New York-based studio Apparatus has redesigned its Hollywood showroom with multiple material schemas and a range of its lighting and furniture products to evoke a feeling of “discovery” for visitors.
The 5,000-square-foot (464 square metres) Hollywood showroom first opened in 2018 in a former warehouse. Apparatus redesigned the interiors – which previously consisted of bold geometric and neoclassical elements – opting for an experience featuring a progression of materials that create distinct experiences for each room.
Apparatus has redesigned the interiors of its LA showroom
Its three adjoining rooms were transformed with distinct finishes and reconfigured displays.
The first room’s walls and adjoining archways were covered in a coarse rock aggregate. Beds of similar stones fill small recessed gaps between the floor and the walls and a large circular mirror sits behind an installation of the Trapeze light configured as a mobile.
The entry program features wall with a rough texture
“Upon entering, you find yourself in our version of a modernist grotto,” said Apparatus.
“Here lights are relatively low, allowing you to experience our collections with slightly subterranean undertones.”
The “grotto”-like room features an installation of the Trapeze chandelier
The pre-existing archways were left intact and lead into the next space, which was finished in a silver-toned plaster custom produced by New York outift Kamp Studios. This surface treatment has a reflective quality meant to contrast the first space.
It has an installation featuring multiple of Appratatus’ iconic Cloud chandeliers that give the space an airiness when contrasted with the earthy textures of the first.
The second room has a smooth, silvery finish on the walls
“Silvered walls reflect without revealing, giving the impression of being inside a Renaissance coffer,” said the studio. “After the grounding of the first space, this functions as a release.”
A third room is lined with cork wall panels with intricate grain patterning and includes an unattributed bird-themed tapestry.
Natural light comes in from overhead windows casting shadows on the double-height room, and includes several products arranged sparsely across the room.
“It’s about feeling discovery and moving through layers,” said Apparatus founder Gabriel Hendifar.
Throughout, light fixtures are hung low to emphasize a dream-like characteristic of the reimagined space.
As in Apparatus’s other showrooms in New York and London, the gallery’s interior design resembles the composition of famous paintings and historical architectural styles. Italian artist Giorgio De Chirico’s Surrealist works were referenced for this room.
The third space features cork-lined walls and a double-height ceiling
According to the company, the space was also redesigned based on a creative narrative of a hypothetical person: a woman living in New York City during the 1960s.
The hypothetical person in this case experiences the cultural tensions of the time, between old world conventions and big changes in society, such as the moon landing, embodying the “tension between modernity and the arcane”.
“What would happen if this woman moved to Los Angeles a decade later to find herself? Our Los Angeles gallery is the answer,” said the studio.
The rooms were ordered to evoke a sense of discovery
Apparatus has displayed its full suite of products in this immersive setting. Collections on view include the Cloud pendant lamp and the Episode Settee sofa.
Other recent showroom designs include the London Camper store by James Shaw and Malbon Golf Coconut Grove store by 22RE.
After an unsteady 2023, Dezeen’s editorial director Max Fraser considers what 2024 might hold for design.
His predictions for what we will see when it comes to design next year range from the rise of material intelligence to the rush for sustainable accreditation.
Collective material intelligence
The pace of development in material innovation continues, in particular those made from supposedly sustainable resources as well as those salvaged from waste streams, such as fabrics made from bacterial fermentation and handcrafted biotextiles.
The appetite to use such creations in projects will increase in 2024 as designers strive to create products with greater material sensitivity. This goes hand-in-hand with a drive to lower the impact of our consumption on planetary systems as we continue to sharpen our focus on the climate crisis.
Above: Formafantasma’s Cambio exhibition focuses on wood. Photo is by Paavo Lehtonen Photography. Top image: brick textiles by Natural Material Studio
Increasingly informed clients and customers, together with (hopefully) heightened regulations, will demand ever-more transparency around the origin of the materials, seeking justification for their implementation, as well as assurances around traceability and a low full-life impact.
An increasing number of designers will respond by shortening supply chains, opting for regionally-appropriate materials, harvested or mined closer to the place of production.
This will likely become more of a prevalent expectation in 2024, buoyed by an already enterprising surge in new biomaterials and fabrication technologies. The challenge is scaling this from narrow experimental work into more mainstream channels.
Greater appreciation of aesthetic imperfection
Product uniformity works well for items such as TVs, phones and washing machines. But when it comes to the use of natural materials in mass-production systems, the mindset of uniformity and perfection also prevails. This means that the inconsistent nuances in colour, texture or grain that are inherent in the likes of wood, wool, leather or stone become a hurdle to overcome.
There is a growing concern that stripping out the quirks of a tree, the striations of a rock or the blemishes on an animal hide just creates unnecessary waste. This was highlighted by Formafantasma’s Cambio research project when the design studio investigated the global impact of the extraction, production and distribution of wood.
Working with Finnish furniture brand Artek, one of the outcomes of the study was for the manufacturer to reassess its strict timber selection criteria. Previously only using regularly grained local birchwood without any natural marks, the brand has loosened its criteria to embrace imperfections. In 2023, characteristics such as insect borelines, knots and even bark first appeared on the iconic Stool 60 by Alvar Aalto as part of an evolving Artek collection.
This approach from a reputable brand sends a signal to the rest of the furniture industry that an ‘imperfect’ aesthetic sensibility needs to be embraced if we’re to reduce processing and production waste. This is something that I suspect will become more evident in 2024, helped by the economic case that customers will want to buy into the unique characteristics of these items.
Raw and mono-material products
Designers will further endeavour to reduce the complex interplay between different kinds of materials used in production. The motivation is to create products where the component parts can be dissembled and separated more easily for repair or recyclability.
Such intentions will need to be communicated to users and the inevitable aesthetic change celebrated.
David Taylor’s Knuckle Light is made from aluminium
As circularity becomes expected, a ‘circular aesthetic’ will also emerge whereby products will be lauded for their efficient and singular use of materials, exposed fixings and true-to-material ‘raw’ finishes.
This was recently exemplified by the aluminium Knuckle light by David Taylor for Hem, an embodiment of raw, folded, uncoated aluminium and the winner of the lighting design of the year in the Dezeen Awards 2023.
Fifty shades of sustainable
For several years now, overuse of the word ‘sustainable’ across all areas of society has reached the point where its very meaning has become opaque. Take a trip to any trade fair or design week and you’ll leave with sustainability fatigue, so much is the word oversaid, overheard and overprinted.
Many smart brands recognise this and are eager to communicate the great lengths they go to to reduce their planetary burden, ensure reputable supply chains, create healthy work environments for all and deliver economic returns that benefit their communities as well as their shareholders. To that end, the B Corp rush is on.
B Corp Certification is one of the most rigorous and reputable certification schemes for any aspiring business, thoroughly assessing all of the aforementioned criteria and more. As one manufacturer joked to me, “It’s a tough process. Everything is opened, assessed and scored. It’s like letting a stranger look through your underwear.”
Manufacturers like Modus in the UK, Fredericia and Astep in Denmark and Andreu World in Spain all crossed the line in 2023 and I predict many more will pass the test in 2024: credibility from accreditation.
Trade fairs – a make-or-break year
It’s been another bumpy year for trade fairs, which have struggled to rebound to pre-pandemic glory. The considerable cost and enormous effort of exhibiting has brands questioning how often they can commit. The returns that fairs are expected to deliver for these exhibitors – namely via marketing, footfall and ultimately orders – is an increasing pressure when attendees have also become more discerning about which shows they choose to visit.
Milan’s Alcova showed in Miami this year. Photo by Piergiorgio Sorgetti
The excessive waste generated by stand construction continues to be a challenge to overcome. I’ve become so distracted by the endless use of virgin materials to construct brand-ego-sized displays that I barely notice the product anymore. I call for greater brand humility and am hoping the previously-mentioned circular aesthetic will find its place on stand design as fairs continue to evolve.
It remains a struggle to make rather grim exhibition centres pleasurable, while reducing the environmental burden. Smaller, more nimble shows like Alcova and Material Matters will likely gather pace, able to better attain the sweet spot between quality content and distinct experience. Those that succeed will need to marry timely inspiration with responsible aspiration.
AI – will it deliver on the hype?
While hype, speculation and doom-mongering around the impact of generative artificial intelligence continues across multiple industries and at government-level, I expect the dust will settle somewhat in 2024.
For all of the wonders that AI promises, including analyzing data to inform design decisions, automating repetitive tasks, and simulating and testing designs, maybe there will be more skepticism as to whether or not it will live up to the fanfare we’ve witnessed this year.
AI-designed projects created controversy. Image by Manah Bhata
One of the leading voices in AI, Gary Marcus, believes there are “many serious, unsolved problems” with the technology that could limit its usefulness. However, Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky reckons designers should embrace AI otherwise the world “will be designed without them” as he stated in an interview with Dezeen in November. He added, “But, I am also wary of fetishization of technology” and, sharing this sentiment, I would caution the hype.
In off-the-record chats, I encounter plenty of individuals who are nonchalant about AI, so I would question the assumption that we must all want and need to use it. Within design, I wonder if we’ll see a revolution from artificial intelligence in 2024 – or perhaps its offerings will just become casually subsumed into the designer’s toolbox.
Polarising approaches to production will broaden
When it comes to fully scrutinising every action and proceeding with self-initiated care and integrity, many brands will find their mojo in 2024, particularly more nimble family-owned businesses with a clear eye on their legacy.
But I fear most won’t, as the pressures of increasing costs, stubborn inflation, volatile supply chains, debt repayments, shareholder expectations and hesitant citizen consumption trigger an urgent scramble to carve out new market segments. All of these touchpoints are and will continue to be directly or indirectly exacerbated by the desperate human conflicts and environmental disasters that we’ve witnessed globally in 2023.
Changing business models to circumnavigate these disruptions requires long-term vision and stability, two things seemingly in short supply right now. Those willing to evolve their enterprises deserve to succeed, however, I suspect many businesses will choose not to rock the boat.
Add to this the ongoing lacklustre governmental approaches to the climate crisis and it’s hard to envisage a world that can muster much excitement at the release of another new yet non-essential product. The time for the design industry to broaden its collaboration with other industries is now. The opportunities to work on game-changing solutions to some of our existential challenges are ripe for the picking.
Promotion: Bentley Motors’ first Bentley-branded residential tower will include a vehicle lift that allows residents to seamlessly travel from the road up to their homes without exiting their cars.
Bentley Motors’ first Bentley-branded residential tower in Miami will include a vehicle lift
Standing 61 stories high, the 749-foot building will be completed in 2027 and aims to be an iconic figure on Miami’s Sunny Isles Beach coastline.
The brand says that the building will have a focus on indoor-outdoor living spaces exemplified by its cylindrical form and floor-to-ceiling windows, which are designed to ensure each of the residences enjoys uninterrupted views of the Atlantic Ocean and the intracoastal waterways.
The vehicle lift will allow residents to travel from the road up to their homes inside their cars
Bentley’s design language is integrated throughout the design. For instance, Bentley’s signature diamond motif – a shape used across all of the brand’s products and cars – is echoed in everything from the meticulous diamond-shaped glass facade panels that are carefully angled to create the natural light refraction, to the elegant diamond-shaped tiles adorning the floor of the lobby.
Built to suit the needs of luxury car owners, each residence boasts an in-unit multi-car garage with storage for up to four cars per home, with convenient access to a state-of-the-art patented car elevator nestled in the core of the building.
Bentley’s signature diamond motif is echoed in the design
Named the “Dezervator” after Bentley’s partner Dezer Development, this innovative lift will allow residents to travel directly up to their residences inside their cars.
An RFID sticker placed in residents’ cars will be automatically scanned on arrival into the building. This triggers a sophisticated lighting system to guide the driver to the correct Dezervator to reach their own floor.
The technology recognises this ID and takes them directly to their residence, without the driver having to step out of their vehicle or press a button.
The building will have a focus on indoor-outdoor living spaces
Each lift features a hydraulic system that gently secures a car by its tyres to smoothly bring it on top of a robotic shuttle system, which in turn transports a car up or down to the correct story. The lower floors of the elevator shaft are enclosed by glass, granting passengers a full panoramic view of the shared spaces of the building.
Each of the Bentley Residences will additionally feature an oversized private balcony, a swimming pool, sauna and an outdoor shower. The building’s amenities will include a gym, spa, pet spa, whisky bar, a resident-only restaurant, wellness centre and cinema.
All homes will include a private swimming pool
Designed in accordance with the Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) certification to ensure maximum protection of the local environment and its wildlife, the tower’s architectural design incorporates environmentally safe building materials and reduced coastal lighting, safeguarding the habitat of endangered sea turtles.
The interiors of Bentley Residences will be made from sustainably sourced, natural materials and finishes such as wood, leather and glass, thoughtfully curated to create a calming colour palette that reflects the residence’s coastal surroundings.
The building is scheduled to be completed in 2027
In the lobby space, structural pillars are veined with wood that has been ingrained with copper dust to add a subtle, metallic finish. This technique was used in Bentley’s concept car, the EXP 100 GT.
In order to appeal to a luxury consumer, the design team, led by Chris Cooke, head of design collaborations at Bentley, ensured that the residences were designed with the same unwavering dedication to detail found in every Bentley car.
Prospective buyers have the opportunity to explore a full-size 6,000-square-foot replica unit luxuriously appointed by Bentley Home within the on-site beachfront sales gallery
“One of the biggest achievements when we design a car, is to have a whole group of designers working together, but to make it look like it came from one person’s hand,” said head of design collaborations at Bentley, Chris Cooke
“We have the same exciting challenge with Bentley Residences Miami but on a 61-storey scale.”
The tower has been designed by Bentley in collaboration with Sieger Suarez Architects and Dezer Development
“In reality, each element has been considered, understood and designed by the Bentley Design Team, by our partners at Dezer Development and by Sieger Suarez Architects, but the overall effect is seamless,” Cooke added.
“We have applied the same attention to detail that goes into our cars into this very building.”
Bentley Residences also includes an oceanfront gym as one of its distinguished features
For example, Bentley’s design DNA is subtly woven into communal amenities, epitomised in such as the cinema, which is designed to mimic the concept of a Bentley car interior.
“A cosseting sofa wraps around the back of the rear three walls, embracing residents in the space,” said Cooke.
The whisky bar will reference the matrix grille of Bentley’s cars and feature a bar suspended from the ceiling to appear weightless and floating.
The tower contains 216 luxury homes
While the building completion is slated for 2027, potential buyers can view a full-size 6,000-square-foot replica residence, lavishly appointed by Bentley Home, within the on-site beachfront sales gallery.
The sales gallery can be found at 18325 Collins Ave, Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160.
To learn more about the development visit Bentley Residencies Miami’s website.
Partnership content
This article was written by Dezeen as part of a partnership with Bentley. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.
Architects John Friedman and Alice Kimm have stacked a white concrete mass with sinuous cutouts into a hillside as a home for their family in Los Angeles, complete with a yellow crane in the kitchen and a pink accessory dwelling unit.
Named the JArzm house – using the first initial of each family member – the home is set into a 60-foot slope in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighborhood.
The JArzm house features a pink accessory dwelling unit
The 3,725-square foot (346-square metre) residence is “intensely livable and playful, as well as architecturally inventive, open, and highly crafted” according to the architecture studio.
It is set into a slope in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake area
The white cement plaster envelope is “neither box nor blob” with curved cutouts and large expanses of glass removed from a flat cube combining the arched influences of Alvaro Siza (for whom Friedman worked in the late 1980s) and the crisp detailing of Richard Neutra, Rudolph Schindler and John Lautner (whose designs are scattered throughout the neighbourhood).
Accessed from the top of the slope, the house is inverted and sits below the street level preserving views out to the Silver Lake Reservoir and Dodger Stadium for the surrounding homes.
The entry’s curving concrete steps transition to a stainless steel staircase
The entry’s curving concrete steps transition to a stainless steel staircase that leads down into the open living, kitchen and dining area, as well as two children’s bedrooms.
“Designing our own house was great because we didn’t have to ask permission,” Friedman told Dezeen. “We could do whatever we want, and we did in fact integrate some ideas and elements that other clients turned down for their particular houses.”
A yellow construction crane was mounted into a linear skylight in the dining area
The studio included a yellow construction crane mounted into a linear skylight above the kitchen and dining room that lifts the mirrored aluminium dining table, extends it out over the balcony and lowers it to the pool deck two storeys below.
A large central staircase with open teak treads, a glass railing and a powder-coated aluminium bookcase wall connects all three levels.
All three levels are connected by a large central staircase
The middle floor contains the primary suite, laundry room, two home offices, and the third child’s bedroom, which is separated from the rest of the house by a small glass bridge that spans a triple-height light well adjacent to the staircase.
The ground floor includes a multipurpose family room that leads out to the pool deck, which is set at the same height as the roof of the pink accessory dwelling unit (ADU).
Large windows open the various rooms to the forest-like landscape
The ADU sits atop an embedded garage and is topped by an urban roof garden with a sinuous aluminium sunshade structure.
“The pool deck and roof garden together create a ‘middle ground’ suspended between the streets at the site’s top and bottom,” the team explained.
Because the house is lowered in the steep terrain, it doesn’t align with the neighbouring properties.
Large windows open the various rooms to the forest-like landscape on each side of the house, while skylights and interior glazing allow sunlight to reach deep into the plan.
Sliding glass walls dissolve the transition between interior and exterior
Disappearing sliding glass walls dissolve the transition between interior and exterior.
The studio said that “functional domesticity” was a key requirement for the home.
“The functional and workaday are the foundation for achieving artfulness and architectural innovation,” said the studio. “[These traits] are hallmarks of JArzm House that place it firmly within the rich lineage of experimental Southern California domestic architecture.”
The house does not align with neighbouring properties
Established in 1996, JFAK Architects is the only studio to receive two Rudy Bruner Silver Medals for Urban Excellence and was longlisted for the website of the year in the 2021 Dezeen Awards.
Nearby in Los Angeles, Anonymous Architects recently embedded a concrete house into a hillside with a two-storey pool.
Architect: John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects, John Friedman FAIA (lead) General contractor: Bonomo Development Landscape contractor: Pablin Arevalo Special fabrications: Chris Berkson, BerksonFab Cabinetry: Evan Pohlmeier Structural engineer: Parker Resnick Landscape architecture: Kathleen Ferguson Landscapes, Matson Walter Civil engineer: JMC-2
After more than 4,000 votes, Dezeen readers have chosen projects by DP6 Architectuurstudio, FADAA and Kenoteq as the winners of this year’s Dezeen Awards public vote in the sustainability categories.
DP6 Architectuurstudio won for its pavilion made from locally sourced wood and recycled-steel joints in the Netherlands, FADAA for its store coated in grey lime plaster in Jordan and Kenoteq for its brick made from construction waste.
Of the total 55,000 votes that were cast and verified across all categories, the sustainability categories received over 4,000 verified votes.
Dezeen Awards 2022 public vote winners in the architecture, interiors and design categories were published earlier this week, the media winners will be revealed later today and the studio winners will be unveiled tomorrow.
Dezeen Awards winners announced in November
The public vote is separate from the main Dezeen Awards 2022 judging process, in which entries are scored by our distinguished panel of judges. We’ll be revealing the Dezeen Awards 2022 winners ahead of the winners’ party at the end of November.
To stay up to date with the latest Dezeen Awards news, including this year’s winners, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Read on to see who was voted most popular in the sustainability categories:
The Natural Pavilion by DP6 Architectuurstudio
Sustainable building
The Natural Pavilion serves as a model to tackle construction challenges faced in the Netherlands, including sustainable energy production, housing shortages, biodiversity recovery and climate change adaptation.
The structure by DP6 Architectuurstudio, which features cross-laminated timber floors and recycled glass windows, was voted sustainable building of the year in the public vote with 29 per cent of votes.
In close pursuit was Mustardseed by Localworks with 25 per cent, Floating Office by Powerhouse Company with 23 per cent, The Exploded View Beyond Building by Biobased Creations with 12 per cent and finally Learning and Sports Centre by General Architecture Collaborative with 11 per cent.
D/O Aqaba by FADAA
Sustainable interior
D/O Aqaba won sustainable interior of the year with 26 per cent of the votes. The store by FADAA uses stacked bio-bricks made from crushed shells as partitions to protect from the sun and segment the space.
Next up was Apricity by Object Space Place with 23 per cent, Semba Good Ethical Office by Semba Corporation with 20 per cent, The Circus Canteen by Multitude of Sins with 19 per cent and MONC by Nina+Co with 13 per cent.
K-Briq by Kenoteq
Sustainable design
K-Briq was developed through academic circular economy research at Heriot Watt University in Scotland and won the sustainable design of the year category with 35 per cent of votes. Kenoteq’s design is made from construction waste and is coloured using recycled pigments.
The runners-up were Tidal Stool by Robotic Fabrication Lab HKU with 28 per cent, Remix by Open Funk with 18 per cent, Maggie’s Southampton by Local Works and Air-It-Yourself by Jihee Moon with seven per cent.
