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    India Mahdavi enlivens Rome’s Villa Medici with bold geometric furnishings

    Architect India Mahdavi has updated six rooms within Rome’s 16th-century Villa Medici to feature an array of contemporary and colourful furniture.

    The intervention comes as part of a three-year project called Re-enchanting Villa Medici, which was launched in 2022 to amplify the presence of contemporary design and craft within the Renaissance palace.
    India Mahdavi has furnished six rooms inside the Villa Medici including the Chamber of the Muses (above) and the Lili Boulanger room (top image)While the first phase of the project saw fashion brand Fendi revamp Villa Medici’s salons, Mahdavi was asked to freshen up rooms on the building’s piano nobile or “noble level”, where the main reception and the bedrooms are housed.
    She worked on a total of six spaces including the Chamber of the Elements, Chamber of the Muses and Chamber of the Lovers of Jupiter, which once served as an apartment to Cardinal Ferdinando de Medici.
    Several of Mahdavi’s Bishop stools were integrated into the designThe three other rooms – titled Debussy, Galileo and Lili Boulanger – were formerly used as guest quarters.

    In the Chamber of the Muses, which is topped with a dramatic coffered ceiling, Mahdavi inserted sea-green editions of her Bishop stool alongside an enormous hand-tufted rug by French workshop Manufacture d’Aubusson Robert Four.
    Its geometric design features green, purple, red, and rosy pink shapes, recalling the flowerbeds that appear across the villa’s sprawling gardens.
    Chairs were reupholstered with eye-catching raspberry-hued velvetOnly subtle alterations were made to the Chamber of the Elements and Chamber of the Lovers of Jupiter, where Mahdavi has repositioned an existing bed to sit against an expansive wall tapestry.
    Some of the chairs here were also reupholstered in raspberry-hued velvet.

    Fendi introduces modern furnishings to Rome’s historic Villa Medici

    A cluster of bright yellow sofas and armchairs sourced from the French conservation agency Mobilier National was incorporated into the Lili Boulanger room, named after the first female composer to take up residence at the villa.
    The furnishings sit on top of a blush-pink rug by French manufacturer La Manufacture Coglin and are accompanied by octagonal tables designed by Mahdavi.
    The Lili Boulanger room has a grouping of bright yellow sofas and armchairsA Renaissance-style four-poster bed was added to the room named after astronomer Galileo Galilei, who reportedly visited Villa Medici twice in his lifetime.
    The bed’s tiered wooden base and headboard were inlaid with graphic, berry-toned marquetry by cabinetmaker Craman Lagarde. The pattern, which also appears on the curtains that enclose the bed, takes cues from the design of the villa’s flooring.
    A grand four-poster bed is inlaid with berry-tone marquetryA similar bed can be seen in the room named after French composer Claude Debussy. But this time, the marquetry done by French furnituremaker Pascal Michalon is executed in more “acidulous” colours that Mahdavi said reminded her of Debussy’s piano piece Clair de lune.
    Mahdavi has lent her distinctive colour-rich aesthetic to a number of significant venues. Recent examples include the lavish London restaurant Sketch, to which she added sunshine-yellow and golden furnishings.
    The photography is by François Halard.

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    Camille Walala takes colourful aesthetic to the max in self-designed studio

    London designer Camille Walala has worked with carpentry workshop Our Department to fit out her own studio with a no-holds-barred version of her colourful design style.

    Electric blue floors, graphically patterned cabinetry and a kitchenette with cartoon-like proportions feature in the space, which is located in the Regent Studios building off Broadway Market in East London.
    Camille Walala designed her studio to include a kitchen with exaggerated proportionsThe seventh-floor space attracted Walala and her studio manager Julia Jomaa with its sweeping views.
    Knowing they would be in no hurry to vacate, the duo took their time with the design, working side by side in the studio for over a year while adjusting the position of their space-dividing furniture until they arrived at a layout with the perfect functionality for them.
    The studio chose to embrace colour in the designOnce they decided to embark on the interior design, it was not a given that they would embrace Walala’s signature bold colour palette, as they worried about it potentially clashing with future work.

    “We were like, how colourful should we go?” Walala told Dezeen. “Should we keep it quite simple or should we actually go for it?”
    But ultimately, she says the desire to feel inspired by their workspace and “inhabit the aesthetic fully” won out.
    The studio is divided into two rooms including one for “clean” computer-based workThe studio is divided into two rooms – one for “clean” computer-based work and the other for “messy” activities such as painting and model making.
    Walala and Jomaa created a 3D model of the interior in SketchUp before bringing in their favourite carpenters” Our Department – a studio specialising in design and fabrication for the creative industries – to realise the design.
    The duo of Simon Sawyer and Gustave Andre built all of the elements in the space with a focus on achieving clean lines and pure block colours along with maximum functionality.
    Our Department achieved clean lines by sticking coloured shapes onto MDF doorsFor the cabinetry, they used doors made of melamine-faced medium-density fibreboard (MDF) and applied a decorative technique they had used on previous Walala projects.
    This involved CNC-cutting shapes out of thin MDF, before spraypainting and precisely glueing them onto the doors to create a graphic pattern while avoiding the fuzzy lines that can sometimes come from painting directly onto surfaces.
    In the kitchen, the group worked together to exaggerate proportions as much as possible, with Walala saying she dreamed of achieving a “Bart Simpson kitchen” through elements such as chunky handles and bold grout.

    Camille Walala shares colourful vision to make Oxford Street a car-free shopping district

    “We designed the Lego House a few years ago, this really colourful house,” she explained. “Especially the kitchen in that space was really quite bold and almost like a cartoon, and we thought we should do something similar in our studio.”
    By contrast, a more subtle feature is the double sliding door between the studio’s two rooms, which consists of a transparent fluted screen set within a black frame.
    While it may be less attention-grabbing, Jomaa says the mesmeric effect of the fluted panels sliding against each other is like a “little animation of colour”.
    The workspace also includes natural details like custom tulipwood desk legsThere are also a few natural wood elements throughout the interior such as tulipwood desk legs to balance the liberal use of colour.
    As with all residents of Regent Studios, Walala will need to return the rented space to its original condition when her studio eventually leaves, so there are no permanent fixtures and everything is designed to be dismantled.
    Even the central “wall”, which contains floor-to-ceiling storage on one side, is freestanding. But the team used kitchen-unit feet to wedge it against the ceiling for stability.
    Everything is designed to be dismantled when the studio one day moves outWalala and Jamaa have been working together for eight years and started off sharing a desk in a basement studio. Their recent projects have included murals, installations and a proposal for a car-free Oxford Street.
    Walala is often seen as being part of the New London Fabulous wave of maximalist designers, alongside Yinka Ilori, Morag Myerscough and Adam Nathaniel Furman.
    The photography is by Taran Wilkhu.

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    Mason Studio reimagines its Toronto workspace “for the greater good”

    Toronto interiors firm Mason Studio has redesigned its offices to offer community programming like exhibitions, events and other public-facing activities.

    Mason Studio relaunched its workspace as a new hybrid office and cultural hub to serve “the greater good” during the DesignTO festival earlier this year.
    Mason Studio has redesigned its two-storey office building to serve as both a workspace and a cultural community hubAs well as an office for the studio’s team members, the building in Pelham Park now operates as a gallery space, community library, fabrication hub, experimentation space for non-profits and a coffee bar to name a few.
    “Today’s office is no longer just a place for work, but rather a space for conversation and discourse, a space for inspiration and rejuvenation, and a space for community to get involved, and gather and share knowledge,” said the team.
    The space hosts a variety of exhibitions, installations and events, including An Optimistic Future pictured hereThe two-storey, industrial style building is largely decorated white, with curtains used to divide the various spaces and functions.

    A double-height atrium can house artworks and installations, which are able to be suspended from the ceiling beams.
    A materials library is open to local architects and designersAmong the areas within the building is a plant-filled study garden upstairs, where stools and chairs are placed around mossy tables that sprout foliage from their centres.
    “The greenery and natural elements of the garden create a sense of tranquility, which helps reduce stress and improve overall well-being,” said Mason Studio.
    The study garden allows team and community members to work and read among the greeneryAn open materials library can be utilised by local architects and designers, and a “give-one-take-one” book library is open to all community members.
    Mason Studio also hosts storytime sessions for the children of their team and other community members. “This experiment was a reminder of how vital play is as a tool to socialize, learn and focus — even in the workplace,” the team said.
    White curtains are used to divide the building’s various functions and areasDuring the annual Toronto design festival DesignTO, Mason Studio hosted a series of installations and activations to create a space where visitors “could experience an optimistic vision of the future”.
    For example, a temporary pay-what-you-want cafe donated any funds collected to local non-profit organisations.

    Mason Studio designs Kimpton Saint George hotel as “homage to Toronto”

    “These types of new amenities not only stimulate local economies but also contribute to the cultural vitality of the community,” said Mason Studio.
    The inaugural art installation in The Gallery at Mason Studio, a collaborative effort named Full Moon Reflected On The Ocean At 01:34, comprised a giant glowing orb that was reflected on sheets of fan-blown mylar fabric.
    A community library and workspace is offered as a resourceIn March 2023, the studio partnered with Toronto-based contemporary art gallery Cooper Cole Gallery to present works by emerging BIPOC and marginalised artists in the space.
    Then in April, The Gallery at Mason Studio hosted Canadian artist Kadrah Mensah’s exhibition titled Surely, You’re Joking, which included video, sculpture, and installations intended to normalise digital body manipulation.
    The Gallery at Mason Studio’s inaugural installation comprised a large glowing sphere reflected in fan-blown mylar sheets belowMason Studio was founded over a decade ago by Stanley Sun and Ashley Rumsey, who have since completed projects that range from a cloud-like installation to the interiors of the Kimpton Saint George hotel.
    The most recent edition of DesignTO, Toronto’s citywide celebration of design, took place from 20-29 January 2023. Find more design events, talks and installations on the Dezeen Events Guide.
    The photography is by Scott Norsworthy.

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    Eight cherry red interiors that make colour their primary focus

    For our latest lookbook, we’ve picked eight interiors that are blanketed in shades of red that include an office in Belgium, a bar toilet in London and a mansion in Mexico.

    The colour red is most commonly associated with activity, passion, sexuality, love and joy. In this lookbook Dezeen has highlighted ways in which interior designers and architects have used the colour in different interior settings.
    Red terracotta tiles cover the interior of a home in Barcelona and red-tinted glass creates a glowy magma-like hue within the interior of a home located at the base of a volcano.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring terraces and balconies, marble-lined bathrooms and cave-like interiors.
    Photo by Knut BryBarn House, Norway, by Jon Danielsen Aarhus 

    Oslo based-architect Jon Danielsen Aarhus designed a gabled shed that sits on the grounds of a retired couple’s home in Lillehammer, Norway, which is used for painting, sculpting, craft and as additional living space.
    The entrance hall of the gabled shed was covered entirely in red, including its window frames. The colour was chosen specifically to contrast against the structure’s raw timber exterior.
    Find out more about Barn House ›
    Photo by Hannelore VeelaertAEtelier office, Belgium, by Studio Anton Hendrik Denys
    In Belgium, Studio Anton Hendrik Denys and Steen Architecten transformed an industrial office building and added colourful graphics and bold hues to define areas across the interior.
    The kitchen-cum-bar of the office was blanketed in an orangey-red hue, including its floor, walls, ceiling, fixtures and furnishings, which signifies and zones areas of the interior without the need for partition walls.
    Find out more about AEtelier office ›
    Photo by Tim Van de VeldeSocial House, Brussels, by WAW Architects
    A vibrant red covers cabinet doors, drawers, floors, walls and the ceiling of a shared staff kitchen at a social services centre in Brussels, which was designed by WAW Architects.
    The centre is located within a former orphanage and was converted into offices by the architecture studio. Bright hues were used throughout the interior to colour code the office space with red extending from a kitchen to an adjoining corridor.
    Find out more about Social House ›
    Photo is by Felix SpellerSOMA, UK, by Cake Architecture and Max Radford
    Located within a basement in London’s Soho, speakeasy-style bar SOMA was designed by Cake Architecture and Max Radford.
    The restroom of the underground bar was painted bright red and paired with wooden fixtures and trimmings that were used to surround doorframes and recessed shelving in each of the cubicles.
    Find out more about SOMA ›
    Photo is by José HeviaHouse in Sant Antoni de Vilamjor, Spain, by Arquitectura-G
    Red was used as a running theme across this family home on the outskirts of Barcelona. It was designed by local studio Arquitectura-G and sits directly on top of a pre-existing garage.
    Red features both inside and outdoors with many materials used across the exterior similarly used to decorate the interior, such as red bricks, red corrugated panelling and clay tiles.
    Find out more about House in Sant Antoni de Vilamjor ›
    Photo is by Genevieve LutkinCollective/Collectible, Mexico, by Masa
    Rich tones of red blanket the walls and floors of this abandoned mansion in the Lomas neighbourhood of Mexico City, which was used as the setting for an exhibition by gallerist Masa.
    The 1970s home was decorated with furniture designed by 16 Mexico City-based designers and architects, including Esrawe, EWE Studio and Frida Escobedo. The interior features a grand staircase that was topped with a red runner.
    Find out more about Collective/Collectible ›
    Photo is by Joe FletcherLookout House, US, by Faulkner Architects
    Although this room has no physical red elements Lookout House was fitted with red-tinted glass that provides the interior with a glowing red hue when light penetrates through the home.
    The home is located in Truckee, California at the foot of Lookout Mountain volcano. It was designed by Faulkner Architects who wanted to mimic the colour of cooling magma within the home.
    Find out more about Lookout House ›

    Fox Head Inc, US, by Clive Wilkinson Architects
    A bright red interior was selected as a focal feature for the offices of a motocross apparel company in California. The headquarters was designed by Clive Wilkinson Architects which transformed a 7,600-square-metre warehouse into a flexible workplace.
    A conference room at the headquarters was enclosed with red-tinted glass and fitted with a deep red carpet. A large white table and matching chairs, which have a bright red upholstered seat, were placed at the centre of the space.
    Find out more about Fox Head Inc office ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring terraces and balconies, marble-lined bathrooms and cave-like interiors.

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    Capella hotel takes over former government building in Sydney

    Architecture firm Make and interior design practice BAR Studio have converted Sydney’s heritage-listed Department of Education building into the latest outpost from Capella Hotels.

    The adaptive reuse project involved adding a modern extension with curved glass corners to the building’s roof, set back from its sandstone facade to respect the original Edwardian Baroque architecture.
    With these four additional floors, the building now measures eleven storeys high and houses 192 guest rooms alongside bars, restaurants and a 20-metre swimming pool that occupies the former sixth-floor gallery.
    Sydney’s Department of Education building was converted into a Capella hotelSince the Department of Education was constructed in Sydney’s historic Sandstone Precinct in 1912, its interior had been compromised with countless ad-hoc changes, according to Make.
    The studio worked to restore the sense of grandeur envisioned by the original architect George McRae, for example by reinstating the internal garden courtyard on the ground floor.

    “Stitching together the existing Edwardian Baroque-style structure with a new contemporary layer of architecture is one of many things that makes this landmark project stand out as a hotel,” Make designer Michelle Evans told Dezeen.
    It now houses 192 guest rooms and restaurants including Brasseries 1930″Capella Sydney has been a joy to work on, as it builds on our growing portfolio of reusing and adapting existing and heritage buildings,” she added.
    Picking up the baton from Make, hospitality design firm BAR Studio was tasked with creating luxurious yet contemporary interiors for the hotel that work seamlessly with the history of the building.
    “The heritage building that houses Capella Sydney provided us with the underpinning for the interior design,” said co-founder Stewart Robertson.
    A swimming pool occupies the building’s sixth-floor galleryWhile the building’s exterior was largely intact, only a few areas of historical significance remained inside.
    Some of these spaces offered incredible opportunities for reinvention, such as the gallery on the former top floor, which has become the Auriga spa and pool.
    Meanwhile, references to the original steel-framed windows were incorporated into the interiors via a recurring motif of framed forms.

    Make completes dramatic arched link for Chadstone shopping centre

    Steel in black and bronze finishes was used throughout the building to frame doors, windows and screens, making a subtle reference to the district’s origins in the age of industry.
    This serves the practical purpose of delineating and dividing spaces but also brings a restrained form of embellishment, Robertson said.
    “We’ve used framing techniques to create separation but also to build an organic connection between the public spaces,” he explained.
    “We wanted the colour and finish to feel appropriate to the original era but also for these elements to read as new and sophisticated insertions.”
    The same floor also houses a spaA palette of natural materials brings a sense of subtle luxury to the bedrooms and communal spaces.
    Steel was used alongside honed marble, sandblasted travertine, natural wall coverings and light and dark timber. This approach enables the heritage features as well as the art and objects to become the focal points.
    The colour palette, too, is simple and neutral, taking its cues from the material palette with stone-coloured walls and tan leather upholstery.
    Each treatment room sits under a one of the original roof lanterns”The neutral base palette of cream stone and dark and light timber integrates with the existing architectural and design elements but sets a warm and soothing mood, creating a real sanctuary from the surrounding city,” explained Robertson.
    In keeping with the light touch of the new architectural interventions, much of the furniture draws on the concept of campaign furniture – traditionally made for military campaigns and therefore easy to transport.
    “These portable and ingenious pieces bring the comforts of home to remote places,” said Robertson.
    A recurring motif of framed forms features throughout the hotel’s interiorsOther Capella hotels include the Norman Foster-designed Capella Resort – set on an island off the coast of Singapore – and the Capella Sanya, which won the 2020 AHEAD Asia award for best landscaping and outdoor spaces.
    The photography is by Timothy Kay.

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    Brazilian architects renovate Brigadeiro Apartment for themselves

    Architect couple Leandro Garcia and Amanda Dalla-Bona have renovated a 1970s apartment in Curitiba, Brazil, for themselves, reconfiguring the layout and choosing eclectic furniture.

    All of the electrics and plumbing needed to be replaced, and the floor plan was rethought to create “a place to pause and retreat”.
    The couple remodelled the apartment to suit their needsThree bedrooms were replaced with two to make room for a larger living and dining area, which could be integrated with the existing kitchen.
    Original features including the window frames and the imbuia parquet floor were retained and restored, while a variety of new materials were introduced.
    The living space with brightened by white walls, large rugs and translucent curtainsThe Brigadeiro Apartment has been in Dalla-Bona’s family since the 1980s – it was her parents’ home as newlyweds and where her older sister was born.

    After moving out when they planned their second child, the parents rented out the 108-square-metre space for 30 years.
    A concrete column was exposed while reconfiguring the floor planDue to its central location, Dalla-Bona always discouraged them from selling it, as she had intentions to move in herself one day.
    When that time came recently, she and her partner Garcia decided to remodel the interiors to better align with their needs.
    The architects custom-designed a 4.5-metre-long dining table for themselves”From the apartment the view is expansive, a rare characteristic in the city centre, and we were both captivated by the natural light, the sun and wind streaming in through the windows,” said the couple.
    “Walking a few blocks, we arrive at our favorite cafes and restaurants and in our studio, where we work together,” they added.
    Removing a bedroom allowed the living space to be opened up to the kitchenTerrazzo countertops and a backsplash of hydraulic tiles were added in the kitchen, while a concrete column in the living room was exposed.
    The remainder of the lounge area is brightened by white walls, textured rugs and translucent curtains.
    Terrazzo countertops and hydraulic tiles were introduced in the kitchenAn assortment of vintage modernist and newer furniture pieces – mostly by Brazilian designers – add colour and character to the interiors.
    Mid-century seating by Percival Lafer, Flavio de Carvalho and Geraldo de Barros are among the couple’s choices, along with a collection of lamps, stools and tables.

    Leandro Garcia renovates compact flat in Curitiba for hosting guests

    “In the living room, the furniture – not only the armchairs, but also the carpets, must be soft to sit on the ground – was chosen, thrifted and positioned for conversations and readings,” they said.
    Garcia and Dalla-Bona also custom-designed a 4.5-metre-long wood dining table to accommodate their various daily activities, and host their friends and family for meals.
    A variety of vintage furniture pieces were sourced for the interiorsBesides the cabinetry in the kitchen and bathroom, all of the storage and furniture is moveable.
    In the bathroom, the floor and walls are covered in small white mosaic tiles, affixed with matching grout for a clean, minimalist appearance.
    White mosaic tiles and grout create a minimalistic look in the bathroomCuritiba, in the southern Brazilian state of Paraná, is the site of several projects completed by Garcia, Dalla-Bona and their team, including the renovation of a compact apartment renovated for a journalist.
    The studio has also overhauled a family’s holiday home near the beach in Matinhos, and filled it with vintage Brazilian furniture.
    The photography is by Fran Parente.

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    Six renovated Parisian apartments in historical Haussmann-era buildings

    Period details are mixed with contemporary interventions inside these renovated apartments in Paris, built in the mid-19th century during Georges-Eugène Haussmann’s reconstruction of the French capital.

    In his role as the prefect of the Seine département under Napoleon III, Baron Haussmann was responsible for creating the network of boulevards that still define the city’s urban landscape today.
    The homogenous apartment buildings flanking these boulevards were designed to strict guidelines, all made from cream-coloured stone with a steep four-sided mansard roof and no more than six storeys.
    Although Haussmann was less prescriptive about the building’s interiors, they generally feature high ceilings and parquet floors alongside elaborate mouldings and boiserie.
    Read on for six examples of how architects and interior designers have brought these apartments into the 21st century, including a book lover’s loft and two flats combined to form a family home in the Marais.

    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bedrooms with minimalist interiors, concrete kitchens and marble-lined bathrooms.
    Photo by Salem MostefaouiWood Ribbon apartment by Toledano + Architects
    Original details such as parquet floors and ornate ceiling plasterwork were retained in the renovation of this apartment, which had been left largely untouched since the end of the 19th century.
    But local studio Toledano + Architects tore down several partition walls to create a more open floorplan, traversed by a snaking plywood wall that roughly divides the apartment into three zones while providing tactical storage in the living room and kitchen.
    “I really wanted to enhance this dichotomy between ancient and contemporary,” founder Gabrielle Toledano told Dezeen. “It’s very relevant in a city like Paris where both are in a constant dialogue.”
    Find out more about Wood Ribbon apartment ›
    Photo by Giulio GhirardiApartment Canal Saint Martin by Rodolphe Parente
    French interior designer Rodolphe Parente made only a few minor architectural interventions when overhauling this apartment in Canal Saint-Martin, exposing long sealed-off doorways and creating a hybrid dining room and kitchen.
    Instead, he modernised the apartment by contrasting original details such as mouldings with unexpected contemporary details, colours and the “radical” art collection of the owner.
    In the bedroom, a vivid purple rug clashes with caramel-coloured walls while in the living room, period wall panelling highlights the modernity of the sofa and the glossy coffee table.
    Find out more about Apartment Canal Saint Martin ›
    Photo by Olivier Martin GambierApartment XIV by Studio Razavi
    With several partition walls removed, French office Studio Razavi created a new layout for this apartment by slotting a multi-faceted furniture block made from wood-fibre panels into the remaining gaps.
    Its staggered profile creates sightlines between the different areas of the house while framing some of the building’s original Hausmann-style ceiling mouldings.
    Painted in a muted slate grey, the furniture block performs a different function in every room – acting as a storage cabinet in the kitchen, a TV mount in the living room and a desk in the study.
    Find out more about Apartment XIV ›
    Photo by Stephan JulliardMarais apartment by Sophie Dries
    Two flats become one 100-square-metre residence in this renovation project that French architect Sophie Dries completed in trendy Marais for a family of four.
    Period details were painted in simple white, providing a contrast with new additions such as the Hans J Wegner chairs and the dyed linen curtains in the living room
    “The Haussmannian style was refined and pared down, in order to introduce minimal lines better suited to a modern family,” Dries explained.
    Find out more about Marais apartment ›

    Enter the Diamond by Atelier 37.2
    An additional bathroom is housed inside the three-metre-high birchwood volume at the centre of this residence in the French capital, designed by local studio Atelier 37.2.
    The sharp lines of the diamond-shaped structure contrast with the apartment’s ornate ceiling mouldings and white-painted walls.
    “This tension generates a fictional potential that plays with the imagination of the inhabitants,” said the studio.
    Find out more about Enter the Diamond ›
    Photo by Stéphane ChalmeauArsenal loft by h2o Architectes
    This three-room loft is set inside the mansard roof of a Haussmann-era building in the Arsenale district, which originally served as servant’s quarters for the apartments below.
    Parisian firm h2o Architectes opened up its floor plan to make the most of the top-floor views while installing wooden bookshelves to define different areas and house the extensive library of the apartment’s book-loving owner.
    Their timber construction creates a visual connection with the original parquet floors, while the white paint used to brighten walls and other structural elements continues onto some sections of the floor.
    Find out more about Arsenal loft ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bedrooms with minimalist interiors, concrete kitchens and marble-lined bathrooms.

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    Tomás Saraceno adapts Serpentine gallery to welcome all species

    Argentinian artist Tomás Saraceno has changed the HVAC and electrical system of the Serpentine gallery in London, in an effort to make an exhibition for all the nearby species.

    Titled Web(s) of Life, the exhibition presents some of the artist’s most recent and well-known environmentally focused works, while also encompassing interventions into the building itself.
    These interventions aim to make the Serpentine South building housing the exhibition more porous and responsive to its setting in Kensington Gardens, challenging anthropocentric perspectives that only consider the interests of humans and not any other beings.
    Tomás Saraceno has made changes to the Serpentine South building for his exhibitionSculptures made for the enjoyment of a variety of different animals are placed on the building’s grounds, facade and roof as well as inside the building, while complex webs woven by multiple types of spiders working “in collaboration” with Saraceno feature inside the dimly lit galleries.
    “You see that many architectures today are somehow not so inclusive of what is happening on the planet,” said Saraceno, who trained as an architect. “I’m very happy to think that for the first time at the Serpentine, there are many spiderweb pavilions.”

    “It’s a little bit about trying to think how animal architecture could enter into the discourse and how we need to have a much more equilibrated and balanced way of building cities today on Earth,” he told Dezeen.
    Saraceno’s Cloud Cities sculptures can be found in the groundsTo make the gallery interior more comfortable for spiders and other insects, the equipment that controls the building’s temperature and humidity has been switched off and some doorways opened to allow for free movement of both air and animal life.
    Given the exhibition will run throughout the British summertime, this might mean some discomfort for human visitors – but within limits. According to the Serpentine’s chief curator Lizzie Carey-Thomas, the gallery will allow the staff on its floor to decide when conditions are too hot for them to work safely or for visitors to have an enjoyable time.
    At that point, the gallery will close rather than switch on the air-conditioning, encouraging visitors to enjoy the installations outside in the park and under the trees.
    The sculptures also feature inside the galleryA further intervention by Saraceno comes in the form of a new solar array on the Serpentine’s roof, which will power all the films and lights in the exhibition.
    The destructive effects of lithium mining on the environment and Indigenous communities is a key theme of the exhibition. So Saraceno and the Serpentine are avoiding the use of a lithium battery and instead embracing the intermittency of solar power by adapting the exhibition’s energy use to the level of sunshine outside.

    Tomás Saraceno installs Aerocene metallic orbs in Paris’ Grand Palais

    On cloudy or partly cloudy days, films will run less frequently and lights will be dimmed. On particularly sunless days, the films may switch to audio-only, while some lights will switch off altogether.
    “The irony there is that on the extreme heat days with lots of sun, we will have full power but we won’t be able to open the exhibition,” said Carey-Thomas.
    As the Serpentine South building is heritage listed, both Carey-Thomas and Saraceno say the process for making any alterations was complex and drawn out, with approval for the solar panels taking two years and other plans to remove windows and doors quickly abandoned.
    The exhibition environment is meant to be more comfortable for spiders, whose webs are on displayThe works within the exhibition include Saraceno’s Cloud Cities sculptures, which feature compartments specifically designed for different animals such as birds, insects, dogs, hedgehogs and foxes.
    The artist is also screening a film that documents one of the instalments of his Aerocene project, which involves making an entirely fossil-free aircraft powered purely by air heated by the sun with no need for batteries, helium, hydrogen or lithium.
    In the film, the Aerocene team completes the world’s first piloted solar-powered flight, flying a balloon sculpture over the highly reflective salt flats in Salinas Grandes.
    A film in the exhibition documents Saraceno’s fossil-free flight projectThere is also a work created specifically for children, called Cloud Imagination, which is accessed through a dog-shaped door that’s too small for most adults to enter.
    Saraceno and the Serpentine describe the Web(s) of Life exhibition as having been created “in collaboration” with a host of different contributors, both human and non-human.
    These include the communities of Salinas Grandes and Laguna de Guayatayoc in Argentina, spider diviners in Cameroon, the communities around Aerocene and Saraceno’s Arachnophilia project, and the lifeforms found in the Royal Parks surrounding the Serpentine, which will continue to evolve the works over the next three months.
    The films may run less frequently when the levels of solar energy are affected by cloud coverThe artist and gallery also want to extend the ethos of the exhibition to the potential sale of the artworks by developing a scheme called partial common ownership or, Saraceno hopes, “partial common stewardship”, which means any buyer would “co-own” the work along with a designated species or community.
    Another recent artwork to have explored ideas of intermittency in energy and design is Solar Protocol, which looks at the potential of a solar-powered internet.
    The photography is by Studio Tomás Saraceno.
    Tomás Saraceno In Collaboration: Web(s) of Life will take place at Serpentine South in London, UK from 1 June to 10 September 2023 and culminate with a day-long festival on Saturday, 9 September including a weather-dependent Aerocene flight. For more information about events, exhibitions and talks, visit Dezeen Events Guide.

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