Paint brand Dulux has revealed Wild Wonder, a pale yellow paint colour that it described as “a soft gold with hints of green” as its Colour of the Year for 2023.
Wild Wonder was selected for its close association with nature. The brand said this echoes the global shift toward sustainability, reconnecting with the outdoors and wanting to be more grounded, particularly following the recent period of uncertainty.
Wild Wonder is a golden green paint colour
“Our relationship with the natural world feels more precious and precarious than ever,” said Dulux UK.
“Wild Wonder is a soft gold with hints of green inspired by fresh seed pods and harvest grain,” the brand added.
The colour was selected for its association with nature
As well as its affiliation with nature and raw materials, Wild Wonder is also intended to capture the collective quest for better mental health, which has become increasingly important in light of global events such as the climate crisis and coronavirus lockdowns.
“As people search for support, connection, inspiration and balance in the world today, they’re diving into the wonders of the natural world to find it,” said the brand.
“Wild Wonder is a positive, natural tone that, by connecting us with the natural world, can help us feel better in our homes,” it continued.
“As well as understanding the value of nature more keenly, with climate change becoming a reality for all of us, we also feel the urgency of reconnecting with nature and the necessity of working with rather than against it.”
According to the brand, the colour can be used to add colour to areas in the house, such as living rooms, that require warmth and light. The brand also said that the hue is suitable for commercial spaces across all sectors including schools and hospitals.
“Wild Wonder and four complementary, versatile colour palettes can be used to create stunning spaces across all sectors,” explained Dulux.
The paint colour is suitable for all commercial sectors as well as residential interiors
Dulux’s parent company AkzoNobel decided on the shade, which is the 20th colour to be chosen as a Dulux Colour of the Year, after a three-day workshop with a panel of industry experts from across the globe and months of researching with the paint company.
Wild Wonder is a slightly more upbeat hue than Brave Ground, an earthy beige that Dulux selected as its colour of the year for 2021 against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.
The colour is a marked change from last year’s sky blue colour Bright Skies, which the brand said captured collective desires for a fresh start.
Crushed shells were used to form the bio-brick partitions at this store for a decor brand in Aqaba, Jordan, by architecture studio FADAA.
Designed by the Jordanian studio for Decoration One, the D/O Aqaba retail space is a flexible showcase for the local brand’s craft-focused homeware and ornaments.
Bricks made from crushed shells act as sun shades and spatial dividers in the D/O Aqaba store
To protect the interior from the harsh south sun, the studio implemented partitions of stacked hollow rectangular bricks based on the traditional mashrabiya screens found in Islamic architecture.
These bricks are made from the shells of oysters, mussels and clams left over as waste from the coastal city’s seafood restaurants.
The bio-bricks are stacked into gridded screens
The shells were crushed and used as aggregate for a bio-based concrete that sequesters the carbon from the molluscs’ protective calcium carbonate coverings.
This material is pressed into a mould to form the brick shapes, dried to harden, and finally assembled into the gridded screens.
As well as shading the shop, the partitions help to divide the boutique and guide customers around the interior.
“Working alongside Decoration One’s craftspeople, a materiality-driven approach created the concept of a flexible retail store that embraces craft and low-carbon materials,” said the FADAA team, led by architects Bisher Tabbaa, Sarah Hejazin and Qussai Yousef.
Colour is introduced through blue zellige ceramic tiles cladding the sales counter
Lime-plastered walls and native plant species also feature in the store to create a “healthy indoor environment”.
To accommodate Decoration One’s ever-changing collections, modular oak tables and sheer curtains can be moved and rearranged to organise the space as desired.
More tables, made from hand-chiselled local basalt and limestone, contrast the wood furniture and offer alternative ways to display the products.
A splash of colour is introduced by the zellige ceramic tiles that clad the curved sales counter.
The bio-bricks are formed in moulds and feature hollow centres
“Embracing the craft nature of the project as well as economically supporting local industries, materials such as zellige and mother of pearl inlaying were used throughout the design,” FADAA said.
D/O Aqaba is shortlisted in the Sustainable Interior category for this year’s Dezeen Awards, along with projects including a restaurant in London and an office in Tokyo.
The crushed shells form aggregate for the bricks and are visible across the surfaces
Bio-bricks are growing in popularity as a sustainable building material and a variety of compositions have been trialled over the past few years.
Bricks made from mushroom mycelium, sugar cane, charcoal and even human urine have all been put forward as environmentally friendly options.
The durable, stain-resistant qualities of granite make it a choice material for kitchens. Our latest lookbook showcases 10 kitchens on Dezeen that celebrate the light-coloured stone.
Waterproof and scratch-resistant, the igneous rock granite has been used in construction and interior design for centuries.
Today, the versatile material is often used as an alternative to marble to top kitchen counters and work surfaces, as well as in bathrooms or on floors.
From a large grey granite kitchen island in a Mexican apartment to a chevron-patterned granite floor in a London house, the examples below showcase the many ways in which the stone can be used to furnish kitchens.
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks homes with characterful floating staircases that appear to defy gravity, atriums that brighten and expand residential spaces and calm green bedrooms that showcase the power of natural colours.
Photo is by Federica Carlet
403 Greenwich, US, by Stefano Pasqualetti
A mix of materials including steel, marble, granite and wood were peppered throughout this New York residence, which Italian architect Stefano Pasqualetti aimed to make feel “soothing and timeless”.
In the open-plan kitchen, which offers views onto Tribeca’s West Historic District neighbourhood, walnut cabinets are fitted with granite worktops while a standout blackened metal staircase runs through the property’s core.
Find out more about 403 Greenwich ›
Photo is by Ståle Eriksen
Grove Park, UK, by O’Sullivan Skoufoglou Architects
Designed for a client with a keen interest in the outdoors, Grove Park is a terraced house that offers expansive views of the greenery and wild woodland outside.
London-based studio O’Sullivan Skoufoglou Architects paired the ash-lined kitchen interior with creamy Shivakashi granite countertops and splashback and polished concrete flooring, which was cast in situ.
Find out more about Grove Park ›
Photo is by Denilson Machado
DN Apartment, Brasil, by BC Arquitetos
Located in a 1970s building in the Jardins neighbourhood of São Paulo, this 230-square-metre apartment was designed for a landscape architect by local studio BC Arquitetos.
The apartment comprises a primarily warm natural walnut interior that is complemented with harder materials, such as concrete columns, stone flooring and granite countertops. A collection of mid-20th century art adds the finishing touch.
Find out more about DN Apartment ›
Photo is by Joana França
308 S, Brazil, by Bloco Arquiteos
Brazilian architecture studio Bloco Arquitetos transformed 308 S, an apartment in Brasília, by removing several walls and reconfiguring the challenging layout to make it more open plan.
To add to the stripped-back look, the architects opted for a neutral colour palette, while pale granite was used for the kitchen and bathroom countertops and flooring.
Find out more about 308 S›
Photo is by José Hevia
Villarroel Apartment, Spain, by Raúl Sánchez Architects
The three main areas inside this apartment in Barcelona are distinguished by contrasting materials rather than traditional walls, making it appear more spacious and flexible.
Wooden floors and white-washed walls define the living area while functional spaces such as the kitchen – where a granite breakfast island takes centre stage – are completed in shades of grey.
Find out more about Villarroel Apartment ›
Photo is by Onnis Luque
Casa Nicté-Ha, Mexico, by Di Frenna Arquitectos
A large granite kitchen island with an adjoining wooden counter is positioned in the middle of the double-height kitchen and dining area inside Casa Nicté-Ha, a home designed by Di Frenna Arquitectos in Colima City, Mexico.
Elsewhere in the three-bedroom house, the studio mixed dark and light decor including white-painted walls, warm wood and concrete floors and exposed steel beams.
Find out more about Casa Nicté-Ha ›
Photo is by Serena Eller
Diplomat Apartment, Italy, by 02A
Antique and mid-century furnishings join sleek, contemporary cabinetry to create this one-bedroom flat in Rome by local architecture and interiors studio 02A.
The stateless diplomat who owns and lives in the dwelling wanted to make his home a sanctuary filled with items he collected during his trips abroad.
Find out more about Diplomat Apartment ›
Photo is by Noshe
Art-Apart, Germany, by Raum404
Swiss-based studio Raum404 chose to keep the interiors as minimal, white and spacious as possible in its renovation of Art-Apart, a 19th-century apartment-cum-gallery in Berlin.
The artist owner tasked the studio with creating a space that could be opened up to the public for exhibitions, which resulted in furniture that could be folded up and plenty of white cupboards that could conceal personal belongings.
Find out more about Art-Apart ›
Hackney House, UK, by Applied Studio
Black timber decor and plenty of windows were installed in architecture and interior design studio Applied Studio’s overhaul of this house in east London’s Hackney.
Afterward, the studio fitted the glass extension that houses the kitchen and dining table with chevron-patterned granite flooring.
Find out more about Hackney House ›
Photo is by French + Tye
Golden Lane, UK, by Archmongers
Quirky modernist elements such as pops of primary colours and glossy furnishings were reinstated by Archmongers in its renovation of this 1950s flat in an inner city London estate.
In the peninsula kitchen, which is separated from the dining area by chunky white door frames, white cabinets are topped with steel, while grey terrazzo with granite chips highlights the counter end and splashback.
Find out more about Golden Lane ›
This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing residential interiors bolstered by exposed wooden beams, living spaces with glossy surfaces that create depth and dimension and gardens with swimming pools that are made for summer.
From a pink-hued Ottolenghi restaurant in London to a muted pizzeria in Beijing, our latest lookbook rounds up 10 eateries from around the world that feature terrazzo elements.
Terrazzo is a flooring material that consists of uneven pieces of marble or granite set in concrete, which is then polished to give it a smooth finish.
Architects and interior designers often use the sturdy material in their projects to create practical floors, but also to give walls or other surfaces a speckled and decorative appearance.
We have collected 10 eateries that use terrazzo, such as on the tabletops of a fish and chip shop in Australia and to make up the floors of a Chinese teahouse.
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing steely kitchens, green bedrooms and gardens with swimming pools.
Photo is by Niveditaa Gupta
Rosie and Tillie, India, by Renesa
Local architecture studio Renesa set terracotta tiles against smooth terrazzo surfaces at Rosie and Tillie, an all-day cafe in New Delhi.
Squat curved booths create sculptural seating throughout the eatery, which is located within a former Indian restaurant at a shopping mall in the Indian capital’s Saket neighbourhood.
Find out more about Rosie and Tillie ›
Photo is by David Sievers
Smallfry Seafood, Australia, by Sans-Arc Studio
Smallfry Seafood is a chip shop in Adelaide, Australia, that takes cues from the aesthetics of Japanese seafood markets.
Sans-Arc Studio created a communal bar and curved tables from narrow slabs of light blue terrazzo. For the rest of the interiors, the studio chose mottled grey travertine and stained wood accents that are illuminated by globular pendant lights.
Find out more about Smallfry Seafood ›
Photo is by Oculis Project
Drop Coffee, UAE, by Roar Studio
A decorative terrazzo floor mirrors a mural created from broken ceramic tiles at this Dubai cafe that was designed by Roar Studio at the city’s Dar Al Wasl Mall.
Drop Coffee has a colour palette of greys and whites, chosen to maintain focus on the cafe’s mix of industrial materials such as stainless steel and concrete.
“We aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel by using broken tiles – our idea was to form a counterpoint to the terrazzo effect porcelain flooring as though the chips of the broken tiles were used in the flooring,” Roar Studio founder Pallavi Dean told Dezeen.
Find out more about Drop Coffee ›
Photo is by Jovian Lim
Odette, Singapore, by Universal Design Studio
Mosaic-like terrazzo floors formed from pale pink and white take centre stage at Odette, a restaurant in Singapore created by British practice Universal Design Studio.
A range of soft and smooth materials make up the interiors, from plush grey velvet benches and chairs to sleek nickel fixtures and statement planters.
Find out more about Odette ›
Photo is courtesy of Alex Meitlis
Ottolenghi Chelsea, UK, by Alex Meitlis
London deli and restaurant chain Ottolenghi has opened a branch in Chelsea that features interior styling by designer Alex Meitlis, who created exposed plaster walls interspersed with pink terrazzo tiles.
The eatery includes slinky banquettes in red upholstery and low-slung rattan chairs, which are arranged around sculptural white tables.
Find out more about Ottolenghi Chelsea ›
Photo is by Tom Blachford
Penta, Australia, by Ritz&Ghougassian
Terrazzo was used to create subtle geometric seating at Penta, a minimal cafe in Melbourne designed by local architecture studio Ritz&Ghougassian.
Jet black cushions and chairs contrast the grey speckled benches, while delicate native ferns add a touch of greenery to the otherwise monochrome interiors.
Find out more about Penta ›
Photo is by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
Lievito Gourmet Pizza, China, by MDDM Studio
Another eatery with a muted atmosphere, Lievito Gourmet Pizza by MDDM Studio features blocky custom-made tables and a central bar formed from powdery grey terrazzo.
The Beijing restaurant was designed with this layout in order to incorporate both open and more intimate dining spaces, which are arranged across three subtle levels.
Find out more about Lievito Gourmet Pizza ›
Photo is by Dirk Weiblen
Tingtai Teahouse, China, by Linehouse
Situated inside an old factory space in Shanghai, Tingtai Teahouse is characterised by its intimate seating areas contained in elevated boxes positioned above a multi-level landscape of green terrazzo.
“We paired smoked oak and brushed darkened stainless steel with the green terrazzo to bring warmth into the space,” explained Linehouse founder Alex Mok.
Find out more about Tingtai Teahouse ›
Photo is by Samara Vise
B-Natural Kitchen, USA, by Atelier Cho Thompson
A rounded bar and service counter with a multi-coloured terrazzo top and tamboured wood siding features in B-Natural Kitchen, a pastel-hued restaurant in New Haven, Connecticut.
Atelier Cho Thompson juxtaposed soft and bold finishes for the interiors, which include plant-themed graphic wallpaper that nods to the eatery’s menu of fresh ingredients.
Find out more about project B-Natural Kitchen ›
Photo is by Tom Blachford
Middle South East, Australia, by Biasol
Design studio Biasol took cues from Middle Eastern architecture for this Melbourne restaurant that juxtaposes deep blue and terracotta tones.
A tiled water station with terrazzo shelving features in the centre of the room, while clusters of dining tables and a bar are topped with the same speckled material.
Find out more about Middle South East ›
This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing white bathrooms, light-filled extensions and homes with statement windows.
As part of Stockholm Design Week, Swedish design firm Form Us With Love has opened the doors to its new studio space featuring modular furniture informed by pegboard walls.
Perforated steel units are dotted throughout Form Us With Love‘s (FUWL) Stockholm studio, which is housed in a former travel agency.
Form Us With Love’s Stockholm studio has furniture made from perforated steel
“We’ve been dealing with this space for a good year and a half, and thinking about it for a good ten years,” FUWL co-founder John Löfgren told Dezeen.
“It’s definitely a place that is a catalyst for what we’re doing – and we’re doing quite a lot of different things, so we need a really flexible space and we need a mobile space,” he added. “We tried to be smart about how you store things and logistics in general, really being economical with each square metre.”
Large hangar doors can be used to divide the interior
The 200-square metre studio space, which was created in collaboration with architecture studio Förstberg Ling and branding studio Figur, was designed to suit the needs of the FUWL team.
Large floor-to-ceiling hangar doors hide an office area, workshop and kitchen while allowing the front of the studio to be sectioned off from the remainder of the space.
The studio is showcasing material experiments on wheeled cabinets
This allows the area to be used as an exhibition space, where FUWL is displaying some of its ongoing projects during Stockholm Design Week.
Among these is a project that explores how toxic glass – a waste material from the glass industry – can be treated to separate the toxins from the glass.
Five low, wheeled cabinets made from perforated steel were used to display the projects.
FUWL has created multiple different storage units
These are just some of the storage units and room dividers that FUWL has made for the studio, drawing on materials found in its own workshop.
“We have these boxes that were derived from the workshop, like ones you would have in the garage,” Löfgren said.
“We started wondering what would happen if we move these things out in the open,” he added. “It started off as dividers and walls, but add some wheels and all of a sudden we are in the open space.”
The studio is currently using the modular units as a material library, a tool wall and storage for personal and studio use, as well as experimenting with new functionalities.
Produced by Tunnplåt – a company that normally supplies lockers to schools, gyms and other public-sector interiors – the containers have a pattern of symmetrical holes.
A material library is housed in their drawers
This was designed to make the reference to pegboard walls immediately recognisable.
“We definitely experimented with patterns,” Löfgren said. “We still wanted people to have a smile on their face like: I can see where it derives from.”
The pegboard-style furniture was informed by tool walls
Realising that the perforated steel units could be used to create a flexible interior was just a coincidence, Löfgren said.
“I think it’s definitely a tool that incorporates how we want to work in the interior,” he said. “And I think that’s just been a coincidence.”
“We were always looking for something that would help us have this kind of full flexibility, and still be able to do something both fun and functional,” he added.
The studio was designed to be both practical and flexible
In the future, the studio said it might also create the units in other colours. For its own office, soft grey tones were chosen to aid concentration.
“We worked with tones of grey as a backdrop throughout the space to put focus on the creative processes taking place within,” architecture studio Förstberg Ling said.
Form Us With Love has previously launched products such as Forgo, a soap designed to minimise carbon emissions and an IKEA chair made from recycled wood.
Form Us With Love’s studio is open to the public between 5 September and 9 September 2022 as part of Stockholm Design Week. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
Architecture studio Nameless Architecture has completed the Café Teri bakery in Daejeon, South Korea, in a pair of buildings that flow into a central courtyard.
Located at the foot of the Gyeryongsan Mountain in Daejeon, Nameless Architecture designed the two buildings to frame the entrance to a hiking trail that continues up the mountain.
The cafe’s courtyard leads onto a hiking trail
The two rectangular buildings were angled, creating an outdoor space that narrows towards the mountain path. The three-storey building contains a cafe and the two-storey building opposite is a bakery.
“The artificial valley, where the distinction between the wall and the floor is blurred, creates a flow towards the forest and becomes the yard to the cafe and a path for walkers,” Nameless Architecture co-principal Unchung Na told Dezeen.
“We intended the building to become a path and courtyard that guides the flow of nature and visitors rather than blocking the promenade.”
Concrete brick walls slope down into the floor of the courtyard at Café Teri
The 900-square-metre project was finished in concrete bricks, creating a rough texture on the exterior walls.
“The concrete bricks used to construct the architectural topography emphasise the continuity of the flowing space,” said Na.
“On the other hand, the facade wall made of rough broken bricks creates a difference of boundaries through the change of light, shadow, and time.”
Nameless Architecture used concrete brick for the interior of the cafe as well as the exterior
The flowing exterior walls of the project are replicated inside the ground floor of a cafe, where the back wall of a double-height space curves down into stepped seating.
The floor, curved wall and stepped seating inside the cafe were finished in concrete bricks, and the remaining walls were finished in polished concrete.
“The fluid wall is continuous not only in the yard but also in the interior space, connecting the inside and outside scenery through a stepped space,” Na explained.
A backyard area features uplifted terrain that mimics the curved concrete brick walls of the cafe and bakery, which Nameless Architecture designed to provide a spatially interesting place for people to enjoy food outside.
Nameless Architecture used curved walls to create a distinct “architectural topography”
The architecture practice designed the curved elements that appear to emerge from the ground with the aim of blurring the lines between what is wall and floor.
“The basic elements of architecture can be reinterpreted to induce various experiences and actions of people,” said Na.
“In particular, the two elements, wall and floor, are defined as fundamentally different architectural elements, but we tried to reconsider this strict relationship.”
The project aims to reinterpret how walls and floors are used as architectural elements
“The mutual relationship in which the wall becomes the floor, and the inside becomes the outside can be interpreted in various ways through the experience of the place,” Na continued.
Other projects recently completed in South Korea include a department store in Seoul with an indoor waterfall and skyscrapers with red-painted steel columns designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.
The photography is by Kyung Roh.
Project credits:
Architect: Nameless Architecture Principals-in-charge: Unchung Na and Sorae Yoo Project team: Taekgyu Kang, Changsoo Lee and Jungho Lee
PAULO MERLINI architects has designed the offices of E-GOI & CLAVEL´S KITCHEN in Portugal, and one of the main design features central to the interior is a spiraling ramp.
The former warehouse, which has now been transformed into offices that span multiple floors, includes a ramp that replaces the need for a staircase.
The elegantly curves of the concrete form is accentuated by the use of white bars and edges.
The circling ramp connects the floors of the office and adds a sculptural element that doesn’t block the light from traveling throughout the interior.
Here’s a glimpse of the ramp looking down from the top floor, and up from the ground.
Let’s take a look at the rest of the office…
The exterior of the office has walls of glass providing a glimpse of the interior for the pedestrians on the street.
There’s a variety of different seating areas in the office interior, including spaces for casual meetings in house-shaped alcoves.
More private work rooms with glass walls that keep the sound in or out.
A larger meeting room with a blue curtain that’s filled with beanbags and has LED lighting in the ceiling.
Other more traditional work spaces exist too, with desks that include multiple work stations.
There’s also a photo studio with a minimalist white kitchen with floating wood shelves. Adjacent to the kitchen are tall wood shelves filled with photography props and kitchen equipment.
When it’s time to take a break from working, there’s a communal area with long wood tables, a kitchenette, seating by the windows, and an outdoor space.
Photography by Ivo Tavares Studio | Architecture Office: PAULO MERLINI architects | Main Architects: Paulo Merlini/ André Santos Silva
A self-organising shelter that adapts to environmental stimuli and ceramic tableware designed to stimulate the senses are included in Dezeen’s latest school show by students at Birmingham City University.
Also included is a Russian recreational area designed as a multifunctional park to meet residents’ needs, and a chair that explores hair-based discrimination while celebrating black, afro and textured hair.
“A vibrant and inspiring learning community, the school identifies strongly with the civic university movement and has a dynamic and growing reputation in practice-led research, enterprise and knowledge exchange, encompassing disciplines across the scales from Product and Furniture through Interiors, Architecture, Urban Design (from September 2021) Landscape Architecture with cross-cutting courses in Design Management and Conservation of the Historic Environment.
“We deliver an outstanding and distinctive student experience and embrace a practice, research and knowledge-based approach to our teaching demonstrated by our KTPs, our innovative BA (Hons) Design for Future Living in partnership with George Clarke’s Ministry of Building Innovation and Education (MOBIE), our transdisciplinary collaborative Co.LAB live projects and Experimental Sustainability Studio initiatives.”
Heirs of Time by Laura Hastings
“Heirs of Time explores how the memories of local communities could be archived, restored and recollected through the ‘apparatus of the heirloom’. This thesis explores key themes of time, memory, depth and transformation. Following research and investigation into the changes of a Birmingham high street, the heirloom became a physical manifestation of the built environment.
“Programmatically, underground spaces have been developed to represent long-term, consolidated memories that are not so regularly recollected, functioning as archives and experience rooms. Instead of public-facing, the overground spaces represent short-term memories, those that are regularly made and forgotten.”
Student:Laura Hastings Course: BA(Hons) Architecture Tutors: Dr Matthew Jones, Matthew Hayes and Rebecca Walker Email: ljhastings-1@talktalk.net
Equilibrium 2.0 by Pasha Jeremenko
“Equilibrium 2.0 explores self-organising architecture and its adaptations to environmental stimuli. In an extreme climate, conventional architecture cannot sustain itself, which causes the architectural paradigm to shift – from static to dynamic.
“The designed shelter adapts itself to external conditions by working together with nature in its response. The equilibrium between the synthetic and the organic opens up more opportunities for evolving architecture. The evolution, in this case, appears in the form of the technological assembly of machines.”
Student:Pasha Jeremenko Course: BA(Hons) Architecture Tutors: David Capener, Amrita Raja, Bea Martin, Rob Annable and Ian Shepherd Email: pasha.jeremenko@outlook.com
How can the music industry rebuild in a post-pandemic environment while securing its future and maintaining its culture? by Azita Maria Rushton
“Access talent is a music industry tour programme that aims to create a supportive, coherent and connected professional journey for young music enthusiasts. The programme comprises three courses taught by industry professionals, hosted in grassroots music venues located in areas of high deprivation in the UK otherwise forgotten by industry and government.
“The programme features an initiative that offers opportunities provided by industry sponsors to work and study within the music. This concept was designed to address threats to the British music industry’s ecosystem, such as poor creative careers education, inequality in music education and lack of support for grassroots music venues.”
Student: Azita Maria Rushton Course: BA (Hons) Design Management Level 6 Top-up Tutors: Nicholas Irvin Email: azita-maria.rushton@mail.bcu.ac.uk
How can design innovation and digital technology be used to create the shopping experience of the future? by Nontawat Nowarit (Addy)
“Neo – X is the integration and utilisation of Augmented Reality (AR) technology in brick-and-mortar stores to reinvigorate retail shopping experiences of the future. The project explores the challenges and opportunities of how AR could be used in retail to enhance window shopping experience and entice customers to come back into physical stores after the pandemic. The concept demonstrates the promising use of AR in window shopping and how it could become a part of the new and enhanced in-store experiences of the future.”
Student: Nontawat Nowarit (Addy) Course: BA (Hons) Design Management Level 6 Top-up Tutors: Nicholas Irvin Email: Nontawat.Nowarit@mail.bcu.ac.uk
Box For Life by Luke Reynolds
“The Box For Life project is a national tiny home community network designed to bring the tiny home movement to urban cities. I have developed both the ultimate tiny home that can be purchased at an affordable price and a flagship community site on George Street in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.
“It combats the growing economic issue that sees struggling young people attempt to juggle work and social lives whilst reaching for the property ladder. The project aims to increase ‘urban opportunity’ for people in a tiny home and sustainable living communities and attract a new generation of tiny dwellers.”
Student: Luke Reynolds Course: BA Interior Architecture and Design Tutors: Christopher Maloney and Josephine Bridges Email: Ljwreynolds@gmail.com
The Emporium of Possibility by Georgia Ruscoe
“This project aims to prepare for a post-pandemic world and become the key to the escapist dream-world that people so deeply desire. Its spatial strategy will disregard hierarchy and instead focus on forming an economy built on human communities.
“It enhances creative potential through the freedom of exploration, epistemic emotions and knowledge production. Providing people with the opportunity to explore their entrepreneurial aspirations whilst combating social and environmental issues. Its goal is to move away from fast output and stop the machine age, centring on the human again by forming an age of experience and creative exploration – something that cannot be automated.”
Student: Georgia Ruscoe Course: BA Interior Architecture and Design Tutors: Christopher Maloney and Josephine Bridges Email: georgiaruscoe@gmail.com
Comfort Valley Murmansk by Linyun Jiang
“Comfort Valley is a large recreational area outside the city centre of Murmansk, Russia. This innovative design provides an opportunity to identify and implement a vibrant multifunctional park area revitalisation that can meet local residents’ needs, increase the connection between people and the site, and enhance the community environment. It utilises the natural and climatic conditions of the Arctic with sustainable technical innovations in the form of warming huts dotted through the landscape, connected with green infrastructure.”
Student: Linyun Jian Course: BA (hons) Landscape Architecture, LI Tutors: Lucas Hughes, Eccles Ng, Dawn Parke and Rasha Sayed Email: Linyun.Jiang@mail.bcu.ac.uk
Regeneration Design in Tuanjie Village by Shiyun Huang
“This landscape-led urban redevelopment creates public space for residents to live, entertain and relax. There is a diversity of activities, forming active street venues which address nighttime and daytime uses. The Unity Village will be a “new life”, a “new symbol”, and a “new landmark”.
“Inspired by the symbolic language abstracted water-towns in the Yangtze River Delta, a new symbol of a Central Park with a series of dynamic connected spaces is created. It is a new landmark integrating traditional and contemporary characteristics, enlightened by the abstract artistic conception of courtyard and landscape forms.”
Student: Shiyun Huang Course: BA(Hons) Landscape Architecture Tutors: Lucas Hughes, Eccles Ng, Dawn Parke and Rasha Sayed Email: Shiyun.Huang@mail.bcu.ac.uk
Dolcio by Katarzyna Kozlowska
“Dolcio is a collection of experimental ceramic tableware developed in response to the study of gastrophysics – the scientific analysis of how our experience of food and drink is affected by our senses and surroundings.
“Carefully composed, this series of dessert plates stimulate the senses through colour, form and texture, increasing the sweet taste of puddings and creating a more positive and mindful eating experience. By using rounded tableware, users can reduce the amount of sugar used in dishes without compromising on the taste, therefore helping to promote healthier eating habits.”
Student: Katarzyna Kozlowska Course: BA (Hons) Product and Furniture Design Tutors: Richard Underhill, Malcolm Hastings, Brian Adams and Natalie Cole Email: Katarzynakozlowskadesign@outlook.com
Zewadi by Katy Thompson
“Inspired by personal experiences growing up in a predominately white town and the Black Lives Matter movement, this chair explores hair-based discrimination and how design can celebrate black, afro and textured hair. Zewadi was designed as a functional and educational furniture piece, intended to initiate conversations surrounding this underrepresented issue.
“Zewadi uses textured black cork and rounded forms to represent black hair, whilst its throne-like scale brings empowerment to its users. Additionally, the gap in the headrest not only highlights the user’s hair but also reduces the risk of friction damage.”
Student: Katy Thompson Course: BA (Hons) Product and Furniture Design Tutors: Richard Underhill, Malcolm Hastings, Brian Adams and Natalie Cole Email: Katyt1998@gmail.com
Cardboard Products for the Design Museum by Thomas Whiskens
“Taking inspiration from the ecological principle of the edge effect, the project questions and explores how design can respond to uncertainty with creativity and dynamism while recognizing its role in Fairbourne’s narrative.
“The proposition is to create a community-owned visitor destination, together with enabling landscapes, aimed at changing the collective mindset for Fairbourne, encouraging a vision for the territory as having multiple future identities and uses beyond the engineered utility topography.
“The spectrum of landscape systems and settings draw on the unique characteristics of the existing estuary topography, from the engineered edge of the seawall, through the shifting edge of marsh and wetland to the relic uplands.”
Student: Thomas Whiskens Course: Foundation/BA Product Design Tutors: Myles Cummings, Tom Tebby, Andrew Trujillo and Anastasiya Luban
LAxArch – Canal Side Regeneration Project by Matthew Harris
“This Landscape and Architecture project was based on a location within Birmingham’s sprawling canal network. The challenge was to rejuvenate an area of the Grand Union canal in Digbeth, rethink the landscape for people using the site, and provide a kiosk to find information or buy products. This piece of work shows a section through the site.”
Student: Matthew Harris Course: Foundation/BA Architecture Tutors: Myles Cummings, Tom Tebby, Andrew Trujillo and Anastasiya Luban
Grow your own highstreet by Anita Brindley
“Imagine if our cities could become closed-loop systems where all construction materials are produced and harvested just a few metres away from the site. This scheme aims to achieve this by reforesting our high streets. Through reforesting, timber becomes a local and sustainable material source that, during its growth, absorbs vast amounts of carbon dioxide.
“Over time, the timber grown on the high street can then be harvested by locals and used to develop the local surroundings. The high street no longer becomes made up of static objects but encompasses the active processes related to the community and ecology which inhabit and support its construction.”
Student: Anita Brindley Course: MArch Architecture (RIBA Pt.2), unit: Extinction Rebellion Architecture Tutors: Professor Rachel Sara and Elly Deacon Smith Email: anitalb24@gmail.com
The Pleasure Gardens by Chloe Luvena Dent
“Inspired by the Festival Pleasure Gardens in Battersea – one of the major exhibitions organised by the post-war Labour government during the Festival of Britain in 1951 to give the British a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of WW2.
“The thesis uses hedonistic ideas of pleasure based on Jeremy Bentham’s theories to create contemporary pleasure gardens as a response to the isolating and disengaging social constraints of Covid-19. Envisioned as a series of raised platforms above London, ‘socially undistanced’ moving gimbals, as well as ornate festival structures embedded within landscaped gardens, create an ambient and fun urban experience.”
Student: Chloe Luvena Dent Course: MArch Architecture (RIBA Pt.2), unit: arena Tutors: Alessandro Columbano and Valeria Szegal Email: chloedent09@gmail.com
Fairbourne 2070 – The New Gold Rush by David Mahon
“Given its position on a low-lying salt marsh, Fairbourne can no longer be protected from flooding with rising sea levels and increased risk of storms due to climate change. Fairbourne 2070 – the new gold rush is a project to relocate and design a new Fairbourne that is resilient to climate change and fit for social demands of the year 2070 and beyond, using the principles of a circular economy.
“The new gold rush does not take resources from the landscape. It reuses those that have already been extracted and replenishes those that have been depleted.”
Student: David Mahon Course: MA Landscape Architecture Tutors: Russell Good and Dr Sandra Costa Email: davidedwardmahon@outlook.com
Fairbourne – Landscape at the Edge by Sam Rule
“Taking inspiration from the ecological principle of the edge effect, the project questions and explores how design can respond to uncertainty with creativity and dynamism while recognizing its role in Fairbourne’s narrative. The proposition is to create a community-owned visitor destination, together with enabling landscapes, to change the collective mindset for Fairbourne, encouraging a vision for the territory as having multiple future identities and uses beyond the engineered utility topography.
“The spectrum of landscape systems and settings draw on the unique characteristics of the existing estuary topography, from the engineered edge of the seawall, through the shifting edge of marsh and wetland to the relic uplands.”
Student: Sam Rule Course: MA Landscape Architecture Tutors: Russell Good and Dr Sandra Costa Email: sam.rule@outlook.com
Forest Hub by Gertruda Blazaityte
“Forest Hub is a wood innovation centre bringing researchers, students, businesses, and local residents together to collaborate and share their passion and knowledge to build a healthier and more sustainable urban city. Forest Hub also provides the local community with a space to connect with nature – both indoors and outdoors along with private and spacious studios designed for multiple uses.
“The concept focuses on sustainable and innovative design solutions by using Biomimicry where biological strategies are being used to improve building’s energy efficiency and create a multi-sensory forest-like journey that brings the user closer to nature.”
Student:Gertruda Blazaityte Course: BA Interior Architecture and Design Tutors: Christopher Maloney and Josephine Bridges Email: blazaitytegertruda@gmail.com
Partnership content
This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Birmingham City University. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.
Multifunctional plywood structures that create spaces for sleeping, storage and drinking tea feature in this compact apartment in Beijing designed by Rooi.
Rooi aimed to create a unique apartment in the block of thirty-six identical units that was built in 1950 to provide accommodation for the families of workers employed at a nearby research institution.
Top: the apartment is located in a 1950s housing block. Above: one of its original columns was clad in stone and turned into a feature
At the time the apartment was built, China faced an influx of people moving to its cities, meaning that living spaces were often tight.
“There was no living room, no dining room or shower in each household,” Rooi explained.
“This type of layout represents the standard post-war Chinese apartment.”
Rooi created an open-plan area for cooking and dining with a work table at its centre
As the cost of tearing down old buildings is so high in Beijing, Rooi was tasked with coming up with a modern but economical apartment concept, called T101, that could be replicated in each of the 36 units to make them more private, functional and livable.
“The project’s core was to find a way to adjust the old collective residence into modern city life and retain its previous structure, recovering the degraded green areas,” said ROOI.
“The budget was limited to ¥150,000 [£16,800] per apartment and T101 would be the first experimental renovation example.”
A modular birch plywood unit can act as a reception, tea room or temporary guest room
Rooi came up with a floor plan that incorporates a bedroom, living room, kitchen, dining room and bathroom all within the unit’s tight 50-square-metre footprint.
Designed to appeal to the city’s college students and white-collar workers, the layout features an open-plan area for cooking and dining with a work table at its centre.
This area provides enough space for residents to receive guests, work from home, relax in an armchair or exercise.
Bulk items such as sports equipment can be stored on top of the plywood module
An original column is positioned in the centre of the space and has been clad in stone to protect it and turn it into a design feature.
Running along one side of this flexible space, an enclosed north-facing structure made from birch plywood serves as a reception, tea room or temporary guest room.
Above the wooden enclosure, a large storage area can hold suitcases, outdoor sports equipment and other bulky items. A small toilet and a shower room are located on the opposite side of the space next to the apartment’s entrance.
The bedroom is separated from the rest of the apartment and features a custom plywood bed with shelving built into its tall headboard, while a compact desk is located next to the window. The walls are lined with slim cabinets for additional storage.
Neutral colours and materials were chosen throughout so that the owners can put their own stamp on the interior.
A bookcase is integrated into the head of the bed
“The apartment was designed as open as possible and functionally very compacted,” the architecture studio told Dezeen.
“Natural materials and colour have been used throughout the design to create a comfortable and peaceful feel in contrast with contemporary city life.”
The bedroom is separated from the rest of the flat
Elsewhere, design studio I IN has created concept apartment in Tokyo to reframe the way that Japanese homeowners perceive renovated apartments.
Design studio Daytrip looked to Margate’s dramatic beach landscape when designing this shop for the Turner Contemporary gallery, which sits perched on the town’s seafront.
The David Chipperfield-designed gallery, distinguished by its opaque glass shell and expansive ocean views, recently reopened after a renovation project that included the shop along with a new cafe and common areas.
The revamped Turner Contemporary store looks out over Margate beach (top and above)
Located in the lobby, the shop’s existing retail shell was designed to be highly flexible and to reflect the building’s gallery spaces, with poured screed flooring, linear glazing and a prominent ribbed concrete ceiling.
Daytrip designed a new fit-out for the store that reflects both the building’s architecture and the lifelong admiration that the gallery’s namesake, landscape painter JMW Turner, held for Margate and its surrounding landscape in southern England.
Pigment-dyed timber panels were inspired by Margate beach
“As we began putting materials together for the scheme, we wanted to capture the light and patterning of the beach,” Daytrip studio co-founder Iwan Halstead told Dezeen.
“Margate beach and its seafront changes dramatically from season to season. As the tide pushes out, the beaches transform into radical landscapes of striation and patterning,” he added.
“On a sunny day, the rippled beaches are captured with shadows and glistening pools of water. We also noticed the effect of the salt spray and rainwater on the metal architectural elements – a dappled weathering effect that adds natural patina and cloudy lustre to the exterior.”
Display stands are backed with clear, textured fibreglass
This natural texture is referenced in the mottled grey veneer panels that line a portion of the walls.
Their unique, painterly pattern was created using a method developed by Berlin studio Llot llov, which involves covering pigment-dyed timber with salt crystals that absorb a portion of the colour.
“It felt naturally appropriate and subtle enough to line the display wall of the gallery and a number of the tables’ surfaces,” said Halstead.
“We paired this with textured cathedral glass shelving, chosen for its fluid, water-like appearance that allows light to transfer dappled shadowing on the veneered surfaces and the existing Chipperfield concrete floor.”
All of the elements in the store can be moved to make space for events
A vertical shelving system, which showcases artworks, prints and posters, is backed with a translucent layer of fibreglass.
“Its inherent gossamer nature when illuminated by the sunlight creates beautiful patterning and highlights its fibrous textures – cloudy and ethereal – like many of JMW Turner’s artworks,” Halstead explained.
The store’s furniture was constructed from “humble” materials such as grey Valchromat – a wood fibreboard that is treated with several coats of lacquer to create a high, reflective sheen. This is paired with matt, white-oiled oak, which the studio chose for its sandy hue.
Rippled glass shelves reflect the light streaming in through the panoramic windows
Daytrip’s renovation also includes the creation of a merchandising system based on the approach of a magazine editorial.
The display tables and plinths can be organised into formations that create narratives with and around the products, linking back to Margate’s wider creative community and its makers.
The building’s ribbed concrete ceiling is left exposed
The display system also includes a workbench that is used for group discussions and workshops and invites visitors to congregate. All of the fixtures can be moved to accommodate large-scale events and talks.
Previously, Daytrip has created an eclectic office for a media company in London’s Clerkenwell and renovated a five-storey townhouse in Clapton.
