Modernist Archives

Apparatus updates Los Angeles showroom to include a “modernist grotto”

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.

Heavily textured walls with hanging pendants — 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.

Heavily textured walls of Apparatus LA showroom — 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.”

Apparatus trapeze chandelier — 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.

Apparatus LA showroom — 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.

Apparatus showroom — 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.

Apparatus LA — 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.

The photography is by Matthew Placek.

Reference

Interior Design

Timothy Godbold adorns Tribeca loft with modernist relief panels

By Zarkon Group,24/03/2024

New York interior designer Timothy Godbold has renovated an apartment in a historic Tribeca building, adding various relief treatments across its neutral walls including panels influenced by a 1970s sci-fi series.

The spacious loft is located in an 1881 cast-iron building on Franklin Street, which was formerly a textile factory and was overhauled by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Shigeru Ban in 2019.

Double-height living room surrounded by windows — The most dramatic space in the loft is a double-height living room surrounded by windows

“The homeowners, a young family with two children, set out with the objective of creating a great home for entertaining that simultaneously utilized space efficiently to create a comfortable family living space,” said Godbold‘s team.

The designer helped to organise the layout so that it functioned optimally for the family, and despite opting for a neutral colour palette, Godbold upped the drama through the scale of the furniture and artwork.

Dining table anchored to a structural column — Rather than disguise a structural column, Timothy Godbold used it as an anchor for the dining table

A double-height living room occupies a corner flooded with light from windows on two sides, which can be diffused by drawing the sheer curtains.

To work around a large structural column disrupting the view to the living room, Godbold used the column to anchor a stone dining table to turn it into a focal feature.

Minimalist kitchen viewed from double-height living room — The kitchen is intentionally minimal, benefitting from the absence of cabinet and drawer pulls

The table references a 1930s design by Hans and Wassili Luckhardt and Alfons Anker, in keeping with the industrial style of the building.

The kitchen is very minimal, thanks to the omission of cabinet and drawer pulls, and includes an island with a waterfall stone top that creates space for a breakfast bar.

Flexible office and bar space with a brown sofa — An area behind the kitchen was converted into a flexible office and bar space

Hidden behind the kitchen is a former TV room converted into a bar room and an office “to maximise the versatility of the space and meet multiple needs”.

The walls in this flexible room are covered in geometric plaster-relief panels, which add shadows and texture, while the furniture is darker and more masculine.

Plaster relief panels based on a 1970s sci-fi series covering a curved wall — Plaster relief panels based on a 1970s sci-fi series cover the walls

A Reprise pendant light from New York design studio Apparatus hangs in a corner that has been curved to accentuate the modernist-style wall panelling.

“The wall details in this Tribeca space are inspired by a classic 1970s sci-fi series that showcases an all-Italian modern aesthetic within a futuristic environment,” said the team.

A fluted feature wall behind a bed — A feature wall behind the bed in the primary bedroom is fluted across its full width

A row of plastered arched niches separates the formal entertaining areas from a more casual seating area, where a large pale grey sofa shifts the tone from the warm whites found elsewhere.

In the primary bedroom, the built-in bed and nightstands are installed below a tufted upholstered headboard that runs the full width of the room, and a fluted wall feature that extends to the ceiling.

A sculptural sofa, large planters and a huge artwork by Etienne Moyat — The bedroom also features a sculptural sofa, large planters and a huge artwork by Etienne Moyat

Opposite the bed is a sculptural sofa surrounded by oversized planters and a large, carved relief artwork by French sculptor Etienne Moyat on the wall.

Godbold custom-designed many of the pieces throughout the home, including most of the furniture and decorative elements.

His references included mid-century Italian designers like Joe Colombo, whose space-age shapes are echoed in the dining chairs, sofas, and smaller lighting and decor items.

Godbold also played with proportion to add drama, as seen in the living room’s custom stone sofas that are upholstered in a “brutalist” fabric made in England, and the coffee table with an integrated planter.

Dressing room with curved metal closet doors — A variety of space-age shapes and materials can be found throughout the loft

The rugs also feature custom designs that outline the furniture in the same space.

Overall, the goal was to “marry the industrial, the art deco and the more surreal aspects of 1970s noir cult cinema for a glamorous and intriguing end product.”

Neutral-coloured nursery with soft toys on the floor — The home’s neutral colour palette continues through to the nursery

Originally from Australia, Godbold is currently based in the Hamptons, where he renovated his mid-century home to resemble a “villain’s hideout”.

He also aims to preserve other modernist dwellings built across the area through the nonprofit organisation Hamptons 20th Century Modern.

The photography is by David Mitchell.

Reference

Interior Design

Modernist architecture informs Bottega Veneta store in historic galleria

By Zarkon Group,07/02/2024

Fashion house Bottega Veneta has opened a boutique designed by its creative director Matthieu Blazy inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade in Milan.

Bottega Veneta‘s two-storey store is distinguished by three primary materials: glass, Italian walnut and green Verde Saint Denis marble.

Walnut spiral staircase rising from green marble floor — A spiral staircase greets shoppers at the Bottega Veneta store in Milan

This trifecta is applied in strict grids to evoke Italian modernism and provide an organising principle in the various rooms.

“There are different experiences of space in the store,” said Blazy. “I wanted to express the idea of a domestic interior referring to Italian modernist architecture that contrasts with the aesthetic of a spaceship and to capture the intimacy and the imagination of getting dressed.”

Fashion store with glass-block walls and ceiling, and green marble flooring — Grids are used throughout the store to organise materials

From the galleria, shoppers are greeted by a dramatic spiral staircase made entirely from Italian walnut – a material used throughout the interior as panelling, modular shelving and furniture.

Green marble is laid in squares across the floors, separated by strips of walnut and occasionally swapped for larger patches of dark green wool carpet.

Room with squares of glass blocks across the walls and ceiling — Glass blocks are integrated into the walls and ceilings

Square glass blocks are similarly arranged into grids across walls and ceilings, illuminated from behind to produce a soft warm glow throughout the store.

Green leather chairs and benches are accompanied by custom rounded wood tables and stools to form lounge areas.

“Throughout the space, soft textures are found in leather seating and wool carpets, while modular shelving units build a sense of discovery and play,” Bottega Veneta said.

Fitting room lined in walnut with a green leather niche and wool carpet — The fitting rooms feature leather niches that provide a place to sit

Fitting rooms are fully lined in walnut, except for leather-wrapped niches that provide a small seat, giant mirrors with built-in lighting and more green carpet.

Sculptural polished metal elements form the door pulls and clothes hooks, their smooth surfaces contrasting with the more textured golden planters and entrance handles.

On the upper level, recesses formed by the Galleria’s arched windows provide nooks for seating and plants, as places to look out onto the highly decorative arcade.

Designed in 1861 by architect Giuseppe Mengoni, the neo-classical Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is one of Milan’s most desirable shopping destinations.

Close-up of a polished metal sculptures that forms a door pull — Polished metal sculptures form door pulls and clothing hooks in the fitting rooms

The four-storey, glass-vaulted double arcade is located in the city centre, close to other landmarks like the Duomo and the Teatro alla Scala.

The new Bottega store is the latest to open under Blazy since he took the reigns of the luxury brand in 2021, following locations on London’s Sloane Street and the Avenue Montaigne in Paris.

Exterior of the Bottega Veneta store in Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II — The new store is located in the historic Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade

For the brand’s Spring Summer 2023 runway show, Bottega Veneta collaborated with Italian designer Gaetano Pesce, who envisioned a colourful resin-covered floor and 400 bespoke cotton-and-resin chairs for the set.

Pesce later went on to create a pair of handbags for the brand, which were designed to suggest different bucolic landscapes.

The photography is courtesy of Bottega Veneta.

Reference

Architecture

ste murray captures bristol’s modernist clifton cathedral on its 50th

By Zarkon Group,26/10/2023

Clifton Cathedral in bristol marks its 50th anniversary

Architectural photographer Ste Murray expands his quest to document modernist buildings on their 50th anniversary with a fourth-part series — this time, spotlighting the Clifton Cathedral in Bristol. Using his approach as a means to reflect and represent these mid-century icons to a contemporary audience, Ste Murray began this photographic journey in 2018 with the CAA building (1968) in London, followed by the John Hancock Centre in Chicago (1969) in 2019, and then the Brunswick Centre in London last year — 50 years after it was built in 1972. Take a tour inside the impressive modernist cathedral, where light, glass, and height collide into a majestic architectural body seeped in spiritual grandeur

all images © Ste Murray

ste murray honors the building’s renovated grandeur

The Clifton Cathedral in Bristol was completed and designed 50 years ago, in 1973, by Ronald Weeks, alongside his colleagues Frederick Jennett and Antoni Poremba at the Percy Thomas Partnership. Between 2015 and 2018, the Bristol’s Grade II landmark, previously known as the Roman Catholic Cathedral Church of SS. Peter and Paul, underwent a £3 million renovation by British Architecture firm, Purcell — during which the cathedral remained open and in use. ‘The renovation replaced 86 tons of lead on the roof and finally made the building watertight after 45 years of leaks, slightly altercating the design, but making the cathedral safer for use, while honouring and celebrating the aesthetic intentions of the original roof design,’ writes Ste Murray (see more here).

Clifton Cathedral photographed by Ste Murray

During Ste Murray’s photographic pilgrimage, as he describes it, he placed particularly emphasis on spotlighting one of the Clifton Cathedral’s most noticeable changes; the replacement of the initial wire mesh glass with a new thermally-broken, self-cleaning glass system. ‘The mesmerising stained glass windows and heavenward roof draw further attention to the silence within this spiritual space, now that it’s so much more difficult for draughts, rain, noise and other outside elements to intrude,’ concludes the photographer.

documenting the modernist building’s 50th anniversary

the cathdral was renovated in 2018 by Purcell Architects

natural light floods the dramatic interiors

Reference

Architecture

workshop architects fuses yucatecan + modernist elements in mexican home-studio

By Zarkon Group,08/10/2022

workshop architects melds traditional + modern design

In a historic neighborhood in the Mexican city of Mérida, Workshop Architects’ ‘Studiolo’ is a traditional yet eclectic home-studio which fuses juxtaposing elements of Yucatecan colonial architecture and 20^th-century Italian modernism. A celebration of vibrancy, risk-taking, and iconic design elements, the space serves as a residence and studio for Mexican artists David Serrano and Robert Willson, and perfectly encapsulates both their personal and professional personalities. The loft-style interior is characterized by a simplistic spatiality, enlivened by iconic furnishings and decor including an LC1 Le Corbusier armchair, and vibrant statement elements such as a bright orange bathroom ‘cubicle’ which doubles as a canvas.

all images courtesy of Workshop Architects

an eclectic home-studio in historic Mérida

The space is modeled after the traditional Italian ‘studiolo’ which during the Renaissance era served as a lavishly decorated palace chamber where owners could retire to read, study and write in privacy. Similarly, Workshop Architects’ ‘Studiolo’ provides its residing artist duo with a place to not only live, relax and socialize, but also to work on their pieces and meet with collectors, gallery owners, and colleagues. Beyond the minimalist, pristine white façade inspired by Italian architect Gio Ponti, the loft-style interior conjures a vibrant and idiosyncratic fusion of historical Yucatecan colonial elements with modernist aesthetics which reflect the duo’s practise with 20^th-century pieces in their LA Gallery ‘Downtown’.

In a vibrant and eclectic display, the architects utilize traditional materials in contemporary ways. Along the floor, Yucatecan pasta tile rugs are reinterpreted and randomly ‘thrown’ as if they were fabric rugs, rather than precisely fitted into the space. Different shades of chukum coat the interior walls, their velvety textures and natural tones exuding a sense of dynamism and depth through the space. The windows are made with black ironwork and transparent glass alluding to functionalist architecture and connecting the interior spaces to the gardens, generating cross ventilation.

the loft-style interior is characterized by a simplistic spatiality

infusing iconic modernist design elements from the 20th-century

Workshop Architects enlivens the simplistic spatiality with bold sparks of color and iconic design elements. On the open plan ground floor living area, furnishings include a Jean Prouvé style table in the work area, an LC1 chair by Le Corbusier and a Verner Panton lamp in the living room, vintage pieces from the 1940s by Woodard in the dining room, and SMEG appliances and a lamp by Wilhelm Wagenfeld in the kitchen. Floating in space, an orange glass cube emerges as an unexpected element, doubling as a half bathroom and a canvas for drawing and experimenting.

In the monochromatic rear garden, a statement pink Roly Poly chair by Faye Toogood sits beside a black pool that recalls the architecture of Mies van der Rohe. A subtle yet sculptural staircase elegantly winds to unite the communal ground floor space with the private bedroom upstairs. The bed floats in the center of the space beside a Gio Ponti lamp, angled to overlook the patio and terrace. The space also includes a wet room, walk in closet and laundry room.

Yucatecan pasta tile rugs are reinterpreted and randomly ‘thrown’ as if they were fabric rugs

Reference

Architecture

Thinking Outside of the Modernist Box: Revisiting Deconstructivist Architecture

By Zarkon Group,24/05/2022

The A+Product Awards is open for entries, with a Main Entry Deadline of June 24th. Get started on your submission today!

Deconstructivism is one of the most divisive architectural styles. The style and the corresponding movement emerged in the 1970s and became known in the 1980s with projects around the world by Peter Eisenman, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas and Bernard Tschumi etc. Several architects associated with the discipline-shattering movement are still highly active or have their influences long-lasting today, although their practices have undoubtedly evolved.

Yet, when it comes to describing deconstructivism, the term remains somewhat elusive. Buildings under this umbrella follow no specific forms and methodology, yet they can be seen as a reaction against the central tenets of modernism and classical architecture. The resulting buildings often seem extraterrestrial that so different from their ordinary surroundings.

Jacques Derrida and Peter Eisenman

The movement was rooted in the influential theories — that originated in the field of literature — by the philosopherJacques Derrida, of whom Eisenman was a close friend. Eisenman then translated Derrida’s ideas into architecture, for example, from chora (driven from Plato’s theory by Derrida) to absence and presence.

The philosopher and the architect were invited by Bernard Tschumi to design a garden in Parc de la Villette. With the design, they deeply investigated how to represent the unrepresentable. Beyond this, they not only contemplated how to represent the void, but also how to make emptiness meaningful — a delayed reaction to the horrors of World War Two, made possible by the machine-age technology that modernists had embraced in a utopian light. Although this project was never fully materialized, the investigation was rich enough to grow into the publication Chora L Works.

A look of Parc de la Villette from across the river, photo by Peter Mauss/Esto, courtesy of Bernard Tschumi Architects.

Bernard Tschumi

Parc de la Villette by Bernard Tschumi is believed the first built Deconstructivist project. The massive park consists of a group of buildings, walkways, bridges, gardens and more planned across a surprisingly large site in the City of Light.

The project encompasses buildings neatly placed in a matrix and a walkway system from a plan view. The walkways are in straight lines, arcs and curves that spread in a seemingly random manner and force no particular circulations. The red enameled steel buildings have no clear meaning either in themselves or from one to the next.

Exterior of Casa da Musica by OMA, Porto, Portugal

Rem Koolhaas

With hard-edged facets of different shapes, Koolhaas’s architecture is like cubism in three dimensions. The form can be rather simple, such as Casa da Musica. The skin made of white concrete folds into an irregular geometry that resembles an ore as well as a ship – but nothing that can be recognized exactly. The placement of glazing is unpredictable and even by seeing what’s behind the windows, the spatial arrangement of the concert hall remains unclear.

Day and night view of Seattle Central Library by OMA, Seattle, Washington.

There are complicated forms like that of Seattle Library as well. The form reminds people nothing of a library building. It is hard to tell from its appearance the function of the building at all. During the night, when the glass skin is lit from the inside, the spaces are revealed, surprising yet reasonable that are not betraying the overall form.

Exterior of Walt Disney Concert Hall by Gehry Partners, L.A., California.

Frank Gehry

Gehry’s style is unforgettable and probably the easiest to associate with “radical.” Famous for drawing laconic sketches on napkins and other such items, his costly public structures, covered in distorted metal panels, instantly became landmarks once built.

The metal skin can be solid, hiding everything inside, like that of Walt Disney Concert Hall. Similar to Koolhaas’s buildings, you can read nothing specific from the form since the form does not follow functions. The plan behind the crazy skin is extraordinary, too. Walls can run perpendicular to each other while turning freeform a few steps away.

lou ruvo center for brain health

Exterior and interior of Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health by Gehry Partners, Las Vegas, Nevada

Or, the appearance can be like Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, where regular façades with rectangular windows in lines are distorted into extreme forms. It is like Dali’s drawing, building up a surreal atmosphere by deforming ordinary objects of everyday life. Some of the distorted facades are “real”, sheltering spaces underneath. Some are rather “fake”, being simply massive shapes that fly above the head. The building is disassociating “facades” with the function of sheltering and enclosing.

London Aquatics Centre_exterior_night

Exterior and interior of London Aquatics Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects, London, England

Zaha Hadid

Featured by smooth surfaces and skew shapes rounded at the corners, Zaha Hadid’s buildings possess a futuristic feeling. They are non-referential to the architectural style of any region and any generation, resulting in the buildings appearing often alien to their surroundings. The fluid forms sometimes recall natural existence, though that likeness stays only for a second.

For example, London Aquatics Centre, which was originally built for the London 2012 Olympic Games, has a shell-like roof. The massive roof is grounded at three points, all at the ends of the structure, creating a column-less interior. The three feet are hidden by other structures. The roof is therefore uninterrupted and looks like something soft that falls on top of the building.

Salerno Maritime Terminal_exterior

Exterior and interior of Salerno Maritime Terminal by Zaha Hadid Architects,Salerno, Italy

Salerno Maritime Terminal is more “solid” than the Aquatics Centre. It is shaped like a manta on the upper half, while a steady lower part makes it resemble a spaceship in sci-fis. The mosaic on the roof appears like the reflection on the inner side of an oyster.

None of the above architects has style alike. Rather, their style seems personal and non-referential. The forms are free from stereotypes of functional spaces following certain looks. More radically, even the traditional logic of spatial arrangement is challenged, e.g. in Parc de la Villette. They break the box of modernism, bringing contemporary architecture to a larger stage of experimentation.

The A+Product Awards is open for entries, with a Main Entry Deadline of June 24th. Get started on your submission today!

Reference

Modernist

Apparatus updates Los Angeles showroom to include a “modernist grotto”

Timothy Godbold adorns Tribeca loft with modernist relief panels

Modernist architecture informs Bottega Veneta store in historic galleria

ste murray captures bristol’s modernist clifton cathedral on its 50th

Clifton Cathedral in bristol marks its 50th anniversary

ste murray honors the building’s renovated grandeur

workshop architects fuses yucatecan + modernist elements in mexican home-studio

workshop architects melds traditional + modern design

an eclectic home-studio in historic Mérida

infusing iconic modernist design elements from the 20th-century

Thinking Outside of the Modernist Box: Revisiting Deconstructivist Architecture

Jacques Derrida and Peter Eisenman

Bernard Tschumi

Rem Koolhaas

Frank Gehry

Zaha Hadid

Get in touch

about us

Company info

Useful Links

Newsletter