Geneva-based architect Stef Claes looked to mid-century and local architecture to create the low-lying home in Belgium. The residence, named House in the Fields, features white-painted walls and black accents.
Readers discussed the project, with one commending the architects for achieving “such a clean result” and another agreeing, claiming that they “could quite happily live there”.
“Forty-one per cent of architects now using AI” says RIBA report
Other stories in this week’s newsletter that fired up the comments section included the findings of a report by the Royal Insitute of British Architects which found that close to half of UK architects are now using AI for their projects, the announcement that Foster + Partners is designing a two-kilometre-high skyscraper in Saudi Arabia and an opinion piece by Catherine Slessor about architects working into their older years.
Dezeen Debate
Dezeen Debate is sent every Thursday and features a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Debate or subscribe here.
You can also subscribe to our other newsletters; Dezeen Agenda is sent every Tuesday containing a selection of the most important news highlights from the week, Dezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours and Dezeen In Depth is sent on the last Friday of every month and delves deeper into the major stories shaping architecture and design.
The Beijing City Library in China, designed by Norwegian studio Snøhetta, features a glass-lined structure punctuated by towering tree-like columns and rooms disguised as hills.
Commenters analysed the structure closely, with one characterising it as having a “feeling of extravagance” while also criticising it by suggesting: “It can only mean massive expenditure.”
Another observer perceived it as “borrowing heavily” from Frank Lloyd Wright’s SC Johnson Wax HQ.
Space Perspective completes capsule for balloon-powered “journey to the edge of space”
Other stories in this week’s newsletter that fired up the comments section included space tourism company Space Perspective’s test capsule for its Neptune spacecraft, a high-protein food by scientists from South Korea’s Yonsei University and Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza’s extension of his 1999 Serralves Museum project in Porto.
Dezeen Debate
Dezeen Debate is sent every Thursday and features a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Debate or subscribe here.
You can also subscribe to our other newsletters; Dezeen Agenda is sent every Tuesday containing a selection of the most important news highlights from the week, Dezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours and Dezeen In Depth is sent on the last Friday of every month and delves deeper into the major stories shaping architecture and design.
American architecture studio Kohn Pedersen Fox has unveiled images of a supertall skyscraper that is currently being built in Midtown Manhattan.
Commenters analysed the structure, with one praising the “contextual design approach” while another questioned: “Can we declare this day the end of messianic Miesianism?”
However, a commenter thought the design “kind of falls apart when you look at the details.”
Rafael Viñoly Architects unveils plans for vineyard-covered airport terminal
Other stories in this week’s newsletter that fired up the comments section included Rafael Viñoly Architects’ plans for a vineyard-covered airport terminal, a pavilion designed for The OWO hotel in London and the news that Elon Musk’s company Neuralink has implanted a brain chip into its first human patient.
Dezeen Debate
Dezeen Debate is sent every Thursday and features a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Debate or subscribe here.
You can also subscribe to our other newsletters; Dezeen Agenda is sent every Tuesday containing a selection of the most important news highlights from the week, Dezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours and Dezeen In Depth is sent on the last Friday of every month and delves deeper into the major stories shaping architecture and design.
The latest edition of our weekly Dezeen Agenda newsletter features an apartment block in California constructed like a “real-life Lego-kit”. Subscribe to Dezeen Agenda now.
Florida-based manufacturer Renco has completed a Palm Springs apartment complex that was made using Lego-like blocks made of repurposed materials and designed by architecture studio Arquitectonica.
Constructed from a composite blend of glass fibres, resin, and stone, the blocks were designed to be stronger, less energy-intensive and more affordable than conventional materials.
“Revolutionary force” Lesley Lokko wins 2024 RIBA Royal Gold Medal
This week’s newsletter also featured Ghanaian-Scottish architect Lesley Lokko being named the recipient of this year’s RIBA Royal Gold Medal, the reveal of plans and the architect for this year’s Serpentine Pavilion and a “first aid kit” for furniture designed by Yalan Dan.
Dezeen Agenda
Dezeen Agenda is a curated newsletter sent every Tuesday containing the most important news highlights from Dezeen. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Agenda or subscribe here.
You can also subscribe to our other newsletters; Dezeen Debate is sent every Thursday and features the hottest reader comments and most-debated stories, Dezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours and Dezeen In Depth is sent on the last Friday of every month and delves deeper into the major stories shaping architecture and design.
Happy new year from Dezeen! We’ll be back tomorrow, but in the meantime, you can read about the biggest design and architecture stories of 2023 and our full review of the year.
The review looks at the most interesting architecture, design and interior stories from 2022. It includes roundups of the the year’s rebrands, innovative materials, restaurant and bar interiors, controversies, US architecture, cabins and more.
As part of our review of 2023, Dezeen readers have voted Casa Tres Árboles by Direccion the best home interior of 2023.
After 400 votes, the project in Mexico was the clear winner, with almost 35 per cent of people picking it from the poll that ran throughout December.
Dezeen readers named Casa Tres Árboles best home interior of 2023. Photo by Fabian Martinez
Informed by “monastic sanctuaries” and designed to celebrate light and shadows, Casa Tres Árboles is a weekend home in Mexico’s Valle de Bravo.
Mexican studio Direccion, used combined natural materials and an earthy colour palette for the interiors of the split-level home.
Dezeen readers picked the home form a shortlist that included projects from Spain, The Netherlands, UK, Australia, Japan, South Africa and USA.
The rest of the vote was pretty evenly split, with the Hiroo Residence in central Tokyo, the second most popular choice – receiving 12 percent of the vote.
Designed by architect Keiji Ashizawa, the 200-square-metre apartment features numerous wooden finishes combined with subtle tones of grey and beige.
Hiroo Residence was readers second favourite project. Photography by Tomooki Kengaku
Four further projects were joint third most popular – Dumbo loft by Crystal Sinclair Designs, House by the Sea by Of Architecture, Torres Blancas apartment by Studio Noju and Domūs Houthaven apartment by Shift Architecture Urbanism – each receiving nine per cent of the vote
2023 review
This article is part of Dezeen’s roundup of the biggest and best news and projects in architecture, design, interior design and technology from 2023.
Merry Christmas! We’ll be back tomorrow – in the meantime read our review of 2023 and enjoy this Christmas tree designed by British-Nigerian designer Yinka Ilori.
The review of 2023 rounds up the most interesting and popular architecture, design and interior stories from the past year. It includes roundups of the the year’s rebrands, innovative materials, restaurant and bar interiors, controversies, US architecture, cabins and more.
All 50 Dezeen Awards 2023 winners have been announced at this evening’s ceremony in central London.
The winners were revealed at a party at Shoreditch Electric Light Station attended by shortlisted studios along with Dezeen Awards judges past and present including Nelly Ben Hayoun, Omar Gandhi, Patricia Urquiola, Sumayya Vally and LionHeart.
All Dezeen Awards 2023 winners revealed
The winning projects have been selected from more than 4,800 entries from 94 countries. The 39 project category winners were shortlisted for the architecture, interiors, design and sustainability project of the year awards. These projects went head to head to win the overall project of the year awards.
The six Designers of the Year and the inaugural Bentley Lighthouse Award winner were also announced at the ceremony.
View the winners on the Dezeen Awards website or read below:
Simba Vision Montessori School in Tanzania was named architecture project of the year. Photo by Nadia Christ
Architecture
Simba Vision Montessori School by Architectural Pioneering Consultants won the prestigious architecture project of the year award, sponsored by Material Bank. It was also named education project of the year.
The judges said: “This exemplary building manages to do the most with the least. A truly sustainable project with a very limited budget, the building provides a much-needed educational space for the local community that is responsive to people, place and purpose.”
The winning Montessori school with tactile qualities was up against projects that included a linear park with an elevated walkway in Mexico City, a copper-clad shelter constructed from bamboo in Bali and a timber-lined community centre made from salvaged local wood in east London.
Read more about Simba Vision Montessori School and the architecture winners ›
A restaurant in a former mechanic’s workshop in Guadalajara won interior project of the year. Photo by Gillian Garcia
Interiors
Restaurant Xokol in Guadalajara by studios Ruben Valdez Practice and ODAmx was named interior project of the year, sponsored by Moroso. It also won restaurant and bar interior of the year.
“Xokol understands the place where it lives and the importance of designing in a specific way for a specific location,” commended the judges. “The result of this understanding is deep and poetic.”
A palazzo with circular elements in Rome, a retail space defined by curved resin walls in the Art Gallery of New South Wales and an exhibition with shrink-wrapped blocks as scenography in Hanover were a few of the projects competing with the Mexican cross-cultural dining space.
Read more about Xokol and the interiors winners ›
Design project of the year was awarded to designer Yves Behar for his bionic leg wrap
Design
The Cionic Neural Sleeve by Yves Behar’s Fuseproject and neuro tech startup Cionic was crowned design project of the year, sponsored by Solus Ceramics and Mirage Spa. It was also awarded product design (health and wellbeing) project of the year.
“For the millions of people suffering from muscular degenerative diseases or injury, this product has the greatest potential to improve the user’s ability to walk and therefore their quality of life,” said the master jury.
Projects vying with the winning bionic leg wrap included sunglasses that have adaptive focus lenses, a climate-change calculator that makes use of real-world data and a minimalist log-like perch designed for active waiting.
Read more about Cionic Neural Sleeve and the design winners ›
The latest phase of the redevelopment of Park Hill estate in Sheffield was crowned sustainable project of the year
Sustainability
London architecture studio Mikhail Riches won sustainable project of the year, sponsored by Brookfield Properties. Park Hill Phase 2 was also named sustainable renovation of the year.
The judges said: “Mikhail Riches has taken the ruin of a concrete post-war mass housing project, which was an iconic building of its time, and shown how to care for its legacy while giving it dignity.”
Other contenders for sustainability project of the year included an affordable housing block with pigmented precast concrete panels, a whiskey bar decked with oak from discarded distillery barrels and a chipless, paper-only version of a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag.
Read more about Park Hill Phase 2 and the sustainability winners ›
Photo by Måns Berg
Designers of the Year
Scandinavian practice White Arkitekter took home the architect of the year award and Sumayya Vally of Counterspace Studio was named emerging architect of the year.
Interior designer of the year was awarded to Spanish architect Patricia Urquiola and emerging interior designer of the year was awarded to Paris-based studio Uchronia.
London design duo Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd won designer of the year for their practice Pearson Lloyd and Parisian Audrey Large was named emerging designer of the year.
Read more about the Designers of the Year winners ›
Bentley Lighthouse Award
Natural Material Studio founder Bonnie Hvillum has been named the first winner of the prestigious Bentley Lighthouse Award.
The inaugural award recognises designers who are curious and courageous in their approach, and whose work has had a beneficial impact on social and environmental sustainability, inclusivity or community empowerment.
“The whole oeuvre is impressive and beautiful and demonstrates the path that our industry needs to take towards bio-based research, creating greater material diversity whether by repurposing waste or growing new materials,” lauded the master jury.
Read more about the Bentley Lighthouse Award winner Bonnie Hvillum ›
Dezeen Awards 2023
Dezeen Awards celebrates the world’s best architecture, interiors and design. Now in its sixth year, it has become the ultimate accolade for architects and designers across the globe. The annual awards are in partnership with Bentley Motors, as part of a wider collaboration that will see the brand work with Dezeen to support and inspire the next generation of design talent.
Dezeen has announced the 28-strong interiors shortlist for the inaugural Dezeen Awards China, which includes projects by FOG Architecture, UNStudio and Atelier d’More.
The shortlisted projects, which are in the running for awards in six different interiors project categories, represent the most striking interiors recently created in the country.
Among the projects, which are located in 14 different cities across China, is a Spanish restaurant in a former prison, a hostel on Shanghai’s Chongming Island that integrates local materials and an office space with mottled concrete walls and exposed steel frames.
The shortlist also features a library with a sweeping wooden bookshelf and a clothing store informed by local markets.
Dezeen Awards China 2023 shortlists revealed this week
The shortlisted projects were scored by our interior jury which includes interior architect André Fu, Hong Kong-based Alex Mok, US interior designer Kelly Wearstler, Studioilse founder Ilse Crawford and Li Xiang of X+Living.
This is the first edition of Dezeen Awards China, which is in partnership with Bentley Motors. The architecture shortlist was published on Monday and following the interiors shortlist, the projects shortlisted in the design and China designers of the year categories will be unveiled tomorrow and Thursday respectively.
Above: An office building in Shenzhen’s Kexing Science and Technology Park is one of the shortlisted projects. Photo by Schran Images. Top: Other shortlisted projects include an eye hospital in Taiyuan, China.
All shortlisted interiors are listed below, each with a link to a dedicated page on the Dezeen Awards China website, where you can find more information about the project.
The winner of each interiors project category will be announced at a party in Shanghai in December, with the six winners competing for the title of Chinese interiors project of the year, which is sponsored by Gaggenau.
Read on for the full interiors shortlist:
Light House by 323 Studio. Photo by 323 Studio
Home interior
› Light House, Zhengzhou, by 323 Studio › Illumined Freedom: An Artistic Home, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, by More Design Office › Z&S House, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, by Outlooker Design › Beijing West Road Private Residence, Shanghai, by Slow Studio › Muzi House, Shanghai, by Wuy Architects
This is Zack! by Guò Bàn Ér. Photo by Boris Shiu
Workplace interior
› NCDA Studio, Hong Kong, by NC Design & Architecture › Yeahka Headquarters Office, Shenzhen, by JSPA Design › Phantom Rings: S-Game Office, Beijing, by LYCS Architecture › Diningr:um, Shanghai, by Pronounced Design › This is Zack!, Beijing, by Guò Bàn Ér
Book Mountain Store by Ray&Emilio Studio. Photo by Ray&Emilio Studio
Retail interior
› To Summer Beijing Flagship Store, Beijing, by FOG Architecture › FREITAG Store Shanghai, Shanghai, by Kooo Architects › ZUCZUG Bazaar, Xiamen, by Sò Studio › Book Mountain Bookstore, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, by Ray&Emilio Studio
Self Revealing by Studio X4. Photo courtesy of Studio X4
Health and wellbeing interior
› FlySolo Rehabilitation Medical Centre, Beijing, by UNStudio › Self Revealing, Taipei, by StudioX4 › Big Eyes Panda Eye Hospital, Taiyuan, by Karv One Design › BoF hair salon, Zhengzhou, by Name Lab
Twosome Inn by Atelier d’More. Photo by Atelier d’More
Hotel and short-stay interior
› Cloud Retreat Hotel, Ganzhou, by Shanghai Cocoon Studio › Sunac Mogan Valley Zhulinli Demonstration Area, Deqing, Yunnan, by WJ Studio › The Tree and Villa, Dali, Yunnan, by Fusion Design & Architecture › Som Land Hostel, Chongming Island, Shanghai, by RooMoo Design Studio › Twosome Inn, Beijing, by Atelier d’More
B3 by RooMoo Design Studio. Photo by RooMoo Design Studio
Restaurant and bar interior
› B3, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, by RooMoo Design Studio › Lai Zhou Bar, Shanghai, by RooMoo Design Studio › Artifact Bar, Hong Kong, by NC Design & Architecture › Agora, Hong Kong, by Collective › Biiird Yakitori, Guangdong, by Biger Club Design
Dezeen Awards China 2023
Dezeen Awards China is the first regional edition of Dezeen Awards, to celebrate the best architecture, interiors and design in China. The annual awards are in partnership with Bentley Motors, as part of a wider collaboration that will see the brand work with Dezeen to support and inspire the next generation of design talent in China.
Dezeen has announced the 34-strong architecture shortlist for the inaugural Dezeen Awards China, which includes buildings by Trace Architecture Office, AIM Architecture and Thomas Heatherwick.
The shortlisted projects, which are in the running for awards in seven different architecture project categories, represent the best buildings recently created in the country.
Among the projects, which are located in 21 different cities across China, is a viewing tower at a panda sanctuary, the 1000 Trees shopping centre in Shanghai by UK-based Heatherwick Studio and an art museum in Tibet.
The shortlist also features an abandoned wooden home that was renovated with 3D-printed walls and the Dance of Light skyscraper by Aedas.
Dezeen Awards China 2023 shortlists revealed this week
The shortlisted projects were selected by a jury that includes architects Ole Scheeran, Ma Yansong, Rossana Hu, Garett Hwang and Ting Yu.
This is the first edition of Dezeen Awards China, which is in partnership with Bentley Motors. Following the architecture shortlist, the projects shortlisted in the design, interiors and China designers of the year categories will be unveiled throughout the week.
Above: An art museum in Tibet is one of the shortlisted projects. Photo courtesy of And Studio. Top: Other shortlisted projects include the renovation of a 1920s building in Shanghai
All shortlisted buildings are listed below, each with a link to a dedicated page on the Dezeen Awards China website, where you can find more information about the project.
The winner of each architecture project category will be announced at a party in Shanghai in December, with the seven winners competing for the title of Chinese architecture project of the year, which is sponsored by The Dalmore.
Read on for the full architecture shortlist:
Cactus House by Shi·Ye Architecture Design & Research Practice. Photo courtesy of Shi·Ye Architecture Design & Research Practice
Residential project
› Cactus House, Kunming, Yunnan, by Shi·Ye Architecture Design & Research Practice › House M001, Shunyi, Beijing, by Guò Bàn Ér › Erya Villa, Foshan, Guangdong, by Touchstone Interior Design › Hotel on Tile, Fangshan, Beijing, by Beijing Jimei Survey and Design › Mi Luo City Duan Wu Community Villager Relocating Project, Miluo, Hunan, by Zaozuo Architecture Studio
O · Power Cultural and Art Centre by Shenzhen Huahui Design. Photo courtesy of Shenzhen Huahui Design
Cultural project
› O · Power Cultural and Art Centre, Nanshan, Shenzhen, by Shenzhen Huahui Design › Tibetan Thangka Art Museum, Lhasa, Tibet, by And Studio › Houhu·Contemporary Architecture Cultural Center, Changsha, Hunan, by WCY Regional Studio › Serrangel, Foshan, Guangdong, by Ce-St Design Studio
Panda Tower by Shanghai United Design Group. Image courtesy of UDG
Civic project
› Chengdu Tianfu City Planning Hall, Tianfu, Chendu, by And Studio › Shanghai Library East, Pudong, Shanghai, by Schmidt Hammer Lassen › Panda Tower, Chengdu, Sichuan, by Shanghai United Design Group › Yiwu Chian Wutong Yard, Jinhua, Zhejiang, by All Studio › Haikou Jiangdong Huandao Experimental School, Haikou, Hainan, by Trace Architecture Office
Traditional House of the Future by The University of Hong Kong. Photo courtesy of The University of Hong Kong
Heritage project
› The Vanished Garden, Datong, Shanxi, by XJ Design Agency › Somekh Building Renovation, Shanghai, by Shisuo design › Yan Shan Art Museum, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, by Evolve Design › Traditional House of the Future, Guizhou, by The University of Hong Kong › Ruins Cave Garden, Dali, Yunnan, by ArConnect
NIO Delivery Center by Kokaistudios, Photo by RawVision Studio
Workplace project
› NIO Delivery Center, Jiading, Shanghai, by Kokaistudios › Xixi Campus Phase 4 of a Zhejiang-Based Large Internet Company, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, by NBBJ › URBREW Craft Beer Mashing Workshop, Handan, Hebei, by Name Lab › Dance of Light Skyscraper Project, Chongqing, by Aedas › Hainan Energy Trading Building, Haikou, Hainan, by Kris Yao| Artech
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Youth Entrepreneurship Zone Phase I by RSHP, Image courtesy of RSHP
Mixed-use project
› Taikoo Li Qiantan, Shanghai, by 5+Design › Fairy Li (Chaichanglong Historic Area Urban Regeneration and Redevelopment), Shaoxing, Zhejiang, by SpActrum › Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Youth Entrepreneurship Zone Phase I, Shenzhen, Guangdong, by RSHP › HARMAY FANG, Shanghai, by AIM Architecture › 1000 Trees Phase 1, Shanghai, by Heatherwick Studio
Miwo Hotel by AT Design. Photo courtesy of AT Design
Hospitality project
› Sleeping Lab Hotel, Beijing, by Atelier d’More › Lost Villa in Simianshan, Chongqing, Kong_Architects › JII Chuan, Chongqing, by VARI Design › Moganshan B&B, Huzhou, Zhejiang, by SZ-Architecture › Miwo Hotel, Lishui, by AT Design
Dezeen Awards China 2023
Dezeen Awards China is the first regional edition of Dezeen Awards, to celebrate the best architecture, interiors and design in China. The annual awards are in partnership with Bentley Motors, as part of a wider collaboration that will see the brand work with Dezeen to support and inspire the next generation of design talent in China.
