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Reception desk with metal lattice front and hoop-shaped lights above

Interior Design

The Rebello Hotel occupies former factory along Porto’s riverside

By Zarkon Group,08/02/2024

This hotel by architecture studio Metro Urbe occupies a series of former industrial buildings on the banks of the River Douro in Porto, Portugal, and features interiors by Quiet Studios.

The Rebello Hotel is spread across several 19th-century buildings, which have been overhauled and adapted with new additions by Metro Urbe, in Vila Nova de Gaia – across the river from the city proper.

Operated by Bomporto Hotels, which has two properties in Lisbon, the new addition to its portfolio was designed with a local approach and to take full advantage of its prime riverside location.

The Rebello is named after Porto’s famous rabelos – wooden boats that used to transport barrels of port wine down the river – and located beside the city’s only remaining boatyard.

Bar and cafe area with polished concrete floors and exposed ceiling ductwork — The lobby bar and cafe was designed for digital nomads to work and relax

The collection of buildings was once a kitchen utensil factory and had been unoccupied for some time before work began to reconfigure the site.

The team restored two long buildings that face onto the river, preserving their historic stone facades, and constructed two new volumes in the centre of the site that incorporate smaller original structures and resolve the sloping topography.

A variety of soft seating options in an industrial-style space — A variety of soft seating options enliven the industrial-style interiors of the hotel’s communal spaces

Presented with a blank canvas, Spanish interior designer Daniela Franceschini – founder of Lisbon-based Quiet Studios – worked with local artists and creatives to transform the industrial spaces into warm and comfortable guest facilities.

Using vintage and contemporary objects, she based the interiors around four key elements: water, wine, wood and industry.

Bright bedroom with neutral decor and wavy walnut headboard — Bedrooms are bright and neutral, with splashes of colour introduced through contemporary furniture

“There’s a nautical feel to the colours, materials and textures,” said Franceschini. “That also comes through in the lighting, which is suggestive of floating and sailboats, and in the lamps with chains, the wooden shelves by Tomaz Viana, the ceramic nets by Fig Studio and the undulating mirrors that evoke the movement of the sea.”

Above the retro-style reception counter, fronted by a metal lattice, is an artwork crafted using reclaimed materials from the rabelos, which was designed by Studio Ther in collaboration with a local artisan.

Double-height living and dining room with a long pendant lamp suspended over the table — Guest room types vary from studios to three-bedroom penthouse apartments

The lobby lounge and bar was designed for digital nomads to work or relax on a variety of comfortable soft seats, within a bright space that features polished concrete floors and exposed ceiling ductwork.

As a nod to the site’s history, the ground-floor Pot&Pan restaurant serves family-style dishes in large pots and pans within a space decorated with dark-toned walls and plants to create a casual atmosphere.

There’s also a cafe and store selling local produce and crafts, and meeting rooms that can be hired separately or combined for private events.

The Rebello Hotel’s 103 guest rooms and apartments are split into 11 different types, ranging from studios to three-bedroom penthouses that span 37 to 195 square metres.

Spa with textured plaster walls, and globe-shaped lights over a large pool — The hotel’s spa is modelled on ancient Roman baths

The interiors of its light-filled suites have been decorated with walnut, steel, concrete and tiles, along with contemporary furniture that introduces splashes of bright colour to the otherwise neutral palette.

The bedrooms also include “tailor-made pieces influenced by nautical and industrial design, such as the sinks inspired by old water tanks and the organically styled bed headboards that resemble the rippling waters of the Douro”, according to the design team.

Lounge chairs under umbrellas overlooking the Douro River — The fourth-floor rooftop bar offers views across the Douro River to the Porto skyline

The Rebello Hotel guests can enjoy a spa, modelled on ancient Roman baths and encompassing a heated pool, sauna, fitness centre and treatment rooms.

Finally, the Rooftop Bello bar on the fourth floor offers a spot for al fresco cocktails overlooking the river, with a view of the city’s terracotta-tiled skyline beyond.

Aerial view of The Rebello Hotel showing the layout of its terracotta-roofed buildings — The riverside site, a former kitchen utensil factory, was converted and extended by architects Metro Urbe

Other interior design projects in Porto include a rustic restaurant interior designed by Space Copenhagen, which features a ceramic mural by Álvaro Siza, and a sushi bar by Paulo Merlini where 8,000 wooden chopsticks hang above diners.

The photography is by Francisco Nogueira.

Reference

Sustainable News

Local sanctuaries for wildlife and biodiversity

By Zarkon Group,08/02/2024

Spotted: Many efforts at nature restoration are focused on regions like the Amazon rainforest. But according to German organisation Artenglück, for those living in Europe, there is much conservation work to be done closer to home.

Wildflower meadows, for example, are important habitats that provide food and refuge for pollinators and other insects, while supporting birds, bats, and mammals. However, they face challenges. For example, in 2021, Germany was referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union by the EU Commission for failing to sufficiently protect flower-rich grasslands in protected sites.

To provide a boost for nature, Artenglück creates meadows and other habitats that can be adopted by individuals and companies. The organisation provides bespoke conservation habitats within 30 kilometres of a desired location, working with farmers and foresters to plant and maintain perennial flowering meadows, mixed forests, and habitats specifically tailored to field bird species.

Companies and individuals can choose from wildflower habitats of 30, 60, or 100 square metres. Forest habitat spaces are also available in various sizes, and for birds that nest in agricultural fields, Artenglück provides small corridors of plantings that enable the adult birds to take off and land to access their nests. Importantly, the wildflower meadows are placed on marginal land so as not to compete with food production.

Artenglück’s service is available across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and the company works with organisations interested in creating ecologically healthy plantings on corporate private land.

Other innovations in Springwise’s library working to conserve and regenerate the world’s biodiversity include regenerative grazing techniques and funding indigenous forest stewardship.

Written By: Keely Khoury and Matthew Hempstead

Reference

Architecture

Rethinking Recess: How Architects Are Playfully Nurturing a Water-Resilient Generation

By Zarkon Group,08/02/2024

Last call: The clock is ticking as Architizer’s 12th Annual A+Awards enters its Extended Entry Deadline period. Submit your work before February 23rd for your chance at the global spotlight.

It has been 17 years since then-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair predicted a new age of climate education fit for the generation that will be left to pick up the bill for the past 150 years of industrialization. Give or take.

Leader of the Labour Party at that time, he proclaimed that by focusing on improving and updating infrastructure, for example, an energy system in a school, children would begin to understand the nuances of our environmental crisis and the factors contributing to it. In turn, they’d pick up the behaviors we need to adopt for a chance at mitigating or even reversing the situation.

Suffice to say, this wasn’t the only thing Blair got wrong, but the lack of progress on introducing sustainability to curriculums is nothing to laugh about. And not just in Britain but in most developed countries. Even if we were working in highly efficient, coherent, and connected ways to rapidly drive down emissions and return more land to nature, which we are not, we’d still need to start rethinking how we live daily.

The impact of wasted anything is profound. Our new power may be renewable, but clean energy sources still have a hugely detrimental effect on the planet, and we cannot continue to view even our supposedly inexhaustible resources, such as the wind or tides, as infinite. This is particularly true of fresh water, given its role in the planet’s ecosystem and the fact we find it in limited supply.

Perhaps the most challenging idea to get our heads around is the growing water crisis. While it can be hard to believe when staring down the barrel of another winter defined by storms and floods, many regions are running dry. And while the mind leaps to the usual water-starved suspects, from Abu Dhabi to Los Angeles, many nations that are stereotyped by torrential downpours are waking up to the fact their taps may not continue flowing freely unless a number of things are done. Updating infrastructure is, of course, vital, but so is instilling a different mindset in how we look at and use water.

Interactive area of the Play ’N’ Learn Water Mountain by Ballistic Architecture Machine (BAM), Tianjin 4A Sports Park, China | Jury Winner, 11th Annual A+Awards, Architecture +Learning

One fascinating approach to this, and a great example of public realm creation in a place where space is under extreme pressure, is the Tianjin 4A Sports Park, and specifically the Play ’n Learn Water Mountain. Developed by Beijing and Shanghai-based Ballistic Architecture Machine (BAM) in the city of Tianjin, this project, a jury winner at the 2023 Architizer’s A+ Awards in the Architecture+ Learning category, addresses a number of urgent issues the modern city faces.

Firstly, it secures open areas to promote active lifestyles and breaks up built environment density. But it also introduces climate-aligned education to the everyday lives of the young people who will definitely need it. Their ability to consume with carefree abandon is unlikely to extend to anything like our current levels, so thinking with moderation front of mind is likely to prove very important.

Although covering a relatively small area, the park comprises a surprising number of key elements. Centrally placed, a large sculpture hides a geothermal chimney and steam exhaust for heated water, showing nature-based technologies in operation.

The Water Mountain itself takes this idea one step further, recreating a miniature version of the Yangtze River Delta, Three Gorges Reservoir, and ancient Dujiangyan irrigation system. Children are invited to play with, in and on this landscape, introducing dams and changing water flow to create reservoirs. It looks like a lot of fun, but success is pegged on striking a fine balance of careful water management, making this a highly strategic and engaging game.

Children can choose where to stop and start water flow when using the Play ’N’ Learn Water Mountain by Ballistic Architecture Machine (BAM), Tianjin 4A Sports Park, China | Jury Winner, 11th Annual A+Awards, Architecture +Learning

Through play, children come face-to-face with the complex networks we need to provide our homes and businesses with fresh water, a concept at the vanguard of learning-by-doing in the climate age. While not every kid who gets involved will go on to administer public services or engineer landscape-changing construction projects, by understanding how much effort has gone into creating crucial systems we don’t always get to see, but rely on, surely water itself will again be considered as the most of all resources, and respected as such.

But it also goes beyond this. Ultimately, the actions and decisions made by the human participants in Water Mountain that lead either to harmony or complete catastrophe for an entire region in miniature form. By experiencing this, let alone actively trying to control things, it seems almost unthinkable that players would not learn the importance of working with our planet in order to safeguard the lives on it.

Reference

Walnut spiral staircase rising from green marble floor

Interior Design

Modernist architecture informs Bottega Veneta store in historic galleria

By Zarkon Group,07/02/2024

Fashion house Bottega Veneta has opened a boutique designed by its creative director Matthieu Blazy inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade in Milan.

Bottega Veneta‘s two-storey store is distinguished by three primary materials: glass, Italian walnut and green Verde Saint Denis marble.

This trifecta is applied in strict grids to evoke Italian modernism and provide an organising principle in the various rooms.

“There are different experiences of space in the store,” said Blazy. “I wanted to express the idea of a domestic interior referring to Italian modernist architecture that contrasts with the aesthetic of a spaceship and to capture the intimacy and the imagination of getting dressed.”

Fashion store with glass-block walls and ceiling, and green marble flooring — Grids are used throughout the store to organise materials

From the galleria, shoppers are greeted by a dramatic spiral staircase made entirely from Italian walnut – a material used throughout the interior as panelling, modular shelving and furniture.

Green marble is laid in squares across the floors, separated by strips of walnut and occasionally swapped for larger patches of dark green wool carpet.

Room with squares of glass blocks across the walls and ceiling — Glass blocks are integrated into the walls and ceilings

Square glass blocks are similarly arranged into grids across walls and ceilings, illuminated from behind to produce a soft warm glow throughout the store.

Green leather chairs and benches are accompanied by custom rounded wood tables and stools to form lounge areas.

“Throughout the space, soft textures are found in leather seating and wool carpets, while modular shelving units build a sense of discovery and play,” Bottega Veneta said.

Fitting room lined in walnut with a green leather niche and wool carpet — The fitting rooms feature leather niches that provide a place to sit

Fitting rooms are fully lined in walnut, except for leather-wrapped niches that provide a small seat, giant mirrors with built-in lighting and more green carpet.

Sculptural polished metal elements form the door pulls and clothes hooks, their smooth surfaces contrasting with the more textured golden planters and entrance handles.

On the upper level, recesses formed by the Galleria’s arched windows provide nooks for seating and plants, as places to look out onto the highly decorative arcade.

Designed in 1861 by architect Giuseppe Mengoni, the neo-classical Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is one of Milan’s most desirable shopping destinations.

Close-up of a polished metal sculptures that forms a door pull — Polished metal sculptures form door pulls and clothing hooks in the fitting rooms

The four-storey, glass-vaulted double arcade is located in the city centre, close to other landmarks like the Duomo and the Teatro alla Scala.

The new Bottega store is the latest to open under Blazy since he took the reigns of the luxury brand in 2021, following locations on London’s Sloane Street and the Avenue Montaigne in Paris.

Exterior of the Bottega Veneta store in Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II — The new store is located in the historic Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade

For the brand’s Spring Summer 2023 runway show, Bottega Veneta collaborated with Italian designer Gaetano Pesce, who envisioned a colourful resin-covered floor and 400 bespoke cotton-and-resin chairs for the set.

Pesce later went on to create a pair of handbags for the brand, which were designed to suggest different bucolic landscapes.

The photography is courtesy of Bottega Veneta.

Reference

Sustainable News

Long-term, environmental-scale decisions made easy

By Zarkon Group,07/02/2024

Spotted: The increasing pace of global warming means that more and more businesses need to take climate into account in their long-term planning. Upstream Tech’s climate modelling software is designed to empower organisations to better manage the risk to, and supply of, natural resources and to act at scale with confidence.

The startup offers two main platforms that quantify decision-making in environmental resource management. ‘HydroForecast’ helps companies better manage their water resources, using neural network models to forecast short-term and seasonal streamflow, along with long-term climatological outlooks. It can be used to minimise spill, optimise reservoir operations, and aid in dam safety and emergency preparedness, while also informing policy decisions, supply management, and energy trading.

Lens is a web-based, remote monitoring platform that improves access to high-resolution satellite, aerial, and environmental data, enabling better monitoring and protection of land around the world. The platform also provides users with tools to analyse this wealth of data to determine site conditions and easily generate reports.

Investment fund Engie New Ventures recently announced that it had invested an unspecified amount in Upstream Tech. Engie stated the investment will enable extensive partnership opportunities and will unlock Upstream Tech’s access to new geographies and use cases across its product portfolio.

Satellite data is being leveraged in a growing number of innovations aimed at environmental management. These include using satellites to predict the next extreme weather event and using satellites to prevent wildfires through better resource allocation.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

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Architecture

ma yansong on MAD’s first transit-oriented project, a ‘train station in the forest’ in jiaxing

By Zarkon Group,07/02/2024

MAD architects unveils sunken train station in jiaxing, china

MAD Architects unveils Jiaxing Train Station (see designboom’s previous coverage here), the firm’s first transit-oriented infrastructure reconstruction and expansion project. Departing from the conventional pursuit of monumental transportation structures in China, the architects built an underground hub, replacing a dysfunctional train station that had stood at the site between 1995 and 2019. The submerged station, presented as a discreet structure, accentuates the historic station while integrating an extensive park featuring verdant spaces envisioned as an urban oasis in the densely populated area.

Lead architect Ma Yansong prioritized the project’s human-centric and efficient design ethos, contrasting with imposing and secluded Chinese transportation facilities typically bordered by expansive main roads, viaducts, and vacant squares. ‘They are like isolated islands where nobody likes to go unless they have to take the train,’ he tells designboom. ‘People should not feel lost in a vast space that makes them feel disoriented.’ MAD’s design revolutionizes the functions of transportation structures by largely relocating them underground, challenging traditional concepts and introducing the ‘train station in the forest’ concept. To delve deeper into this new typology, its design concept, and the challenges encountered during its realization, designboom spoke with Ma Yansong himself. Read the full interview below.

the Jiaxing Train Station from above | photography by AC

interview with ma yansong

designboom (DB): What is the design philosophy behind the Jiaxing Train Station?

Ma Yansong (MY): It’s not just a train station; it’s a part of an urban renewal. That area is a central part of the city, but nobody wants to visit it because the environment there is really bad. The only reason people go there is to take a train. However, I think the train station is not just for its function. It has to regenerate the whole area. It’s important to let this train station become an attractive, urban space that, no matter if they’re taking the train or not, people enjoy. Our design has a more environmental feel to it. We see more urban spaces in the project. There is the transportation function, but we also have a commercial function; we have offices, and parks. In addition, we kept the traditional building, the old train station from 100 years ago, and we made it into a small museum, so we added a cultural aspect to the transformation as well. Now, young people, old people, businessmen, travelers, families—they all have a purpose to go to the area.

DB: How does the project separate itself from traditional designs of transportation structures?

MY: Through the years, China has developed a lot of train tracks for fast-speed trains all over the country. They have allowed people to travel around different cities, and of course, they have helped the economy. In a way, train stations have become symbolic in China. A lot of stations are very monumental; they are very large with huge plazas in front of them. In most cases, the train tracks are elevated. As a result, the stations feel disconnected from the rest of the city. They are like isolated islands where nobody likes to go unless they have to take the train. I understand those buildings have a symbolic purpose, but I think for both train stations and urban spaces, we need more humanity. We need something easier, with convenient access. People should not feel lost in a vast space that makes them feel disoriented. With these thoughts in mind, we decided to make a low-key architectural project. If you look at this building from a high level, it’s really low. We have used this low height to put the focus on the historical building, which is also a very small building. Most of the functions in our project are underground. From above, everyone sees only parks and greenery.

DB: You mentioned that the design preserves the original 1907 station. Why was it important for you to look to the past? How did you balance historical preservation with contemporary functionality?

MY: The old building is part of the city’s history. History needs to be preserved, especially when we want to design a so-called futuristic building. I like to show all these different times and the historical layers, and I want to show them at the same time. Once you go visit this space, you will see these historical elements and some abstract new spaces. You will think, ‘This is futuristic. This is something I recognize from 100 years ago.’ Different narratives are unfolding. Urban space needs to have these layers so that people can fully understand what the project is about. Then, of course, history gives us a reason to design something new where past and present are still equal. When we put all these layers in an equal position, the citizens find more freedom because they don’t feel like they only belong to the past or the future. In any case, I didn’t want the futuristic character to dictate the whole atmosphere.

The old building was important, though not architecturally valuable. It is part of history, so that’s what makes it significant. It also gave us the excuse to create a new building that was very small compared to other train station constructions. I was able to build a low structure that respects the old building, which is already quite small. In a way, that is how I convinced the system, the government, to do something different and not build a huge train station like other transportation hubs in China.

DB: Can you elaborate on the significance of placing the busy transport hub underground, and expanding the existing park? Did you face any challenges during the design and construction?

MY: Most Asians are used to a very dense urban context when it comes to transportation hubs because a station has to serve its main function, which is, of course, the transportation of people. In this case, though, we have multiple functions, and most of them are now placed underground. We designed and introduced a new typology, essentially. Since everything is underground, there has to be a new design that facilitates the use of the infrastructure.

There was an existing park at the north of the site that was gated. We made it open and expanded it. We planted more trees, and we grew the green space to connect the train station with this old park, and then to a new park to the south. The two parks are now connected through the underground. Making this urban center blend into the green, was poetic, but it was also the main purpose of our project. We wanted to create something open.

MY (continued): One of the main challenges we faced was convincing others about the development. It’s more of an ideological challenge. We had to explain why this new train station looks like this. There were long discussions in the beginning. Also, we had to make sure that enough commercial spaces were accommodated in the project so that the whole thing could be supported. The second challenge was the fact that the train could not stop working during the whole construction. Every day, the train had to continue moving. That made the construction quite a challenge. Everything was completed very quickly and in parts. First, it was the north platform, then the north train station, then the north building. But it was also a challenge to do this amount of underground construction at such a quick pace. Again, through everything, the train had to keep on moving.

Reference

Living space interior of Azabu Hills Residence in Japan

Interior Design

Karimoku Case lines minimalist Tokyo apartment with local wood

By Zarkon Group,06/02/2024

Japanese brand Karimoku Case has redesigned an apartment on a hilltop in Tokyo, using wood and a neutral colour palette to create a “calm and serene atmosphere”.

Named Azabu Hills Residence, the project was designed by Karimoku Case – a studio developed by Karimoku Furniture in collaboration with design studios Keiji Ashizawa and Norm Architects.

The studio used the project as an opportunity to optimise the use of local zelkova wood which is increasingly underutilised.

“We sympathized with the story of how zelkova used to be a common material in Japan, but is now being chipped and discarded, and wished to explore the possibilities of zelkova through this project,” lead designer Keiji Ashizawa told Dezeen.

“When I first saw the sample of it, I felt that its gentle reddish hue, along with its story, was a good match for the project,” he continued.

“We decided to create the interior using zelkova that would come in harmony with the gentle light from the north side.”

View into living space of Tokyo residence by Karimoku Case — A neutral material palette creates a “calm and serene atmosphere”

The 226-metre-square apartment was centred around a spacious, open-plan living area and dining room illuminated by floor-to-ceiling windows.

A small workspace nestled behind a wall in the living space makes use of the spacious interior, and is furnished with a desk, chair and shelving made from zelkova wood.

Desk space within Azabu Hills Residence in Tokyo — White plaster walls and wooden floors define the living spaces

The minimalist interior is defined by textured white walls and wood used for flooring, window frames and fittings, which are tied together by cream furnishings, paper lighting fixtures and decorative artwork.

In the living space, lattice wooden screens were used to separate programmes as well as provide cross ventilation through the space to create airy interiors.

“With the residence being located in the middle of a large city like Tokyo, it was important to have a home-like atmosphere that makes you feel at ease,” Ashizawa said.

“We were conscious of the calmness and tranquility needed to achieve this, and designed the interior with well-curated furniture, lighting, and art to create an environment for this purpose.”

Minimalist dining space in Azabu Hills Residence in Tokyo — Wooden, lattice screens allow ventilation through the home

A counter made from zelkova wood divides the living space and adjacent kitchen, while also serving as an additional seating and dining space.

Within the kitchen, cabinets built from gridded wooden frames were finished with concrete countertops, complemented by tiled terrazzo flooring that also features in the home’s entryway.

Bedroom interior of Tokyo apartment by Karimoku Case — Furnishings, paper lighting fixtures and pieces of artwork tie the interior together

Gridded wooden frames are repeated for both storage in the living area and a wall in the main bedroom where the home transitions into a cosy-feel with carpet flooring.

A circular chair and marbled table sit in front of the bedroom’s floor-to-ceiling windows, with a study desk nestled into the corner.

Bedroom interior of minimalist apartment Tokyo by Karimoku Case — Gridded wooden frames feature in the kitchen, living space and bedroom

Other recently completed projects with minimalist interiors include a dental clinic in Montreal designed to feel like “someone’s home” and a London pub converted into a pared-back jewellery showroom.

The photography is by Tomooki Kengaku.

Project credits:

Architect: Keiji Ashizawa Design
Project architect: Keiji Ashizawa / Ryota Maruyama
Client: reBITA / NTT Urban Development Coperation Tokyo
Construction: Tamarix
Furniture collaboration: Norm Architects
Furniture: Karimoku Case
Lighting: Kojima Shoten / Saito Shomei
Lighting plan: AURORA / Yoshiki Ichikawa
Interior styling: Yumi Nakata

Reference

Sustainable News

Helping brands embrace the eco-fashion revolution

By Zarkon Group,06/02/2024

Spotted: The European Commission’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and Organisation Environmental Footprint (EF) methods are “Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) based methods to quantify the environmental impacts of products (goods or services) and organisations.” These indicators assess everything that goes into the making of a product, from material extraction, water use, and production emissions to distribution transport costs, reuse and recycling options, and more. Pulling together so much information is time-intensive and complicated by the lack of data uniformity across industries and throughout supply chains.

French company L’Empreinte recognised that challenge and designed a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform called PEFtrust for companies to use to track the environmental footprint of their footwear and apparel products. The platform provides four different modules for companies to work through, beginning with an initial assessment of their products. The proprietary algorithm provides compliance assessments for single products or for hundreds of thousands at a time, making it possible for brands to comply with current regulations and provide the necessary data to support their emissions targets and achievements.

For companies already providing green products, the PEFtrust team can help to further improve their ecodesigns as well as connect businesses with certified suppliers. Each PEF score contains 16 measures that companies can work to improve, and the platform provides regulatory compliant product labels that can be embedded directly onto consumer-facing websites. Data management is made as simple as possible, with the SaaS platform capable of integrating with an organisation’s existing IT reporting tools.

Reports range from individual product-level detail to overall organisation-level Scope 3 emissions. The different levels of detail enable managers and teams at all points of a product’s life cycle to input information necessary for the analysis and to contribute to overall supply chain improvements, encompassing everything from raw material processing to cutting and finishing. The L’Empreinte team is continuously strengthening its platform via faster artificial intelligence (AI) recommendations for ecodesign improvements and including more materials and processes in its evaluations.

As well as reducing emissions in apparel production processes, Springwise’s library includes examples, such as circular polycotton and plant-based fur, of innovations changing the materials being used within the fashion industry.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Architecture

Taller Héctor Barroso envisions Mexican houses as “silent architecture”

By Zarkon Group,06/02/2024

Mexican studio Taller Héctor Barroso has used concrete, wood and brick to create a series of holiday homes that merge with the wooded landscape and “allow nature to act in the intimacy of the home”.

The small residential complex – called Los Helechos, or The Ferns – is located in Valle de Bravo, a scenic area that is a couple hours by car from Mexico City.

The 1,150-square-metre complex consists of four identical houses that sit side by side on a sloped property within Rancho Avándaro, a golf and recreational community.

The architecture studio designed the homes to integrate with the tree-studded landscape and to enable nature to flow indoors.

A courtyard with multiple plains — The four residences sit side by side on a slope

“Los Helechos is a group of houses designed to allow nature to act in the intimacy of the home, creating a silent architecture to accompany the beauty of their gardens,” said Taller Hector Barroso, a studio based in Mexico City.

“The four houses stealthily adapt to the steep slope of the terrain, respecting the existing topography and vegetation to minimize their impact on the site,” the studio added.

An armchair placed next to fireplace — Each house faces a central courtyard. Photo by Jaime Navarro

Each house has two levels and a basement. The homes are C-shaped in plan and feature rectilinear volumes arranged around a central courtyard filled with native plants.

“The houses look inward through a central courtyard that becomes a space of transition and contemplation – an area between public and private, allowing the entire house to maintain a direct relationship with nature,” the team said.

To construct the buildings, the team used concrete, pine and red brick plastered with soil-based stucco. Windows are framed with ipe wood, and a pergola is made of laminated pine.

Interior finishes include oak doors and stucco-covered walls, along with floors covered in cantera – a type of stone that came from a local quarry.

Room with exposed wooden beams — The studio used concrete, pine and red brick plastered with stucco for finishes. Photo by Jaime Navarro

The ground level encompasses two bedrooms and a mix of indoor and outdoors spaces for cooking, dining and lounging. The upper level contains two bedrooms, and the basement holds storage space and a garage.

Founded in 2011, Taller Hector Barroso has completed a range of projects around its home state of Mexico, such as a caramel-coloured apartment complex in Mexico City and a stark tennis venue in Los Cabos made of rammed earth.

The photography is by César Béjar unless otherwise stated

Project credits:

Architect: Héctor Barroso
Team: Alan Rojas, Alice Moreno, Paloma Sánchez, Salvador Saracho

Reference

Interior of brutalist Cantabrian Maritime Museum restaurant in Spain by Zooco Estudio

Interior Design

Zooco Estudio unveils Cantabrian Maritime Museum restaurant

By Zarkon Group,05/02/2024

Madrid-based Zooco Estudio has created a striking restaurant within the Cantabrian Maritime Museum in Santander, Spain, that celebrates the building’s brutalist architecture.

The restaurant is set within a dramatic vault of concrete paraboloids that were unearthed during the renovation, while a slatted timber ceiling pays homage to the area’s shipbuilding legacy.

Overlooking the tranquil waters of Santander Bay, the restaurant is located on the second floor of the landmark Cantabrian Maritime Museum, which was designed in the mid-1970s by architects Vicente Roig Forner and Ángel Hernández Morales.

The paraboloids were an original fixture of the structure and supported the roof of what was once the museum’s patio.

The studio focused on restoring the historic fabric of the space and reviving the paraboloids, which had been concealed for around 20 years, as “a vestige of the past”.

“In 2003, the building was renovated and as part of this intervention, the paraboloids were covered with a new roof and the space between them and the perimeter of the building was closed with glass, generating a covered space where there was previously a terrace,” Zooco Estudio co-founder Javier Guzmán told Dezeen.

“We wanted the concrete paraboloids to be the absolute protagonists of the space and by removing the paint and the coating, the paraboloids are visible again and regain their full prominence.”

Interior of brutalist restaurant in Spain by Zooco Estudio — The renovation exposed the raw concrete surface of the paraboloids

The previous renovation also altered the dimensions of the space and reconfigured the volume as a square.

To promote symmetry, four additional concrete triangles were added to balance out the original paraboloids in the brutalist restaurant.

Timber ceiling panels and concrete paraboloids inside a brutalist restaurant — Slatted wooden ceiling panels bridge the gaps between the arches

Overhead, a false ceiling of slatted timber panels frames the concrete arches.

The studio designed theses triangular boards to reference the arrangement of timber across the hull of a boat, a nod to the museum and the area’s nautical past.

The panels also serve the purpose of concealing the restaurant’s mechanical systems.

“The wooden slats bring warmth and friendliness to the space while allowing us to solve all the technical needs for air conditioning, heating and lighting, leaving them hidden,” Guzmán said.

“In this way, we ensure that all these elements do not interfere with the dialogue of concrete and wood, which are presented as continuous and clean elements.”

Dining tables overlooking views of the Santander bay — Walls of floor-to-ceiling glazing offer views across the bay

The interior layout was largely dictated by the low arches of the elliptic paraboloids that dominate the brutalist restaurant.

“The geometry of the existing structure conditions the space, because its height in its lower part is impractical, so a large bench is arranged around the entire contour that allows us to take advantage of that space and organise the distribution of the rest of the floor plan,” added Guzmán.

Concrete paraboloid and dining tables inside brutalist restaurant in Spain by Zooco Estudio — Grey porcelain floors mirror the concrete paraboloids

Like the ceiling panels, the interior finishes and furnishings allude to the maritime history that the building commemorates.

“The use of wood and steel for all the furniture is reminiscent of the materials used in shipbuilding – the furniture has slight curvatures that are reminiscent of the aerodynamic shapes of boats,” explained Guzmán.

“Likewise, the lamps are inspired by the masts for ship sails.”

Dining tables at Cantabrian Maritime Museum restaurant — Zooco Estudio also designed the restaurant’s curved timber furniture

Another key change was the replacement of the perimeter glass wall.

The inclined glazing was swapped for vertical glass, a decision that reclaimed external space for the patio, which stretches the length of the restaurant and overlooks the harbour below.

“When we are inside, the feeling is the same as when we are inside a boat, there is only water around, and that is why we used clean glass from floor to ceiling, generating a perimeter terrace as happens on boats,” said Guzmán.

Terrace at Cantabrian Maritime Museum — The terrace features green curvilinear outdoor furniture

Other projects by Zooco Estudio include a renovated house in Madrid and a co-working space with a kids’ play area in California.

The photography is by David Zarzoso.

Project credits:

Architect: Zooco Estudio
Construction: Rotedama Constructora SL
Lighting: Zooco Estudio
Furniture: Zooco Estudio

Reference

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