Zarkon Group, Author at Zarkon Group Real Estate Builders & Developers

Back-lit glass brick bar at the Studio Frantzén restaurant

Interior Design

Wooden elements “take centre stage” in Studio Frantzén restaurant

By Zarkon Group,15/12/2023

Scandinavian and Japanese influences come together at Studio Frantzén, a restaurant in London’s Harrods department store designed by Joyn Studio.

Stockholm-based Joyn Studio created the sleek interiors for Studio Frantzén – the latest restaurant opened by chef Björn Frantzén.

The two-storey eatery is arranged across a main restaurant and bar on the fifth floor, as well as on an additional mezzanine and rooftop terrace on the sixth floor of Harrods.

In stark contrast to the department store’s famed Edwardian baroque terracotta facade, Studio Frantzén features a contemporary palette that takes cues from both Scandinavian and Japanese design – a trend known as Japandi.

Bar at Harrods by Joyn Studio — Studio Frantzén is located across two levels at Harrods

Visitors enter the restaurant at a domed reception area, which references Scandinavian churches and forest chapels, according to the studio.

The curved walls were clad with blocky cherry wood while illustrations of Nordic animals by Ragnar Persson decorate the ceiling and a Swedish wooden Dala horse was perched on the welcome desk.

“Undoubtedly, wood takes centre stage in this restaurant,” Joyn Studio founding partner Ida Wanler told Dezeen.

Main restaurant with bespoke timber seating by Joyn Studio — The main restaurant is composed of two dining halls

The reception area gives way to a “glowing” bar composed of stacks of glass bricks bathed in amber light, which is mirrored by a ceiling of gridded copper.

Informed by traditional Japanese izakaya – a type of casual watering hole serving snacks – the large main restaurant is composed of two dining halls with bespoke geometric terrazzo and marble flooring.

Bespoke timber seating illuminated by a chandelier — One features bespoke timber seating

One hall features an open kitchen and Joyn Studio-designed chunky seating booths and sofas carved out of end-grain wood. This was sourced from a large Hungarian pine tree, cut into cubes and then glued together piece by piece.

This double-height space is illuminated by a spindly oversized chandelier by Swedish studio Front.

Gridded ceiling within dining hall — The other follows the same gridded geometry as the bar

The other dining hall, tucked around the corner and connected to a wine cellar, follows the same geometry as the bar.

Sliding timber doors and a gridded wooden ceiling are interrupted by ultramarine benches in booths and delicate, ribbed paper lampshades.

“To create a distinctive Nordic dining experience with Asian influences within a historic London building, we delved into the architectural and design legacy of the early 20th century,” explained Wanler.

“Inspired by the journeys of our predecessors to the far east, where they assimilated influences and pioneered a style known as Swedish Grace, we embraced the resonances between traditional Japanese and Nordic architecture and craftsmanship,” she continued.

Mezzanine level by Joyn Studio — Mirrored artwork by Caia Leifsdotter was included in the mezzanine

On the upper floor, the mezzanine includes three intimate dining booths accentuated by a burnt orange carpet and a wall-mounted Psychedelic Mirror by designer Caia Leifsdotter.

Characterised by marble, rattan and wooden accents, the rooftop terrace offers expansive city views.

“Aiming to infuse creativity into the traditional luxury context of Harrods, we envisioned a relaxed and comfortable ambiance with sparks of richness created in unexpected ways,” said Wanler.

In 2022, Joyn Studio was longlisted for the title of emerging interior design studio of the year at the Dezeen Awards.

Elsewhere at Harrods, fashion house Prada recently opened a green-hued pop-up cafe that referenced one of Milan’s oldest patisseries.

The photography is by Åsa Liffner.

Reference

Sustainable News

Foam for the future: bio-polyurethane for cars and construction

By Zarkon Group,15/12/2023

Spotted: Polyurethane is one of the main ingredients in insulating foam and industrial sealants and adhesives, and thanks to steady expansion of the construction and automotive industries, it is a rapidly growing market. Polyols are the chemical building blocks of those materials. Biopolyols are made from vegetable oils and are increasingly sought after for use in renewably produced and sustainable polyurethanes.

The foam made from polyurethane can be rigid or flexible, with rigid foams used for insulation in construction, and flexible foams used in furniture and vehicle interiors. If alternatives to petroleum-based polyols can be produced at scale, industrial reliance on fossil fuel for this common polymer could be significantly decreased.

Cypriot startup Ecorbio found a way to do this and more, with its patent-pending Crudyol project. Using biomass waste streams, the company produces biopolyols. Not only does the use of organic waste reduce global consumption of virgin feedstocks, but it also decreases pressure on arable land to produce crops for industry rather than food.

The company works with a range of organisations in a variety of industries to chemically upcycle their biomass waste. As well as adhesives and foams, Ecorbio also produces customised products such as nozzles and gaskets. The biopolyurethane can be cast, making it an ideal replacement for hard-wearing, strong plastics. Ecorbio is currently working to bring Crudyol to market.

Replacing plastic with sustainable alternatives and dealing with the mountains of waste that have already been created are global challenges being approached by innovators in multitudes of ways. Innovations showcased in Springwise’s library include using fungi to produce new packaging options and turning invasive plants into biodegradable plastics.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

migliore+servetto restores historic venetian structure for human safety net bookstore

Architecture

migliore+servetto completes human safety net bookstore in venice

By Zarkon Group,15/12/2023

migliore+servetto completes multimedia bookstore

Tucked away in Venice’s Saint Mark’s Square, the Bookstore of The Human Safety Net Foundation by Migliore+Servetto sits at the intervention of work, dialogue, discovery, and community experience. Housed within the historical building of Procuratie Vecchie, the compact 14 square meter space reveals a warm interior, an exhibition titled A World of Potential, a multimedia experience, and welcoming areas throughout. The intervention preserves and refreshes historic spatial features including windows and flooring while new furniture and subtle design elements were introduced to inject modernity and reinforce The Human Net’s brand identity. Inclusivity and accessibility were additionally key pillars for the design team, influencing even the design of the open-shelved bookcase serving as the storefront display visible to all passersby.

all images courtesy of Milgiore+Servetto

a multimedia community experience in saint mark’s square

Externally, the foundation’s name and logo are marked in new signage and graphics on the entry door and mezzanine window, subtly connecting this intimate space to The Human Safety Net’s broader presence on the third floor. Within, embracing the space along the walls, a series of red, steel bookshelves form a modular display system with integrated light featuring different dimensions and angulations. Each insert is mobile and interchangeable to ensure maximum flexibility, with the shelves converging to form a 90° angle and host the sales counter. The central aisle and window display case complete the furniture ensemble, their lightness and flexibility echoing the foundation’s identity to provide an unambiguous homogeneity to the space.

Migliore+Servetto’s intervention involved the replacement of existing furniture, false walls, and suspended ceilings, while historic elements such as the original Venetian flooring, windows, and shutters were preserved and renovated. Light grey plasterboard now forms the suspended ceilings and false walls, complemented by a natural stone band countering potential high-water impacts as it spans the whole perimeter. For the lighting design, the Italian designers opted for Targetti spotlights which offer flexible planes of light to create different accents for different display by running along ceiling-recessed tracks. A restored door opens onto Corte Maruzzi, flanked by and a luminous wall and a vertical monitor that adds digital dimensions to the space, facilitating broader communication and narratives.

project info:

name: Bookstore of The Human Safety Net Foundation
designer: Migliore+Servetto Architects

location: Procuratie Vecchie, Saint Mark’s Square, Venice

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: ravail khan | designboom

Reference

Photograph of a sitting room at the Ett Hem hotel in Stockholm

Interior Design

Bentley curates Scandinavian architecture and design travel experience

By Zarkon Group,14/12/2023

Promotion: in 2023 Bentley Motors launched an architecture and design-centred travel experience around Scandinavia, with highlights that included a stay at Wingårdhs’ forest hotel in Sweden and a tour of BIG’s studio in Copenhagen.

The Extraordinary Journey Scandinavia tour was one of a series of curated travel experiences presented by Bentley in 2023, offering the opportunity to explore attractive destinations from behind the wheel of its luxury cars.

The five-day, four-night tour started in Stockholm, where guests were collected from the airport in a chauffeured Bentley and taken to their first night’s stay in the world-renowned Ett Hem hotel.

With interiors created by designer Ilse Crawford, the hotel is known for merging luxury with a feeling of home, with spaces that encourage guests to relax and mingle as if at a manor house.

The hotel hosted a welcome reception, dinner in the library and a nightcap for the small party of guests on day one to get to know each other.

On day two, attendees took the wheel of one of several Bentley models on offer and began the journey south through Sweden’s forests, with Scandinavia’s finest architecture and design destinations guiding the way forward.

For lunch on day two, attendees stopped at Naturehouse

For lunch, the tour stopped at Naturehouse, a sustainability-focused lakeside spa by Tailor Made Arkitekter that merges the forms of a barn and a greenhouse, before continuing to reach the Trakt Forest Hotel in Småland in the afternoon.

Designed by Wingårdh architecture studio, the hotel features just five suites that are raised high into the treetops on stilts, giving guests the chance to feel immersed in nature.

The suites are “a true representation of Bentley’s design values of sustainability, materiality, and innovation” said the brand, and guests had the opportunity to relax in the sauna or hot tub before joining the hotel owners Sandra and Mattias Sälleteg at a drinks reception.

The evening also included dinner in a forest near the hotel, which was made by Michelin star chef Niklas Ekstedt and celebrated natural ingredients coming together “to create something greater than the sum of its parts”.

Photo of Wanås Hotel and Sculpture Park — Lunch on day three took place at Wanås Hotel and Sculpture Park

Day three saw the group continue the drive south through Sweden’s forests and stop for lunch at Wanås Hotel and Sculpture Park, built around two converted stone barns with interiors by Kristina Wachtmeister.

They then drove on through Malmö and across the Öresund Bridge, the longest bridge in Europe, connecting Sweden and Denmark, before switching to chauffeured transport once again for the final stretch of the journey to Copenhagen.

With accommodation at the Nimb Hotel in Tivoli Gardens, guests had ample opportunity to explore Copenhagen, including dinner at a world-renowned Nordic restaurant and then a city tour hosted by the Danish Architecture Centre.

Photo of a big group of people having lunch and sharing a toast at BIG's studio — Day four included a tour and lunch at Bjarke Ingels Group’s studio

There was also a tour of Bjarke Ingels Group’s studio, hosted by a member of the team who gave insights into their creative practice. Lunch was also held within “the beating heart” of the office.

Bentley‘s Extraordinary Journey continues in the UK in 2024 with a programme where attendees will experience a scenic route starting at Crewe, the home of Bentley Motors, to The Macallan Estate in Speyside, Scotland. The UK programme runs from 19 to 22 August and 2 to 5 September.

For more information and to register interest, visit the Bentley website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Bentley as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

Reference

Sustainable News

Bringing sustainable aquaculture to your doorstep

By Zarkon Group,14/12/2023

Spotted: Seafood is the world’s largest traded food commodity, with more than 3 billion people relying on it as an important source of protein. Conventional seafood production, however, has a big impact on the environment, with overfishing and pollution proving extremely harmful to global marine ecosystems. Now, one company is hoping to regenerate the seafood supply chain by creating a sustainable seafood delivery service.

Inspired by the principles of the Slow Food movement, the founders of Seatopia are cultivating a more environmentally friendly and transparent supply chain, partnering with artisan aquaculture farms. The company then delivers high-quality, sustainably farmed seafood from these trusted farms to customers’ doorstep. The sushi-grade fish can either be eaten raw or cooked, depending on the customer’s preference.

Orders arrive in 100 per cent compostable insulated boxes packed with dry ice. Seatopia’s vacuum seal freezer bags, labels, gel packs, boxes, cardboard, and packing tape are made using bio-based resins – and are also recyclable or compostable.

Seatopia wants to ensure it has a net positive impact on our oceans, while providing its members with delicious seafood. As such, it only sources from farms that raise fish from non-GMO eggs, using feed like sustainable microalgae-based oils and mycelium proteins. The fish are also all raised in lightly populated environments free from antibiotics.

As well as supporting regenerative aquacultural practices that reduce strain on wild fish populations, Seatopia also supports important environmental initiatives, like the Seaforestation project, which plants kelp in degraded marine ecosystems to improve carbon sequestration and provide essential habitats and food sources for ocean life.

Like many areas in the food industry, seafood cultivation is not short of environmental problems. Springwise has spotted many innovations looking to improve it, however, including artificial intelligence (AI) that could transform fishing and the use of zooplankton as a sustainable aquaculture feed.

Written By: Anam Alam and Matilda Cox

Reference

White topped roofs of buildings in California forest

Architecture

Studio Gang nestles Kresge College expansion in Pacific forest

By Zarkon Group,14/12/2023

Chicago architecture firm Studio Gang has expanded a California college through the addition of mass-timber structures that were informed by how fungi grow in the wild.

Kresge College is a part of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Most of its campus was originally designed by American architects Charles Moore and William Turnbull in the early 1970s.

Studio Gang was tasked with expanding the footprint of the project along the northwest extent of its property, nestled in a lush Pacific forest.

Four buildings were designed to complement the existing structures – California modern-style buildings with stucco walls and splashes of colour – and the woodland environment. All of the buildings feature concrete podiums, which support load-bearing timber walls.

Glass window back lit with trees in the forest — The expansion includes four structures with mass-timber elements

“Our goal was to add new qualities to the sense of place offered by Moore and Turnbull’s design, rather than to replicate the architecture,” said studio founding principal Jeanne Gang.

“We wanted our expansion to retain the qualities of surprise and free-spiritedness that have defined Kresge College, while at the same time opening it up to students of all abilities, the incredible natural ecology of its site, and the larger university community beyond.”

The expansion’s centrepiece is an academic centre with a series of protrusions that jut out asymmetrically from a core. Three simple, bow-shaped structures were placed to its southeast to house students.

Timber facing — The residential buildings were clad in timber

The Kresge College Academic Center sits on an uneven site next to a steep ravine. To navigate this site, the studio used methods it said were inspired by the growth patterns of polypore fungi, by simultaneously “stepping down the slope and flaring out”.

The centre’s flared form was clad in a metal curtain wall, rendered in a light colour to reflect the mid-century buildings, while the faces of each protrusion feature floor-to-ceiling glass trimmed with timber.

Wooden buildings among the trees — The residential buildings have a bow-form to preserve trees

At the centre is a large lecture hall, surrounded by a triple-space atrium with smooth concrete hallways and elevated walkways that connect to the four protruding spaces.

These hold classrooms and utilise the slope with three storeys that line up with the two-storey central structure.

The largest of these protrusions features a smaller lecture hall on the top level, with a roof that slopes up and out in a sizeable lip.

Three storey atrium — The academic centre has a three-storey atrium

The smaller residential buildings are all bow-shaped, a move the studio said was implemented to preserve as much of the redwood tree groves on the site as possible.

These buildings are five storeys tall and have a central core set back from the wood-clad exterior, with large window boxes on each end that create sheltered patios on the second storey.

The recesses between the window and the facade were painted bright yellow, which resonates with the colours used in the Moore and Turnbull designs.

Like the academic centre, these structures have concrete podiums with load-bearing timber walls. However, cross-laminated ceilings were included and in many places, these elements were left exposed.

The bottom floors of these residential structures were left open for social spaces and amenities, while the top floors hold habitations: about 100 students can live in each structure.

Mass timber student center — Mass-timber elements were left exposed

Studio Gang also made interventions in the landscape, restoring and expanding the paths already connecting the campus and a long pedestrian bridge that crosses the ravine next to the academic centre. It also added a square at the building’s primary entry.

Studio Gang has completed a number of high-profile projects this year, including museum expansions in Arkansas and New York City. Kresge College is part of the studio’s move towards using more mass timber, and it has been selected to complete a theatre using this material in the Hudson Valley.

The photography is by Jason O’Rear.

Project credits:

Design architect and architect of record: Studio Gang
Contractor: Swinterton
Expansion plan associate architect: TEF Design
Interior designer: Studio Gang
Structural engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Structural engineer: MME Civil + Structural Engineering
Landscape architect: Joni L Janecki and Associates Landscape Architects
Landscape architect: Office of Cheryl Barton
Civil engineer: Sherwood Design Engineers
MEPFP: Introba
Sustainability consultant: Atelier Ten
Lighting consultant: Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design
Acoustic consultant: Salter
Envelope consultant: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
Wayfinding and graphics: Cheng+Snyder
Code consultant: Holmes Fire
Quantity surveyor: Directional Logic
Accessibility consultant: Jensen Hughes
Elevator consultant: Elevator Consulting Associates
Technology consultant: TEECOM
Theater consultant (for Kresge College Academic Center): The Shalleck Collaborative
Food service consultant (for residential buildings): Ricca Design Studios

Reference

Neuhäusl Hunal renovate apartment in Prague using curved glass partitions

Interior Design

Neuhäusl Hunal divide open-plan apartment using curved glass walls

By Zarkon Group,13/12/2023

Czech architecture studio Neuhäusl Hunal has renovated a prefabricated apartment in Prague, turning it into an open-plan home and workspace for sculptor and glassworker Vladimír Bachorík.

Neuhäusl Hunal opted for curved translucent glass partitions in place of doors to divide the interior spaces and create a sense of openness and fluidity.

In order to maximise floor space, the studio removed all non-load-bearing elements, leaving just a single load-bearing concrete wall that cuts through the living and workspaces.

Three U-profiled glass partitions were then used to enclose a cloakroom, storage space and kitchen, while the remaining floor space can be used flexibly.

Kitchen workspace in Prague apartment by Neuhäusl Hunal — An existing load-bearing concrete wall separates the living and work spaces

A centralised, curved bathroom, raised by a small platform for waste management, is similarly enclosed by translucent glass panels and protrudes into the main space.

The bathroom interior was lined extensively with white ceramic tiles and features a walk-in shower.

Meanwhile, matching ceramic tiles were also used in the kitchen, which doubles as a work area for the artist.

Tiled bathroom designed by Neuhäusl Hunal in Prague — White mosaic tiles line the kitchen and bathroom

“To design the maximally open and flowing space without doors, infrastructure, besides statics, was a key constraint, which defines the location of the single-almost-enclosed space: the bathroom,” studio architect and founder David Neuhäusl told Dezeen.

“Therefore we emphasized [the bathroom] as the most prominent element in the apartment to create a strong spatial experience,” Neuhäusl continued.

The interior material palette was defined by the stripped concrete wall as well as the translucent panels and ceramic tiles, set on a background of white plaster walls and grey-toned rubber flooring.

Metal furniture and shelving was used throughout the minimalist interior, with cubic plinths used to display Bachorík’s glasswork around the space.

Neuhäusl Hunal renovate apartment for sculptor in the Czech Republic — Existing windows draw daylight into the interior spaces

Daylight shines through the existing windows at either end of the apartment and penetrates the glass partitions to create a brightly lit interior, while carefully positioned strip lights and spotlights provide artificial lighting.

“These translucent glass blocks of high order ensure the penetration of light and create identity of the apartment,” Neuhäusl explained.

“Their materiality and character naturally refer to the client’s lifelong work. They can be naturally composed in curves to formulate the softly shaped partitions.”

Curved glass partitions divide bedroom interior of Sculptor's Apartment — Metal furniture is used throughout the space

Neuhäusl Hunal is an architecture studio founded by David Neuhäusl and Matěj Hunal in the Czech Republic.

Other projects recently completed in the Czech Republic include a winery topped with a sweeping concrete roof and an angular black extension to a neo-gothic church.

The photography is by Radek Úlehla.

Reference

Sustainable News

Solutions not pledges: Five of the best startups at COP28

By Zarkon Group,13/12/2023

A COP summit held in a petrostate was always going to be controversial. Some announcements got a gold star, such as the launch of a loss and damage fund (although the devil will be in the details) or the pledge to triple global renewable energy capability by 2030. But while the final agreement promised a transition away from fossil fuels, many observers criticised it for falling short of a full phase-out.

Outside of the main negotiation rooms and talking shops, entrepreneurs and founders come to COP summits to make contacts and do business. It felt like they were in the right place this year – the appetite for solutions over more pledges was palpable in the conversations we had and during the sessions we attended.

More than a hundred clean tech startups had travelled to Dubai to be present in the Startup Village or to speak on panels on the various stages around Expo City. It was great to see some familiar faces, such as Sabrine Chennaoui, CEO and co-founder of Monsapo, a company that makes cleaning products from used cooking oil. Monsapo addresses a critical issue: 20 per cent of ocean pollution comes from used cooking oils, harming marine life responsible for 95 per cent of Earth’s oxygen.

It seemed fitting during the hottest year on record RedSea were at COP28, a sustainable agritech startup we featured earlier this year, which has developed a complete system aimed at helping farmers grow food in adverse conditions. This includes greenhouse technologies designed to keep plants cool in hot climates. The platform incorporates artificial intelligence (AI), solar power, and desalination technologies in order to save on energy and water use.

Likewise FortyGuard, an analytics platform we first spotted in December 2022 that collects data from a mixture of local and global sources. The company uses this to provide analytics about temperatures down to the level of a single square metre. The insights can then be used to guide designers, engineers, and contractors as they attempt to make cities cooler.

The fourth annual Hydrogen Transition Summit was held during COP28 – green hydrogen has been on our radar all year and developments in this area will only advance as innovation drives production and transportation costs down. Geopura is developing a technology that promises to eradicate the need for diesel powered generators on construction sites. Following ten years of research and development, GeoPura has developed its Hydrogen Power Unit (HPU), which combines hydrogen fuel cell technology with battery storage and real-time electrical conversion. The fuel cell splits the hydrogen into protons and electrons, which creates an electrical current that charges the batteries. The batteries, in turn, provide power to the site for applications such as electric vehicle charging, heating, and hot water (read our full write up from November here).

Levidian is a UK firm that is ready to capitalise on the Global Methane Pledge, launched at COP28, to reduce methane emissions by 30 per cent from 2020 levels by 2030. It trying to decarbonise hard to abate sectors – and counts waste water companies, oil and gas, and heavy industry, amongst its potential customers. It has created a device called ‘Loop’, which cracks methane into hydrogen, which can be used as a clean energy source and carbon, which is locked into graphene and then has the potential to be used in a variety of ways. Levidian claims that using Loop could cut CO2 emissions by 40 per cent instantly.

Words: Angela Everitt

Reference

Architecture

Chaos Bridges the Gap Between Real-Time Rendering and Photorealistic Visualization

By Zarkon Group,13/12/2023

In a professional setting, the tasks of architectural design and visualization are often divided between different teams because they require different skills. This division helps designers achieve state-of-the-art rendering quality but sets up inherent workflow gaps between the two teams. Addressing this challenge, a powerful new update to V-Ray makes major improvements to the interface between that popular photoreal rendering tool and the real-time rendering program Enscape. Nicknamed “The Bridge”, this interface integrates design and visualization into the same workflow, allowing the transfer of materials, assets, lights, and more between design and visualization teams.

Enscape is an indispensable tool for architects because it allows them to quickly convert their work in design programs like SketchUp, Rhino, Revit, Archicad and Vectorworks into compelling visualizations. Ideal for evaluating iterations in working meetings or facilitating client decisions on the fly, it’s easy for designers to use but isn’t intended to produce the sort of photorealistic images made possible by V-Ray. Therefore, when a designer reached the point where a professional rendering was needed, a visualization team would then be tasked with recreating their Enscape scene in V-Ray from scratch, hoping to capture the designer’s intent — until now.

A new solution to this workflow problem has arrived in the form of the Bridge between Enscape and V-Ray. Starting in V-Ray 6, designers working in Enscape for SketchUp, Rhino or Revit can open their Enscape scenes in the V-Ray tab of the same program. This allows design teams to seamlessly transfer geometry, assets, lights, and materials from Enscape to V-Ray and render them with the highest levels of photorealism. By eliminating the necessity to recreate an Enscape scene in V-Ray, the Bridge is a time-saver, offering 3D artists a head start in fine-tuning and rendering projects.

Further to this, thanks to V-Ray’s latest update, the Bridge now enables users to move projects from a CAD environment (SketchUp, Rhino, Revit, Archicad or Vectorworks) to a DCC environment in programs like 3ds Max or Cinema 4D. Designers can now utilize V-Ray within these powerful applications, greatly expanding their rendering capabilities. The key lies in V-Ray’s ability to export a .vrscene file type, which allows designers working in Enscape to move their materials, lights, and entourage directly into V-Ray for 3ds Max or Cinema 4D.

The best illustration of the Bridge’s benefits can be seen in V-Ray’s hyper-realistic lighting and material rendering capabilities. When opened in V-Ray, lights defined by designers in Enscape feature a far greater degree of control over intensity, color, and physical accuracy. Materials in V-Ray likewise exhibit more realistic interaction with light than they do in Enscape, enhancing the ability to depict translucency, subsurface scattering, tinted glass surfaces and mirror surfaces. In the hands of a professional visualization artist, these capabilities make the difference between a compelling rendering and a jaw-dropping, life-like image.

Another significant advantage the Bridge offers is the ability for Enscape users to access V-Ray’s Chaos Cosmos asset library. In contrast to the Enscape Asset Library, tailored for real-time rendering, Chaos Cosmos provides assets specifically crafted to maximize realism and detail in production renders. Additionally, V-Ray’s optimized to handle scenes with large amounts of entourage — exceeding the capacity of Enscape and any host applications.

V-Ray’s sophisticated production flexibility is a further benefit the Bridge offers design teams working in Enscape. While Enscape relies solely on a GPU for rendering, V-Ray removes all hardware constraints by offering flexible rendering options utilizing together or individually the CPU and the GPU of users’ machines. It also offers cloud rendering as well as distributed rendering, and there are no limits on the final resolution of the output images. Design teams working in Enscape can easily utilize these valuable features of the Bridge by simply opening their Enscape models in V-Ray for the purposes of rendering.

With the Bridge, design and visualization are finally brought into the same workflow, saving time for everyone involved. Having removed the need to duplicate work, design teams can now benefit from the real-time rendering capabilities of Enscape without losing anything in translation to a visualization team creating final renderings in V-Ray. The unified workflow and improved collaboration the Bridge allows is a major step forward in efficiency and cooperation, drawing together key parts of the AEC industry that would otherwise remain divided.

Curious what the Bridge can do for you? Check out the latest update for yourself over on V-Ray’s website.

Reference

Interior Design

Tara Bernerd fills Maroma hotel in Mexico with artisanal elements

By Zarkon Group,12/12/2023

Interior designer Tara Bernerd worked with local artisans when dressing the cavernous rooms at the Maroma hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico, which were renovated to reflect hacienda-style living.

Housed within white stucco volumes arranged on a coastal plot between lush jungle and the Caribbean sea, the longstanding Maroma, A Belmond Hotel was renovated earlier this year but retained much of its traditional-style architecture.

Bernerd and a team of local artisans conceived the eclectic interiors to reflect the palapa-topped structures, creating a range of bespoke curved furniture and ornaments.

“The buildings themselves are organic in shape and form and were originally positioned in response to the sacred Mayan geometry,” she told Dezeen.

“We sought to retain and enhance the beauty of the hotel’s original character.”

Guest room with a rounded alcove — Tara Bernerd sought to reflect this “Mayan geometry” in the interior design

Among the custom pieces are over 700,000 tiles hand-painted and crafted by ceramicist José Noé Suro using clay from Mexico’s Jalisco region.

The tiles cover the floors in all of the 72 guest rooms, which are characterised by rattan wardrobes and amorphous timber furniture pieces – 80 per cent of which were hand-carved.

Rattan wardrobes at Maroma — The guest rooms are characterised by rattan accents and blown glass

Artisan Max Kublailan blew bulbous glass sconce lights, which feature throughout the rooms and are reminiscent of glowing gemstones.

“It was a joy working with the local artisans who brought our designs to life and the process was more like a conversation between artisan and designer, with each inspiring and on occasion challenging the other,” reflected Bernerd.

Guest bathroom at Maroma — Eclectic design choices were also made for the guest bathrooms

The entrance to each guest room also features individual ceramic, painted signs informed by traditional Lotería cards, which are used to play a similar game to bingo in Mexico.

“We built up the layers of design within the spaces, with rich pops of colour being brought in through the tiled or mosaic floors, the use of decorative tiles in the walls and dado rail as well as cushions and fabrics,” explained Bernerd.

Open kitchen clad in ceramic tiles — An open kitchen clad in glazed ceramic tiles features in one restaurant

Maroma’s two restaurants follow a similar design, with accents such as rattan pendant lights and tables featuring textured legs that give the appearance of tree trunks.

An open kitchen clad entirely in caramel-hued glazed ceramic tiles was tucked into a corner of the Woodend eatery while Casa Mayor includes clusters of hand-painted plant pots.

Painted pots and rattan lampshades in Casa Mayor — The other restaurant includes painted potted plants and oversized rattan lampshades

Throughout the hotel, cavernous alcoves were also dressed with custom interiors made up of stone, clay, wood and natural fibres.

“Location and layout were key and I am especially proud of how we have managed to reimagine previously under-utilised areas and have created a balance between unique, dramatic spaces and cosier, slightly hidden areas,” said Bernerd.

Traditional Yucatán doors with dense timber frames and chandeliers made from clusters of seashells were chosen to respond to Maroma’s setting.

The hotel’s central swimming pool was renovated with Sukabumi turquoise tiles handmade from volcanic stone to emulate the cenotes – water-filled sinkholes formed by the collapse of limestone – found in the Yucatán Peninsula.

Cavernous corridor with a curved staircase — Cavernous corridors reflect the hotel’s architecture

“In essence, we wanted to create something that was effortlessly serene and had the feeling of a chic home,” said the designer.

“So we also drew inspiration from traditional hacienda-style living to create a relaxed, almost residential vibe throughout the resort and evoke a sense of connection, unity and flow between all of the public area buildings,” she concluded.

Cenote-style swimming pool — The central swimming pool was informed by cenotes

The British designer is the founder of the London-based architecture and interiors office Tara Bernerd & Partners.

Elsewhere in Mexico, local firms Productora and Esrawe Studio designed a San Miguel de Allende hotel with planes of green tile. Architect Alberto Kalach added a series of vaulted, brick arches to a resort in Oaxaca.

The photography is courtesy of Belmond.

Reference

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