stone Archives

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.

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.

VeVelte Yintai Center Store by Tens Atelier showcases quality brands, promoting Chinese design

the redesign of VeVelte in Hefei’s Yintai Center creates a VIP salon to enhance brand-consumer interaction

site challenges prompted the design of a ‘boulder’ concept to guide customer flow and views

the ‘boulder’ form minimizes the impact of columns and optimizes space by delineating distinct display areas

Reference

Architecture

BDR Architekci clads columbarium in Poland with pale sandstone

By Zarkon Group,22/02/2024

Pale sandstone walls bring a “warm and welcoming” feel to this columbarium in a cemetery in Radom, Poland, which has been completed by local studio BDR Architekci.

Located in the centre of Radom Municipal Cemetery – one of the largest cemeteries in Poland – the columbarium has 2,000 storage niches for funeral urns, organised across six chambers that surround a central open-air chapel.

The chambers are enclosed by sandstone-clad walls of varying heights and designed by BDR Architekci to provide space for “peaceful reflection” without religious references.

Plan view of cemetery in Poland by BDR Architekci — The columbarium comprises six chambers organised around an open-air chapel

“We tried not to refer to symbolism or look for metaphors,” BDR Architekci co-founder Konrad Basan told Dezeen.

“We focused on the function, the material, the proportions. We wanted to build a place open to people, full of greenery, with its own structure and order,” Basan added.

The site is accessible from all directions in the cemetery, with paved routes weaving between each of the chambers and around curved areas of planting.

Six chambers of the columbarium complex in Radom, Poland — The chambers provide 2,000 niches for the storage of funeral urns

In each of the open-topped chambers, four walls filled with niches surround a central space with trees and a bench. There is also an opening leading to the central chapel.

“Creating such a large columbarium required space organised in a clear and welcoming way,” said Basan. “That’s why we divided such a large burial area into six smaller chambers, giving it a sense of intimacy.”

Open-air chapel in Radom, Poland, by BDR Architekci — Openings in each chamber lead to the central chapel

Built with a concrete structure, the pale sandstone cladding of the complex was selected due to its locality to Radom and its use on the facades of many important buildings in the city.

Alongside the new chambers, BDR Architekci also clad an existing 1980s pre-burial house with matching sandstone to unify it with the rest of the complex.

“We wanted it to be warm and welcoming, but also for the stonemasons’ craftsmanship to be evident in the way it was cut and laid,” explained Basan.

“As a result, the columbarium clearly contrasts with polished black marble tombstones [in the surrounding cemetery],” he continued.

Enclosed chamber at columbarium complex in Poland — Each chamber is also finished with trees and a bench

In the open-air chapel, a wall features a verse from The Laments by the Renaissance author Jan Kochanowski who lived nearby.

“The only element that was consciously designed to carry any specific message was the use of a quote from lament number eight,” explains Basan.

“It seems that the columbarium is a suitable background not only for it but particularly for the course of a funeral,” he said.

Niches found at columbarium by BDR Architekci — Sandstone was chosen for the cladding due to its locality to the site

BDR Architekci was founded in 2015 by Basan, Paweł Dadok and Maria Roj and is based in Warsaw.

Other cemetery projects featured on Dezeen include a visitor centre for the Netherlands American Cemetery by Kaan Architecten and a ceremonial hall at Longshan Cemetery in China.

The photography is by Jakub Certowicz.

Project credits:

Architect: BDR Architekci
Team: Konrad Basan, Paweł Dadok, Maria Roj, Michał Rogowski
Investor: Municipality of Radom
Structural engineer: TMJ Projekt
Services engineer: Joanna Szczudlik
Electrical engineer: Jarosław Maleńczyk
Landscape architect: La.Wa Architektura Krajobrazu, Łukasz Kowalski

Reference

Sustainable News

TVK designs limestone buildings for “first zero-carbon district” in Paris

By Zarkon Group,06/01/2024

French architecture practice TVK has completed a neighbourhood in Paris made up of limestone buildings surrounding a garden and designed as a sustainable development that aims to increase biodiversity.

Located on a triangular site in Paris’s 19th arrondissement, the project is “the capital’s first zero-carbon district”, according to TVK.

Named Îlot Fertile, which translates to “fertile island” in French, it contains apartments, a youth hostel, student residences, a hotel, offices, restaurants, shops and sports facilities.

Paris zero-carbon neighbourhood by TVK — TVK claims Îlot Fertile is the first zero-carbon district in Paris

The four buildings that make up the neighbourhood range in height from seven to nine storeys tall, each with ground-floor levels made from low-carbon concrete and designed to achieve large, unobstructed interior spaces.

The upper levels were made from load-bearing limestone sourced mainly from the local Ile-de-France region, aiming to reduce the carbon cost of transportation.

TVK claims the 35,200-square-metre development is the largest load-bearing stone building site since Georges-Eugène Haussmann’s reconstruction of Paris in the mid-19th century.

Îlot Fertile zero carbon neighbourhood in Paris by TVK — The buildings were made from load-bearing stone and concrete

“Each material is used in the right place and the right quantity,” TVK founders Pierre Alain Trévelo and Antoine Viger Kohler told Dezeen.

“We chose to use mainly limestone from the Paris region – it’s the same one used to build the Haussmann buildings.”

Public spaces, including restaurants and shops, are located on the ground floors of the buildings and open onto the central garden.

Hotel accommodations and apartments are on the upper levels, and a raised outdoor level provides additional garden spaces with an orchard, vegetable patches, insect hotels and nest boxes.

Office spaces are located in a building that sits parallel to a railway line and, aiming to work with the site’s existing topology and move as little earth as possible, TVK designed a sunken sports centre in a large hole on the site to create an interior with high ceilings.

“The biggest challenge of the project was to bring together more than a dozen programmes and turn them into a fully-fledged part of the city,” said Trévelo and Kohler.

“The shape of each building is linked to the very specific geometry of the site shaped by the railway infrastructure,” they continued. “This brings diversity to a building complex of this scale.”

Îlot Fertile zero carbon neighbourhood — It is located on a triangular site next to a railway

TVK designed Îlot Fertile to have a minimal carbon footprint in its construction and operation. It topped the buildings with photovoltaic panels and green roofs to produce energy while also aiming to increase biodiversity.

“Its proximity to public transport means that Îlot Fertile does not require any car parking, and we used a bioclimatic design to keep energy requirements to a minimum for heating, cooling and lighting,” said Trévelo and Kohler.

“For the small amount of energy that will be consumed, the project plans to compensate for it by producing green energy via bio-solar roofs.”

Tennis court in a sports centre — The development includes a sports centre built into an existing hole in the site’s topography

“Driven by the City of Paris’ ambition for ecological transition, zero-carbon is a long-term objective for the life of the entire operation,” added Trévelo and Kohler.

Elsewhere in Paris, Christ & Gantenbein completed a 124-metre-long steel-clad housing block, and RSHP unveiled its design for a “post-carbon” neighbourhood that will be located in the La Défense business district.

The photography is by Julien Hourcade.

Project credits:

Architect: TVK
Client: Linkcity
Landscape design: OLM
Building and civil engineering: Berim
Engineering: Carbone 4 and Amoes

Reference

Interior Design

Australia bans engineered stone due to silicosis risk

By Zarkon Group,31/12/2023

Australia has become the first country in the world to ban engineered stone, following rising cases of silicosis among workers who handle the material.

The ban was agreed at a meeting of Australian federal and state workplace ministers on Wednesday, and will come into place across the country from 1 July 2024.

The ban targets engineered stone, also known as agglomerated stone – a type of material made by mixing crushed stone with a resin binder.

“This is a dangerous product”

While it is valued as a durable and affordable alternative to natural stone for kitchen benchtops, the material can be dangerous while being cut because it releases a fine silica dust into the air.

Australia has recorded rising cases of the lung disease silicosis in stonemasons who have handled the product, leading it to be dubbed “the asbestos of the 2020s” by union leader Zach Smith.

“This is a dangerous product that’s known to cause the potentially fatal disease silicosis, and it has no place in our workplaces,” said Queensland industrial relations minister Grace Grace in a statement following the meeting.

“The rate of silicosis illness in Australia for those working with engineered stone is unacceptable,” said her Western Australian counterpart Simone McGurk. “This prohibition will ensure future generations of workers are protected from silicosis associated with working with engineered stone.”

Ban follows report finding no safe level of silica in engineered stone

The move comes nine months after an investigation by three Australian news outlets accused supplier Caesarstone of not doing enough to warn people of the dangers of working with the material and the country’s construction union launched a campaign calling for the ban.

A subsequent report by the national policy body Safe Work Australia found that engineered stone workers were significantly over-represented in silicosis cases and were being diagnosed with the disease at much younger ages than workers from other industries, with most being under the age of 35.

It also found that the risk from engineered stone was distinct from that of natural stone due to the material’s physical and chemical composition, and that this was likely contributing to more rapid and severe disease.

The report concluded that no level of silica was safe in engineered stone and that the material should be prohibited in its entirety.

Silicosis is caused by tiny particles of silica becoming embedded in the lining of the lungs and manifests in symptoms such as shortness of breath, cough, weakness and fatigue.

The condition is life-altering and potentially fatal, with many formerly healthy young sufferers describing being unable to work or play with their kids.

Caesarstone commits to supplying Australia with “alternative products”

In response to news of the ban, Caesarstone commented that while it disagreed with the decision, it is taking the necessary steps to ensure supply of alternative materials to Australian consumers.

“The Caesarstone brand is well known in Australia and its products have earned tremendous success over the years,” said Caesarstone CEO Yos Shiran. “We are already taking steps to supply our Australian market with alternative products while maintaining our strong market presence.”

It has previously argued that its material is safe if handled correctly and that the silicosis danger was the fault of employers and work safety bodies.

Other companies including Ikea and Bunnings had already committed to phasing out the material in the Australian market.

The ban will apply to the manufacturing, supplying, processing and installing of engineered stone but not its removal, repair, disposal or minor modifications.

Australia’s workplace ministers will meet again in March 2024 to finalise details of the ban, including the transition period for contracts that have already been implemented and the precise definition of engineered stone.

The country’s Model Work Health and Safety Regulations currently exclude concrete and cement products, bricks and pavers, porcelain, ceramic tiles, roof tiles, grout, mortar and render, and plasterboard from the definition of engineered stone, but ministers have indicated that additional products would be added to the exemptions.

This may allow future engineered stone products to be exempted from the ban if there is “compelling evidence” that they can be used safely.

Reference

Architecture

Built To Last: 6 Times ABC Stone Provided Rare Rocks for Timeless Architecture

By Zarkon Group,17/12/2023

Architizer’s A+Product Awards has officially launched! Get your products in front of the AEC industry’s most renowned designers by submitting today.

Stone architecture stands the test of time. Built around the world, these structures have been constructed for thousands of years. With diverse applications and uses, stone is chosen for its durability, performance and aesthetic qualities. Providing different varieties like limestone and granite to travertine and marble, ABC Stone is a company with rare and hard-to-find stones from quarries worldwide. By diversifying their material portfolio and service offerings, they’ve quickly become a one-stop resource for the architecture and design community.

Chosen to meet contextual and functional requirements, stone buildings give way to a vast array of different formal expressions. Whether cut or carved away, stone is used in architecture for everything from flooring to walls. The following projects showcase some of ABC Stone‘s collaborations with designers. From locations in New York City and Hicksville, ABC helps architects and teams find the right products for their specific projects. From residential to public and cultural work, the following designs showcase the versatility and potential of stone architecture.

Tata Innovation Center at Cornell Tech

By WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism, New York, NY, United States

Outside the Tata Innovation Center and the surrounding grounds on Roosevelt Island, ABC provided a series of granite stone pavers. The project itself was developed by Forest City New York to supports Cornell Tech’s efforts to fuse entrepreneurial and academic ambitions on its new Roosevelt Island campus in New York City. One-third of the 235,000-square-foot building hosts Cornell Tech studios, labs, classrooms, and event spaces, while the upper levels are dedicated to a mix of technology-focused companies and start-ups.

All of the occupants share central, light-filled circulation spaces with panoramic skyline views and lounges that encourage social interaction and collaboration. The building’s cantilevered southwest and northeast wings shelter outdoor social spaces that animate the ground floor retail spaces and entry terrace. Anticipating environmental challenges such as rising sea levels and increased flood risk, the Tata Innovation Center is designed for maximum resilience with an entry floor that rises seven feet above the 100-year flood plain.

The Barnes Foundation

By Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners, Philadelphia, PA, United States

The Barnes Foundation collection was relocated to a 93,000 square foot, LEED Platinum building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in downtown Philadelphia. Conceived as “a gallery in a garden and a garden in a gallery,” the new building honors the past Merion facility and provides visitors with a personal experience. Clad in fossilized limestone and crowned by a luminous light box, the two-story building, with an additional level below grade, is set in a public garden.

The tripartite building plan consists of the gallery housing the collection, the L-shaped support building, and a court between the two. The L-shaped building provides facilities for the foundation’s core programs in art education, as well as for conservation, temporary exhibitions, and visitor amenities. The façade of the massive building is dressed in Ramon Grey limestone — quarried in the Negev desert and supplied by ABC Stone. In total, 4,000 stone panels were employed to construct the facility.

Field House

By Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects, Sagaponack, New York

Field House was built between ocean and pond. With the landscape seemingly running through it, the house was designed around flooding and wind. It was constructed on piles with a steel frame and high density limestone. The house is approached through a terraced set of stairs, and the interior palette matches the exterior, with the limestone extending throughout the main level and reappearing as solid blocks in bathrooms.

The intention throughout is to reinforce rather than detract from the natural beauty of the surroundings. Valders Limestone from Wisconsin used inside and out. The stone is used landscape elements such as the pool and spa and the surrounding terraces. It continues through the inside main level of the house reinforcing the indoor outdoor relationship.

Pierhouse and 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

By Marvel, and INC Architecture & Design, Brooklyn, NY, United States

1 Hotel overlooks the East River in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood and features more than 10,000 square feet ABC’s Montclair Danby Vein Cut, Mountain White Danby, and Crystal Grey Danby. The Pierhouse and 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge building echoes the park’s simplified use of stone and steel. It steps down to meet the green lawns with planted roofs. Using stone from a Vermont quarry helped the project achieve the designation of LEED Gold certification.

The Pierhouse and 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge development includes a 194-room hotel and 106-unit condo residence in Brooklyn Heights. The design allows for unparalleled views of the New York harbor and the park. The building was made to serve as an improved link between Furman Street and the park open space.

Perry World House

By Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners, Philadelphia, PA, United States

For the Perry World House, the University of Pennsylvania needed a space for its new institute that would aggregate all its international activities. This became a renovated cottage that was originally built in 1851. Designed by 1100 Architect, the team preserved the house while transforming the site into a 21st century flagship for this newly formed institute. ABC Worldwide Stone was responsible for sourcing, selecting, quality checks, logistics and fabrication approvals on all the project’s 1,850 cubic feet of Renaissance Beige limestone.

The new limestone-clad building sits at the heart of Penn’s campus, mediating two very different conditions: a pedestrian/domestic scale to its south and west, and a busy urban scale and traffic corridor to its north and east. The building’s facets allow it to modulate its scale in a seamless way, deferring to the original house, on one hand, but providing a strong edge to the busy street, on the other.

Clinton Hill Brownstone

By Michael K Chen Architecture, Clinton Hill, New York

MKCA’s gut renovation and exterior restoration of a landmark Brooklyn brownstone balances history with a playful intervention. Located in the historic Clinton Hill neighborhood, the original structure was abandoned to decay for twenty years. The design of the house balances stabilizing the building and recapturing its original details with efforts to create a new home in an adventurous, innovative manner, producing an appealing aesthetic between the historic elements and the new additions.

For the project, color is an important component of the design, and it is treated in a three-dimensional, spatial manner. ABC Stone was used throughout the project interiors. Across the redesign, a rigorously uniform yet distinct palette washes over each room, retaining the boldness and vibrancy of the original hues, while rendering the spaces more modern, cohesive and calm.

Architizer’s A+Product Awards has officially launched! Get your products in front of the AEC industry’s most renowned designers by submitting today.

Reference

Interior Design

Eight textural kitchens that combine stone and wood surfaces

By Zarkon Group,02/09/2023

For this lookbook, we’ve collected eight kitchen interiors that marry the natural textures of wood and stone to create visual interest while remaining practical.

Stone is a hardwearing and durable material, making it a popular choice for kitchen worktops, while wood adds a sense of warmth to interior spaces when applied to walls, floors or kitchen cabinets.

In these kitchens, the natural grain of wood is complemented by striking stone surfaces, including cool-toned limestone, travertine, and a range of dramatically veined marble.

This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring mid-century home renovations, interiors centred around dining tables and spaces finished in reclaimed materials.

Kitchen inside Low Energy House designed by Architecture for London — Photo by Lorenzo Zandri and Christian Brailey

Muswell Hill house, UK, by Architecture for London

English studio Architecture for London renovated and extended this Edwardian home in London using natural materials in a bid to keep embodied emissions to a minimum.

In the kitchen, cabinets were lined with oak wood while pale grey limestone was used for the floors, worktops, prep counter and a chunky window seat.

The studio also exposed the original timber roof beams and complemented the minimal material palette with lime plaster on the walls, forming an airtight layer to mitigate heat loss.

Find out more about the Muswell Hill house ›

Wood-lined kitchen interior with a marble island by DAB Studio — Photo by Daniëlle Siobhán

Zwaag family home, Netherlands, by DAB Studio

For the kitchen renovation of this home in Zwaag, the Netherlands, Dutch interiors practice DAB Studio covered the walls and cabinets in Afromosia wood, and the floors and ceilings in smoked black-oiled oak.

The Afromosia wood was quarter-sawn to reveal a decorative grain pattern and add a sense of playfulness to the space, while an Arebescato Orobico marble kitchen island acts as the room’s centrepiece.

Find out more about Zwaag family home ›

Travertine stone kitchen island and backsplash with oak cabinets — Photo by David Dworkind

1980s Quebec home, Canada, by Ménard Dworkind

A sculptural travertine island sits at the centre of the kitchen in this 1980s home in Quebec, which was renovated by Canadian architecture studio Ménard Dworkind.

The studio also used a travertine slab to create a sliding backsplash, inserted into the warm oak cabinetry to conceal additional storage space.

Find out more about the 1980s Quebec home ›

Kitchen in Twentieth house by Woods and Dangaran — Photo by Joe Fletcher

Twentieth, USA, by Woods + Dangaran

For this kitchen in a Santa Monica home, Los Angeles studio Woods +Dangaran used a dark grey marble with bold white veining to form the island worktop and the surrounds of a recessed space in the wall units.

White oak lines the floors, while a darker shade of walnut was used for wall panelling, cupboards and the sides of the island.

Find out more about Twentieth ›

Palm Beach house in Sydney by YSG with stone kitchen island

Sydney Palm Beach house, Australia, by YSG

Informed by the rustic beach clubs of Ibiza and Cancun, Australian interiors studio YSG overhauled a holiday home in Palm Beach, Sydney, with a mix of sunny colours and textures.

In the kitchen, the studio sanded down the wooden floorboards to achieve a warmer tone and added an island made from two types of stone – Giallo Siena marble and travertine – to recall “the ombre shades of a freshly poured tequila sunrise”.

Find out more about the Sydney Palm Beach house ›

Minimal interiors of forest retreat designed by Norm Architects — Photo by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen of Norm Architects

Forest cabin, Sweden, by Norm Architects

Danish studio Norm Architects kept the material palette minimal and rustic for this holiday cabin in a Swedish forest.

Handleless kitchen cupboards are finished in oak to match the floors, complemented by a stone worktop that extends up into a short backsplash.

Find out more about the forest cabin ›

Brooklyn Loft by Dean Works — Photo by Daniel Salemi

Brooklyn Loft, USA, by Dean Works

White marble with grey-and-blue veining provides an eye-catching worktop, backsplash and shelving in the kitchen of Brooklyn Loft, an apartment designed by local studio Dean Works.

Surrounding the marble is a large Baltic birch plywood storage unit that doubles as a room divider to separate the kitchen from the bedroom. A dark stone kitchen island was added to contrast the otherwise light-toned interior.

Find out more about Brooklyn Loft ›

Sunderland Road house in London by 2LG — Photo by Megan Taylor

Forest Hill house, UK, by 2LG Studio

Playful pastel colours characterise the interior of this Edwardian home in London, which was renovated by 2LG Studio.

The local firm aimed to balance Italian influences – in the form of the marble backsplash and kitchen island – with Scandinavian design elements such as the arched cabinets and grooved wood siding.

Find out more about the Forest Hill house ›

Reference

Sustainable News

Lab La Bla uses local stone and recycled materials for energy operator HQ

By Zarkon Group,03/08/2023

Local studio Lab La Bla sourced diabase rock from a nearby mine and created seating from MDF and recycled cork for the interior of energy company E.ON’s headquarters in Malmö, Sweden.

Lab La Bla designed the headquarters’ reception area, coat room and lounge area, while also creating furniture, sculptures and other accessories across nine floors of the 22,000-square-metre building.

The studio aimed to create a sequence of space that had variety, while taking inspiration from sources including airport terminals.

Lounge designed by Lab La Bla — The studio used recycled materials for the interiors

“Creating work for an office that houses 1,500 employees is both challenging and inspiring,” co-founders Axel Landström and Victor Isaksson Pirtti told Dezeen.

“It’s about creating spaces and functions that cater to the many while offering a mix of focus, creative and social environments, so it’s really about designing for the masses without making it boring or generic,” they added.

“There’s a current fascination about airport interiors in the studio, so for the reception area we drew from that source of inspiration.”

Reception area at E.ON — Seating was made from MDF

In the reception area, the studio created a set of sunny yellow furniture made from medium-density fibreboard (MDF) covered in nylon fiber.

“The overall project for us is sort of a reaction to dysfunctional and non-sustainable processes inherent within our industry,” the studio explained.

“For the reception area MDF and screws have been coated with repurposed nylon fiber using a technology commonly seen in the automotive industry, resulting in furniture that celebrates leftover material but without compromising on durability.”

Atrium of E.ON headquarters — A bench features a “melting” diabase stone detail

For the building’s central atrium, Lab La Bla designed an unusual bench that features a gloopy stone decoration resembling an oil spill.

This was created using diabase stone, which is famous for its blackness and was mined nearby in southern Sweden. The process of creating it was informed by its setting at an energy company headquarters.

Gloopy bench designed by Lab La Bla — Lab La Bla sourced local materials for the project

“Since electricity and magnetism are essentially two aspects of the same thing – and E.ON being an electric utility company – we thought it suitable to introduce magnetism as a modelling tool,” Landström and Isaksson Pirtti explained.

“The shape of the piece comes from dropping a lump of magnetic slime on top of a conductive material,” they added. “The slime seemingly randomly slump and drapes over a metal bar before settling in its final shape.”

Lab La Bla then scaled this shape up and hand-sculpted the shape from a single block of diabase, which was finally sandblasted and polished.

“We see this process as an adventurous exploration in making a physical representation of the invisible force that shapes our world,” Landström and Isaksson Pirtti added.

Decorative glass panel at E.ON headquarters — Mouth-blown glass panels form a three-metre-high sculpture

The studio also turned brick beams, left over from the construction of a school in Malmö in the early 1900s, into umbrella stands, and sourced mouth-blown glass panels from one of the few remaining producers of the material.

This was used, together with dichroic glass, to create a three-metre-high glass sculpture with a graphic pattern that depicts a CT-scan of a wood-fibre material.

Vase shaped in tree trunk — Glass sculptures were formed inside hollowed-out tree trunks

Lab La Bla also created decorative vases and glass sculptures using molten glass blown into tree trunks that had been hallowed by fungal decay. The trunks were sourced from E.ON’s own local heating centre.

These trunks “serve no industrial purpose, but are burnt for energy by E.ON and used for teleheating for Malmö,” the studio said.

“We borrow these tree trunks to blow glass in them, before returning them to their final purpose.”

Sofas made from cork — Lounge sofas were made from ground-down wine corks

In the headquarters’ lounge areas, the designers created modular sofas made from ground-down wine corks sourced from restaurants.

“The modular cork sofa uses a unique process where 100 per cent recycled cork is sprayed onto a foam structure, proudly incorporating signs of imperfection into the design while bringing superior durability and sustainability to your furniture,” Landström and Isaksson Pirtti said.

Glass table detail by Lab La Bla — A table has an office-style glass relief with a keyboard

To the designers, the aim of the interior design was to use disused or forgotten materials, as well as ones that were recycled and recyclable.

“We took a conscious decision of picking hyper-ordinary materials such as MDF and aluminium to pinpoint and educate people about cyclic and sustainable qualities inherent in the processes of creating these materials,” the studio said.

“We often try to celebrate the beauty and intrinsic qualities of everyday, industrial materials otherwise consigned to temporary or low-cost construction solutions,” it added.

“We wanted to design objects which require significant time and skills from craftspeople, usually reserved for expensive, rare and high-quality materials – to some of the very inexpensive and found materials that we used throughout the project.”

Lab La Bla’s designs have previously been shown at the Moving Forward exhibition at Stockholm Design Week and as part of the Metabolic Processes for Leftovers exhibition in Malmö.

The photography is by Lars Brønseth.

Reference

Interior Design

Wood and stone surfaces bring “rich texture” to Primrose Hill House interior

By Zarkon Group,10/02/2023

Architecture for London has updated a 1960s house in London, creating an open-plan interior filled with natural materials and an improved connection to the rear courtyard garden.

The house is one of two detached properties set in a modernist estate in Primrose Hill that primarily consists of painted brick courtyard houses and small terraces.

Photo of Primrose Hill House — Primrose Hill House was designed by Architecture for London

The new owner asked Architecture for London to transform the interior into a modern layout that is better suited to their lifestyle.

“The house had a very broken plan consisting of lots of small rooms,” the studio’s director Ben Ridley told Dezeen. “The client wanted to create a family house that was more open plan with better views of the garden.”

Exterior photo of Primrose Hill House — The studio added a rooftop extension clad in white bricks

The remodelled interior improves the connection with the garden by incorporating a large picture window in the kitchen, along with sliding wood-framed doors in the living area.

The ground floor also contains a smaller reception area next to the entrance hall, with folding doors allowing this space to be separated from the kitchen and dining area.

Image of Primrose Hill House — Sliding wood-framed doors open the living room up to the garden

A bespoke blackened-steel staircase provides access to four bedrooms on the first floor, including a main suite with a juliet balcony overlooking the garden.

Following a detailed cost and sustainability review, a decision was made to demolish all of the property’s interior walls and rebuild them in order to achieve the required spaces.

Interior image of Primrose Hill House — The interior was finished in a rich material palette

This solution also offered the best energy-efficiency potential, according to Ridley, with a layer of wall insulation added alongside a heat recovery ventilation system (MVHR).

The home’s first-floor plate was replaced using steel beams and timber joists to enable the demolition of the ground-floor walls and the opening up of the interior.

Interior photo of Primrose Hill House — Flooring was used to define different zonessp

The project also involved the addition of a timber-framed rooftop extension, clad with white-painted brick to tie in with the rest of the house and set back so it’s largely hidden from view.

The extension contains a flexible mezzanine space for yoga and meditation that is accessed from the main bedroom suite.

Throughout the home, Architecture for London applied a pared-back palette of natural materials that is intended to create a sense of calmness and connection with the garden.

Internal walls treated with breathable lime plaster provide a neutral backdrop for furniture designed by architect Christian Brailey, which includes a dining table made from locally sourced London plane trees.

Photo of a dining area — Doors and windows are framed with wood

“We intentionally didn’t use a lot of colour so there’s a strong feeling of consistency,” Ridley said. “The choice of stone and timber brings a rich texture to the palette.”

A reference image of a Portuguese manor house, featuring a tiled trompe l’oeil frieze around a doorway, informed the use of materials to define space within the interior.

Photo of a bar at the home — The shared living areas have an open-plan layout

In the living room, stone floor tiles in different shades create a border around the room, as if an area rug has been placed on the floor to demarcate where furniture could be placed.

Ben Ridley founded Architecture for London in 2009 following his studies at London’s Barlett School of Architecture. The studio aims to create places that improve how people live and work, with a focus on reducing their operational emissions.

Photo of a staircase at the London home — Wood lines the interior walls of the home

Ridley’s own London house recently featured in our round-up of five UK house renovations designed to improve energy efficiency.

“Ultimately we are going to have to accept some changes in the appearance of our traditional homes,” he said, speaking to Dezeen as part of a feature on architects who have retrofitted their own homes.

The photography is by Christian Brailey.

Reference

Interior Design

Thirty bathrooms by architects including concrete, stone and tiled designs

By Zarkon Group,25/06/2021

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.

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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

Interior Design

The Dezeen guide to stone in architecture, interiors and design

By Zarkon Group,15/06/2021

Thinking of using stone in your project? Our latest Dezeen guide includes 15 popular types of natural rock used in architecture, interiors and design with links to hundreds of examples to inspire your own work.

Alabaster

Alabaster is a soft, fine-grained stone that has been used for centuries to carve elaborate forms and ornaments. However, its solubility in water means that it is best suited for indoor use.

In its pure form, alabaster is white and translucent, which makes it ideally suited to lighting design.

Studio Tack used tubular light shades made from alabaster to softly illuminate a cosy Japanese restaurant in New York (above), while lighting studio Allied Maker used the stone to create ornate totemic floor lamps.

Amarist Studio showcased the sculptural possibilities of the stone in its Aqua Fossil collection, which includes a coffee table with swooping, curved legs.

See projects featuring alabaster ›

Basalt

Basalt is a dark-coloured igneous rock that is formed when lava cools rapidly. It is most frequently used as an aggregate for concrete as it is low-cost and high-strength, but it is also a popular cladding and flooring material, especially when polished.

Examples of this include the facade of a small gallery in Amsterdam by Barend Koolhaas and a Hawaiian holiday home by Walker Warner Architects in which slender basalt cladding tiles are contrasted with cedar detailing (above).

Icelandic studio Innriinnri used two sculpted slabs of basalt stone to create a sculptural table that doubles as a stool or a piece of art, while South Korean artist Byung Hoon Choi polished the stone to create oversized outdoor furniture.

See projects featuring basalt ›

Flint

Flint is a highly durable stone found in abundance as irregular-shaped nodules in sedimentary rocks such as chalk. It has been used as a construction material since the Roman era, though it is not often seen in contemporary architecture.

Flint varies in colour, but it is commonly glassy black with a white crust. In architecture, it is usually knapped – split to expose its glossy inner face – before being laid in mortar.

Skene Catling de la Peña used a combination of knapped and unknapped flint to cover a wedge-shaped house in Buckinghamshire (above), which creates a subtle colour gradient across its facade.

See projects featuring flint ›

Gneiss

Gneiss, a robust metamorphic stone composed of alternating layers of different coloured minerals, is popular to use for flooring and worktops. Hues can range from pinks and golds to greens and dark greys.

Peter Pichler sourced grey gneiss with black-and-white bands from Passeier Valley in South Tyrol to create a large counter in the bar of an Italian Alpine hotel (above).

It can also be used as a cladding material, such as in Bernardo Bader Architekten’s ski resort office in Austria and a radio broadcasting station in Nepal by Archium.

Granite

Granite is one of the most widely used stones in architecture and design. It forms from the slow crystallisation of magma beneath the Earth’s crust. It is used for everything from load-bearing structures to cladding, worktops and furniture.

Its popularity is down to its high compressive strength, durability and low porosity. Granite is also found in an array of colours, making it suitable for a range of spaces and styles.

Heatherwick Studio recently used green granite to make a trio of its sculptural Spun chairs (above), while Snøhetta has used a grey variety to cover almost every surface of an Aesop store to emulate a rocky coastline.

Architecture studio NOARQ tested the material’s strength by elevating a cabin on thick blocks of granite over the entrance to a stone villa in Portugal.

See projects featuring granite ›

Laterite

Rusty-red laterite stone is formed from the leaching of rocks and soil during alternating periods of high temperature and heavy rainfall in tropical areas. This process leaves behind a high concentration of insoluble iron oxides, which gives the rock its colour.

Laterite is typically used in construction in Africa and Asia in the form of bricks, which have excellent thermal mass and a low embodied energy. These bricks are made by cutting the rock out from below the water table when it is moist and leaving it to harden in the air.

Architect Francis Kéré used locally sourced laterite to build the walls of a school in Burkina Faso and Studio Lotus has used it to create the pedestal of a government building in India (above).

Limestone

There are many different types of limestone, a sedimentary rock composed mainly of calcium carbonate. It is considered a good all-round building material as it is easy to cut and carve and usually has a uniform texture and colour.

Popular limestone varieties include travertine (see below) and Portland stone, which is used on notable buildings in London such as St Paul’s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace.

David Chipperfield Architects recently used limestone to clad the Kunsthaus Zurich museum extension in Switzerland and John Pawson used it to line the surfaces of a minimalist flagship store in Japan for fashion label Jil Sander.

Design projects that utilise limestone include a blocky furniture collection called Dig Where You Stand by students from the Estonian Academy of Arts (above).

See projects featuring limestone ›

Marble

Marble is a metamorphic rock with veins of calcite crystal. It forms from limestone that has been exposed to heat and pressure and is found in many colours. Marble is strong but easily carved and polishes well, making it suitable for numerous applications.

It is most popularly used in kitchen and bathroom designs, but it is often used as cladding too, such as in Alexander Owen Architecture’s garden room in London (above).

See projects featuring marble ›

Onyx

Onyx is a translucent gemstone composed of parallel bands of quartz, found in almost every colour. It has a long history of use in sculpture and jewellery but is less commonly found in architecture and design. However, onyx is sometimes used as a facing or lighting.

Projects that use onyx include a mausoleum in Minneapolis by HGA and an office by Anne Claus Interiors where it has been used to clad a multi-coloured bar (above).

See projects featuring onyx ›

Porphyry

Porphyry is a strong and hard-wearing igneous stone that comes in reddish-brown to purple hues. It is composed of large-grained crystals embedded in a fine-grained groundmass.

It has been used in architecture and design since antiquity, though it is rarely seen in contemporary architecture and design. Today it is mostly used as aggregate in the construction of roads in places where cars require studded winter tires.

Pedevilla Architects used a block of porphyry as a kitchen island for a cookery school in South Tyrol, while architect Claudio Silvestrin used it to line the walls of a Milanese fashion boutique.

Quartzite

Formed from sandstone exposed to high heat and pressure, quartzite is a very hard and durable metamorphic rock. It is usually found in white and grey shades.

Quartzite is a popular material for kitchen countertops as it is resistant to staining, but is most commonly used as a decorative cladding or flooring.

Examples of this include a dwelling in Utah by Klima Architecture, Peter Zumthor’s Therme Vals spa (above) and a monolithic Parisian library by Agence Pascale Guédot.

See projects featuring quartzite ›

Sandstone

Sandstone is composed of fine silicate grains that have eroded from other rocks, giving it either a warm red, yellow or orange colouration.

Used for construction since prehistoric times, sandstone continues to be a popular choice in architecture and design as it is abundant, durable and easy to handle.

Recent architectural projects that use the material include a cathedral extension by Feilden Fowles, a museum by Álvaro Siza, and an oval-shaped all-girls school in India (above) that is designed to blend into its desert surroundings.

See projects featuring sandstone ›

Shale

This grey fine-grained stone is one of the most common sedimentary rocks on earth. It is formed from the compaction of silt and mud into thin, fissile layers. In architecture and design, shale is usually crushed and processed into bricks, tiles and pottery, or heated with limestone to make cement.

Aketuri Architektai used shale tiles to clad a pointy woodland house in Lithuania (above), while Spaceworkers wrapped the stone around the basement of a Portuguese house to provide it with a raw, rugged aesthetic.

See projects featuring shale ›

Slate

Slate is a dark fine-grained stone that is formed when a sedimentary rock, such as shale, is subjected to high pressure. It is a foliated rock, meaning it is made up of thin sedimentary layers, which allows it to be split – or riven – into thin slabs.

Slate is durable and weather- and frost-resistant, making it a popular material choice for cladding, roofing and paving.

In interior projects, the material is often also used as floor tiles, hearths and kitchen worktops. Natalie Weinmann sanded and polished the stone to create a blocky furniture collection.

TRIAS used it to clad a small writer’s retreat in a Welsh valley while Austin Maynard Architects diamond, scalloped and brick-shaped slate shingles to cover a Melbourne house (above).

See projects featuring slate ›

Travertine

One of the most commonly used forms of limestone is travertine, which has been sourced from mineral springs for use as a building material for centuries. The largest building in the world made from this stone is the Colosseum in Rome.

Today, travertine is mostly processed into tiles for internal and external surface coverings, but it is also a popular material for bathroom fit-outs. As it is found with troughs on its surface, processing travertine usually involves polishing its surface.

Projects that use travertine include an extension to a German museum by Bez + Kock Architekten (above), an apartment renovation in Lithuania by 2XJ, and a furniture collection by David/Nicolas.

See projects featuring travertine ›

Recent popular stone projects on Dezeen include an inconspicuous house on the island of Serifos, a monolithic spa by Smartvoll, a collection of luxury lodges on England’s Jurassic Coast and a coffee table by Studio Twenty Seven.

The main image is of Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls’ School by Diana Kellogg Architects taken by Vinay Panjwani.

Reference

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