west of the courtyard, a grand staircase with vast mouldings and a former oculus on its ceiling was restored, structurally reinforced and fitted with locally sourced Carrara marble.
The firm recreated daylight within the grand stairwell by adding LED lighting to the oculus that changes with the time of day.
A long corridor links spaces in the store
On the first floor, a long corridor connects a forum space with a Genius Bar and three retail areas.
The forum-style space will be used for community events, occupying what used to be the Palazzo’s ballroom a central point of the first floor.
Apple Via del Corso’s forum-style space was furnished with pale wood and leather
In the Genius Bar, conservators restored a hand-painted geometrically patterned ceiling with decorative crown mouldings.
Wooden furniture and joinery were used throughout to bring warmth to the interior spaces.
An original hand-painted patterned ceiling covers the Genius Bar of Apple Via del Corso
Dark wood-framed doors and windows along the corridors and edge of the rooms open out onto Juliette balconies and a terrace that overlooks the courtyard below.
Camphor trees, olive trees and jasmine vines were placed across the terrace to reflect typical plant-filled Roman roof terraces.
Apple Via del Corso is one of many historic buildings the technology company has opened stores in, including the Foster + Partner designed Champs-Élysées store in Paris and the converted Washington DC library.
Thinking of using stone in your project? Our latest Dezeen guide includes 15 popular types of natural rock used in architecture, interiors and design with links to hundreds of examples to inspire your own work.
Alabaster
Alabaster is a soft, fine-grained stone that has been used for centuries to carve elaborate forms and ornaments. However, its solubility in water means that it is best suited for indoor use.
In its pure form, alabaster is white and translucent, which makes it ideally suited to lighting design.
Studio Tack used tubular light shades made from alabaster to softly illuminate a cosy Japanese restaurant in New York (above), while lighting studio Allied Maker used the stone to create ornate totemic floor lamps.
Amarist Studio showcased the sculptural possibilities of the stone in its Aqua Fossil collection, which includes a coffee table with swooping, curved legs.
See projects featuring alabaster ›
Basalt
Basalt is a dark-coloured igneous rock that is formed when lava cools rapidly. It is most frequently used as an aggregate for concrete as it is low-cost and high-strength, but it is also a popular cladding and flooring material, especially when polished.
Examples of this include the facade of a small gallery in Amsterdam by Barend Koolhaas and a Hawaiian holiday home by Walker Warner Architects in which slender basalt cladding tiles are contrasted with cedar detailing (above).
Icelandic studio Innriinnri used two sculpted slabs of basalt stone to create a sculptural table that doubles as a stool or a piece of art, while South Korean artist Byung Hoon Choi polished the stone to create oversized outdoor furniture.
See projects featuring basalt ›
Flint
Flint is a highly durable stone found in abundance as irregular-shaped nodules in sedimentary rocks such as chalk. It has been used as a construction material since the Roman era, though it is not often seen in contemporary architecture.
Flint varies in colour, but it is commonly glassy black with a white crust. In architecture, it is usually knapped – split to expose its glossy inner face – before being laid in mortar.
Skene Catling de la Peña used a combination of knapped and unknapped flint to cover a wedge-shaped house in Buckinghamshire (above), which creates a subtle colour gradient across its facade.
See projects featuring flint ›
Gneiss
Gneiss, a robust metamorphic stone composed of alternating layers of different coloured minerals, is popular to use for flooring and worktops. Hues can range from pinks and golds to greens and dark greys.
Peter Pichler sourced grey gneiss with black-and-white bands from Passeier Valley in South Tyrol to create a large counter in the bar of an Italian Alpine hotel (above).
It can also be used as a cladding material, such as in Bernardo Bader Architekten’s ski resort office in Austria and a radio broadcasting station in Nepal by Archium.
Granite
Granite is one of the most widely used stones in architecture and design. It forms from the slow crystallisation of magma beneath the Earth’s crust. It is used for everything from load-bearing structures to cladding, worktops and furniture.
Its popularity is down to its high compressive strength, durability and low porosity. Granite is also found in an array of colours, making it suitable for a range of spaces and styles.
Heatherwick Studio recently used green granite to make a trio of its sculptural Spun chairs (above), while Snøhetta has used a grey variety to cover almost every surface of an Aesop store to emulate a rocky coastline.
Architecture studio NOARQ tested the material’s strength by elevating a cabin on thick blocks of granite over the entrance to a stone villa in Portugal.
See projects featuring granite ›
Laterite
Rusty-red laterite stone is formed from the leaching of rocks and soil during alternating periods of high temperature and heavy rainfall in tropical areas. This process leaves behind a high concentration of insoluble iron oxides, which gives the rock its colour.
Laterite is typically used in construction in Africa and Asia in the form of bricks, which have excellent thermal mass and a low embodied energy. These bricks are made by cutting the rock out from below the water table when it is moist and leaving it to harden in the air.
Architect Francis Kéré used locally sourced laterite to build the walls of a school in Burkina Faso and Studio Lotus has used it to create the pedestal of a government building in India (above).
Limestone
There are many different types of limestone, a sedimentary rock composed mainly of calcium carbonate. It is considered a good all-round building material as it is easy to cut and carve and usually has a uniform texture and colour.
Popular limestone varieties include travertine (see below) and Portland stone, which is used on notable buildings in London such as St Paul’s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace.
David Chipperfield Architects recently used limestone to clad the Kunsthaus Zurich museum extension in Switzerland and John Pawson used it to line the surfaces of a minimalist flagship store in Japan for fashion label Jil Sander.
Design projects that utilise limestone include a blocky furniture collection called Dig Where You Stand by students from the Estonian Academy of Arts (above).
See projects featuring limestone ›
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock with veins of calcite crystal. It forms from limestone that has been exposed to heat and pressure and is found in many colours. Marble is strong but easily carved and polishes well, making it suitable for numerous applications.
It is most popularly used in kitchen and bathroom designs, but it is often used as cladding too, such as in Alexander Owen Architecture’s garden room in London (above).
Onyx is a translucent gemstone composed of parallel bands of quartz, found in almost every colour. It has a long history of use in sculpture and jewellery but is less commonly found in architecture and design. However, onyx is sometimes used as a facing or lighting.
Projects that use onyx include a mausoleum in Minneapolis by HGA and an office by Anne Claus Interiors where it has been used to clad a multi-coloured bar (above).
Porphyry is a strong and hard-wearing igneous stone that comes in reddish-brown to purple hues. It is composed of large-grained crystals embedded in a fine-grained groundmass.
It has been used in architecture and design since antiquity, though it is rarely seen in contemporary architecture and design. Today it is mostly used as aggregate in the construction of roads in places where cars require studded winter tires.
Pedevilla Architects used a block of porphyry as a kitchen island for a cookery school in South Tyrol, while architect Claudio Silvestrin used it to line the walls of a Milanese fashion boutique.
Quartzite
Formed from sandstone exposed to high heat and pressure, quartzite is a very hard and durable metamorphic rock. It is usually found in white and grey shades.
Quartzite is a popular material for kitchen countertops as it is resistant to staining, but is most commonly used as a decorative cladding or flooring.
Examples of this include a dwelling in Utah by Klima Architecture, Peter Zumthor’s Therme Vals spa (above) and a monolithic Parisian library by Agence Pascale Guédot.
See projects featuring quartzite ›
Sandstone
Sandstone is composed of fine silicate grains that have eroded from other rocks, giving it either a warm red, yellow or orange colouration.
Used for construction since prehistoric times, sandstone continues to be a popular choice in architecture and design as it is abundant, durable and easy to handle.
Recent architectural projects that use the material include a cathedral extension by Feilden Fowles, a museum by Álvaro Siza, and an oval-shaped all-girls school in India (above) that is designed to blend into its desert surroundings.
See projects featuring sandstone ›
Shale
This grey fine-grained stone is one of the most common sedimentary rocks on earth. It is formed from the compaction of silt and mud into thin, fissile layers. In architecture and design, shale is usually crushed and processed into bricks, tiles and pottery, or heated with limestone to make cement.
Aketuri Architektai used shale tiles to clad a pointy woodland house in Lithuania (above), while Spaceworkers wrapped the stone around the basement of a Portuguese house to provide it with a raw, rugged aesthetic.
See projects featuring shale ›
Slate
Slate is a dark fine-grained stone that is formed when a sedimentary rock, such as shale, is subjected to high pressure. It is a foliated rock, meaning it is made up of thin sedimentary layers, which allows it to be split – or riven – into thin slabs.
Slate is durable and weather- and frost-resistant, making it a popular material choice for cladding, roofing and paving.
In interior projects, the material is often also used as floor tiles, hearths and kitchen worktops. Natalie Weinmann sanded and polished the stone to create a blocky furniture collection.
TRIAS used it to clad a small writer’s retreat in a Welsh valley while Austin Maynard Architects diamond, scalloped and brick-shaped slate shingles to cover a Melbourne house (above).
See projects featuring slate ›
Travertine
One of the most commonly used forms of limestone is travertine, which has been sourced from mineral springs for use as a building material for centuries. The largest building in the world made from this stone is the Colosseum in Rome.
Today, travertine is mostly processed into tiles for internal and external surface coverings, but it is also a popular material for bathroom fit-outs. As it is found with troughs on its surface, processing travertine usually involves polishing its surface.
Projects that use travertine include an extension to a German museum by Bez + Kock Architekten (above), an apartment renovation in Lithuania by 2XJ, and a furniture collection by David/Nicolas.
See projects featuring travertine ›
Recent popular stone projects on Dezeen include an inconspicuous house on the island of Serifos, a monolithic spa by Smartvoll, a collection of luxury lodges on England’s Jurassic Coast and a coffee table by Studio Twenty Seven.
The main image is of Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls’ School by Diana Kellogg Architects taken by Vinay Panjwani.
For our latest lookbook, we’ve rounded up 14 galley designs by architects and designers that create space-saving and efficient kitchens.
A galley kitchen features two parallel rows of units separated by a passage. It is named after the food preparation area on ships, which are traditionally narrow, cramped spaces called galleys.
Galley layouts are often when space is limited since they offer a high proportion of storage and preparation surfaces compared to circulation space, or when the kitchen area is long and narrow.
They are also efficient since the cook can quickly and easily move between tasks.
They are one of the most popular kitchen layouts. The basic galley layout can be expanded by the addition of an island between the two runs of units.
This is the latest roundup in our Dezeen Lookbooks series providing visual inspiration for the home. Previous kitchen-related posts include compact kitchens, breakfast bars, terrazzo kitchens and kitchens with islands.
Sacha, France, by SABO Project
The kitchen in this Parisian apartment is a hybrid of two popular layouts, being part galley and part one-wall.
A counter runs the length of the kitchen diner and features a galley area at one end, where a wall-mounted oven and a refrigerator are housed in full-height units. The entire kitchen features birch plywood cabinetry.
Find out more about Sacha ›
House in Red Concrete, Norway, Sanden+Hodnekvam Arkitekter
Rough concrete floors were combined with pine panelling and cabinetry in this classic galley kitchen in Norway.
Galley kitchens usually place the sink in front of a window with the hob on the windowless side but here the layout has been flipped, with spectacular mountain views proving a distraction for anyone working at the stove.
Walls are clad in pine panelling or rendered in cement to match the floor.
Find out more about House in Red Concrete ›
308 S Apartment, Brazil, by Bloco Arquitetos
This apartment in Brasília was built in the 1960s by architect Lucio Costa and landscape architect Burle Marx. It was remodelled with an open-plan design that exposes its concrete structure.
Its kitchen is organised at the front of the home and combines white cabinetry with granite work surfaces. The run of cupboards that faces the dining area doubles as a breakfast bar.
Find out more about 308 S Apartment ›
Barbican apartment, UK, by John Pawson
The minimalist overhaul of this one-bedroom apartment in the brutalist Barbican estate in London saw designer John Pawson replace the original warren-like plan with a geometric, broken-plan arrangement.
This includes a galley kitchen slotted into a passageway that leads to a small dining area.
Full-height, handless cupboards conceal appliances and belongings along one wall. The other houses a small countertop with a sink and hob, with more full-height storage to one side.
Find out more about the Barbican apartment ›
Yurikago House, Spain, by Mas-aqui
A recessed kitchen on the ground floor of the multi-levelled Yurikago House sees flecked grey terrazzo countertops paired with terracotta floor tiles.
The end wall provides shelving on either side of a full-height unit that conceals a fridge-freezer.
Find out more about Yurikago House ›
Kasa House, Japan, by Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates
This unusual cross-shaped house in Kariya, Japan by Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates features an equally unusual kitchen.
The galley occupies one arm of the cross and consists of a stainless-steel countertop with a generous integrated sink on one side and timber cabinets on the other.
The wall behind the sink is open, providing a serving hatch for the small dining area area beyond.
Find out more about Kasa House ›
La Carmina, Spain, by RÄS studio
The unusual space-saving layout of this Barcelona apartment conversion by RÄS studio features a square structure inserted into the living space that houses a bathroom and storage.
The gap between the cube and an internal wall has been used to house a compact galley kitchen that is separated from the dining area by the bathroom.
The asymmetrical kitchen has one polished granite counter, which is split in height to allow a small window to open inwards. The splashback is clad in mosaic tiles, as is the floor.
The other counter has a pine surface and splashback.
A narrow passageway in this Valencian townhouse is not quite wide enough even for a full galley kitchen. Instead, one run of units is shallower than usual and doubles as a breakfast bar.
Countertops are of marble while the floor is finished in mosaic tiles.
Find out more about the Valencian townhouse ›
Flat 27A, Hong Kong, by Design Eight Five Two
Smart storage solutions, concealed cabinetry and custom-built furniture fill this kitchen in Hong Kong’s Kowloon Bay area.
A muted green colour covers the cabinetry below worksurfaces, with white cupboards on the walls and overhead spaces providing more storage.
Find out more about Flat 27A ›
17.6-square-metre flat, Taiwan, by A Little Design
This former piano studio in Taipei measures just 17.6 square metres and 3.4 metres in height.
Its kitchen is tucked alongside the entrance hall, between two load-bearing walls. It packs a lot into its tiny footprint with storage reaching to the ceiling on both sides, open shelving and even a washing machine. A counter down one side juts out to accommodate a small electric hob.
Find out more about the 17.6-square-metre flat ›
Shakespeare Tower apartment, UK, by Takero Shimazaki Architects
Also located within London’s Barbican Estate, this apartment merges brutalism with elegant Japanese details.
It features a mainly wooden interior, with gridded timber panels used as screens to partially conceal the kitchen.
The concrete on the ceiling was left exposed and contrasts against the wooden cabinetry, while stainless steel was used across all work surfaces. Black glazed subway tiles decorate the floors.
Find out more about the Shakespeare Tower apartment ›
Galla House, Spain, by Cavaa
Pops of colour were incorporated from other areas of the home in this kitchen designed by architecture studio Cavaa.
The studio fitted the kitchen behind a half wall with a glazed partition that stretches to the ceiling and visually connects the kitchen with the living area.
The cabinetry was finished with a light grey that links the storage solutions to its bluish-grey terrazzo floor that zones the area.
Find out more about Galla House ›
RF Apartment, Brazil, by SuperLimão
Located within the modernist Saint Honoré Building in Sao Paulo, designed by Brazilian architect Artacho Jurado, this kitchen takes an industrial look and combines it with bold colours.
Large blue glazed tiles cover the floor, reflecting light across the space. Terracotta paint was applied across the ceiling and strip lighting, while the electrical wiring that wraps around concrete walls was painted a pale blue.
Find out more about RF Apartment ›
Portico House, Brazil, by Bloco Arquitetos
The open-plan kitchen of this house in Brasília by Bloco Arquitetos has a mixed palette that includes timber, terracotta and concrete.
The key design statement is the cast-concrete counter that divides the kitchen from the living and dining area and turning a supporting column into a feature.
The counter doubles as a breakfast bar and offers a limited amount of storage in low-rise cupboards.
The other side of the kitchen is more conventional, featuring a one-wall run of timber-fronted units plus a counter and splashback of speckled grey surfacing material.
Find out more about Portico House ›
This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing peaceful bedrooms, wallpapered interiors and colourful kitchens.
Brick-like tiles with a volcanic ash glaze created by Formafantasma and textured concrete walls feature in this coffee shop in Shibuya, Tokyo, by Japanese studio Keiji Ashizawa Design.
Located a short walk from Tokyo’s busy downtown area, this Blue Bottle Coffee outpost was conceived as an urban retreat sandwiched between two parks.
It serves coffee during the day and appetisers and natural wine in the evenings.
Brown tiles with a volcanic ash glaze feature throughout the interior of Blue Bottle Coffee Shibuya
Keiji Ashizawa Design, which also designed the coffee brand’s Yokohama outpost, wanted to create a warm and welcoming interior that brought the park surroundings into the glass-walled and concrete-floored space.
“It was a challenge to come up with a playful interior plan in this square two-storey building,” Ashizawa told Dezeen.
“The other challenge was to make links between the first and second floors, and the exterior and interior.”
Counter seating runs along the wall of windows
To bring the outside in, the studio installed a large, curved tile counter that wraps around the cafe’s kitchen area and welcomes customers as they enter.
The brown tiles – developed as a collaboration between London material manufacturer Dzek, and the Amsterdam-based design studio Formafantasma – are finished with a special volcanic ash glaze.
A single artisan laid all 7,000 tiles in the interior
A single skilled artisan laid more than 7,000 of the tiles in the cafe. As well as the counter, they cover a low coffee table and a wall in the upstairs lounge area. Ashizawa said the tiles were specifically chosen to connect the interior and exterior spaces.
“We wanted a park-like item as a key material which stands out in the interior but also makes a strong connection between first and second floor, and the exterior and interior at the same time,” explained Ashizawa.
A sunken seating area is fringed in bench seating
“I thought that this tile, which has a brick-like colour, is an item reminiscent of parks in Japan,” he continued.
“Also, there is the fact that the soil from volcanic ash is a familiar material in this Kanto region, and I remember that the soil floor of the original Kitaya Park was also Kanto loam.”
In addition to the warm-coloured tiles, pink and orange textiles by Kvadrat, and wooden furniture by Karimoku, Ishinomaki Lab and Ariake add warmth to the largely glass and concrete interior.
On Blue Bottle Coffee’s ground floor, tables are set at differing heights. The high counter with stools allows customers to watch the barista preparing their coffee, while the lower table provides a good view of the park.
The seating area is obscured by a translucent grey curtain
More seating types are installed upstairs, including a lowered floor area with banquette seating upholstered in an autumnal orange textile. This space can be sectioned off from the main area by a grey, sheer curtain.
An oval dining table sits in the centre of the space providing a casual and communal dining option. A high counter table with a library-like light allows for quiet groups and singles to sit at the rear of the space.
Wooden benches offer seating outside of the cafe
At the far end, a low, tiled coffee table is surrounded by comfortable lounge chairs and sofas upholstered in muted pink fabric.
A textured, brushed mortar finish has been applied to the cafe’s ceiling on the ground floor, and across a wall upstairs to help improve the acoustics in the space.
The furniture is in keeping with the buildings timber-clad facade
“When we plan cafes or restaurants, it is essential to think about acoustics,” said Ashizawa. “It is important that you can speak easily and that you can hear the music comfortably.”
“When we first saw the condition of the interior – the floor was made of concrete with glass walls. We definitely thought that we should leave the ceiling some kind of texture to promote sound absorption. At the same time, I thought that creating a feeling of touch in the space would have the effect of relaxing customers in the stressful city of Shibuya, like the greenery of a park.”
“We hope that visitors will enjoy the warm atmosphere as if they had been invited to visit the welcoming house of a close friend,” he concluded.
Dezeen Promotion: Made in Brunel: Above the Fold is an exhibition by Brunel University design graduates taking place at The Bargehouse Gallery and Oxo Tower Gallery in London from 17 to 20 June 2021.
The exhibition presents 100 design solutions to everyday problems, including an app designed to help people with diabetes control their glucose levels, a personalised asthma management system and a tool to diagnose seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Other projects include a mindful app made to help people living with rosacea and a system to manage medication that was designed for complex medical regimes.
The Dampen headphones by Paramveer Bhachu feature replaceable water-soluble padding
“Brunel designers are well versed in turning problems on their heads to develop effective solutions,” said the organisers.
“However, this year, students have taken these problem-solving skills one step further – discovering how to conduct remote user testing when face-to-face testing was impossible and mastering the poly-jet printers when indoor workshops were inaccessible, were just a few of the adaptations to the design process introduced in 2021.”
Omni by Andrew Nagel-Smith is a modular multi-tool with a range of attachments
As part of the final year programme, the students launched the brand Above the Fold, for which they created a podcast and blog to share “essential” design-related content.
“Above the Fold stems from the newspaper terminology denoting that the information on the top of a broadsheet newspaper front page is always visible when folded,” said the organisers.
“These events and initiatives have all been exciting ways to inspire and connect Brunel designers with each other, alumni and industry experts.”
Pinteq portable card terminal by Gabriele Grigaite enables restaurant guests to make card payments safely
For their final year projects – and as part of Above the Fold – students chose their design briefs, or applied for briefs provided by external sources including the National Health Service and a range of private companies.
By being “immersed” in a range of real-life challenges, the projects aimed to enable students to develop problem-solving solutions.
Diawise by Alex Cummings is a non-invasive glucose monitor and app
Students also studied six design modules that supported the research and development activities of their final projects. The Human Factors module required students to develop a solution to a problem using human-centred design principles.
“Solutions ranged from quieting noisy popcorn eaters in cinemas to reducing self-contamination during the removal of PPE in intensive care units,” said the university.
Viu by Alex D’Souza is a webcam that turns any flat physical surface into a shareable platform
Students who chose the Environmentally Sensitive Design module dismantled a product, conducted a life-cycle analysis on it, then redesigned it using eco-design strategies.
The lifecycle analysis of the redesign “revealed reductions in carbon emissions and energy consumption in production,” according to the organisers.
Rosette by Dani Cropley is a mindful app tailored to meet the needs of people with rosacea
In a third module, called Design and Innovation Management Processes, students designed a business model for their products and services.
“Specifying target markets and creative ways to reach them helped students understand the next steps in commercialising a product,” said the university.
Doset by Joe Ground is a smart medication management system
Students who chose the Computer-based Design Methods module were asked to “surface model a car of their choice, test its safety in Siemens Jack software and optimise the design through analysis in ANSYS“, according to the university.
For the Contextual Design module, students developed a product to solve real-world issues that might be prevalent in 10–15 years. In the Embedded Systems module, they developed projects “which used sensors and hardware components to carry out a function based on their studies of CCS C code, schematic layouts and printed circuit board design,” according to the university.
The Open-source electronics kit by Arthur Dean-Osgood aims to teach users electronics and circuit building using “intuitive” design methods
According to the organisers, the exhibition will showcase students’ response to these themes and offer an “opportunity to experience the incredible work their designers have created, fostering the next generation of innovative thinkers”.
“Something to look forward to will be the chorus of conversations throughout the gallery – we’re far too used to the silence of virtual meetings where only one person can be heard at a time,” said the organisers.
Nova Equino by Daniel Fredericks tracks mounted spotlight utilising daylight chips to create better quality lighting for indoor working spaces, to help Diagnosed Seasonal Affective Disorder
Tickets to Made in Brunel: Above the Fold are free and can be accessed on Eventbrite.
Chinese studio Atelier Right Hub created a cave-like spa in Hangzhou, China, with a network of interconnected, circular rooms and walls finished in white clay.
Located on the 13th floor of a commercial building by the Qiantang river in downtown Hangzhou, the Soul Realm Spa offers spaces for massage and meditation.
Curved walls lead visitors through the Soul Realm Spa
Local studio Atelier Right Hub was invited to create a calming interior within the building’s rectangular, 220-square-metre floorplan.
This was achieved by inserting a sequence of circular treatment rooms with curved ceilings into the centre of the plan.
A curved blue sofa faces a semi-circular window
“If we observe life carefully, we will find that straight lines are mostly found in man-made objects while natural objects are mostly curved,” the studio told Dezeen.
“Whether it is mountains or rivers and streams, they are curved and full of changes and they have more charm and vitality than straight lines.”
The walls are finished in white clay
According to Atelier Right Hub, the circular plan was informed by the shape of traditional Tibetan singing bowls – a type of inverted bell used for meditation.
The walls, ceilings and floors are made from white clay and blend seamlessly together. They have a textured finish, which the studio likens to “walking barefoot on earth”.
“China used to be a country dominated by farming culture,” Atelier Right Hub explained. “Farmers mostly farmed barefoot in the fields and children often played barefoot as well.”
“These memories are both unfamiliar and longed for in modern cities. Only when you feel the earth barefoot will you let go of your defences – this is also a way we hope spa guests could enjoy real relaxation.”
Private treatment rooms have a circular design
Each massage room features a brass garment hanger and storage tray suspended from the ceiling, where clients can store their clothing and jewellery during treatments.
Curved clay walls also wrap the perimeter of the floor plan to create a curved corridor where the studio has positioned resting areas, a lobby and the foyer.
“The interior space is similar to caves,” said the studio. “The curved ceiling, streamlined walls and the visual axes that revolve around the twists and turns form a fuzzy space-time context that is difficult to synchronize with the outside.”
Showers are fitted within a circular alcove
A series of large, geometric windows punctuate the corridor, including an arc-shaped window that illuminates a small resting area and reveals expansive views of the city’s downtown area.
Its form is echoed in the semi-circular sunken lounge with green banquette seating next to the window.
The spa was designed to have a cave-like look
Other cavernous spas around the world include the Europhia Spa by DecaArchitecture, which is carved into the base of a mountain in Greece, and a subterranean spa in Brooklyn, New York.
London firm dMFK Architects has transformed a mid-century medical laboratory into a flexible office space with smoked oak joinery and a restored concrete staircase.
The office is spread over 550 square metres and located on the first floor of a fully-glazed 1960s building in the city’s Fitzrovia neighbourhood.
Meeting rooms are separated from the main space using smoked oak joinery
dMFK Architects was commissioned by property developers Derwent London to create an interior that was in keeping with the building’s heritage while incorporating the essential features of a modern co-working space.
Accessed from the ground floor lobby via the building’s original restored concrete staircase, the office features smoked oak joinery and bespoke family-style tables by British furniture brand Benchmark.
Spherical pendant lights hang in the main open-plan office area
Paired with vintage lights and pieces of Swiss and Danish furniture, the overall scheme creates a homely environment that is reminiscent of the mid-century era.
The studio incorporated a wide range of spaces for different types of work including phone booths, focus booths, a choice of meeting spaces, shared flexible workbenches, a breakout area, dining spaces, showers and changing facilities.
“We aimed to design as many different workplace opportunities within one space as we could, to offer a potential tenant light and shade and a range of options,” said dMFK Architects.
“Materials were kept soft and neutral to appeal to as wide a range of tenants as we could.”
Open shelving helps to divide up the space
The architects also stressed the importance of offering different types of lighting to foster productivity.
“We wanted contrast, areas of light and shade, strong task lighting on the tables but dimmer lighting in other areas,” they explained.
“We also chose not to use linear strip lighting to create a less even quality of light, which we believe is less tiring and more interesting.”
dMFK Architects restored the building’s original concrete staircase
According to dMFK Architects, the project is representative of a growing trend for developers to create finished interiors within office spaces, rather than renting out empty shells.
The studio has previously designed 11 buildings for The Office Group and was responsible for renovating The Gaslight, a mixed-use development set within an art deco building in central London.
A spherical gateway and otherworldly light reflected through glass prisms feature in this skincare store in Hangzhou, China, which local interiors studio Lialawlab has designed around the theme of retro-futurism.
Created for independent skincare brand Formoral, the concept store is laid out across a 120-square-metre retail unit in the city’s GDA Plaza shopping mall.
The store is themed around the concept of retro-futurism
The store is made up of a “series of spatial scenes” based on the theme of retro-futurism – meaning the future as envisioned in the past.
“The space was decorated using no colour; only different textures in similar colours were used to highlight the space level,” Lialawlab‘s chief designer Liya Xing told Dezeen.
“It was envisioned as a contrasting yet unified whole, which breaks the homogeneity of physical retail spaces in modern cities and explores the deep relationship between nature and the artificial.”
Light reflected through glass prisms creates patches of rainbow-coloured light
The studio created the Formoral store as a desaturated space with large structures, columns and counters finished in highly textured, grey paint.
“The austere finishes echo the brand’s affinity with nature while highlighting the image of a primitive desert planet,” explained Lialawlab, which was founded by Liya Xing alongside Haifeng Luo.
Textured grey paint defines the space
The studio organised the layout to accommodate the store’s various functional areas and make a clear distinction between its public and private spaces.
In the foyer, a sculptural service desk welcomes customers in from the shopping mall while opposite, a large spherical structure that Lialawlab refers to as a “rising planet” serves as a gateway into the private spaces of the store.
The inside of the structure is lined with bench seating and connects to a tunnel clad with matte silver foil and aluminium plates.
A spherical volume forms an entrance to the store’s more private spaces
“To trigger people’s desire to explore the space, we carved out a 200-millimetre-wide gap at the height of 1.25 meters of the massive sphere and the tunnel,” said the studio.
“The gap is complemented with mirrored material, allowing customers to stay, wonder, stare and rest.”
Two cabin doors along the tunnel lead to Formoral’s eight functional zones including product displays, spaces for skin testing, events and demonstration as well as an office and break room for employees.
A tunnel leads customers through the store
To contrast with the grey interior, the designers reflected and refracted light through prisms and gradient-index neon glass that throw patches of rainbow-coloured light onto the walls.
The studio also included coloured lamps and lanterns and a round window in the spherical structure, which is covered with a colour gradient film.
Although the store’s ceilings are 4.6 metres high, only 2.8 metres of this space is actually useable due to the mechanical, electrical and plumbing services installed on the ceiling structure.
The designers skillfully overcame this problem by creating a sloped dropped ceiling, which is 2.75 metres tall at its highest point and skims the top of the spherical structure in the foyer.
At its lowest point of 1.25 metres, it meets the wall to create a smooth, seamless transition.
The store’s sloped ceiling gives it an otherworldly feel
To avoid costly repositioning of the services, Lialawlab created an arc-shaped opening with a six-metre radius above the reception desk.
“The ceiling effectively extends the reception to the public realm, achieving a balance between functionality and form,” the studio explained.
Lialawlab designed the space to feel like another planet
Elsewhere, Irish studio Kingston Lafferty Design recently created “otherworldly” interiors within a skin clinic in Dublin, using a palette of plaster, marble, terrazzo and stainless steel.
