Space Projects creates Amsterdam store with thatched hut for Polspotten
CategoriesInterior Design

Space Projects creates Amsterdam store with thatched hut for Polspotten

A curvilinear thatched hut has been paired with terracotta-hued tiles at the Amsterdam store for homeware brand Polspotten, which was designed by local studio Space Projects.

The studio created the store to straddle a shop and an office for Polspotten, a furniture and home accessories brand headquartered in the Dutch capital.

Triangular archway in the Amsterdam Polspotten storeTriangular archway in the Amsterdam Polspotten store
Visitors enter the Polspotten store via an oversized triangular entranceway

Characterised by bold angles and arches, the outlet features distinctive terracotta-coloured walls and flooring that nod to traditional pots, Space Projects founder Pepijn Smit told Dezeen.

“The terracotta-inspired colours and materials refer to the brand’s first product, ‘potten’ – or pots,” said Smit, alluding to the first Spanish pots imported by Erik Pol when he founded Polspotten in the Netherlands in 1986.

Plush cream sofa within Amsterdam homeware storePlush cream sofa within Amsterdam homeware store
The interconnected spaces are delineated by cutouts

Located in Amsterdam’s Jordaan neighbourhood, the store was arranged across a series of open-plan rooms, interconnected by individual geometric entryways.

Visitors enter at a triangular opening, which was cut away from gridded timber shelving lined with multicoloured pots that mimic totemic artefacts in a gallery.

Curvilinear thatched hutCurvilinear thatched hut
A curvilinear thatched hut provides a meeting space

The next space features a similar layout, as well as a plump cream sofa with rounded modules and sculptural pots stacked in a striking tower formation.

Travelling further through the store, molten-style candle holders and Polspotten furniture pieces were positioned next to chunky illuminated plinths, which exhibit amorphously shaped vases finished in various coral-like hues.

Accessed through a rectilinear, terracotta-tiled opening, the final space features a bulbous indoor hut covered in thatch and fitted with a light pink opening.

The hut provides a meeting space for colleagues, according to the studio founder.

“The thatch, as a natural material, absorbs sound as well,” explained Smit.

Clusters of pots next to a circular tableClusters of pots next to a circular table
The store provides an art gallery-style space for homeware

Next to the hut, Space Projects created an acoustic wall illustrated with “hieroglyphics” of Polspotten products, which references the gallery-like theme that runs throughout the outlet.

“The store was inspired by Polspotten’s use of traditional techniques combined with a collage of their reinterpreted archetypes,” said Smit.

Office space at PolspottenOffice space at Polspotten
It is also used as an office space

Elsewhere in Amsterdam, Dutch practice Studio RAP used 3D printing and algorithmic design to create a “wave-like” facade for a boutique store while interior designer Linda Bergroth created the interiors for the city’s Cover Story paint shop to streamline the redecorating process for customers.

The photography is by Kasia Gatkowska.

Reference

Shigeru Ban uses thatch and cardboard at Farmer’s Restaurant in Japan
CategoriesArchitecture

Shigeru Ban uses thatch and cardboard at Farmer’s Restaurant in Japan

A thatched roof and large cardboard tubes form part of the structure of the Farmer’s Restaurant on Awaji Island, designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban’s studio.

The restaurant sits in the middle of a field on the Japanese island, which is the same location as Shigeru Ban Architects‘ wooden Zenbo Seinei meditation retreat, completed earlier this year.

Thatched-roof restaurant by Shigeru Ban Architects
Shigeru Ban Architects has created the Farmer’s Restaurant on Awaji Island

Farmer‘s Restaurant was commissioned by agricultural company Pasona Agri-Partners Inc to serve food made from fresh vegetables from the field. It is also used as a music hall.

Its architectural design pays homage to traditional Japanese farmhouses, most visibly in its large thatched roof.

Night view of the Farmer's Restaurant on Awaji island
It features a thatched roof

According to Ban’s studio, its chunky structural beams and columns also pay homage to the large trees that are used to create old farmhouses in Japan.

These structural elements are made from two pieces of Japanese cypress wood, wrapped in cardboard tubes.

Shigeru Ban-designed cardboard tube structure
Large cardboard tubes form part of the structure

Farmer’s Restaurant is one of the largest-scale examples of Ban’s Paper Tube Structures system – his pioneering use of tubes made from cardboard as architectural and structural components.

Famously used across his works since 1990, the system can also be seen on projects including the Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch, the Nomadic Museum in New York and the Paper House in Yamanakako Village.

Externally, the chunky columns sit between decorative wooden panels, doors and openings that lead out onto a decked area.

Inside, Farmer’s Restaurant’s exposed structure is complemented by wooden flooring, banquet tables, and stools.

Interior of the Farmer's Restaurant in Japan
The cardboard tubes contain cypress wood

As some of the cardboard tubes are exposed to the outside, Ban’s studio has coated them in waterproof paint and designed them to be replaced over time.

Ban also famously uses cardboard as part of his modular Paper Partition System (PPS), which was developed to ensure the privacy of people seeking refuge in refugee centres.

Wooden terrace outside Shigeru Ban-designed music hall in Japan
A terrace is located outside

The PPS makes use of thin cardboard tubes as structure and textiles as partitions, with one unit taking just three people to build in five minutes.

Ban’s non-governmental organisation, the Voluntary Architects’ Network, recently used the system across Europe to help house Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.

The photography is by Hiroyuki Hirai.


Project credits:

Architects: Shigeru Ban Architects
Client: Pasona Agri-partners Inc
Structural engineer: Hirokazu Toki, Shunya Takahashi
MEP engineer: Hokuryo Denko, Kukan Koubou, Fujii Scene2
General contractor: Kukunoya, Kusakanmuri

Reference