Markus Andrews

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    The Lodge hotel takes over 500-year-old farmhouse in Mallorca

    A roughly-hewn stone trough and a traditional mill for pressing olive oil were repurposed by interior designer Pilar García-Nieto within this farmhouse-turned-hotel near Mallorca’s Serra de Tramuntana mountain range.

    The Lodge is the latest boutique hotel from Único Hotels, tucked away inside a 157-hectare estate filled with centenarian almond and olive trees, lavender fields and 20 kilometres of hiking trails.
    The Lodge is set in a converted Mallorcan farmhouseAll of the hotel’s public spaces and six of its guest rooms are housed inside a converted 16th-century farmhouse, which was renovated from the ground up.
    “To be able to enjoy a 500-year-old house is a privilege,” García-Nieto told Dezeen. “Many generations have gathered behind those walls. It is this spirit of a family home that we have tried to preserve.”
    The building’s original stone trough sink now acts as a fountainA further 18 suites were dotted across the grounds, set in newly constructed cabins modelled on the few remaining walls of the farm’s outbuildings.

    Although The Lodge’s interiors are largely clean and minimal, traces of the estate’s agricultural past were left to peek out everywhere throughout the hotel.
    A traditional olive oil press decorates the receptionThe farm’s original tafona – a stone mill used for making olive oil – now stands in the reception in front of a wall of fridges filled with wine from local vineyards.
    “Aesthetically it is unbeatable,” García-Nieto said. “Either you are lucky enough to have one or it is impossible to replicate it.”
    “That is why it was important for us to preserve the one we have, and to give it the great protagonism it deserves.”
    Some of the building’s original stone walls are left exposedSome of the building’s original stone walls were left exposed on the interior while the huge trough sink that stood in the former kitchen now acts as a water fountain near the entrance.
    These period details were complemented with a selection of new and vintage pieces, sourced from second-hand shops in the nearby village of Consell and further afield.
    The lounge is traversed by a modular ceramic screenAmong them is an antique French tapestry that was suspended above a modern console table at the entrance. Nearby, in the hotel’s restaurant Singular, contemporary art hangs next to French bronze wall sconces from the Napoleonic period.
    Here, guests can eat in a high-ceilinged dining room or on a leafy terrace with clean-lined metal garden furniture, overlooking the hotel’s glistening infinity pool and the surrounding coppices.

    The Olive Houses are off-grid retreats hidden in Mallorca’s mountains

    The rugged nature of the nearby Tramuntana mountains informed The Lodge’s interior in the form of its earthy colour and material palette.
    Located right off the reception, the lounge combines blackened timber tables with rattan stools. And an original mortar found in the farmhouse is displayed inside a towering antique shelving unit from France.
    An antique French shelving unit is used to display ceramicsAt the centre of the room, a row of sandy beige sofas backs onto a biombo screen made from stacked ceramic modules.
    “It was a lot of fun to assemble it,” García-Nieto said. “It was like playing Tetris between five people.”
    The guest suites are finished in a colour-sparse but texture-heavy paletteCeramics also feature heavily throughout the rest of The Lodge, with many left over from the farmhouse and others made by local craftsmen.
    Among them are the decorative vases found in each guest room, which are handmade from black clay by a master potter.
    “We love what pottery represents – an element so closely linked to the earth that man has used since ancient times to turn it into essential pieces for his way of life,” García-Nieto said.
    Each suite has its own patioThe 18 suites that aren’t set inside the main farmhouse can be accessed via a short ride on one of the hotel’s bicycles or golf buggies.
    Modelled on the renovated farmhouse with its irregular gables, each of these cabins features a dramatic single-pitch roof with the ceiling beams left exposed on the inside.
    The same texture-heavy but colour-sparse palette from the main building is also carried over into the suites.
    Guests can navigate the estates using bikesInterest is provided by combining different kinds of timber, from the pale, raw-edged coat stands to the Japanese-style charred-wood stools.
    All of the suites have a private Mallorcan patio to provide a greater connection to the surrounding farmland, which the hotel is using to grow produce for the Singular restaurant and for Finca Serena – Único Hotels’ other outpost on the island.
    A long infinity pool provides respite from the heatThe Tramuntana mountain range occupies roughly 30 per cent of Mallorca’s terrain and is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its rich agricultural history.
    Much of the surrounding area is still used for farming today – for example by the Son Juliana wine company, which has a solar-powered winery at the foot of the mountain range that is made from local sandstone with wicker sunshades and cork-insulated roofs.
    Increasingly, tourists are also being drawn away from Mallorca’s pristine beaches and towards Tramuntana’s dramatic landscapes, with the opening of several new hotels including The Olive Houses – a group of off-grid guesthouses, where craggy boulders jut through the walls and into the interiors.
    The photography is by Montse Garriga.

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    Hawaiian heritage informs Wayfinder Waikiki hotel by The Vanguard Theory

    Honolulu design studio The Vanguard Theory has created interiors for a hotel on Waikiki Beach that “embrace the brutalist architecture” of the building, while adding tropical touches to the decor.

    The Wayfinder Waikiki offers 228 guest rooms just a few blocks from the famous surfing beach of the same name in the Hawaiian capital, on the island of Oahu.
    In the bedrooms at the Wayfinder Waikiki, rounded headboards feature a mix of patternsLocal firm The Vanguard Theory waas behind the transformation of an existing brutalist building into a colour-filled hotel that nods to both indigenous Hawaiian and imported traditions.
    “Celebrating the rich diversity and multicultural fabric of Hawaii, touches of Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Filipino, and European details are all blended together, creating Kama’aina style,” said the hotel.
    The rooms are decorated in different colour combinationsA variety of different guest room sizes and types are available, from standard doubles all the way up to premium pool house studios.

    The rooms feature custom-designed wooden furniture and works by local artists and are decorated in different colour combinations that each reflect the natural world.
    The rooms range in size from standard double to pool house suitesGreen and coral hues are indicative of land, shades of blue and turquoise echo the sea, and gold and grey tones were chosen to represent the sky.
    Wainscoting adds dimension to the walls, some of which are painted in colour floor-to-ceiling, while others stop midway and continue in white to make the spaces feel bright.

    BHDM uses neons to make Shoreline Waikiki “the most instagrammable hotel in Hawaii”

    Round patterned headboards were created as a blend of “Japanese obi sashes, Polynesian-influenced tribal prints and plaid palaka fabric reflective of historic Portuguese ranchers” according to the hotel.
    The cords of bedside pendant lamps are laced with pikake and pakalana flowers – both native to Hawaii.
    The hotel’s lobby includes seating areas, a coffee bar and a shop selling merchandiseA similar design language is found in the lobby, where plants and floral prints sit side by side against concrete surfaces and leather furniture.
    Connected to the reception area along a counter with a fluted blue front is B-Side, a coffee shop from which guests can also purchase cocktails, light bites and hotel merchandise.
    The Redfish restaurant serves an all-day poke menuMore formal dining can be enjoyed at Redfish, an all-day poke restaurant where highly tonal wood panels cover large expanses of the walls and ceiling.
    Next to the 70-foot (21 metres) saltwater “lagoon” pool is a bar called Lost + Found that serves frozen tropical cocktails, plus a range of other drinks and snacks. There’s also an on-site gym.
    Guests can swim in a saltwater “lagoon” poolWayfinder Waikiki is the second location in owner Dovetail + Co’s Wayfinder portfolio, following its outpost in Newport, Rhode Island.
    It joins a wide range of accommodation options in Honolulu, a hugely popular tourist destination, including the mid-century influenced Laylow Hotel and the brightly coloured Shoreline Waikiki.
    The photography is by Mariko Reed, Read McKendree and Surf Please.

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    Fred Rigby Studio creates dried flower meadow inside Lestrange’s Coal Drops Yard store

    Forest sounds and furnishings made from storm-stricken trees bring elements of nature into this menswear boutique in London’s King’s Cross, designed by local practice Fred Rigby Studio.

    The store is the fourth outpost from men’s fashion brand Lestrange and was conceived based on blueprints by biophilic design expert Oliver Heath, combining greenery with reclaimed and natural materials to forge a greater connection to the outdoors.
    Fred Rigby Studio has designed the latest Lestrange boutique in LondonAccording to Fred Rigby Studio, this approach was chosen to reflect the brand’s philosophy of using renewable and recycled fibres to produce clothing with longevity.
    “We wanted to create a sense of calm within the space, which didn’t feel like a generic shop but an interior which told a story behind the clothing and the brand’s ethos,” explained the studio’s eponymous founder.
    Rice paper lanterns are suspended at varying heights throughout the spaceThe Lestrange store is set inside the Thomas Heatherwick-designed Coal Drops Yard shopping centre, formed of two converted warehouses that were originally built in the Victorian era to store the vast quantities of coal needed by the capital.

    Rigby wanted to incorporate this imposing brick structure into his final design.
    Tactile plaster was used to cover the walls”We didn’t want to hide this history by covering it up, which would have also entailed using construction materials,” he told Dezeen.
    “So we celebrated it, breaking the space up using timber walls and cladding, then adding the rice paper lights to give the space a more intimate feel.”
    The same finish was also applied to a trio of display shelvesUsing the existing site as his canvas, Rigby focused on sourcing a tight edit of natural and reclaimed materials.
    “There are lots of new materials on the market, but finding those that are produced in quantity and applicable to commercial use can be a challenge,” he said.

    Bath’s Francis Gallery is set inside a Georgian townhouse

    London plane timber – harvested from “storm-stricken and diseased trees” within a few miles of King’s Cross – was used to form the partitions that define the store’s display and changing areas, as well as some bespoke furniture pieces.
    British manufacturer Clayworks blended unfired clays with minerals and natural pigments to create the tactile wall finishes, while the terrazzo-style countertops were made by Welsh company Smile Plastics using a mix of recycled plastics from discarded mobile phone casings and chopping boards.
    The changing rooms are clad in panels of London plane timberAs the ultimate counterpoint to the mass and severity of the brick, Rigby conceived the idea of an indoor meadow that meanders through the Lestrange store.
    The arrangement of natural dried flowers and grasses was realised by award-winning garden designer Lottie Delamain, integrating a carefully chosen mix of species to reflect the fibres commonly used in apparel manufacture such as cotton and flax.
    “We wanted to bring nature inside, using plants linked to the clothes while creating a touch point to the materiality,” said Rigby.
    Garden designer Lottie Delamain created a dried flower meadow for the storeClothes are displayed on simple white metal rails and the capacious open-topped dressing rooms feature speakers playing forest sounds, complemented by discreet wall lights that cast a subtle glow.
    There are also subtle nods to Japanese design in the form of the rice paper lampshades that float at varying heights throughout the store.
    The flowers are set in wood-framed stone beds”We started with a mixture of initial references, one of which was a teahouse designed by Charlotte Perriand,” said Rigby.
    “We wanted to create a material-focused space with nods to natural materials such as the rice paper lights, which we felt would add to the space and create a sense of calm and stillness.”
    The Lestrange shop is set inside the Coal Drops Yard shopping centrePrevious projects from Rigby, who founded his studio in 2008, include bespoke furnishings for a renovated 1920s office building in London as well as the interiors of Bath’s Francis Gallery, which is set inside a Georgian townhouse.
    The photography is by Felix Speller.

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    There’s still time to be listed on Dezeen’s digital guide for London Design Festival 2023

    You can still list your London Design Festival 2023 event on Dezeen’s Events Guide’s digital guide to the festival, which takes place in venues across the city from 16 to 24 September.

    The festival offers a programme of exhibitions, installations, tours, open showrooms, workshops, talks and networking opportunities, as well as the Design London trade show.
    2023 marks the 21st anniversary of London Design Festival, which explores crafts, fashion, art, furniture, graphic and digital design, urban planning and education.
    Our guide highlights the key events taking place during the nine-day festival, which last year spread across 12 districts in London.
    Get listed in Dezeen’s digital guide to London Design Festival

    Get in touch with the Dezeen Events Guide team at [email protected] to book in your listing or to discuss a wider partnership with Dezeen. There are three types of listings:
    Standard listing: For only £100, we can include the event name, date and location details plus a website link. These listings will also feature up to 50 words of text about the event. Standard listings are included at the discretion of the Dezeen Events Guide team.
    Enhanced listing: For £150, you will receive all of the above plus an image at the top of the listing’s page and an image in the listing preview on the London Design Festival festival guide page. These listings will also feature up to 100 words of text about the event.
    Featured listing: For £300, your listing will feature everything as part of an enhanced listing plus inclusion in the featured events carousel and social media posts on our @dezeenguide channels. This includes one post per channel: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and up to 150 words of text about the event. This text can include commercial information such as ticket prices and offers, and can feature additional links to website pages such as ticket sales, newsletter signups etc.
    The London Design Festival guide follows the success of our digital guide for Milan design week 2023, which received over 75,000 page views.
    About Dezeen Events Guide
    Dezeen Events Guide is our guide to the best architecture and design events taking place across the world each year.
    The guide is updated weekly and includes virtual events, conferences, trade fairs, major exhibitions and design weeks.
    For more details on inclusion in Dezeen Events Guide, including in our guide to London Design Festival, email [email protected].
    The illustration is by Justyna Green.

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    Shiftspace brings IM Pei rowhouse in Philadelphia back to “original vision”

    US studio Shiftspace has renovated a rowhouse in Philadelphia originally designed by Chinese-American architect IM Pei, restoring its original qualities after decades of alterations.

    Designed by Pei as part of a row of houses in the 1950s, the three-storey unit in the Society Hill neighbourhood had undergone several renovations and extensions over the years.
    Shiftspace was tasked with paring back these alterations to restore Pei’s original vision while enhancing it with contemporary details.
    Shiftspace has renovated an IM Pei-designed rowhouse in Philadelphia”Understanding Pei’s original vision for these houses, we approached this project with a sense of reverence that allowed us to see our design as enhancements to that original vision rather than starting from a blank canvas,” said Shiftspace partner Tim Barnes.
    Rowhouses are common in Philadelphia and sometimes referred to colloquially as “rowhomes”. Much of the city’s housing of this typology was built in the late-18th and early-19th centuries.

    According to Shiftspace, Pei designed the Society Hill townhouses to “bridge the gap” between these brick rowhomes and his nearby condominium, Society Hill Towers.
    It was originally built in the 1950sThe original exterior of the home has been retained. It consists of a mostly brick facade punctuated at the street-facing side by a large window with a small steel balcony.
    At the top of the home is a band of concrete-framed clerestory windows.
    Wooden louvres replace wallsInside, a central staircase that reaches from the basement to the third storey is essential to the redesign. Cleaving to Pei’s vision, Shiftspace has reoriented the home around this spiral stair and introduced a series of open-concept living spaces.
    The updated floorplans follow a typical format, with public spaces on the first three floors and three bedrooms on the fourth.
    At ground level, a curved breakfast nook with banquet seating leads to a kitchen that sits between the central staircase and a wall, and back into a dining area that has access to a garden patio. Here, some solid walls have been replaced with wooden louvres.
    The home is oriented around a spiral staircaseAbove are a living room and a study, separated by the staircase, as well as rearranged bedrooms and bathrooms.
    Two of the bedrooms on the top floor share a bathroom, while the main sleeping space has an ensuite. The bathrooms are tucked into spaces attached to the central core.
    “Our design reverted back to Pei’s original concept using a centralized core for all circulation, bath and mechanical spaces while reconfiguring for a master suite, kitchen, and entry area,” said founding partner Mario Gentile.

    “With IM Pei’s death, the last of the modern monument makers has passed”

    The studio added a new frame to the oculus at the top of the staircase that circulates additional light to the largely windowless structure. It also added skylights to the bedrooms.
    Minimising divides between rooms also allowed for further circulation throughout the home and for more light to penetrate the lower levels from the oculus.
    Shiftspace wanted to honour Pei’s original visionThe design was geared towards a more active lifestyle, which led to the addition of bike storage tucked away into nooks in the basement and on the ground floor.
    Shiftspace completed the renovation with a light-toned colour palette for the more public spaces and darker hues for the bedrooms and study.
    Pei was born in Guangzhou, China in 1917 and emigrated to the United States in 1935, where he founded a studio today known as Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. He designed a number of noteworthy buildings including Dallas City Hall and the Grand Louvre pyramid in Paris.
    Other buildings of his to be renovated include the Eskenazi Museum in Indiana.

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    MRDK uses arches and mosaics for Ciele Athletics store in Montreal

    Rounded walls and archways create a flow through this Montreal boutique, designed by local studio MRDK for Canadian sportswear brand Ciele Athletics.

    The first boutique for Ciele, which sells technical headwear and apparel for running, opened in April 2023 on Notre-Dame Street in Montreal – the brand’s hometown.
    Black and white mosaic tiles form a pattern based on Ciele’s apparel at the entrance to the storeThe 3,000-square-foot (279-square-metre) flagship store was designed by MRDK to be as much a boutique as a community space for runners to meet and socialise.
    Along the narrow entryway, flooring comprises black and white mosaic tiles that form a graphic pattern based on select items of the brand’s apparel.
    Visitors are lead past a quartet of mannequins to a community lounge areaAscending four steps or a ramp leads visitors past a large white-tiled planter, then a display of mannequins lined up in front of a brick wall.

    A lounge area at the end is designated for gathering and conversation, offering “anyone with an interest in movement and connection a chance to experience running and the many facets of its dynamic community through regular meet-ups and events”, said MRDK.
    Access to the main retail space is via an archway that punctures a dark green partitionAccess to the main retail space is through an archway with rounded corners that punctures a deep, dark green partition.
    “An arched wall gracefully separates the more public community area from the rest of the store, creating a sense of intrigue and inviting exploration,” MRDK said.
    The green hue continues behind the fluted white service counterOther similar openings in this spatial divider are used to display clothing on single or double-stacked rails.
    The same forest green shade continues on the wall behind the service counter, which is fronted by a white fluted panel and includes a small glass vitrine set into its top.
    Lime plaster covers the angled walls, which feature bull-nose edges that soften their appearanceHerringbone white oak parquet floors are laid wall to wall, running beneath a low central island that is designed to be broken apart and moved around the store depending on merchandising needs.
    A textured lime plaster finish was applied to the walls, wrapping around the bull-nosed corners that soften the angles created by the offset displays.

    MRDK creates a “journey through nature” at Attitude boutique in Montreal

    “The play of light and shadows on these textured surfaces creates a sense of dynamism, accentuating the uniqueness of the space,” said MRDK.
    In one corner, a 12-foot-tall (3.7-metre) shelving system presents Ciele’s range of hats on cork mannequin heads.
    A tall shelving system displays Ciele’s hat collectionFitting rooms at the back of the store are kept minimal, with green velvet curtain draped behind the arched openings to the cubicles.
    “The thoughtful combination of materials, textures, and colours creates an atmosphere that seamlessly blends modernity with a touch of timeless elegance,” said MRDK.
    The fitting rooms are kept minimalist and feature green velvet curtainsFormerly known as Ménard Dworkind, the studio was founded by Guillaume Ménard and David Dworkind, and has completed a variety of retail spaces in Montreal and beyond.
    Most recently, these have included a store for plastic-free beauty brand Attitude.
    The photography is by David Dworkind and Alex Lesage.
    Project credits:
    Team: David Dworkind, Benjamin Lavoie LarocheContractor: Groupe ManovraCeramic floor tile: DaltileLighting: SistemaluxLime plaster: VenosaWood profiles: Brenlo

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    Eight welcoming wood-panelled dining rooms

    For our latest lookbook, we’ve selected eight dining rooms from the Dezeen archive where wooden panelling was used to create cosy, earthy environments with an organic feel.

    From South America to Europe, these wood-panelled dining rooms serve as focal points in the interiors and create social spaces for residents and guests.
    Whether they’re made from timber, pine or plywood, the wooden finishes on these statement walls and ceilings have been used to create welcoming environments with peaceful atmospheres.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring homes with focal point wardrobes, statement headboards and homes with pergolas.
    Photography is by Fran Parente and image production is by Victor CorreaER Apartment, Brazil, Pascali Semerdjian Arquitetos

    This apartment in São Paulo has an exposed concrete ceiling and uses natural materials, such as walnut, bronze, onyx and stone in its furnishings and finishes.
    Pascali Semerdjian Arquitetos used vertical timber cladding, local art and furniture by Brazilian architects and designers Oscar Niemeyer and Claudia Moreira Salles in the dining room to make the space “deeply Brazilian and vividly cosmopolitan”.
    Find out more about ER Apartment ›
    Photography is by Eric PetschekCarroll Gardens Townhouse, US, Starling Architecture and Emily Lindberg Design
    Starling Architecture and Emily Lindberg Design combined two units in a Brooklyn townhouse to create this family home. The townhouse features Belgian white oak on the flooring and along the corridor, stairs, mudroom, kitchen and dining area.
    The New York-based studios used neutral tones to decorate the five-story house. In the dining room, wooden cabinets and decorative lamellas match the floor and ceiling.
    Find out more about Carroll Gardens Townhouse ›
    Photography is by Tim CrokerDragon Flat, UK, Tsuruta Architects
    Artificial intelligence (AI) was used to design the patterns engraved on plywood panels that decorate the dining room of the Dragon Flat in London’s Notting Hill. Tsuruta Architects used a CNC router – a computer-controlled cutting machine – to engrave a pattern of the River Thames on the wall.
    The architecture studio also updated the two-level maisonette to include a walk-in wardrobe and tatami room, which features an engraved design on its panelled walls.
    Find out more about Dragon Flat ›
    Photography is by David GrandorgeHomerton College, UK, Feilden Fowles
    Homerton College at the University of Cambridge includes a dining hall by London architecture studio Feilden Fowles made from concrete, timber and 3,200 faience tiles.
    The building, which was constructed with chestnut-laminated timber frames and clerestory windows, features a larger eating space, a smaller eating room, the kitchen and staff amenities.
    It was designed to celebrate handcrafting techniques and contemporary construction and engineering.
    Find out more about Homerton College ›
    Photography is by Roland HalbeHouse in El Peumo, Chile, Cristián Izquierdo Lehmann
    This house, designed by Cristián Izquierdo Lehmann, centres around an open-plan kitchen and dining room with a vaulted ceiling that is used for cooking, dining and socialising.
    A minimalist decor compliments the dramatic ceiling, with red stools used for dining and a bookcase lining the wall.
    Located in El Peumo, Chile, the house was clad with laminated pine and features concrete floors and large windows for the owners to enjoy the green exterior.
    Find out more about House in El Peumo ›

    Another Seedbed, US, Future Projects
    The Another Seedbed loft in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, serves as both a home and performance space for its owner. To function as both, the space is predominately open, with hidden rooms located around the apartment.
    Warm pine walls mark the dining space, which features a complementary red angular table and wooden sculptural chairs.
    Other walls in the loft are covered in hand-troweled earthen clay plaster, blue penny-round tiles and floor-to-ceiling shelving.
    Find out more about Another Seedbed ›
    Photography is by Art GrayStone Creek Camp, US, Andersson-Wise Architects
    US-based Andersson-Wise Architects designed the Stone Creek Camp in Big Fork, Montana, as a family retreat of cabins and cottages.
    While it is wood-clad, the kitchen and dining area does not feature traditional panelled walls. Instead, one wall is made from wooden logs that have been assembled to create an unusual wall with a highly textured surface.
    The ceiling was clad in wooden panels that match the floorboards in the home.
    Find out more about Stone Creek Camp ›
    Photography is by Marc GoodwinGeilo Valley Cabin, Norway, Lund Hagem
    Panelled with blackened timber, this Norwegian ski cabin shelters residents from harsh weather conditions and offers panoramic views of the Geilo Valley. The cabin’s exterior concrete walls have also been tinted black to reflect the interior panels.
    The walls and ceiling of the dining room use the same timber cladding, matching the kitchen island to create a cosy, coherent atmosphere.
    “The dark tone allows the nature outside to come closer and creates a darkness that contrasts with the white winter landscape,” said the project’s architects Lund Hagem.
    Find out more about Geilo Valley Cabin ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring homes with focal point wardrobes, statement headboards and homes with pergolas.

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    Trellick Tower apartment revamped in line with Japanese design principles

    German interior designer Peter Heimer and joinery studio Buchholzberlin used a restrained material palette of concrete, oak and aluminium when renovating this flat inside London’s brutalist Trellick Tower.

    The Grade II-listed building, designed by architect Ernö Goldfinger, originally opened in 1972 to provide social housing for the neighbourhood of Kensal Rise but has since become a landmark of brutalist architecture thanks to its distinctive lift tower.
    Peter Heimer and Buchholzberlin have renovated a Trellick Tower flatThe renovation works were carried out in a privately owned apartment on Trellick Tower’s 21st floor that had not been significantly altered in several years and as a result, was host to narrow rooms and lacklustre white walls.
    Its owners wanted the open up the 86-square-metre floorplan to create the impression of a “cool concrete loft” while offering better views of the surrounding cityscape.
    Views of the London skyline took centre stage”Their taste was also trained by contemporary Japanese design, so they wanted to use a reduced range of pure materials,” Buchholzberlin told Dezeen.

    “Since Trellick Tower is subject to strict preservation requirements, our hands were tied so to speak. But we were able to push through with small improvements.”
    Oak was used to form the kitchen’s cabinetry and breakfast counterThe wall separating two former children’s bedrooms was knocked through to create a larger unified space that now serves as the living area.
    The team also exposed the building’s original concrete walls, laid oak flooring and installed slender aluminium lights across the ceiling.
    A bench seat with inbuilt storage boxes was fitted beneath a row of windows at the front of the room, allowing for uninterrupted vistas of northwest London and beyond.
    A pull-out guest bed is concealed within the desk in the studyThe two doors that previously led to the respective children’s bedrooms were left in place. Between them now stands a huge, double-faced oak sideboard.
    An inlaid mirrored panel reflects the distant skyline and in turn “brings an impression of the city into the apartment’s centre”, according to the team.

    “We couldn’t stop Balfron Tower from being privatised. In fact we probably helped it along”

    More concrete and oakwood surfaces can be seen in the kitchen, which occupies the former living area. Low-lying cabinetry was installed along the room’s back wall, while a large breakfast counter was placed at its centre.
    The counter was custom-built to stand at the exact same height as the railing of the apartment’s balcony, ensuring that sightlines aren’t compromised when the clients sit down to eat.
    The desk also discretely hides new water pipesThe former kitchen, meanwhile, was converted into a study with an oakwood desk snaking around the edges of the room.
    Its base conceals a network of water pipes that had to be redirected to serve appliances in the new cooking quarters. One side of the desk also conceals a pull-out bed that can be used when guests come to stay.
    An oak headboard wraps around the principal bedroomThe principal bedroom was left in its original place but – like the rest of the apartment – was stripped back to expose its concrete walls.
    Oakwood was used here to form the base of the bed and its lengthy headboard, which extends along the lower half of the walls.
    Heimer and Buchholzberlin also removed the time-worn laminate that once covered the small flight of stairs leading down from the apartment’s entrance, revealing the concrete steps beneath.
    Concrete steps were revealed in the apartment’s hallwayTrellick Tower is just one example of the striking council estates that can be found across the British capital, which were recently chronicled in a book by photographer Jack Young.
    Others include Holmefield House with its graphic tiled facade and the Brunel Estate, which has a monumental slide sweeping through its public pathways.
    The photography is by Heiko Prigge.

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