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

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

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.

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

abstract geometric stone informs the interiors of retail store by tens atelier in china
VeVelte Yintai Center Store by Tens Atelier showcases quality brands, promoting Chinese design

abstract geometric stone informs the interiors of retail store by tens atelier in china
the redesign of VeVelte in Hefei’s Yintai Center creates a VIP salon to enhance brand-consumer interaction

abstract geometric stone informs the interiors of retail store by tens atelier in china
site challenges prompted the design of a ‘boulder’ concept to guide customer flow and views

abstract geometric stone informs the interiors of retail store by tens atelier in china
the ‘boulder’ form minimizes the impact of columns and optimizes space by delineating distinct display areas

Reference

India Mahdavi enlivens Rome’s Villa Medici with bold geometric furnishings
CategoriesInterior Design

India Mahdavi enlivens Rome’s Villa Medici with bold geometric furnishings

Architect India Mahdavi has updated six rooms within Rome’s 16th-century Villa Medici to feature an array of contemporary and colourful furniture.

The intervention comes as part of a three-year project called Re-enchanting Villa Medici, which was launched in 2022 to amplify the presence of contemporary design and craft within the Renaissance palace.

India Mahdavi revamps Villa Medici in Rome
India Mahdavi has furnished six rooms inside the Villa Medici including the Chamber of the Muses (above) and the Lili Boulanger room (top image)

While the first phase of the project saw fashion brand Fendi revamp Villa Medici’s salons, Mahdavi was asked to freshen up rooms on the building’s piano nobile or “noble level”, where the main reception and the bedrooms are housed.

She worked on a total of six spaces including the Chamber of the Elements, Chamber of the Muses and Chamber of the Lovers of Jupiter, which once served as an apartment to Cardinal Ferdinando de Medici.

India Mahdavi revamps Villa Medici in Rome
Several of Mahdavi’s Bishop stools were integrated into the design

The three other rooms – titled Debussy, Galileo and Lili Boulanger – were formerly used as guest quarters.

In the Chamber of the Muses, which is topped with a dramatic coffered ceiling, Mahdavi inserted sea-green editions of her Bishop stool alongside an enormous hand-tufted rug by French workshop Manufacture d’Aubusson Robert Four.

Its geometric design features green, purple, red, and rosy pink shapes, recalling the flowerbeds that appear across the villa’s sprawling gardens.

India Mahdavi revamps Villa Medici in Rome
Chairs were reupholstered with eye-catching raspberry-hued velvet

Only subtle alterations were made to the Chamber of the Elements and Chamber of the Lovers of Jupiter, where Mahdavi has repositioned an existing bed to sit against an expansive wall tapestry.

Some of the chairs here were also reupholstered in raspberry-hued velvet.

A cluster of bright yellow sofas and armchairs sourced from the French conservation agency Mobilier National was incorporated into the Lili Boulanger room, named after the first female composer to take up residence at the villa.

The furnishings sit on top of a blush-pink rug by French manufacturer La Manufacture Coglin and are accompanied by octagonal tables designed by Mahdavi.

India Mahdavi revamps Villa Medici in Rome
The Lili Boulanger room has a grouping of bright yellow sofas and armchairs

A Renaissance-style four-poster bed was added to the room named after astronomer Galileo Galilei, who reportedly visited Villa Medici twice in his lifetime.

The bed’s tiered wooden base and headboard were inlaid with graphic, berry-toned marquetry by cabinetmaker Craman Lagarde. The pattern, which also appears on the curtains that enclose the bed, takes cues from the design of the villa’s flooring.

India Mahdavi revamps Villa Medici in Rome
A grand four-poster bed is inlaid with berry-tone marquetry

A similar bed can be seen in the room named after French composer Claude Debussy. But this time, the marquetry done by French furnituremaker Pascal Michalon is executed in more “acidulous” colours that Mahdavi said reminded her of Debussy’s piano piece Clair de lune.

Mahdavi has lent her distinctive colour-rich aesthetic to a number of significant venues. Recent examples include the lavish London restaurant Sketch, to which she added sunshine-yellow and golden furnishings.

The photography is by François Halard.



Reference

pure geometric form and absence of ornaments define casa pekín
CategoriesArchitecture

pure geometric form and absence of ornaments define casa pekín

Casa Pekin appears floating in Argentina

 

Design group TIM Architects, led by Felipe Aracama, constructs ‘Casa Pekin’ in Buenos Aires, a ‘floating’ residence made of concrete and glass. Following the studio’s characteristic design guidelines, the composition is defined by the purity of the facades, the absence of ornaments and moldings, the glazed expanses, and the well-formed spatial division of the interior according to the use of each zone. The rationalist imprint and attention to minimalism prevail in architecture while the classic modern movement holds a fundamental part of the design approach. 

purity of geometric form and absence of ornaments define casa pekín in buenos aires
all images by Luis Barandiarán

 

 

concrete surfaces enfold the residence

 

The residence arranges three main areas, with two bedrooms, the kitchen separated from the living-dining room, and the leitmotiv of the work, the social space. The common zone stands as the most significant space surrounded by glass openings and exposed concrete surfaces shielding the frame. ‘The rationalist traits of ‘Casa Pekin’s’ architecture derive from the modern movement accentuating the purity of the form, the geometry of its elements, and the use of materials such as concrete, wood, and glass’, shares Felipe Aracama of TIM Architects. Analyzing the front of the house two main plans are outlined, a blind one and a glazed one.

purity of geometric form and absence of ornaments define casa pekín in buenos aires
the project applies materials such as concrete, wood, and glass

 

 

internal arrangement separates common zones

 

Another important feature of the construction is the formation of the eaves. The proposed intention holds the structure floating above the ground while the slab on the ground floor seems to hover. The house seems lightweight, a sensation reinforced by details such as the absence of supports in the gallery. The eaves hang light casting an intricate shadow over the social space. The separation between the kitchen and the social space intends not to integrate two disparate functions, and to provide each of the spaces with the necessary comfort without interference.

purity of geometric form and absence of ornaments define casa pekín in buenos aires
the proposed intention holds the structure floating above the ground

purity of geometric form and absence of ornaments define casa pekín in buenos aires
the house seems lightweight through the absence of supports in the gallery

Reference

Ryan Leidner adds bridge to geometric San Francisco house
CategoriesArchitecture

Ryan Leidner adds bridge to geometric San Francisco house

Local studio Ryan Leidner Architecture renovated a 1940s home in the Bernal Heights neighbourhood of San Francisco, resolving entry access with a bridge over the front garden.

Ryan Leidner Architecture completed the 2,500-square-foot (230-square metre) Hosono House in 2021, cladding the house in charcoal-stained cedar siding with a copper, standing seam roof.

Bridge over garden at Hosono House in San Francisco
Hosno House features a statement bridge

The original structure was built at the rear of a steeply sloped 2750-square-foot (255-square-metre) lot, “giving the home a unique sense of privacy and a feeling of being a true retreat,” the studio said.

However, the setback challenged the home’s circulation, causing people to cross the yard, descend a long staircase, and climb back up three flights to access the primary living space.

Ryan Leidner Architecture house in San Francisco
The bridge is arranged over the front garden

During an initial walkthrough with the clients, founding principal Ryan Leidner threw out a “crazy idea” – to redirect access from the street to a new front door with a bridge.

The bridge would span the lush front garden and connect to the house between the top and middle stories.

“The front entrance sequence was totally reimagined,” Leidner told Dezeen.

Blackened facade featuring a circular pivot window
A circular pivot window marks the front facade

The studio rebuilt the front facade – now marked by a circular pivot window that replaced a leaking solarium – gutted the interior and rearranged spaces.

“Wanting to preserve the historic character of the house, the existing wood beams and ceiling were refinished and left exposed while all of the original windows, floors and finishes were replaced, creating a greater sense of material continuity throughout the house,” Leidner said.

Wood-toned interior within Hosono House with skylights
Natural wood tones and white surfaces characterise the interior

The subtle palette of natural wood tones and white surfaces allows the interior spaces to serve as a canvas for the owners’ affinity for design.

“The interior spaces are filled with a mix of vintage Italian furnishings and custom pieces, while the overall sensibility of the space was inspired by trips to Norway and Japan, and the ethos of Californian hippie modernism,” Leidner noted.

Nobuto Suga dining table within Hosono House by Ryan Leidner
A custom Nobuto Suga dining table is framed by statement chairs

The top-floor kitchen, living and dining areas enjoy sweeping views of the San Francisco skyline through a variety of window shapes.

Plant-filled niches that reference 1960s and 70s Italian projects surround a space that holds accent furniture including a custom Nobuto Suga dining table, vintage Guido Faleschini chairs and a Gae Aulenti armchair.

Bedroom by Ryan Leidner
Two bedrooms are on the second floor

The second floor contains two bedrooms, a Venetian-plastered primary bathroom and a lounge space inspired by a Tokyo whiskey bar with warm wide-plank white oak and a custom velvet daybed.

A large opening in the lounge leads to the lower courtyard, which was reimagined by landscape architect Stephen Design Studio.

The lowest level boasts one of the home’s most unique spaces: the guest bedroom.

“A textured hemp-plaster was used on the walls and ceiling, and a custom tiled bed frame and furnishings give a nod to the history of Italian modernism,” the studio said.

Ryan Leidner interiors
Ryan Leidner added luxurious touches throughout the home

Throughout the home, custom fabricated brass details – like countertops, sinks and CNC Dieter Rams-inspired exhaust covers – add a luxurious touch that will patina over time.

Ryan Leidner Architecture had previously collaborated with Stephen Design Studio to remodel a midcentury Eichler home, complete with twin gables and a lush central courtyard.

The photography is by Joe Fletcher.


Project credits:

Architects: Ryan Leidner Architecture
Landscape Design: Stephens Design Studio
General Contractor: DKG Construction
Landscape Contractor: Ground Cover Landscaping

Reference