Emil Eve Architects designs small kitchen with space-saving appliances
CategoriesInterior Design

Emil Eve Architects designs small kitchen with space-saving appliances

Dezeen has teamed up with Neff to commission London studio Emil Eve Architects to design a small contemporary kitchen using the German brand’s space-saving appliances, including an oven with a fully retractable oven door.

To coincide with the 20th anniversary of the brand’s Slide & Hide oven, which features an oven door that slides away under the appliance, Neff and Dezeen teamed up with Emil Eve Architects to develop a design for a modern kitchen for city homes where space is limited.

Man using Neff Slide & Hide oven in contemporary green-coloured kitchen
The Slide & Hide oven features a door that can “disappear” under the appliance to gain easy access to food

The design aims to balance smart and functional design that saves space in an imaginative and contemporary style.

“Smart and functional design doesn’t have to mean boring. We love to bring an element of fun to cooking with our appliances,” said Neff.

“Space in city centres comes at a cost, so when that space is limited, design and functionality is essential to love the home you live in.”

Technical drawing of Emil Eve Architect's small kitchen design
The kitchen was designed to optimise space in smaller city homes

Emil Eve Architects developed the design with the vision of creating a kitchen space for preparing and sharing food, where cooking and eating is a social experience to leisurely spend time.

The guiding principle behind the design was to combine efficiency and ergonomics and to maximise space for smaller city homes. The design features generous shelving for storage and displays, using products that have the ability to seamlessly slide everything away – even the appliances.

“We have greatly enjoyed the challenge of working with Neff to develop a kitchen design for a city centre home, where space is at a premium, but design does not need to be,” said the studio.

Woman cutting vegetables in contemporary green-coloured kitchen
The kitchen features ample shelving for storage and displays and appliances that can be compacted away

Neff describes its Slide & Hide oven as the “only oven with a fully retracting door” that not only frees up space in the kitchen, but also enables users to get up close to the food to add last-minute additions and allows users to safely retrieve dishes without risk of getting burns.

The built-in oven features a sliding door designed to “disappear” in one swift motion via a rotating handle. It comes in stainless steel or graphite grey with the option of adding steam functions, eco-clean, touch screen displays or be linked with Neff Home Connect app, which enables users to control home appliances remotely via voice commands.

“It’s more than just a technical object, it has a sort of playful component, and it’s simply fun to use,” said Neff vice president of design Ralf Grobleben.

Plan drawing of small kitchen design and balcony by Emil Eve Architects
The design centres around a kitchen island with easily accessible storage

The kitchen features a central island as a contemporary take on a traditional farmhouse kitchen table. The island is equipped with a series of drawers and open shelves where everything is easily accessible.

The traditional kitchen garden is replaced with a richly planted balcony, designed to be a small but productive space elevated above the city.

The architects combined high-quality materials including vibrant stained solid timber fronts that contrast with exposed powder-coated steel and stainless steel work surfaces.

Founded in 1877, Neff develops and produces built-in home appliances for modern kitchens. Its products range from ovens, hobs, extractor hoods to refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers and coffee machines.

Dezeen x Neff

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

Reference

Plan Architect designs apartment block for nurses with zigzagging facade
CategoriesArchitecture

Plan Architect designs apartment block for nurses with zigzagging facade

A zigzagging form gives extra privacy to the medical staff living in Thai studio Plan Architect’s nurse dormitory apartment block at Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok.

Comprising 523 rooms, the building, which has been shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2022, is formed of 26 floors with diamond-shaped openings at their centres. Plan Architect designed the apartment block to be a restful home for nurses working in the hospital, which is run by the Thai Red Cross Society.

Balconies arranged in angular formation on facade of white apartment block by Plan Architect for nurses in Bangkok
The Bangkok apartment block was designed as a peaceful residence for nurses at a nearby hospital

“The main aim was to create the most comfortable residence for the nurses at the hospital,” project architect Jittinun Jithpratuck told Dezeen.

In response to the dense arrangement of the city, Plan Architect aimed to design a building that offers the residents plenty of privacy.

White building by Plan Architect with gap between two halves and zigzag facade
The apartments are arranged across 26 floors

“With the dense high-rise buildings in Bangkok, we aimed to provide enough space for each room to have its own privacy without directly facing other buildings and to allow natural ventilation to get through the rooms,” Jithpratuck continued.

To ensure the rooms didn’t directly face the surrounding high rises, the studio gave the apartment block a zigzagging form.

White zigzag facade of building by Plan Architects with brown artificial timber section
Breaks in the white facade highlight sections of artificial timber

On each floor, the apartments are arranged along two corridors separated by a central opening that lets more natural light enter the corridors and facilitates natural ventilation from the floor to the roof.

Most rooms are separated into two parts by a sliding door, with one half acting as the bedroom and the other containing a dining area, pantry and bathroom. The bedrooms are intended to sleep two people, with the beds on opposite sides of the room for privacy.

Balconies placed at an angle extend from each room, forming snaking rows along the structure.

“Since the dormitory is close to other nearby buildings, we designed the balcony to have a slanted angle,” said the studio.

“This avoids a direct sightline to other buildings and allows more sunlight into the area, making it suitable for planting trees and drying clothes.”

Bedroom in Bangkok apartment with two beds on opposite ends of room and views of city
The bedrooms feature two beds placed on opposite ends of the room

Aluminium railing and perforated aluminium sheets provide further privacy and shading on the balconies.

“This facade and balcony composition create the pattern of light and shadow that reflects the simple systematic design of the building while concealing the various lifestyles of the users,” the studio continued.

Aluminium railing and perforated aluminium sheets casting shadows across balcony of Bangkok apartment
Aluminium railing and perforated sheets cast shadows across the balconies

Additional facilities in the block include a library, public dining room, co-working space, and laundry room.

An enclosed courtyard is formed in the space between the apartment block and three of the neighbouring buildings. Separated from the busy hospital, this courtyard offers green space and a peaceful area for relaxation for the nurses.

“The nurses feel it’s a lot better than where they lived before because it can give them privacy even when living with each other, and the natural cross ventilation really works including the zoning in the room that makes it easier to work while the other occupant needs to rest,” the studio said.

Plan Architect’s project has been shortlisted in the housing project category of Dezeen Awards 2022. Other projects shortlisted in the category include a colourful apartment block in Melbourne and a green tower in Amsterdam.

The photography is by Panoramic Studio.

Reference

Form Us With Love designs perforated steel furniture for Stockholm studio
CategoriesInterior Design

Form Us With Love designs perforated steel furniture for Stockholm studio

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.

White desks and chairs in white-walled room by Form Us With Love
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.”

Floor-to-ceiling hangar doors in design studio by Form Us With Love
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.

Wheeled cabinets on a wooden floor
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.

Plastic containers showcased on steel cabinet
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.

White drawers in a metal cupboard that contain material samples by Form Us With Love
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.”

White wall with door that opens up to workshop by Form Us With Love
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.

Grey perforated steel storage cabinets
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.

The photography is by Jonas Lindström Studio.

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.

Reference

Naturally Illuminated: 6 Inventive Architectural Designs Starring Skylights
CategoriesArchitecture

Naturally Illuminated: 6 Inventive Architectural Designs Starring Skylights

Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work through Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletter. 

Skylights should be at the top of any architect’s list as an easy solution to make buildings more energy efficient. They can considerably reduce lighting energy (up to 80% in some buildings, according to the US Department of Energy) and with advances in insulating glass, the thermal performance of skylights has never been greater.

But beyond the clear functional advantages, skylights also open wide possibilities for architectural creativity. A skylight offers new opportunities for indoor spaces to interact with sunlight; these can be as simple as subtly incorporating one within an existing interior or as grand as arranging a building’s layout to maximize the natural lighting. Though allowing (often direct) sunlight to enter a building poses its own challenges, architects are devising original solutions to mitigate the inconveniences with skylights in unique shapes, configurations and patterns. The six projects below are shining examples of how skylights can be used to address the architectural, natural and artistic demands of buildings and their clients.


Pattern House

By MM++ Architects / MIMYA, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

This modernist construction in Ho Chi Minh combats the perception that shophouse-style buildings suffer from a lack of natural light because of the inherent narrowness of their lot. The designers do so with a textured combination of cement breeze blocks and brick patterned walls, letting sunlight gently diffuse inside. Bamboo trees, meanwhile, create their own natural screen to filter the direct sunlight coming through the street-facing windows.

The crowning features are the two large skylights which illuminate the space in different fashions; one large, conventional skylight overlooking the central staircase; and a smaller circular skylight, providing an abstract yellow glow (akin to a halo) to the small space underneath.


Merricks House

By Robson Rak Architects, Merricks North, Australia

The family commissioning this rural home near Melbourne wanted to ensure plenty of natural light within the living space, but without the harsh direct northern and western sun. To resolve this issue, Robson Rak Architects designed large eaves to shade thin long high-level windows around the house, creating an evenly glowing living room and dining room. In similar fashion, the architects added two wall-like beams underneath the kitchen’s skylight, parsing out the strong sunlight into milder segments.


Milk Carton House

By TENHACHI ARCHITECT & INTERIOR DESIGN, Tokyo, Japan

Photos by Akihide Mishima

Located on a narrow lot in central Tokyo, this ‘milk carton’ shaped house uses a modest skylight to flood the first and second floors with sunlight. The skylight pairs well with the house’s open concept, letting the light emanate freely and leaving no corner in the dark. Moreover, the use of natural — as opposed to artificial lighting — contributes to the unvarnished aesthetic of the interior.


Plain House

By Wutopia Lab, China

Photos by CreatAR Images, Chen Hao and Shengliang Su

Wutopia Lab repurposed these two former studios to create a personal museum and a painter’s house for artist Li Bin. Looking to reflect their client’s craftsmanship, the architects have taken the usually functional design components and carefully elevated them to a higher artistic purpose. On the outside, leaf-printed patterns sprinkle the light grey façade and lush trees paint impressionistic strokes of shadow onto the walls. Inside, monochromatic walls interact with skylights and narrow windows for vivid combinations.

But the most noteworthy feature is a three-sided skylight on the south-west corner of the living room ceiling. The living room thus becomes its own art exhibit, as changes in the weather and time of day varies the composition and lighting of the red-painted room — an artistic interplay between color and light fit for the painter-in-residence.


House B – Terra Panonica

By Studio AUTORI, Mokrin, Serbia

Rejecting the idea of the theatrical space as a necessarily dark and solemn place, this new estate espouses a more open (and bright) setting for its cultural projects thanks to a series of large skylights. From the outside, the playfully random assortment of skylights and windows healthily counterbalances the more serious dark-grey exterior.


Beijing Muee Restaurant

By MAT Office, Beijing, China
Photos by Jin Weiqi

Photos by Jin Weiqi

The interior design of this new restaurant in Beijing consists in an amalgam of superimposed domes with small circular skylights inserted throughout. The architects might argue that the cave-like design harks back to humans’ most primitive form of habitation, but the smooth arched surfaces and the rounded skylights assures us that the building is firmly anchored in the present-day.

Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work through Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletter. 

Reference

Swedish appliance company designs new sustainable kitchen
CategoriesSustainable News

Swedish appliance company designs new sustainable kitchen

Spotted: Is the way we cook just as important to the future of our planet as the food we eat? Swedish appliance company Electrolux thinks so, as it has just launched GRO, a reimagining of the traditional kitchen that encourages sustainable and healthy cooking, following the EAT-Lancet planetary diet.

GRO, which means ‘to sprout’ in Swedish, is a new smart kitchen range composed of modular compartments that can be adapted to any home, creating infinite personalised combinations. In addition, there’s also a grain and pulse library designed to showcase the visual diversity of protein sources; a Nordic smoker that infuses food with flavour; and GRO Coach, a smart cooking companion that tracks eating habits and helps make more sustainable choices.

“By challenging conventional thinking of what a kitchen is, we have rethought everything from the start – aiming to help change behaviours by making planet-friendly eating effortless and enjoyable through groundbreaking design,” explains Tove Chevalley, Director CX Innovation Hub Electrolux.

GRO has launched on the Electrolux website, however, there is no set date for the appliances to be released to the general public.

While companies such as Miele and Samsung have created smart appliances, kitchen robots, and sustainable storage solutions, few have created an all-encompassing kitchen like GRO.

Other kitchen innovations recently spotted by Springwise include a new way to dispose of used cooking oil, a kitchen designed for zero-waste production, and an AI system that helps professional kitchens avoid food waste.

Written By: Lauryn De Nagy Berry

Email: sustainability@electrolux.com

Website: betterlivingelectrolux.com

Reference

Thirty bathrooms by architects including concrete, stone and tiled designs
CategoriesInterior Design

Thirty bathrooms by architects including concrete, stone and tiled designs

Making improvements to your home because you’re spending so much more time there? In our latest Dezeen Lookbook, we’ve rounded up 30 bathrooms designed by architects to give you some ideas.



Pink tiled bathroom

Minimal Fantasy apartment by Patricia Bustos Studio

Designed by Patricia Bustos Studio, this pink bathroom has shiny pink curtains and mirrors with pink frames to match the rest of the apartment in Madrid, which is almost entirely pink.

Find out more about Minimal Fantasy apartment ›


Travertine marble bathroom

Botaniczna Apartment by Agnieszka Owsiany Studio

This bathroom in a Poznań apartment designed by Agnieszka Owsiany Studio for a couple working in medicine has travertine marble walls and a travertine basin.

Find out more about Botaniczna Apartment ›


White and blue filed bathroom

House 6 by Zooco Estudio

Zooco Estudio covered the walls and floors of this bathroom in Madrid with white tiles and blue grouting. A geometric counter clad with blue tiles snakes across the ground and up the wall to form a storage closet in the space.

Find out more about House 6 ›


Bathroom with square white tiles

Porto house by Fala Atelier 

Fala Atelier used square white tiles for this bathroom in a house in Porto. The tiles are paired with marble countertops, blue cupboard doors and a large round mirror over the sink.

Find out more about Porto house ›


Bathroom with mock-Tudor tiles

Makepeace Mansions apartment by Surman Weston 

The bathroom in this apartment designed by Surman Weston is finished with hand-painted tiles that are arranged to form a black-and-white graphic pattern that mimics the housing block’s mock-Tudor facade.

Find out more about Makepeace Mansions ›


Bathroom with colour-changing shower screens.

Unit 622 by Rainville Sangaré

Set in an apartment within Moshe Safdie’s brutalist Habitat 67 housing complex in Montreal, this bathroom designed by Rainville Sangaré has colour-changing shower screens.

Find out more about Unit 622 ›


Bathroom with bright yellow wall

Rylett House by Studio 30 Architects

Created as part of the renovation of a Victorian maisonette in London, this small en-suite bathroom is finished with a black grid of tiles and a bright yellow wall.

Find out more about Rylett House ›


Bathroom with pink tiles

Cats’ Pink House by KC Design Studio 

This holiday home in Taiwan is designed with a focus on the owner’s cat and includes cat ladders, a rotating carousel-shaped climbing frame and a fluffy pink swing. Its bathroom combines larger square pink floor tiles with a wall made from terrazzo with large flecks of pink and grey.

Find out more about Cats’ Pink House ›


bathroom with grey tiles

Borden house by StudioAC

This en-suite bathroom at the front of a house designed by StudioAC has pitched walls covered in grey tiles.

Find out more about Borden house ›


Bathroom with pink walls and barn door

Spinmolenplein apartment by Jürgen Vandewalle

This bathroom in an apartment in Ghent’s tallest building is enclosed within a white lacquered-wood box and is accessed by a set of barn-style doors. Internally the bathroom is finished with earthy, pink-tone micro cement to contrast the white wood.

Find out more about Spinmolenplein apartment ›


Rammed-concrete walls in a bathroom

Cloister House by MORQ

The rammed-concrete walls of Cloister House in Perth have been left exposed in the bathroom where they are softened with timber slatted floors and a timber-clad bath and sink.

Find out more about Cloister House ›


Bathroom with red floor tiles

Akari House by Mas-aqui

Designed by Architecture studio Mas-aqui as part of a renovation of a 20th-century apartment in the mountains above Barcelona, this small bathroom combines red floor tiles with white wall tiles.

Find out more about Akari House ›


Coral vanity unit

Louisville Road house by 2LG Studio

Created by 2LG Studio as part of a colourful overhaul of a period house in south London, this bathroom has pale marble walls and a baby-blue tiled floor. The baby-blue colour was also used for the taps and mirror surround, which contrast with the coral vanity unit.

Find out more about Louisville Road house ›


Mirrored steel bath

Apartment A by Atelier Dialect

This en-suite bathroom, which forms part of a large open-plan master bedroom in an Antwerp apartment designed by Belgian studio Atelier Dialect, has a rectangular freestanding tub at its centre.

The bath is wrapped in mirrored steel to compliment a stainless-steel basin, while the walls are finished with subway tiles and mint-green paint.

Find out more about Apartment A ›


Exposed-brick bathroom

House V by Martin Skoček

Martin Skoček used salvaged bricks throughout the interiors of this gabled house near Bratislava, Slovakia. The master bedroom has a dramatic en-suite bedroom with a freestanding bathtub that is alined with the apex of the pitched timber roof.

Find out more about House V ›


Bathroom with white tiles

308 S apartment by Bloco Arquitetos 

The bathroom in this 1960s apartment renovated by Bloco Arquitetos in Brasília incorporates white tiles as a reference to architecture in the city in the 6os. The white walls and ceiling are combined with a vanity counter and floor made from Branco São Paulo – a matte-finished granite.

Find out more about 308 S apartment ›


Mexican holiday home shower room

Mexican holiday home by Palma

This slim shower room is tucked behind a bedroom in a holiday home designed by architecture studio Palma. It has slatted wooden doors that open directly to the exterior.

Find out more about Mexican holiday home ›


Taps made from gold-hued brass

South Yarra Townhouse by Winter Architecture

This bathroom designed by Winter Architecture in a Melbourne townhouse combines exposed-aggregate grey tiles and thin, horizontal white tiles with towels rails and taps made from gold-hued brass.

Find out more about South Yarra Townhouse ›


Bathroom with green tiles

Edinburgh apartment by Luke and Joanne McClelland

The main bathroom in this Georgian apartment in Edinburgh has glazed green tiles on the lower half of the walls and the front of the tub. Alongside the bath, a sink was placed on a restored 1960s wooden sideboard by Danish designer Ib Kofod Larsen.

Find out more about Edinburgh apartment ›


Bathrooms with surfaces covered in tadelakt

Ruxton Rise Residence by Studio Four

Built for Studio Four’s co-director Sarah Henry, this tranquil house in the Melbourne suburb of Beaumaris has bathrooms with surfaces covered in tadelakt – a waterproof, lime-based plaster that is often used in Moroccan architecture to make sinks and baths.

Find out more about Ruxton Rise Residence ›


Bathroom with views of Austrian countryside

House with Three Eyes by Innauer-Matt Architekten

In House with Three Eyes, the bathroom has a full-height glass wall that has views out across the surrounding Austrian countryside. The marble-clad bath is positioned right next to this window so bathers can enjoy the views.

Find out more about House with Three Eyes ›


Green coloured bathroom

Hygge Studio by Melina Romano

Brazilian designer Melina Romano designed this fern green coloured bathroom to extend from a bedroom in a São Paulo apartment. It features a striking black toilet, a corner mirror and a vanity unit built from red brick that has an open slot for storing towels and toiletries.

Find out more about Hygge Studio ›


Bathroom split from bedroom by curtain

Ready-made Home by Azab

This en-suite bathroom in Azab’s Ready-made Home is separated from the bedroom by an angled blue curtain. The triangular bathroom space is differentiated from the bedroom by its blue tiles on the floor, which extend up the front of the bath and walls.

Find out more about Ready-made Home ›


Le Corbusier's bathroom

Immeuble Molitor apartment by Le Corbusier

This small bathroom was designed by Le Corbusier in the Immeuble Molitor apartment in Paris that was his home for over 30 years. The room, which has walls that are painted sky blue and covered with small white tiles, has a short bath and sink.

Find out more about Immeuble Molitor apartment ›


Blush-toned bathroom

Apartment in Born by Colombo and Serboli Architecture

Colombo and Serboli Architecture added a new guest bathroom to this apartment in Barcelona’s historic El Born neighbourhood, which has by blush-toned tiles and a circular mirror.

Find out more about Apartment in Born ›


David Adjaye-designed bathroom

130 William skyscraper model apartment by David Adjaye

Built within an apartment in David Adjaye’s 130 William skyscraper in New York, this bathroom is lined with serrated grey marble tiles and has a wooden sink unit with a matching profile.

Find out more about 130 William skyscraper model apartment


Shou Sugi Ban bathroom

Pioneer Square Loft by Plum Design and Corey Kingston

The bathroom facilities in this loft apartment in Seattle are located in a custom-built L-shaped wooden box in one of the room’s corners, which is topped with a bedroom.

A washroom, shower, toilet and sauna are each located in different boxes that are each clad in wood charred using the traditional Japanese technique known as Shou Sugi Ban.

Find out more about Pioneer Square Loft


Emerald-coloured marble toilet surround

VS House by Sārānsh

The bathroom in VS House by Sārānsh in Ahmedabad, India, combines two clashing Indian stone finishes. Floors and walls are made from flecked grey tiles, while an emerald-coloured marble surrounds the toilets and mirror.

Find out more about VS House


Bathroom with blue and milky-orange tiling

Nagatachō Apartment by Adam Nathaniel Furman

Forming part of the brightly coloured Nagatachō Apartment, which Adam Nathaniel Furman designed to be a “visual feast”, this bathroom combines blue and milky-orange tiling. A sky-blue vanity unit, lemon-yellow towel rail and taps, and a pink toilet complete the colourful composition.

Find out more about Nagatachō Apartment


Kyle House by GRAS

This holiday home in Scotland was designed by Architecture studio GRAS to have a “monastically simple” interior. This is extended into the bathroom, which has grey walls and a shower space clad with large black tiles.

Find out more about Kyle House

Reference

Leckie Studio designs penthouse inside BIG’s Vancouver skyscraper
CategoriesInterior Design

Leckie Studio designs penthouse inside BIG’s Vancouver skyscraper

A rainforest-style atrium with a cedar tree lies within a two-storey unit designed by Leckie Studio, located inside the new Vancouver House tower.


The penthouse is found within the sculptural, 59-storey tower that rises up from a triangular site in downtown Vancouver, near Granville Bridge. The building was designed by architecture firm BIG and was completed last year.

Leckie Studio designed the project
A rainforest-style atrium sits at the heart of the penthouse

The two-level apartment is on the northwest side of the skyscraper, where it is afforded views of English Bay and the North Shore Mountains.

The unit’s owner desired an inviting atmosphere and spaces to accommodate natural artefacts and artwork from her travels. She turned to local firm Leckie Studio to oversee the design.

The penthouse is located in Vancouver House tower
The apartment has views far-reaching views of Vancouver and beyond

The team set out to create a layered environment that looked both inward and outward, and was infused with organic elements.

“Through an iterative design process, the studio and client arrived at a highly bespoke, biophilic design that is attuned to the passage of time,” the team said.

Leckie Studio inserted a kitchen into the lower level
A kitchen on the lower level features a giant island

The unit is divided into public and private areas. On the bottom level, one finds a living room, dining area, kitchen and an office. A half-turn stair leads to the upper level, which holds two bedrooms.

There also is a 167-square-metre roof deck that is accessed via a private elevator.

“The experience of the penthouse is quite varied, depending on the time of day and which space is being occupied,” said architect Michael Leckie.

The unit’s focal point is a tall, glazed atrium filled with lush vegetation.

The atrium has vegetation
The atrium runs alongside the stairwell leading to bedrooms

Acting as the “spine” for the penthouse, the atrium runs alongside the stairwell and extends from the unit’s bottom level all the way to its roof terrace. At the top, it is open to the sky.

“Conceived as a microcosm of the Pacific Northwest rainforest, its centrepiece is a full-size, red cedar tree that lends a contemplative and grounding element to the onlooking interiors,” the team said.

Leckie Studio used American black walnut for the woodwork
Finishes and fixtures are kept minimal in the bathroom

“The ecosystem surrounding this tree will be sustained long term by a ‘nurse’ log, which replenishes the space with nutrients from decay.”

Beyond the atrium, earthy elements are found throughout the dwelling and form a rich backdrop for the client’s belongings.

Travertine was used for custom-milled bathroom sinks
Marble lines the walls of the powder room

American black walnut makes up the woodwork in the living room, kitchen and bathing areas. The high-quality wood was also used for the stair treads.

Travertine was used for flooring and custom-milled bathroom sinks. Smokey grey marble lines the walls in a powder room.

Leckie Studio used black accents in the project
Blackened-steel accents can be found throughout the apartment

Blackened-steel accents run throughout the unit and act as a counterpoint to the natural materials.

The penthouse’s sparse furnishings include an oak-topped dining table with a cast-bronze base, and a low-lying, multidirectional sofa that support various postures and orientations.

A lighting installation floats in the stairwell
A lighting installation from Bocci illuminates the stairwell

Floating in the stairwell is a lighting installation from Bocci that evokes a cluster of sparkling fireflies. The piece is made of copper and 122 glass luminaires.

The rooftop terrace is meant to serve as an extension of the living space. It is fitted with a stainless-steel jacuzzi, an outdoor shower, a kitchenette and plenty of seating.

Leckie Studio was founded in 2015
The lighting installation is made from copper and glass

Founded by Michael Leckie in 2015, Leckie Studio has designed a number of residential projects, including mirrored cabins that blend into the forest. The firm also designed Slack’s Vancouver office, located within a repurposed industrial building.

Photography is by Conrad Brown.

Reference

Masquespacio designs restaurant with stucco walls and terracotta pathway
CategoriesInterior Design

Masquespacio designs restaurant with stucco walls and terracotta pathway

The beauty of Spain’s Aragon province informed the earthy colour palette, natural materials and curved forms used in this fine-dining restaurant interior by Valencia studio Masquespacio.


Located in the city of Huesca, Pukkel serves up a menu of healthy food and, according to the owners, aims to offer “a sensorial experience beyond the gastronomy.”

Valencia studio Masquespacio designed the project
Pukkel is a fine dining restaurant

The interior uses a palette of natural materials and colours and undulating, textured forms that are intended to reflect the beauty of the nearby Pyrenees mountains and surrounding countryside.

“After doing a workshop with [Pukkel’s owners], Jorge and Mikel, we immediately proposed to work with 100 per cent natural materials and integrate nature into the space,” said Christophe Penasse, co-founder of Masquespacio.

Pukkel is in Huesca
Textured surfaces reference the nearby Pyrenees mountains

As well as the natural landscape, the designers wanted the interiors to reflect the restaurant’s healthy cuisine.

“We investigated the province of Huesca and started to discover the beauty of the mountains and parks in its surroundings,” added Masquespacio creative director Ana Hernández.

“We definitely found the reference we were looking for and that fitted perfectly with the healthy lifestyle concept from Pukkel.”

The design studio selected different tones of brown, white and green that are used alongside gold accents, which it said add a “little bit of sophistication” to the space.

The restaurant’s layout follows the curved lines and circular forms of the booth seating to create a winding pathway through the space. According to the designers, this is intended to create the feeling of walking through the forest or mountains.

Masquespacio designed a winding path from terracotta tiles
Dark green is combined with lighter tones

This curved path is further highlighted by the colour of the floor tiles, which change from natural terracotta to glazed green or white in the different seating areas.

Uneven surface finishes such as rough stucco, ceramic and terracotta tiles are used to reflect the textures and forms found in nature. The terracotta tiles on the floors, bars and the undulating tiles on the walls were designed specially by Masquespacio for Pukkel.

Masquespacio injected green accents into the restaurant
Terracotta tiles wind through the space

The stucco seating booths feature integrated planters filled with plants and flowers that will change depending on the season.

Other restaurants designed by the studio include the Milan outpost of Italian fast-food chain Bun, where it selected a lilac and avocado-green colour scheme to create a youthful yet “sophisticated” interior, and a tropical sushi restaurant in Valencia, Spain, that mixes Japanese and Brazilian-inspired design elements.

Reference

CUT Architecture designs sunset-hued interior for Parisian burger joint
CategoriesInterior Design

CUT Architecture designs sunset-hued interior for Parisian burger joint

The mid-century architecture and roadside diners of the American west informed the interior of this nostalgic hamburger restaurant in Paris designed by CUT Architectures.


Located in Paris’s Citadium – a multi-brand department store on Boulevard Hausmann that is focused on lifestyle, streetwear, and sneaker culture – PNY Citadium is the hamburger chain’s seventh opening in the city.

Fluted panels line the bar and cashier area
Top image: yellow booth seating has a mid-century look. Above: marquee lettering announces the menu

Paris studio CUT Architectures – which previously designed PNY’s first, second, third and fourth outposts – was invited back to create this location around the theme “electric tropical diner”.

The interior, which features neon tube lighting, aluminium walls and embossed stainless steel, seeks to capture the “vivid and unique” energy of America’s West Coast.

Bar tables were fitted with planters at PNY Citadium
Bar stools are paired with circular tables

In particular, the architects looked to the mid-century architecture of Venice Beach in Los Angeles, the Palm Springs’ houses of Albert Frey, and Palm Desert sunsets.

Set out over 75 square metres, the 51-seat restaurant is headed up by a curved crenellated aluminium bar that lines the back wall.

The back of the bar is clad in aluminium while overhead a retro lightbox sign that displays the menu wraps around the top.

PNY Citadium has an orange lit interior
The crenellated aluminium bar reflects light across the restaurant

“The place is conceived as an architectural parenthesis set in the Citadium; a roadside diner whose bar is clad in crenellated aluminium like a longhaul truck crossing the United States,” said CUT Architectures.

“The back bar is dressed in embossed stainless steel with a radiant pattern that increases the reflections.”

Seating is laid out over a series of classic diner booths with banquette seating, as well as a series of tall bar tables and stools.

The booths are positioned along the entrance to the department store and lined with large circular glass panels, lit by rows of warm neon tubes that fade from yellow to orange and pink.

Booth seating has an angular design
Sun-like panels were placed at the ends of tables for privacy

Designed to recall the setting sun on the Pacific Ocean, the panels provide privacy for diners and create a visual boundary between the restaurant and the rest of the department store.

“To achieve the specific hues and quality of light we wanted we used old school signage neon tubes instead of LED lights,” the studio told Dezeen.

A PNY Citadium sign is located above the bar
Sunset hues reflect off the surfaces

The bases of the taller tables are made from large steel cylinders lacquered in a faded yellow hue.

The cylinders pierce through glossy white circular tabletops to create planter centrepieces that are filled with arid vegetation native to the Californian desert.

Other sunset-informed eatery designs include designer Yota Kakuda’s sunset-hued counter installed within a Tokyo cheese tart shop.

While in a Hong Kong cafe, architecture firms Studio Etain Ho and Absence from Island pay homage to Australia’s spectacular sunsets with a terracotta colour scheme and semi-circular forms.

Photography is by Romain Laprade.

Reference

Keiji Ashizawa Design designs Blue Bottle Coffee outpost in Tokyo
CategoriesInterior Design

Keiji Ashizawa Design designs Blue Bottle Coffee outpost in Tokyo

Brick-like tiles with a volcanic ash glaze created by Formafantasma and textured concrete walls feature in this coffee shop in Shibuya, Tokyo, by Japanese studio Keiji Ashizawa Design.


Located a short walk from Tokyo’s busy downtown area, this Blue Bottle Coffee outpost was conceived as an urban retreat sandwiched between two parks.

It serves coffee during the day and appetisers and natural wine in the evenings.

Curving counter with brown tiles in Blue Bottle Coffee Shibuya
Brown tiles with a volcanic ash glaze feature throughout the interior of Blue Bottle Coffee Shibuya

Keiji Ashizawa Design, which also designed the coffee brand’s Yokohama outpost, wanted to create a warm and welcoming interior that brought the park surroundings into the glass-walled and concrete-floored space.

“It was a challenge to come up with a playful interior plan in this square two-storey building,” Ashizawa told Dezeen.

“The other challenge was to make links between the first and second floors, and the exterior and interior.”

Brown-tiled bar and wooden counter seating in coffee shop by Keiji Ashizawa Design
Counter seating runs along the wall of windows

To bring the outside in, the studio installed a large, curved tile counter that wraps around the cafe’s kitchen area and welcomes customers as they enter.

The brown tiles – developed as a collaboration between London material manufacturer Dzek, and the Amsterdam-based design studio Formafantasma – are finished with a special volcanic ash glaze.

Brow-tiled walls and wooden counter seating in Blue Bottle Coffee Shibuya
A single artisan laid all 7,000 tiles in the interior

A single skilled artisan laid more than 7,000 of the tiles in the cafe. As well as the counter, they cover a low coffee table and a wall in the upstairs lounge area. Ashizawa said the tiles were specifically chosen to connect the interior and exterior spaces.

“We wanted a park-like item as a key material which stands out in the interior but also makes a strong connection between first and second floor, and the exterior and interior at the same time,” explained Ashizawa.

Sunken seating area with orange pillows in coffee shop by Keiji Ashizawa Design
A sunken seating area is fringed in bench seating

“I thought that this tile, which has a brick-like colour, is an item reminiscent of parks in Japan,” he continued.

“Also, there is the fact that the soil from volcanic ash is a familiar material in this Kanto region, and I remember that the soil floor of the original Kitaya Park was also Kanto loam.”

In addition to the warm-coloured tiles, pink and orange textiles by Kvadrat, and wooden furniture by Karimoku, Ishinomaki Lab and Ariake add warmth to the largely glass and concrete interior.

On Blue Bottle Coffee’s ground floor, tables are set at differing heights. The high counter with stools allows customers to watch the barista preparing their coffee, while the lower table provides a good view of the park.

Sheer grey curtain over sunken seating area in Blue Bottle Coffee Shibuya
The seating area is obscured by a translucent grey curtain

More seating types are installed upstairs, including a lowered floor area with banquette seating upholstered in an autumnal orange textile. This space can be sectioned off from the main area by a grey, sheer curtain.

An oval dining table sits in the centre of the space providing a casual and communal dining option. A high counter table with a library-like light allows for quiet groups and singles to sit at the rear of the space.

Wooden benches outside coffee shop by Keiji Ashizawa Design
Wooden benches offer seating outside of the cafe

At the far end, a low, tiled coffee table is surrounded by comfortable lounge chairs and sofas upholstered in muted pink fabric.

A textured, brushed mortar finish has been applied to the cafe’s ceiling on the ground floor, and across a wall upstairs to help improve the acoustics in the space.

Timber-clad facade of Blue Bottle Coffee Shibuya
The furniture is in keeping with the buildings timber-clad facade

“When we plan cafes or restaurants, it is essential to think about acoustics,” said Ashizawa. “It is important that you can speak easily and that you can hear the music comfortably.”

“When we first saw the condition of the interior – the floor was made of concrete with glass walls. We definitely thought that we should leave the ceiling some kind of texture to promote sound absorption. At the same time, I thought that creating a feeling of touch in the space would have the effect of relaxing customers in the stressful city of Shibuya, like the greenery of a park.”

“We hope that visitors will enjoy the warm atmosphere as if they had been invited to visit the welcoming house of a close friend,” he concluded.

Photography is by Ben Richard and Masaaki Inoue.

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