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Interior Design

Dezeen announces interiors winners for Dezeen Awards 2022

By Zarkon Group,17/11/2022

Dezeen has revealed the winners of this year’s Dezeen Awards interiors categories, which include interiors by Proctor and Shaw, Kelly Wearstler and Woods + Dangaran.

The 11 winners awarded in Dezeen’s annual awards programme are located across nine different countries including Denmark, Taiwan, USA, Belgium and Canada.

Three interiors that feature various reclaimed materials have been awarded this year, including a supermarket-style secondhand bookshop in China, a design school with mobile furniture in the south of France and a flexible retail interior for Italian eyewear brand Monc on London’s Chiltern Street.

Other winners this year include Atelier Boter for its glass-fronted community hub in a Taiwanese fishing village and Hariri Pontarini Architects for its warm wood-toned clinic in Canada.

Danish studio Tableau and Australian designer Ari Prasetya collaborated to design Connie-Connie Cafe at the Copenhagen Contemporary, winning them restaurant and bar interior of the year.

Entries were initially scored by our jury of 25 leading international interior designers before the winners were decided by a master jury that met at One Hundred Shoreditch in September and was made up of Lore Group creative director Jacu Strauss, Studiopepe co-founder Chiara Di Pinto and London-based fashion designer Mary Katrantzou.

They were joined by Design Haus Liberty founder Dara Huang and French architect and designer India Mahdavi.

The 11 project winners will now compete to win overall interiors project of the year award, which will be unveiled at the Dezeen Awards 2022 party in London on 29 November.

Find out more about the winning interiors projects on the Dezeen Awards website or read on below:

House interior of the year: Twentieth by Woods + Dangaran

Twentieth is a three-storey house designed for a couple and their three young children in Santa Monica. Living spaces are organised around a courtyard with a decade-old olive tree with a U-shape ground floor, creating space for living rooms on both sides of the courtyard.

The kitchen and bathrooms designed by Los Angeles studio Woods + Dangaran feature dark grey marble surfaces with streaks of white.

“This project demonstrates a nice interplay between inside and outside and a good mix of different finishes and textures,” said the interiors master jury panel.

Read more about Twentieth by Woods + Dangaran ›

Apartment interior of the year: Shoji Apartment by Proctor and Shaw

Shoji Apartment is a 29-square-metre micro-apartment in London that features birch plywood joinery throughout its interior.

The apartment has an elevated sleeping area enclosed in translucent panels, which reference Japanese shoji screens and lend the project its name.

“This is a highly innovative solution to the treatment of a challenging space that retains all the functionality of a normal apartment,” said the judges. “We would definitely accept an invitation to dinner!”

Read more about Shoji Apartment by Proctor and Shaw ›

Restaurant and bar interior of the year: Connie-Connie at Copenhagen Contemporary by Tableau and Ari Prasetya

Connie-Connie is a 150-square-metre cafe located within the Copenhagen Contemporary art gallery, an international art centre in a former welding facility. Tableau created the overall spatial design while Prasetya was in charge of the design and manufacturing of the bar as well as several other furniture pieces.

The cafe explores how furniture can also be art and features chairs made by 25 designers from offcut wood.

“The project addresses everything we expect from an interior design today, not only does it connect on a physical level, it connects with the community,” said the interiors panel. “There is also an impressive sobriety and humility to the design.”

Read more about Connie-Connie at Copenhagen Contemporary by Tableau and Ari Prasetya ›

Hotel and short-stay interior of the year: Downtown LA Proper Hotel by Kelly Wearstler Studio

American designer Kelly Wearstler transformed the interior of the Proper Hotel group chain’s new hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Wearstler stripped out alterations made to the 1930s building to reveal existing grand ceilings, checkered tiled floors and wood panelling.

The interiors are furnished with custom furniture as well as vintage furniture and artwork.

“This project exudes a sense of joyfulness that needs to be rewarded!” said the judges. “The interior design evokes an experience that subverts the formality of conventional hotel design through its sense of identity and integrity throughout.”

Read more about Downtown LA Proper Hotel by Kelly Wearstler Studio ›

Large workspace interior of the year: Dyson Global HQ, St James Power Station by M Moser Associates

M Moser Associates reconditioned the interiors of a power station in Singapore to create the global headquarters for multinational technology company Dyson. The interiors feature amphitheatre-style seating to encourage informal gatherings and a sculptural spiral staircase in the former turbine hall.

The judges valued using an existing building to house a leading global enterprise such as Dyson.

“We were pleasantly surprised that Dyson, a bleeding-edge company in innovation and technology, have opted for a refurbishment rather than a new build,” they said. “We were impressed with how they took an old shell and modernised it.”

Read more about Dyson Global HQ, St James Power Station by M Moser Associates ›

Small workspace interior of the year: The F.Forest Office by Atelier Boter

The community centre situated in a fishing village in Taiwan was designed by Atelier Boter as a hybrid dining, working and event space, loosely divided by a curtain.

The 53-square-metre venue is almost entirely lined with warm-hued plywood. A plywood partition wall at the end of the workspace is fitted with bookshelves and a small hatch, which connects to the kitchen.

“This project is very well embedded in its cultural context and, despite a small budget, the designers were able to create something beautiful and modern – a small jewel within an old fishing village,” said the interiors panel.

Read more about The F.Forest Office by Atelier Boter ›

Large retail interior of the year: Deja Vu Recycle Store by Offhand Practice

Deja Vu Recycle Store is a second-hand bookshop located on the first and second floors of a three-storey building in Shanghai. Local studio Offhand Practice aimed to create a relaxed shopping environment by mimicking the experience of grocery shopping. The clothes and books are displayed on shelves that resemble fruit and vegetable crates.

Green mosaic tiles made from stone off-cuts were used to frame the building’s windows and accentuate other architectural details.

“This is food for the mind!” said the judges. “It’s stripped back but in a confident way, exuding calmness and thoughtful simplicity.”

Read more about Deja Vu Recycle Store by Offhand Practice ›

Small retail interior of the year: Monc by Nina + Co

London-based Nina + Co incorporated biomaterials throughout the interior of eyewear brand Monc’s debut store.

The glasses made from bio-acetate rest on cornstarch-foam shelves and mycelium display plinths. Long mirrors lean on blocks of local salvaged concrete.

“This project demonstrates integrity between the finishes used and the product they are selling,” said the jury. “It is a very well-executed retail interior with an encouraging use of sustainable materials.”

Read more about Monc by Nina + Co ›

Leisure and wellness interior of the year: Barlo MS Centre by Hariri Pontarini Architects

The clinic was designed by Canadian practice Hariri Pontarini Architects for patients who suffer from multiple sclerosis (MS), a complex autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system.

As some MS patients experience vision and cognitive loss, as well as fatigue and decreased coordination, durability and accessibility were present throughout the design process. Barlo MS Centre features atypical colours, materials, textures and lighting to rethink sterile-looking healthcare spaces.

“We were impressed by the fusion of the spa and the medical facilities, introducing a wellness element into something that would not traditionally have such an emphasis,” said the judges.

“It is a more holistic approach to healthcare design, which is considerate to the mental aspects of healthcare environments.”

Read more about Barlo MS Centre by Hariri Pontarini Architects ›

Civic and cultural interior of the year: Ecole Camondo Méditerranée by Émilieu Studio

Émilieu Studio designed the interior of Camondo Méditerranée design school in Toulon, France. The studio aimed to create a large-scale flexible learning space, only furnished with reused local materials.

The project features a mobile furniture system that can be easily compiled, transported and deployed outdoors. The furniture is made from locally sourced construction offcuts.

“This school sets a new example of how to approach design education, creating a sense of openness and mobility, which is what a school should be all about,” said the interiors master jury panel.

Read more about Ecole Camondo Méditerranée by Émilieu Studio ›

Small interior of the year: Relaxing Geometry with Pops of Yellow by Van Staeyen Interieur Architecten

Arched portals, curvy furniture and yellow decor accents feature in Van Staeyen Interieur Architecten’s revamped attic in Antwerp.

The local studio refurbished a neglected attic in a family home, turning the area into a multi-functional space.

“This is a good example of how design can be joyful and whimsical,” said the judges. “Accessible in many different aspects, financially and physically, it’s not just a playground for kids but a playground for everyone.”

Read more about Relaxing Geometry with Pops of Yellow by Van Staeyen Interieur Architecten ›

Reference

Sustainable News

AI quickly creates decarbonisation plans for real estate portfolios

By Zarkon Group,17/11/2022

Spotted: Reducing emissions is a top priority in every industry, and doing so as fast as possible is essential. Now, innovators everywhere are grappling with how to turn great ideas into working concepts, and then industrial-scale solutions. Canadian property technology experts at Audette have built an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that does in a few hours what it would ordinarily take humans years to do – analyse a full portfolio of commercial real estate for decarbonisation opportunities and build a plan to retrofit every building in the most cost-efficient manner.

From renewable energy opportunities to carbon-negative materials and low-carbon technologies, Audette can build a carbon-transition plan for any building. The platform layers operational data with capital planning and a breakdown of costs and energy usage of each piece of equipment and location, as well as forecasts of emissions. This allows for effective, efficient retrofitting and long-term planning for a carbon-negative future.

Property managers can add data to the platform and test out various ideas themselves. The AI projects return on investment, helping teams identify the higher priority changes to make. The platform recognises and suggests methods for maximising efficiencies across an entire business, not just a single building. Audette also connects users to a building scientist to ensure that the AI-backed decisions make business sense.

Audette recently raised $9.5 million (approximately €9.14 million) to support the launch of its technology across 150 North American cities. The initial rollout is planned for 2023 and 2024.

Springwise has spotted other means of decarbonising buildings on a sizeable scale, including a platform that allows real estate investors to monitor and reduce waste and emissions across their properties, and smart technology that prevents excessive use of heating and lighting in office buildings.

Written By Keely Khoury

Reference

itaca eco-sustainable 3D printed house ensures off-grid living in a 33-meter diameter

Architecture

wasp’s 3D printed itaca ensures off-grid living & ecological balance

By Zarkon Group,17/11/2022

Itaca: the self-sufficient and eco-sustainable 3D printed house

Italian 3D printing company WASP introduces Itaca, a self-sufficient and environmentally sustainable 3D printed housing model. The project is based on the thesis that on Earth, a space of 33 meters in diameter can provide sufficient living environment for up to four people, if specific knowledge and technology are applied. The endeavor aims to make a core of four people (two adults and two children) independent and enable them to live off-grid, without electricity, water, gas, and sewer connections. The inventors hope that Itaca will also lead to innovations in the colonization of the Moon.

‘Getting a place as harsh as the moon to be inhabited is hard to imagine, but science says it can be done. Why don’t we apply the same technologies here on Earth, to get even the most extreme environments to be hospitable?’, says
Massimo Moretti, CEO of WASP.

Itaca is a self-sufficient and environmentally sustainable 3D printed housing model | all images courtesy of WASP

food, water, energy, and economic self-sufficiency

The Itaca model is 3D printed by Crane WASP using natural zero-kilometer materials. The concept is to apply the knowledge and digital fabrication necessary to create a space that improves the quality of life in areas where water, food and industrial facilities are scarce. The applied technological solutions lead to an optimized circular microeconomy that allows independent, off-grid living while maintaining ecological balance. The team at WASP has already acquired a plot of land near Bologna where the first Itaca will be built over the next year. Itaca is an educational project, an open-source laboratory in which anyone can participate.

‘For us at WASP, Itaca represents a path towards food, water, energy, and economic self-sufficiency. A proposal for a solution to the social, energy, climate, and mass migration crisis. For us, digitization and 3D printing are a response to the needs of humanity.’ Massimo Moretti mentions.

Itaca proves that a 33-meters diameter space can provide a sufficient living environment for up to four people

the Itaca model is made of natural zero-kilometer materials

the applied technological solutions lead to a circular microeconomy maintaining the ecological balance

the Itaca model will be 3D printed by Crane WASP

project info:

name: Itaca
designers: WASP

myrto katsikopoulou I designboom

nov 17, 2022

Reference

Steinway tower interiors with modern furniture and view of central park

Interior Design

Studio Sofield completes interiors on world’s skinniest supertall skyscraper

By Zarkon Group,16/11/2022

Studio Sofield has completed the interiors of 111 West 57th Street, also known as Steinway Tower – a supertall skyscraper designed by SHoP Architects in New York City.

The interiors mark the full completion of the 1,428-foot-tall (435-metre) skyscraper, which is the second tallest in the Western Hemisphere, and the skinniest in the world with a height-to-width ratio of 24:1.

Sited on a street bordering Central Park in Midtown that has come to be known as Billionaire’s Row, the skyscraper has views looking north and south.

New York-based Studio Sofield designed the interiors for the skyscraper as well as the adjacent Steinway Hall, which is connected to the tower.

The 91-storey skyscraper has 46 residences, with an additional 14 held in Steinway Hall, as well as a variety of amenities, and was developed by JDS Development Group and Property Markets Group.

Steinway Tower lobby inteirors with pianos — The design included interiors for the lobby spaces that connect the tower and Steinway Hall

“With 111 West 57th Street, I set out to create interior architecture that was unmistakably and quintessentially New York,” said Studio Sofield founder William Sofield.

“While celebrating the vibrancy of today, I am a historian by nature and sought to honor and evoke the splendor of our city’s gilded age.”

Steinway Tower lobby interiors gilded frames — Studio Sofield wanted the public interiors to reflect the “gilded age” of New York City

Interiors designed by Sofield includes the “block-long lobby sequence” that connects the two aspects of the tower. Here, the studio restored the original flooring of the Steinway Hall and used limestone, marble, blackened steel and velvet accents.

Murals in bas-reliefs of gold and silver leaves depict architectural landmarks of New York, and elephants were depicted elephants roaming through the city as a”tribute to the history of pianos”.

Steinway Hall swimming poool — The swimming pool room has full-height windows

Another room in the lobby sequence was outfitted with bronze mirror cladding that leads to a “domed salon” lined with banquet seating.

On 58th street, a residence entrance featuring a granite porte-cochere with grillwork doors inspired by “the bronze filigree on the building’s exterior”.

Steinway hall room — Steinway Hall was renovated using themes from the original building

The bar area and the swimming pool are also in the hall structure. According to the studio, the bar was based on the “legendary King Cole Bar with its chic bar” with an ornamental balcony and skylights that further the material references to the original building.

Elevator vestibules for the tower were completed using custom-made doors by artist Nancy Lorenz. The swimming pool is 82 feet long (25 metres) and is housed in a double-height room with floor-to-ceiling windows.

In the skyscraper, the residences each occupy at least a single floor. Each home has a central room where the views to the north and south are prioritised, and these rooms lead to a “signature great hall, which often spans the full width of the tower,” according to the studio.

Grey oak and macauba stone were used for the flooring and nine-foot-tall doors separate the room.

Steinway Skyscraper interiors — The skyscraper’s residences have wooden and stone floor

Hardware for the doors as well as other features like the freestanding bathtubs and the fixtures were sourced from long-standing US manufacturers such as PE Guerin, which, according to the studio, is the “country’s oldest architectural hardware firm”.

Other supertall skyscrapers – defined as one between 984 and 1,969 feet (300 and 600 metres) – designed by SHoP Architects include the Brooklyn Tower in Downtown Brooklyn, which is nearing its way to completion, having topped out earlier this year.

Billionare’s Row – the name for the luxury skyscrapers on 57th Street near Central Park in Manhattan, continues to see new developments, with New York studio ODA announcing the construction of a “fractal” skyscraper on the street.

The interior photography is by Adrian Gaut with exterior photography by David Sundberg.

Reference

Sustainable News

Lucy Siegle asks: ‘Is this the coral COP?’

By Zarkon Group,16/11/2022

First, a near-term prediction. In a departure from the long tradition of COPs (aka the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC)), week two of COP27 seems set to deliver the big stories and strongest signals. This contrasts with recent precedent, where global leaders have commanded all the headlines in the opening days of the international climate summit. Partly, this is to do with personnel. Whereas week one at Sharm El-Sheikh was marked by no-shows from the leaders of India, Australia, and interestingly, Canada (plus a ‘do-I-really-have-to-go’ appearance from Rishi Sunak), week two has some big hitters.

Indeed, the biggest star turn is not even a president, but a president-elect, as Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who takes office in January in Brazil, arrives in Egypt. The buzz around Lula is partly one of utter relief. Most of the Amazon rainforest biome, dubbed the lungs of the earth and one of the planet’s most important carbon stores, is in Brazil and, under hard-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, deforestation rates have soared. According to Carbon Brief, given his promised reinstatement of forestry protection policies, the fact of Lula’s election could avoid 75,960 kilometres squared of Amazon rainforest loss by 2030 – an area roughly the size of Panama. This would significantly curb Brazil’s emissions. Lula can presumably expect a warm welcome.

Due to the mid-term elections in the US, highly rated US envoy John Kerry pitched up a little later in proceedings too, at the end of week one. It wasn’t long before ‘announcements’ (the lifeblood of COPs) began emerging, including one on ‘safe small modular nuclear reactors’ announced in tandem with the Ukrainian energy minister.

However, the biggest personality in the final days of COP27 is likely to be the Biosphere itself. And this is how it should be. Since the Earth was finally allowed a look-in with the international climate regime in Glasgow, by way of an Ocean day and a Nature plenary, announcements and compacts on nature-based solutions, and associated models like nature-based financing, have stolen the show. This is in addition to a separate biodiversity COP, COP15, that will take place in Montreal in December. It makes sense; from peat bogs to rainforests (and there is even temperate rainforest in Scotland being restored via funding from COP26) nature is a super carbon sucker and storer.

Covering 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface area, the ocean plays a particularly important role in regulating the global carbon budget. It used to be thought that the oceans sank around two billion tonnes of CO2 every year, but research by academics at Exeter University, published in Nature in 2020, suggested that this was short by nearly a billion tonnes. The increased appreciation of the ocean as a carbon sink has led to a greater emphasis on it by the international climate regime and the policy, funding, and R&D that tends to follow.

Three coral innovations spotted by Springwise

PROTECTING FLORIDA’S CORAL REEFS BY MAKING LEATHER OUT OF LIONFISH

RESEARCHERS USE ‘CORAL IVF’ TO REPOPULATE DAMAGED REEFS

BACTERIA COULD PROTECT CORAL FROM HEAT STRESS

But it’s complicated. Only healthy seas can play their regulating role properly and ours are under stress. Research published earlier this year warns that the oceans could switch from a net carbon sink to a net emitter, driving global heating. Meanwhile, as the seas absorb carbon dioxide, acidification occurs, threatening ocean biomass – including fish stocks that billions of humans rely on as a food and income source. The phrase ‘Blue Economy’ attempts to balance these competing concerns and is now heartily used in sustainable development. Given the need for sustainable development, ocean action lends itself to the blended finance models – using development capital as part of the effort to mobilise private capital for climate and nature – that are increasingly factored into the UN Climate regime.

Meanwhile, the UN’s 30 x 30 treaty aims to get 30 per cent of global seas into protected marine reserve status by 2030. This means venturing out from near-shore marine reserves, which are relatively easy, into the high seas where there’s more biodiversity to protect but more challenges to overcome. As the Blue Economy deepens (excuse the pun) to include everything from sustainable fishing to sustainable shipping, offshore wind power, and harvesting seaweed (kelponomics anybody?), investors are becoming more interested.

Clearly, innovation has a major part to play too in developing a Blue Economy that can observe planetary boundaries. But the next generation of ocean innovation will need to help ocean eco-systems to regenerate, not just try to be less bad. On that note, back to COP27 and Thursday, the 16^th, which is designated Biodiversity Day, where I predict this will go even deeper.

By happenstance, Sharm El Sheikh boasts a spectacular coral reef, part of the Great Fringing Reef of the Red Sea. It is notable not just for providing a home to a cornucopia of sea life and being photogenic, but it is also identified as one of the most climate-tolerant reefs in the world by the 50 Reefs scientific study. While other reefs are ailing, the Great Fringing Reef is buzzing with life. Scientists believe that, as long as global temperature can be kept below two degrees Celsius, this reef has the potential to survive and could be the key to repopulating surrounding reefs, potentially pulling an entire ecosystem from the edge of near extinction.

This week the Egyptian Government will be asked by an international delegation to commit to protecting the remaining half of the reef; currently only 50 per cent of Egypt’s Great Fringing Reef is protected. Everyone is waiting for a big COP27 announcement later this week. Leaders and decision-makers in government as well as philanthropic organisations, financial institutions, and impact investors will be asked to prioritise funding for the protection of coral reefs too. Might that in turn unlock the next generation of innovation around protecting and regenerating coral? Watch this space!

Lucy Siegle is a climate-focused author, journalist and co-host of popular podcast So Hot Right Now. She is editorial director and ambassador at Springwise and will be in Sharm El-Sheik for COP27 this week.

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Reference

Istanbul architects' studios by Marc Goodwin

Architecture

Photographer Marc Goodwin captures Frankfurt architecture studios

By Zarkon Group,16/11/2022

British architectural photographer Marc Goodwin provides a look into architecture studios in Frankfurt in the second edition of his three-part series documenting architectural offices in Germany.

The series offers a look into eight architecture studios based in Frankfurt including the office of Schneider+schumacher, Crossboundaries, Apd architektur+ingenieurbüro and Max Dudler.

“This was a follow-up to the previous story in Berlin,” Goodwin told Dezeen. “The German market is interesting because it is large and produces work of such a high standard but is perhaps less well known outside of Germany than might be expected.”

“My next stop is Vienna to be followed by Swiss studios,” he said. “The goal is to finally publish the book which I was on track for prior to Covid by the end of 2023.”

When asked about the project, Goodwin told Dezeen that this three-part series in Germany was one of his longest trips, compared only to his work capturing 27 Nordic architecture offices in 2016.

“It was one of the longest trips I have taken, comparable only to the Nordic studio’s story that started me off on this adventure,” he told Dezeen.

Goodwin is the founder of the architectural photography studio Archmospheres and has captured behind-the-scenes looks into architectural studios worldwide – including in Berlin, Dubai, Panama City and Beijing.

Goodwin and Archmospheres have also recently photographed a lakeside sauna and restaurant in Finland as well as Hopkins Architects’ Khor Kalba Turtle Wildlife Sanctuary in the UAE.

Read on for a glimpse into eight architecture studios across Frankfurt:

Schneider+schumacher

In this space since: 2009
Number of members of staff: 160
Size: 1650 square metres
Building’s history: former post office

Apd architektur+ingenieurbüro

In this space since: 2015
Number of members of staff: 25
Size: 240 square metres
Building’s history: former clothing factory and fur warehouse, now occupied by creatives, artists and architects

FRANKEN Generalplaner Gmbh

In this space since: 2009
Number of members of staff: 25
Size: 250 square metres
Building’s history: former factory for cardboard envelopes

Max Dudler

In this space since: 2022
Number of members of staff: 14 staff members of 134 total
Size: 300 square metres
Building’s history: former 20th-century German type-foundry used by D. Stempel AG

Turkali Architekten, Prof. Zvonko Turkali

In this space since: 2008
Number of members of staff: 20
Size: 400 square metres

Crossboundaries

In this space since: 2014
Number of members of staff: 8 to 10
Size: 120 square metres
Building’s history: former apartment

MEIXNER SCHLÜTER WENDT

In this space since: 1997
Number of members of staff: 42
Size: 1000 square metres
Building’s history: former commercial and industrial building

HGP Architekten Leben Kilian PartG mbB

In this space since: 2017
Number of members of staff: 23
Size: 300 square metres
Building’s history: former Society for Psychoanalytic Social Psychology e. V.

Reference

Interior Design

Td-Atelier and Endo Shorijo transform traditional machiya house in Kyoto

By Zarkon Group,15/11/2022

Japanese design studios Td-Atelier and Endo Shorijo Design have renovated a century-old machiya townhouse in Kyoto with minimal interiors that intend to honour the home’s existing architecture.

Called House in Marutamachi, the Japanese house was built over 120 years ago and is arranged across two floors on a long and narrow site.

Tucked between two other residential properties, the house is an example of the wooden machiya townhouses that were once common in Japan’s historical capital Kyoto but are now at risk of going extinct.

“Traditional Kyoto townhouses are being destroyed at a pace of 800 houses a year,” Td-Atelier explained.

“Old buildings don’t match modern life. However, we want to stop the decline of Kyoto townhouses by fusing tradition, design and new life.”

Td-Atelier kitchen interior — The kitchen is encased in a white volume

Td-Atelier and Endo Shorijo Design dressed House in Marutamachi’s interior with new components including sleek tiles and geometric furniture alongside materials reused from the original house, as seen in the traditional team room.

The studios retained the building’s wooden columns and beams but added white volumes to house rooms including the kitchen and study to avoid disturbing the existing architecture with harsh structural materials.

Bathroom in Kyoto house — The tea room was constructed using materials reused from the original building

These variously sized cubes were designed to mimic the contrasting heights of buildings in a cityscape.

“The gaps and omissions created between the volume group and the existing columns, beams, walls and floors create continuity in the space,” Td-Atelier said.

Throughout the house, Td-Atelier and Endo Shorijo Design adopted a minimal material and colour palette including a combination of light and dark woods alongside smooth concrete.

A thin, sculptural light is suspended above the timber breakfast bar on the second floor, where occupants can sit on clusters of subtle-coloured stools.

Td-Atelier garden — Original features were maintained in the garden

Outside, a plant-filled garden features elements from the building’s original architecture such as sandy-hued lanterns and a chōzubachi – a traditional stone water bowl historically used for washing hands before a tea ceremony.

House in Marutamachi was shortlisted for house interior of the year at the 2022 Dezeen Awards.

Dezeen recently announced the winners of this year’s interiors categories, who are now competing to win the overall interiors project of the year award.

The photography is by Matsumura Kohei.

Reference

Sustainable News

The Earthshot Prize: Clean our air

By Zarkon Group,15/11/2022

Carbon dioxide is not the only pollutant we need to worry about. Carbon emissions may harm our planet, but emissions of nitrogen oxides, ozone, and particulate matter harm our health. According to the World Health Organization, almost everyone on earth – 99 per cent of the global population to be precise – breathes air that contains high levels of pollutants. And the combined effects of air pollution, both outside and within the home, are associated with 7 million premature deaths each year.

Thankfully, the 2022 finalists of The Earthshot Prize are showing how innovation can help us to clean the air we breathe.

PROVIDING LOW-INCOME FAMILIES WITH CLEAN, SAFE, AND AFFORDABLE COOKSTOVES

Household air pollution is a major threat to public health – particularly in low- and middle-income countries. In total, the World Health Organization reports that one-third of the global population cooks using either open fires or inefficient stoves. This releases pollutants that cause a range of health issues from strokes and heart disease to lung cancer. Mukuru Clean Stoves designs and manufactures safer, cleaner cookstoves for low-income families in East Africa. Read more

REPLACING DIESEL GENERATORS ON CONSTRUCTION SITES

What powers all the cranes, hoists, and welders you see on a construction site? The answer is almost always diesel. Most sites run on noisy, polluting generators – one of the reasons why the construction sector is responsible for 11 per cent of global carbon emissions. These diesel generators also damage the health of local people – particularly in the tightly packed urban areas where most projects take place. Now, one startup has developed a battery energy system that reduces the noise, carbon emissions, and air pollution generated by building projects. Read more

ACCELERATING THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE TRANSITION IN EAST AFRICA

The International Energy Agency estimates that, globally, 13 per cent of new cars sold in 2022 will be electric. But in the transition to electric vehicles (EVs), sub-Saharan Africa faces challenges. These include an unreliable electricity supply, low vehicle affordability, and the dominance of used vehicles. At the same time, transport makes up 10 per cent of Africa’s total greenhouse gas emissions, so there is a need for change. Now, one company is providing electric motorbikes and buses tailored to the needs of the African market. Read more

Written by: Matthew Hempstead

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Reference

Architecture

Drawing Isn’t Dead: How Architectural Sketching Can Thrive in the Digital Era

By Zarkon Group,15/11/2022

The long-held debate of hand drawing vs. computer-aided design may never come to a close, and in many ways, the conversation has only become more confounding with the plethora of computerized tools now on the market today. This debate sees a split down the line, with many continuing to champion hand drawing while others advocating for the huge benefits of working with digital graphics. James Wines, a big proponent of hand drawing, speculates that the reluctance of some to embrace digital mediums has to do with a “deep-seated psychological resistance to the cybernetic world.”

Despite the broad range of opinions and beliefs within the architectural profession, the overriding consensus is that both drawing styles have a place within the design world, and that their coexistence is totally possible. There are benefits and downsides to both: for example, the precision found in digital tools is unbeatable, whereas, the slower process of hand-drawing can encourage a deep understanding of form and ideas. Whatever your preference, designers can undoubtedly benefit from products that blend pen and paper-style sketching with advanced digital tools. Cerulean Labs has developed one such solution to this unremitting debate: The Spaces iPad app.

Whether it be drawn or digitally designed, the forefront of a successful project is the initial drawing that brings an idea to life. Accordingly, Cerulean Labs’ Spaces version 2.2 app continues the brand’s maintained effort of improving the conceptual design stage. The beauty of an app like Spaces is its merging of old-school sketching with modern-day technology. Pen and paper lovers don’t have to say goodbye to their trusted hand-held tool — they simply have to say hello to the Apple Pencil.

The Spaces app is built entirely for the iPad, meaning users can sketch directly on the iPad’s smooth interface. Users do not have to sacrifice the tactility, freedom and speed of hand drawing; in fact, they gain a dynamic set of new capabilities. While users sketch, the app works behind the scenes to create a workable building model.

“From the outset, sketching has been in our DNA, and the further we have developed Spaces, the more power we’ve been able to add to our sketching engine.” – Campbell Yule, Spaces Founder

The Spaces app encourages the traditional method: draw, revise, keep and throw away. Many conceptual design tools on the market require a certain familiarity with modeling, which makes the drawing experience far less fluid and natural. The Spaces app mimics hand-drawing by allowing users to sketch as they please, deleting what they don’t like and saving what they do. While users sketch away, real-time building and site data is being calculated, reported and projected as a workable model. If a user changes an angle or slope, the app automatically resizes the plan and provides updated calculations and measurements. The app does all the work so that users can tap into their creative minds and draw.

Once drawn, users benefit from a series of parametric design tools. Architects can add cladding, leverage the app’s Open Street Map data or elevate their project using precise sun studies among other tools. The conceptual phase – especially when drawing by hand – is an iterative process, and this app celebrates the beauty of trial and error.

The app’s numerous settings and features can all be managed quickly and swiftly, allowing the designer to focus on their creative ideas rather than the technology. Hand-drawing advocates often complain that navigating technology poses an unwelcoming distraction from the design process. Thankfully, the Spaces app’s clear and simple interface poses little distraction from sketching.

The app’s new digital sketchbook feature allows users to document their ideas as they traditionally would on tracing paper. Whenever and wherever an idea comes to mind, designers can document a note or sketch directly on the app. Equally, creatives can embellish and rework their designs by tracing over their models using the Apple pencil. Designers can even send snapshots of their models to the sketchbook and rework their design at their own pace. The app revives the incredibly useful tool of trace paper, but makes it more efficient, precise and hassle-free.

Once sketched and modeled, designers can then leverage the app’s project management tools. Spaces comes with tools to organize design briefs, create reports and develop project concepts directly on the app. Users can even import key site data onto the app to ensure their concept design is as precise and well-planned as possible. The Spaces app delivers professional results while not compromising creativity and fluidity.

Spaces champions architecture’s oldest tools, a pen and paper, and integrates them perfectly into a straightforward app suitable for all architects and designers. If you remain to be convinced by sketching in the digital age, give the Spaces App a go and see for yourself. The Spaces app celebrates the nonlinear nature of conceptual design by encouraging exploration and creativity, and is set to become one of the industry’s go-to applications as a result.

Reference

Interior Design

Marble bathrooms feature in Malin + Goetz founders’ apartment

By Zarkon Group,14/11/2022

New York studio Messana O’Rorke has extended its collaboration with skincare brand Malin + Goetz by designing an apartment for its founders on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where special attention was paid to the bathrooms.

After creating store interiors for the brand across the US for several years, Messana O’Rorke turned its attention to a space for co-founders Matthew Malin and Andrew Goetz to live in.

The apartment on West 76th Street was fully renovated for the couple to reflect their passions for beauty and wellness, while embracing the building’s history.

“The space creates a gentle push and pull between the comfort of the past and the vigor of the present – embedded in the architectural details,” said Messana O’Rorke.

Den — A mixture of contemporary and vintage furniture and artworks imbue the spaces with personality

These details include a traditional baseboard that encircles the main living spaces but ends abruptly in the central vestibule, where it is replaced with a quarter-inch (0.6-centimetre) shadow gap between the walls and floor for a more modern look.

Reclaimed oak parquet flooring is laid in a herringbone pattern throughout most of the rooms, providing the air of a European pied-à-terre.

Kitchen — Light materials were used for surfaces in the narrow kitchen

A simplified version of a plaster relief detail – found during the demolition of a dropped ceiling in the bedroom – also wraps the wall and ceiling junctions, suggestive of crown moulding.

While these details all tie the living spaces together, it’s in the bathrooms that Messana O’Rorke has made the most dramatic interventions.

“Given that the homeowners are the founding partners of Malin + Goetz, Messana O’Rorke paid particular attention to the design of the two bathrooms, which reflect the beauty brand’s ethos as a modern apothecary,” said the studio.

Unlacquered brass fixtures and hardware are installed against Carrera marble, which clads the walls, floors and showers to create a “spa-like” feeling.

In one bathroom, mirrors surrounded a window above the sink, where more brass is used to line the recess and forms a trim around the perimeter.

A shower is illuminated from a hidden pocket in the ceiling, giving the illusion that the stone wall is washed with daylight.

The same marble is continued in the narrow kitchen as countertops and backsplash, keeping the space light in tandem with white cabinets and stainless steel appliances.

Furniture is a blend of contemporary and vintage, mixing dark woods with sofas in muted velvet upholstery.

A variety of artworks decorate the living room and den walls, while a large collection of books fills shelves in the office – both providing more colour and personality to the apartment.

“Much like the Malin + Goetz boutiques the firm had previously designed, a single vintage display element subtly offsets the taut architectural envelope; the furnishings and interior appointments bridge the traditional and the modern,” Messana O’Rorke said.

Hallway — Herringbone patterned parquet was laid through the living spaces

The studio was founded in 1996 by Brian Messana and Toby O’Rorke, and has previously renovated an 18th-century home in Upstate New York.

Renovations on the Upper West Side completed by other studios include a residence by Stadt Architecture where existing brickwork walls were paired with walnut floors and a 1920s apartment overhauled with custom millwork by Format Architecture Office.

The photography is by Stephen Kent Johnson.

Reference

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“From the outset, sketching has been in our DNA, and the further we have developed Spaces, the more power we’ve been able to add to our sketching engine.” – Campbell Yule, Spaces Founder

Marble bathrooms feature in Malin + Goetz founders’ apartment

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