Atelier Archives

Architecture studio Fala Atelier decked out the angular spaces of the 087 house in Lisbon with oversized spots and stripes, which also feature on its bold marble facade.

Designed by Porto-based studio Fala Atelier, 087 is a three-storey home in the Portuguese capital with a rectilinear facade decorated with chunky marble shapes.

The studio, known for its playful use of geometry, created custom carpentry from locally sourced materials to accommodate the home’s curved and staggered walls and the sloping ceilings within the building.

A garden-facing kitchen on the ground floor includes terrazzo flooring and stepped timber cabinetry decorated with bold black and white stripes and topped with marble slabs.

Funnel-shaped extractor fan by Fala Atelier — A funnel-shaped extractor fan adds an eclectic touch

Unusual features such as a funnel-shaped, teal-hued extractor fan add an eclectic touch. This Fala Atelier-designed piece can also be found in a windowless garage in Lisbon that the studio converted for a couple.

“There are no elegant extractors on the market,” Fala Atelier partner Filipe Magalhães told Dezeen.

“All of them look like nasty appliances. With the kitchen in the way of the window, we knew we would have to integrate the fan. Since we couldn’t make it disappear, we celebrated the piece,” he added.

The open-plan kitchen connects to the living area, which is characterised by pinewood flooring dotted with geometric walnut accents.

“The colours of the stripes and the dots on the floor really try to be noble,” said Magalhães.

Living space with Togo sofas — Bespoke Fala Atelier-designed doors and window frames match the kitchen cabinets

The space also features doors designed by the studio and caramel-coloured Ligne Roset Togo sofas – a quilted and low-slung design classic created by Michel Ducaroy in 1973.

This seating was positioned next to a boxy fireplace clad with gleaming white ceramic tiles and a squat display plinth finished in veiny black marble.

Custom striped cabinetry by Fala Atelier — Custom cabinetry also features on the upper floors

“We tried to diversify the material palette as much as possible while still making it quite banal,” explained Magalhães.

“The choices are very Portuguese, but the mixture aims at being more than just that,” added the architect.

Board-formed concrete ceilings were included throughout

Upstairs, the same bespoke cabinetry as in the kitchen was used to form larger cupboards across the curved and angular private spaces of the two upper floors.

Board-formed concrete ceilings, which also feature downstairs, were paired with oversized rounded mirrors in the bathrooms and a mixture of timber and marble flooring.

The garden-facing facade follows the same geometry as its street-facing component, also featuring circular and rectilinear decorative shapes.

“This house is a lot about the relationship with the garden,” said Magalhães, noting the floor-to-ceiling glazing that connects the indoor and outdoor spaces.

Garden-facing facade with chunky marble decoration — 087 focuses on “the relationship with the garden”

Fala Atelier has designed several homes in a similar style, including six micro-houses in Porto with geometric forms and concrete finishes and another Porto property topped with a striped concrete roof.

The photography is by Francisco Ascensao and Giulietta Margot.

Reference

Architecture

geometric stone informs the interiors of retail store by tens atelier in china

By Zarkon Group,10/03/2024

Tens Atelier designs VeVelte Yintai Center Store’s interior

VeVelte Yintai Center Store by Tens Atelier focuses on curating a collection of quality brands, including those from emerging Chinese fashion designers, with the aim of showcasing Chinese design globally. Tens Atelier took on the task of redesigning the VeVelte store in Hefei‘s Yintai Center, emphasizing its role not just as a brand showcase but also as a salon for VIP members, fostering interaction between the brand and consumers.

The site presented challenges, such as a large smoke pipe near the entrance and irregularly arranged structural columns. The design concept introduced the idea of a ‘boulder’ to guide customer flow and views, strategically minimizing the impact of columns. The ‘boulder’ form also serves to delineate distinct brand display and functional areas, optimizing the use of space.

all images by MRC

Tens Atelier draws from abstract geometrical stone forms

The symbolic character of stone is incorporated into the space, not by directly introducing natural stone but by refining an abstract geometrical form inspired by the concept of a stone. Tens Atelier’s approach integrates the abstract concept of stone with the identity of VeVelte, conveying the symbolic meaning through the overall spatial experience.

Considering the seasonal theme changes for each brand, the designers opted for a uniform warm yellow overall color, while maintaining flexibility with white walls for display and posters, allowing for easy adaptation to evolving brand themes.

VeVelte Yintai Center Store by Tens Atelier showcases quality brands, promoting Chinese design

the redesign of VeVelte in Hefei’s Yintai Center creates a VIP salon to enhance brand-consumer interaction

site challenges prompted the design of a ‘boulder’ concept to guide customer flow and views

the ‘boulder’ form minimizes the impact of columns and optimizes space by delineating distinct display areas

Reference

Architecture

Atelier 9.81 models Calais port tower on stack of pebbles

By Zarkon Group,20/11/2023

French architecture studio Atelier 9.81 has designed a tower of staggered concrete blocks for a harbour master’s office and lookout building on the Calais coastline.

Forming part of the Calais Port 2015 expansion plan, the 38-metre-tall tower comprises four stacked white-concrete boxes with decorative surfaces.

The blocks are designed by Atelier 9.81 to resemble balancing pebbles and visually separate the functions of spaces inside.

Situated at the junction between the existing port and its planned extension, the building is intended as a distinctive entry point to Calais that is visible from the sea, surrounding beaches and the nearby city.

“We have opted for a visual fragmentation of the program,” Atelier 9.81 associate architect Cédric Michel told Dezeen.

“Like pebbles balanced on top of each other, this work is erected by accumulation, by stratification of stories contained in simple geometric shapes.”

View from the lookout tower at Calais' harbour master's office — It forms part of the Calais port’s wider expansion

The harbour master’s office is built in white concrete to withstand harsh coastal weather and cement the image of a cairn – a man-made pile of stones.

“From this idea of the cairn, it seemed important to us to use only one material,” explained Michel. “Also, with the extreme climatic conditions of the coast, the question of sustainability played a role in our choice.”

The base of the building is a square four-storey volume that was cast in situ. It contains offices, meeting rooms, a control station for locks and movable bridges, and a roof terrace.

Prefabricated concrete was used to construct the rest of the tower, including the central structural core.

View of the sea from inside Calais' harbour master's office by Atelier 9.81 — The base volume was cast in situ

The middle two volumes in the tower act as a structural void, clad in the precast concrete panels.

These panels feature light bas-relief, including crossing lines and a sandblasted geometric pattern depicting the Strait of Dover, or the Pas de Calais in French, which is the narrow water passage separating England and France.

View of the sea from the terrace at Calais' harbour master's office by Atelier 9.81 — Terraces overlook the port

Concrete cladding stamped with circular patterns wraps the volume at the top of the building, which contains the facilities and equipment for monitoring and managing the port.

This two-level volume has breakout space and living quarters on the lower section, and a glazed lookout with an outdoor panoramic terrace on the upper level.

Other concrete buildings with boxy silhouettes featured on Dezeen include a power station control centre in Austria and an apartment block in Tokyo that staggers to create a series of terraces.

The photography is by Nicolas da Silva Lucas.

Reference

Interior Design

Akin Atelier houses Gallery Shop at Sydney Modern in “translucent bubble”

By Zarkon Group,09/11/2023

Curved resin walls define this retail space, which architecture studio Akin Atelier has created for the Sydney Modern extension at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Designed by Akin Atelier with surfboard designer Hayden Cox, the Gallery Shop is located in the entrance pavilion of the gallery that was recently completed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning studio SANAA.

The retail space is conceived as a “translucent bubble” within the entrance area, the studio said, and it aims to challenge the typical commercial experience in a museum shop.

“The shop captures natural light throughout the day, bringing dynamic reflections and refractions of the city while holding people, objects, and books within its centre,” Akin Atelier told Dezeen.

“[It] showcases products to passers-by through the lens of the resin walls – gently maximising the identity of the space while preserving the architectural experience of the new building.”

The Gallery Shop comprises two resin walls that curve around its displays, with a gap between the two of them forming the entry point.

shop interior designed by Akin Atelier in Sydney Modern — It has curved walls made from a resin

The installation is placed in the northwest corner of the entrance pavilion, to the left-hand side of its entrance, meaning that its distinctive resin walls are visible from the street.

Its walls are constructed of 29 modules formed of 12 tonnes of resin. According to the studio, the resin is a type of “bio-resin” manufactured to incorporate biological matter.

resin walls of retail space at sydney modern — It sits within the building’s entrance pavilion that was designed by SANAA

“It is composed of a minimum 26 per cent biological matter,” said the studio.

“[This reduces] the amount of embodied carbon as well as reducing toxicity during the manufacturing process.”

The distinct tonal gradient of the bio-resin was achieved by hand pouring layers of colour into custom moulds – a process that took 109 days.

Meanwhile, its glossy translucency was achieved through hand sanding followed by seven rounds of hand polishing.

Gallery Shop interior designed by Akin Atelier — The translucent material allows natural light through the space. Photo by Tim Salisbury

The resin’s earthy hues reference the sandstone used in the original Art Gallery of New South Wales, while its gradation is a nod to the layered nature of Sydney’s bedrock of sandstone.

“The handmade nature of resin casting and finishing allowed for experimentation across colour and form while addressing the patinated qualities of the outside environment,” explained Akin Atelier.

Inside the Gallery Shop, adjustable resin shelves line the curved walls, housing books and publications. Stainless steel is used for display plinths, providing a contrast to the warm tones of the resin.

The project has been shortlisted in the small retail interior category of the Dezeen Awards.

Akin Atelier also recently used tactile materials such as onyx, plaster and travertine to form the interiors of a branch of the womenswear store Camilla and Marc in Melbourne.

The photography is by Rory Gardiner unless otherwise stated.

Reference

Architecture

Serpentine Bookhouse library by Atelier Xi “unfolds like a scroll painting”

By Zarkon Group,24/09/2023

The spiral shape of a conch shell informed the Serpentine Bookhouse in Shenzhen, China, a library that has been designed by local architecture studio Atelier Xi.

Located in the Dasha River Ecological Corridor, the 300-square-metre building by Atelier Xi provides a children’s reading room, public restrooms and a viewing balcony with seating areas for visitors and residents.

“The building performs like a rising spiral art sculpture, returning as much ground spaces as possible for plant growth and tourist activities,” founding principal Chen Xi told Dezeen.

“The spiral spatial structure both shapes the interior terraces and creates a 360-panoramic view of the surrounding landscape through expansive windows,” he continued.

Atelier Xi created the structure’s distinctive shape using a steel framework of Vierendeel trusses – a truss with no diagonal members – and tensile reinforcement.

This structure allows the inner and outer edges of the spiral to be lined entirely with full-height windows, providing a changing view of the surrounding landscape as visitors move up the building.

“The starting point of the spiral touches ground, meandering among the trees,” Xi told Dezeen. “Meanwhile, the second floor at the end of the spiral path eventually opens up the vista, offering a different perspective overlooking the park.”

“For visitors, walking along the interior space provides a view that unfolds continuously, elevating their perspective like an unrolling scroll painting,” he added.

High-level windows provide cross-ventilation to the interior, with sun-shading provided by vertical aluminium louvres that cover the building.

A staircase wraps the inner wall of the spiral, while the outer wall is lined with bookcases that are aligned to a series of stepped platforms.

At the top, wood-framed glass doors open onto a small, sheltered balcony area with seating overlooking the landscape.

Each end of the spiral, as well as its underside, has been finished with panels of corten steel that were chosen to mirror the colour of the wooden finishes used throughout the interior.

“Aluminum is chosen for the sunshade grille to ensure durability in the hot coastal climate, and is finished with a color scheme closely resembling the wood tones used in the interior,” explained Xi.

“Corten steel plates with darker color are used as facade end caps, symbolizing the beginning and end of the spatial movement inside,” he added.

Atelier Xi chose to retain the existing pathways surrounding the building and introduce new planting and a concrete bench that sits beneath the spiral, sheltered by its upper storey.

The Serpentine Bookhouse was recently longlisted in the civic project category of Dezeen Awards 2023. Fluid forms feature regularly in the work of Atelier Xi, with previous projects including a sculptural pavilion in rural China and a curving concrete extension to an abandoned library.

The photography is by Zhang Chao.

Reference

Interior Design

Atelier Tao+C creates serene timber and travertine reading room

By Zarkon Group,12/10/2022

Two vacant ground-floor rooms and an adjoining greenhouse were knocked together and lined with bookshelves to form this private library, designed by Atelier Tao+C for a venture capital firm in Shanghai.

Set in a converted 1980s house, which is home to the offices of VC fund Whales Capital, the reading room can accommodate up to 12 people and is shared between the company’s employees and the owner’s friends.

All of the rooms are enclosed by immovable, load-bearing walls, which local practice Atelier Tao+C had to integrate into the design while creating the impression of being in one continuous 76-square-metre space.

To this effect, the original doors and windows were removed and three openings – measuring between two and three metres wide – were created to connect the rooms.

Private reading room — The space is lined with wooden bookshelves

The remaining wall sections are hidden from view by new architectural elements including a set of semi-circular wooden bookshelves, which run through the two ground-floor rooms to form a pair of small, quiet reading nooks.

The structural walls connecting these rooms to the old glasshouse were wrapped in creamy white travertine to create a kind of “sculptural volume”, Atelier Tao+C explained.

Reading room — Skylights funnel natural light into the interior

As a result, the studio says the walls and structural columns are “dissolved” into the space to create the feeling of a more open-plan interior.

In the old greenhouse, a timber structure was inserted into the building’s glass shell, with bookshelves integrated into its wooden beams and columns to create a seamless design.

This structure also forms a wooden ceiling inside the glasshouse, with strategically placed round and square skylights to temper the bright daylight from outside and create a more pleasant reading environment.

Spread across the interior are four different seating areas: a small study table for solo work, a shared meeting table, a reading booth for one person and a sofa seat where multiple people can talk and relax.

Travertine interiors — White travertine was used to obscure the building’s original brick walls

A Private Reading Room has been shortlisted in the small interiors category of the 2022 Dezeen Awards.

Atelier Tao+C, which is run by designers Chunyan Cai and Tao Liu, is also shortlisted for emerging interior design studio this year, alongside Sydney firm Alexander & Co, Barcelona-based Raúl Sánchez Architects and London practice House of Grey.

The photography is by Wen Studio.

Reference

Interior image of Balenciaga's Couture Store in Paris

Interior Design

Balenciaga opens smoked-glass couture store beneath historic atelier in Paris

By Zarkon Group,15/09/2022

Fashion house Balenciaga has opened a couture store with smoked-glass-panelled walls in the same building as its original couture salon in Paris.

The store is located beneath Balenciaga‘s historic atelier at 10 Avenue George V, which was recently renovated to exactly replicate the interior of the original couture salon that was first opened in 1937.

“The newly renovated space at 10 Avenue George V is dedicated to preserving Balenciaga’s heritage in its original couture location, first opened in 1937, as well as creating a couture for today,” said the brand.

The design of the store beneath the couture salon was created by long-time Balenciaga collaborator Sub, a Berlin-based architecture studio that was founded by Niklas Bildstein Zaar and Andrea Faraguna.

Interior image of a smoked-glass changing room at Balenciaga's Couture Store — The store is located in the same building as Balenciaga’s original couture salon

The boutique’s exterior is marked by oversized serif Balenciaga signage, a nod to Balenciaga’s 20th-century branding that also forms a distinction from the narrow, sans serif typeface that currently identifies the brand.

Beneath the signage, four arched openings frame swooping curtains that are given a golden hue by the brown-tinted glazing.

Interior image of a grey-hued fitting room at the Balenciaga Couture Store — Grey curtains zone spaces throughout the store

The interior of the couture store echoes Balenciaga’s raw architecture concept, which was applied internationally across the interior of its stores, but this edition has been clad in panels of tinted glass instead of concrete.

Between the unfinished but glass-clad walls, ash-hued curtains conceal carpeted areas while wrinkled-leather ottomans were placed throughout the two-storey store.

Wrought iron balustrades and a curving marble staircase, with glass panelling slotted around it, hint at the building’s history and the former decor and interior scheme of the atelier above.

“The concept of the couture store is a gateway to couture, which remains a very closed universe, especially for new generations,” said Balenciaga CEO Cédric Charbit.

Interior image of the first floor of the Balenciaga Couture Store — Remnants of the store’s history were incorporated into the design

“In this new store, products, made-to-measure services and retail excellence are a reinvention of the Balenciaga client experience,” said Charbit.

“It is exciting to be able to present this level of craft, creativity and made-in-France savoir-faire in our historical address.”

Image of the interior with mirrors surrounding the store's columns and supports — Balenciaga’s couture atelier is located above the store

Metal shelving was decorated with couture items, ranging from artisanal to technological, from the brand’s most recent Autumn Winter 2022 couture show.

Items on display include its speaker bag, which was created in collaboration with Danish audio brand, Bang & Olufsen.

Earlier in 2022, Balenciaga wrapped its Mount Street store in London in a bright pink faux fur to celebrate its Le Cagole bag.

Photography is courtesy of Balenciaga.

Reference

Interior Design

Atelier Right Hub replaces corners with curves in cavernous Hangzhou spa

By Zarkon Group,14/06/2021

Chinese studio Atelier Right Hub created a cave-like spa in Hangzhou, China, with a network of interconnected, circular rooms and walls finished in white clay.

Located on the 13th floor of a commercial building by the Qiantang river in downtown Hangzhou, the Soul Realm Spa offers spaces for massage and meditation.

Local studio Atelier Right Hub was invited to create a calming interior within the building’s rectangular, 220-square-metre floorplan.

This was achieved by inserting a sequence of circular treatment rooms with curved ceilings into the centre of the plan.

A blue sofa is located at the waiting area of Soul Realm Spa — A curved blue sofa faces a semi-circular window

“If we observe life carefully, we will find that straight lines are mostly found in man-made objects while natural objects are mostly curved,” the studio told Dezeen.

“Whether it is mountains or rivers and streams, they are curved and full of changes and they have more charm and vitality than straight lines.”

The sofa is sunken into the floor at Soul Realm Spa — The walls are finished in white clay

According to Atelier Right Hub, the circular plan was informed by the shape of traditional Tibetan singing bowls – a type of inverted bell used for meditation.

The walls, ceilings and floors are made from white clay and blend seamlessly together. They have a textured finish, which the studio likens to “walking barefoot on earth”.

“China used to be a country dominated by farming culture,” Atelier Right Hub explained. “Farmers mostly farmed barefoot in the fields and children often played barefoot as well.”

“These memories are both unfamiliar and longed for in modern cities. Only when you feel the earth barefoot will you let go of your defences – this is also a way we hope spa guests could enjoy real relaxation.”

A spa bed is located in the centre of a treatment room at Soul Realm Spa — Private treatment rooms have a circular design

Each massage room features a brass garment hanger and storage tray suspended from the ceiling, where clients can store their clothing and jewellery during treatments.

Curved clay walls also wrap the perimeter of the floor plan to create a curved corridor where the studio has positioned resting areas, a lobby and the foyer.

“The interior space is similar to caves,” said the studio. “The curved ceiling, streamlined walls and the visual axes that revolve around the twists and turns form a fuzzy space-time context that is difficult to synchronize with the outside.”

A glass door leads to a walk-in shower — Showers are fitted within a circular alcove

A series of large, geometric windows punctuate the corridor, including an arc-shaped window that illuminates a small resting area and reveals expansive views of the city’s downtown area.

Its form is echoed in the semi-circular sunken lounge with green banquette seating next to the window.

Walls and ceilings seamlessly blend into one — The spa was designed to have a cave-like look

Other cavernous spas around the world include the Europhia Spa by DecaArchitecture, which is carved into the base of a mountain in Greece, and a subterranean spa in Brooklyn, New York.

Photography is by Studio FF and Studio RH.

Reference

Atelier

Fala Atelier designs Lisbon home with “very Portuguese” materials

geometric stone informs the interiors of retail store by tens atelier in china

Tens Atelier designs VeVelte Yintai Center Store’s interior

Tens Atelier draws from abstract geometrical stone forms

Atelier 9.81 models Calais port tower on stack of pebbles

Akin Atelier houses Gallery Shop at Sydney Modern in “translucent bubble”

Serpentine Bookhouse library by Atelier Xi “unfolds like a scroll painting”

Atelier Tao+C creates serene timber and travertine reading room

Balenciaga opens smoked-glass couture store beneath historic atelier in Paris

Atelier Right Hub replaces corners with curves in cavernous Hangzhou spa

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