Markus Andrews

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    Snøhetta combines clay and oak in minimalist Holzweiler store

    Architecture practice Snøhetta stuck to natural materials for the fit-out of the Holzweiler boutique in Copenhagen, incorporating subtle references to the fashion brand’s Norwegian heritage.

    Snøhetta is a long-term collaborator of Holzweiler’s, having designed the company’s flagship store and showroom in Oslo, as well as a number of its pop-up shops, runway sets and its digital identity.
    Snøhetta has designed Holzweiler’s Copenhagen outpostFor Holzweiler’s first international outpost in Copenhagen, Snøhetta followed the concept of “tracing” – devising an interior scheme that shows traces of the brand’s Norwegian roots alongside the minimalist aesthetic found in its previous retail spaces.
    “Reminiscent of a memory or feeling that remains, the idea of ‘traces’ evokes an emotional sense of the brand’s beloved heritage as it travels to a new city,” the practice said.
    A clay sculpture by Ingeborg Riseng sits at the heart of the storeAt the centre of the 100-square-metre store is a tall, hollow sculpture by Norwegian artist Ingeborg Riseng, which shoppers can step into. Its undulating outer walls are fitted with display shelves and coated in a smooth layer of clay, while the inside has a rough, craggy surface.

    An oakwood display plinth winds its way around the periphery of the store, eventually connecting to a curved timber partition at the rear of the floor plan.
    Around the edge of the store is an oak display plinthBehind the wall lies a changing area with cubicles and curtains created by Danish textile design studio Tronhjem Rømer.
    The fabric is digitally printed with subtle yellow and pale blue stripes, designed to evoke the shifting shades of the Norwegian sky.

    Snøhetta to restore and renovate Lille’s 19th-century Natural History Museum

    To contrast the store’s largely natural material palette, Snøhetta added some industrial-style finishing touches like metal clothing rails and custom strip lighting, developed by Swedish brand Ateljé Lyktan.
    Both the floors and ceilings were preserved from the store’s previous fit-out.
    Garments hang from steel railsOther recent projects by Snøhetta include Bolder Star Lodges, a quartet of wooden cabins that overlook a fjord in Norway.
    Meanwhile in Denmark, the practice employed boat construction techniques to create a timber community centre in Esbjerg.
    The photography is by Magnus Nordstrand, courtesy of Snøhetta and Holzweiler.

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    Wooden furniture and artworks decorate Hiroo Residence in Tokyo

    Designer Keiji Ashizawa used muted tones to make the most of the sunlight in this apartment in central Tokyo, which features wooden art pieces and furniture that was specially designed for the space.

    For the Hiroo Residence, named after its location in the city’s Hiroo neighbourhood, Ashizawa wanted to underline the quality of the light in the flat.
    A cut-out wall lets light into the hallway, which has an artwork by Sara MartinsenIn the open-plan kitchen and living room, light streams in from a balcony, and the designer took advantage of this light source by creating a cut-out wall so that the light carries through to the hallway next to it.
    “I think you can see we have a very nice sunlight here,” he told Dezeen during a walkthrough of the apartment. “So I didn’t want to use white, as it would be too bright – instead I used muted, subtle tones.”
    A wooden artwork by Atelier Plateau and a slatted sideboard decorate the living roomHe also wanted Hiroo Residence to feel like a peaceful place to come home to in a busy city, using natural materials to create a calm ambience.

    “Outside it’s super noisy but inside it’s very quiet, so I chose muted tones that also fuse with the materials; the wood and the stone,” Ashizawa said.
    The tranquil 200-square-metre apartment, which overlooks the Arisugawanomiya Memorial Park, has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, as well as a kitchen and dining area, a small workspace and plenty of storage spaces.
    Shaker-informed chairs and a wooden light were used for the kitchenBefore designing the interior, Ashizawa changed the layout of the flat to make it more open, taking out an existing hallway to create a bigger dining space.
    “Our goal was to design a space that can only be created by meticulously crafting from the smallest detail to the furniture, resulting in a quiet, comforting, and inspiring atmosphere with little noise, surrounded by natural materials crafted with tactility,” Ashizawa said of the design.
    Keiji Ashizawa used a neutral colour palette for the homeHe worked with the Japanese wooden furniture company Karimoku on the project, which is the eighth in its Karimoku Case Study series that sees it collaborate with architects on bespoke furniture and interior projects.
    As a result, wood was used throughout Hiroo Residence, with white-stained oak covering many of the floors.

    Karimoku opens Kyoto showroom informed by traditional houses and temple gardens

    Ashizawa also worked with Karimoku to create wooden window frames and sliding doors, which were placed throughout the flat to add privacy without taking up too much space.
    The furniture matches the wooden interior details and includes two pieces created especially for the project – a sideboard with decorative wooden slats and a dining chair with a woven seat that was inspired by both Shaker designs and classic Scandinavian chairs.
    Wooden panels cover the bedroom wallsIn the bedroom of Hiroo Residence, wooden wall panels add a tactile and more natural feel, which is echoed in the built-in shelves and drawers in the en-suite walk-in closet.
    Cabinets were also used to hide different functions in the kitchen, where a large wooden unit takes up an entire wall.
    An entire wall is taken up by a wooden kitchen unitEven smaller details in the flat, such as the long kitchen lamp, were made from the material.
    Artworks in wood by Danish art studio Atelier Plateau and the artist Sara Martinsen, which were created especially for the space,  decorate the walls.
    Karimoku has worked with Ashizawa on a number of projects, including its second showroom which just opened in Kyoto, Japan, and the Azabu Residence Case Study, where the designer referenced mid-century American design.
    The photography is by Tomooki Kengaku.

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    Space Copenhagen pays homage to historic features in Mammertsberg renovation

    A sculptural spiral staircase, floor-to-ceiling windows and panelled walls have been paired with contemporary furnishings in Space Copenhagen’s renovation of a restaurant and hotel in Switzerland.

    Called Mammertsberg, the combined hotel and restaurant is housed within a 1911 villa that overlooks the Alps mountain range in Freidorf, Switzerland.
    Top: a spiral staircase takes centre stage in Mammertsberg. Above: Space Copenhagen has renovated the Swiss hotel and restaurantDanish design studio Space Copenhagen focused on the restaurant and lounge, which were totally refurbished to transform the interior from its previous status as a Swiss-food restaurant.
    Meanwhile, the adjacent six hotel guest rooms were given a light refresh.
    Contemporary furniture was added to the lounge”We embraced the idea of keeping key historic, listed, and structural features, defining for the building and its architectural heritage,” Space Copenhagen told Dezeen.

    “For the transformation towards something new, it felt important to add a diverse mix of furniture, lighting, materials, art and books, all of which could have been collected slowly over time,” the studio added.
    Linen curtains frame the large windowsDue to the building’s historic status, Space Copenhagen faced certain refurbishment restrictions, which resulted in the studio adapting its design around existing features within the property.
    These included a large central staircase by architect Tilla Theus that connects the restaurant on the ground floor to the bar and lounge on the first floor.
    Natural materials were used throughout the interiorIn the 42-seat fine-dining restaurant, which serves up locally sourced dishes, the studio embraced the high ceilings and large windows by adding floor-to-ceiling curtains in tactile, heavy linen.
    “The building overlooks the impressive landscape and alpine scenery that characterises Switzerland and this inspired our design choices and approach,” said Space Copenhagen.
    “It felt natural to treat the house as a large country home from which to enjoy the surrounding nature; offering guests the opportunity to contemplate and recharge.”
    The restaurant has a walnut and linen colour paletteThe surrounding nature was referenced in the material and colour choices, with solid oak tables in varying shapes and sizes dotted throughout the restaurant and lounge.
    Elsewhere in the Mammertsberg restaurant, Scandinavian chairs were upholstered in subdued colour tones such as walnut and light linen, while petrol blue leather was added for contrast.

    Space Copenhagen renovates landmark Arne Jacobsen hotel using updated classic furniture

    “We wanted to create a warm and inviting scene to balance the vibrant dishes while simultaneously seeking a high level of detailing, quality, and refinement in the curation of materials and furniture pieces,” explained Space Copenhagen.
    “We worked with a new approach to solve the layout for the restaurant. Being a small restaurant allowed us to create a sense of familiarity with a variety of different tables – round, square and longer styles – all with different configurations and possibilities.”
    Six guest rooms were given a light refreshThe project also involved updating Mammertsberg’s guest rooms. Each of the six rooms was individually decorated to feel like someone’s private residence, with sculptural lighting and soft furniture to encourage rest and relaxation.
    According to the designers, the limited time frame meant that finer details such as adding new finishes were prioritised over a larger overhaul.
    Each hotel suite is individually furnished”We couldn’t change the polished stone floors in certain public areas such as the restrooms, bathrooms and guestrooms,” Space Copenhagen said.
    “We solved this by applying a different finish which honed them as much as possible towards a more matt and subdued hue, settling into the overall colour and material palette.”
    Space Copenhagen was established in Denmark in 2005 and is best known for its restaurant interior design projects.
    Among them is the Blueness restaurant in Antwerp, which is decorated with bespoke furnishings and Le Pristine, a restaurant that the company renovated with a moody aesthetic.
    The photography is by Joachim Wichmann.

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    Natural Connections exhibition aims to “help people rediscover nature”

    Designers Inma Bermúdez, Moritz Krefter, Jorge Penadés and Alvaro Catalán de Ocón have created three playful wooden furniture pieces on show at Madrid Design Festival.

    Devised by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), Natural Connections was on show in the entrance hall of the cultural building Matadero Madrid.
    Top: Natural Connections features playful furniture pieces. Above: the exhibition took place in the Matadero MadridEach of the three furniture pieces was designed to encourage interaction with wood – with one acting as a bench, the other a climbing frame and the third a hanging light installation.
    The designs were created in response to a brief provided by AHEC, which sought pieces made by Spanish designers out of maple, cherry, and red oak hardwoods sourced from American forests in an effort to encourage the use of the material.
    Catalán de Ocón designed Nube, a hanging light installation”We challenged the design studios to present these chambers in a public space – in a public context – so that visitors get to experience a connection,” AHEC European director David Venables told Dezeen.

    “The design teams worked with maple, cherry, and red oak to create playful, original, and highly innovative installations that we hope will provide engagement, excitement and a connection for visitors to these wonderful natural materials,” said Venables.
    Inma Bermúdez and Moritz Krefter created several “bovine-shaped” seatsDesigner Catalán de Ocón created a six-metre-long hanging light called Nube  – which translates to cloud in English – made of 4,000 interconnected spherical and cylindrical individual pieces of wood.
    Nube is lit by several LED lights that were placed in the middle of the hollow structure. A brass cable runs from the bass into the mesh structure, branching into positive and negative electric currents.
    Positive poles run through the cherry wood while negative poles run through the maple pieces, which form a complete circuit when they touch and illuminate the bulbs.
    Visitors can perch on the benches and touch the woodsIts design was informed by Catalán de Ocón’s fascination with the manufacturing process for small utilitarian wooden objects such as pegs, matches and blinds.
    “I was inspired by the little match or the pencil, or the wooden pin for hanging the clothes – those kinds of manufacturing techniques, where you get an object which is repeated over and over and over again,” Catalán de Ocón told Dezeen.
    Jorge Penadés produced a bleacher-style structureMeanwhile, La Manada Perdida, or The Lost Herd, by Inma Bermúdez and Moritz Krefter was influenced by the Matadero’s former function as a slaughterhouse and cattle market.
    The Spanish design duo produced a series of red oak, maple and cherry benches for Natural Connections that reference equine and bovine animals such as horses and cows. The pieces were given minimal finishing to mimic the texture of the tree they came from.
    “They appear as benches or seats, but their design goes beyond furniture to incorporate aspects of imagination and play to help people encounter and rediscover nature,” said AHEC.

    Students create sustainable furniture from hardwoods at Madrid Design Festival

    Madrid-based designer Penadés responded to the natural connections theme by producing a tiered seating piece called Wrap that is connected by ball joints.
    The designer, who is known for his interior projects with Spanish footwear brand Camper, glued and rolled 0.7-millimetres-thick pieces of cherry veneer into tubes to create tubular hollow components, which form a bleacher-style seat when joined together.
    Wrap is made from thin rolls of cherry veneerNatural Connections is one of several exhibitions at Madrid Design Festival, a month-long event that sees a design programme take over the Spanish city. After the exhibition ends, the furniture will remain in the cultural centre for a year.
    Also at this year’s edition is Slow Spain, an exhibition by university students that aims to explore American hardwoods and mindful furniture consumption.
    Last year saw lighting designer Antoni Arola and Spanish light manufacturer Simon use a smoke machine, lasers and a small tree to create Fiat Lux 3 Architectures of Light.
    Natural Connections is on show at Matadero Madrid as part of Madrid Design Festival 2023, which takes place from 14 February to 12 March. See Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks taking place throughout the month.
    The photography is courtesy of AHEC.
    Project credits:
    Designers: Inma Bermúdez and Moritz Krefter, Alvaro Catalán de Ocón, Jorge PenadésPartners: American Hardwood Export Council, Matadero Madrid, Madrid Design Festival, Tamalsa

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    Seven homes with discrete cleverly designed lifts

    A converted showroom in London and a São Paulo penthouse with a wood-wrapped elevator are included in this lookbook of homes with smart residential lifts.

    Lifts, also known as elevators, are mechanical shafts that carry people, cars and loads between multiple levels and are typically used in tall buildings.
    But they can also be found in residential buildings, where they can be used to quickly move between floors and ensure that people with mobility issues can easily access the different levels of their homes.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring beige interiors, cosy cabins, space-saving pocket doors.
    Photo is by Ema PeterSyncline, Canada, by Omar Gandhi Architect

    Canadian architecture firm Omar Gandhi Architects built this three-storey home in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The home was named after a syncline – a type of rock formation – and comprises two white volumes that flank a double-height glazed core at its centre.
    A lift was added to the home and set within locally-sourced spruce housing. This elevator is located at the corner of the home and leads to its open-plan kitchen from behind a white door.
    Find out more about Syncline ›
    Photo is by Masao NishikawaEspirit House, Japan, by Apollo Architects & Associates 
    Espirit House was designed by Japanese architecture studio Apollo Architects & Associates for a client who works in landscaping.
    The main bulk of the home has a blocky concrete form and is suspended above a garage. An elevator leads to the interior of the home,  where it is located next to the staircase in the main dining area. Floor-to-ceiling windows flank each side of the home, bringing light to the wood-clad interior.
    Find out more about Espirit House ›
    Photo is by Joe FletcherCole Valley Residence, US, by Jensen Architects
    Completed by San Francisco-based practice Jensen Architects, this home was built for a couple who wanted a home with a serene feel that had views of San Francisco.
    Totalling five storeys, the home is composed of a number of stacked boxes with cantilevered areas. Jensen Architects added a simplistic interior palette of white oak, plaster and polished concrete.
    An elevator was added to the home so that its owners can enjoy the space and its views as they age. On the fourth floor, it is located within a white-painted volume and opens up towards an outdoor terrace.
    Find out more about Cole Valley Residence ›
    Photo is by Fran ParenteSão Paulo penthouse, Brazil, by Tria Arquitectura
    At this São Paulo penthouse, which was designed by Brazilian studio Tria Arquitectura, an elevator shaft was wrapped in vertical strips of slatted wood.
    Other textural materials were used throughout the home, including travertine floors, fabric and wood-panelled walls, which contrast against the home’s stark white walls.
    Find out more about São Paulo penthouse ›
    Photo is by Rachael SmithDanish Mews House, UK, by Neil Dusheiko
    In this west London home that was converted from a showroom to a residence for its elderly owners, British architect Neil Duskeiko installed a lift so that its residents could gain access to the upper floors of the home with ease.
    The elevator runs from the ground floor to the living area and finally to the primary bedroom, which was decorated with floral wallpaper. The elevator has a wooden door with a decorative grain that matches the ceiling.
    Find out more about Danish Mews House ›
    Photo is by Kyle MonkCase Room, US, by Geoffrey von Oeyen
    A glass door fronted elevator was added to the ground and first floor of this Malibu home that was designed by American designer Geoffrey von Oeyen.
    Von Oeyen extended the home and incorporated a paired back interior palette that was comprised of light wood panelling, dark stone floors and white walls. The elevator, which is located to the right of the front entrance, allows visitors with limited mobility to easily access the home’s renovated media room.
    Find out more about Case Room ›
    Photo is by Stijn Poelstra FotografieAmsterdamsestraatweg Water Tower, the Netherlands, by Zecc Architecten
    A former water tower in Utrecht was converted into a series of apartments that have 360-degree views of the city. Dutch studio Zecc Architecten retrofitted the building and added the largest of its apartments, a six-level home, to its very peak.
    A private elevator, located within a white volume and beside a floating staircase, provides access to the six-floor apartment and opens out to an entrance space that features a rusted metal convexed ceiling constructed from the tower’s former water tank.
    Find out more about Utrecht Water Tower ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring beige interiors, cosy cabins, save-saving and pocket doors. 

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    Gin Design Group completes jewel-toned restaurant The Lymbar in Houston

    Houston-based Gin Design Group has combined various mid-century references at a local restaurant, which celebrates its chef’s family history and is “a tribute to all grandmothers”.

    Located at The Ion business centre in Midtown Houston, The Lymbar’s design was heavily influenced by the upbringing of chef David Cordúa, whose menu is based on Latin-Mediterranean cuisine.
    The Lymbar’s bar features a mural by Carissa Marx influenced by the colours of the chef’s family homeThe 4,000-square-foot (370-square-metre) establishment is named after Lymbar Drive, the street where Cordúa’s grandparents settled in Houston from Nicaragua.
    It was designed by Gin Braverman of Gin Design Group, who was the chef’s childhood babysitter.
    Tones used for the plush furniture were taken from the bar mural”The Lymbar is my grandmother’s house,” Cordúa said. “The house stayed in our family, and it’s where we perfected our family’s hospitality.”

    “It’s a tribute to all grandmothers,” he added of the restaurant, which is intended to feel both elevated and cosy, achieved through warm lighting, deep red curtains and plush furnishings.
    Greenery is introduced by a life-like tree in the centre and globe-shaped planters above the bar”We wanted to capture the bustle of a hotel lobby, the polish of a private club and the hospitality of the Cordúa family in the design,” Braverman said.
    “Mixed with a confluence of Latin American, Lebanese and Mediterranean textures and art layered over a backdrop of classic mid-century materials such as warm woods, earthy colors and lush greenery.”
    The shelving above the banquette seating displays mementos from the chef’s childhoodThe colour palette for the interiors was drawn from the Cordúa family home.
    Orange, red and olive hues were used as a starting point for a mural painted on the front of the bar by local artist Carissa Marx.
    Artworks in the space in include a collage by Vernon Caldera, while the scalloped floor pattern was hand-painted by Carissa MarxInfluenced by the work of Brazilian modernist Roberto Burle Marx, no relation to Carissa, the mural then informed the tones chosen for the lounge-style furniture.
    Marx also hand-painted a black and white scalloped pattern across the concrete floor.
    Red velvet curtains and warm lighting evoke the appearance of a hotel lobbyOther nods to mid-century design in the restaurant include the shelving at the main bar, which was inspired by Gio Ponti’s Planchart Villa in Venezuela.
    The shelves display a collection of nostalgic objects and mementos from Cordúa’s childhood.

    Michael Hsu completes cosy Japanese restaurant Uchiko Houston

    Greenery is introduced through a life-like tree that sits at the centre of the dining area and large globe-shaped planters above the bar created in collaboration with locally based Nicaraguan artist Vernon Caldera and The Flora Culture.
    Caldera also helped to curate The Lymbar’s art collection, and one of his collages hangs in the dining room.
    A private dining room is decorated entirely in a red-purple shadeThe restaurant’s open kitchen is framed by a concrete counter and faceted breeze blocks that incorporate lighting. There’s also a private dining room decorated entirely in a red-purple shade.
    Gin Design Group focuses on hospitality interiors primarily in the Houston area. The studio recently completed a barbershop in the Southside Place neighbourhood, which features a radial layout and a hidden cork-like bar.
    The open kitchen is framed by a concrete counter and faceted breeze blocks that incorporate lightingOther restaurants to open in the city over the past year include cosy Japanese spot Uchiko Houston and lively smokehouse Loro Heights – both designed by Michael Hsu.
    The photography is by Leonid Furmansky.

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    Eight practical and beautiful concrete bathrooms around the world

    Our latest lookbook explores eight bathrooms with striking concrete interiors, ranging from a Mexico City bathroom that also features a rough-hewn stone bathtub to a UK bathroom built around a “concrete sculpture”.

    Concrete is a practical choice for bathroom interiors since the material is water-resistant, hardwearing and easy to clean. It can also be a decorative option – the material has a rugged, industrial look that gives bathroom interiors a brutalist feel.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring interiors that prove beige doesn’t have to be boring, tidy kitchens with slick storage solutions and save-saving pocket doors.
    Photo by Nicholas WorleyUntitled House, UK, by Szczepaniak Astridge
    This residential extension in south London was designed around a “concrete sculpture”, a concrete-walled void that travels through the house from the kitchen up to the bathroom.

    Here, concrete was poured in situ to form the foundations, floors, walls and ceilings. A monolithic bathtub, also made from concrete, adds to the brutalist feel of the bathroom.
    Find out more about Untitled House ›
    Photo by Givlio AristideCloister House, Australia, by MORQ
    The almost-windowless Cloister House in Perth surrounds a plant-filled courtyard and was designed to have a sense of privacy.
    Made from thick concrete, its interior walls only have thin, arrow-slit openings. In the home’s bathroom, the rammed-concrete finish of the walls was left exposed and softened with a floor made from wooden slats and a red hardwood ceiling.
    Find out more about Cloister House ›
    Photo by Radu PalicicaSunken Bath, UK, by Studio 304
    Sunken Bath is a glazed bathroom that local studio Studio 304 designed for a London flat to create space for Japanese ritual bathing – a relaxation practice.
    The shower and toilet are separated from the concrete bathtub, which is enclosed by glass walls and a glass roof and offers views of the peaceful bamboo-filled garden.
    Find out more about Sunken Bath ›
    Photo by Gilbert McCarragherHouse and Studio Lambeth, UK, by Carmody Groarke
    Architecture office Carmody Groarke designed House and Studio Lambeth to slot inside the fabric of an old warehouse. Its design combines a brick “skin” with a smooth concrete interior.
    A concrete bathroom unit finished with a large shadow gap underneath the ceiling divides one of the home’s four bedrooms. This is contrasted with a decorative marble sink and copper-hued taps and details.
    Find out more about House and Studio Lambeth ›
    Photo by Maxime BrouilletUnit 622, Canada, by Rainville Sangaré
    Moshe Safdie’s famous brutalist Habitat 67 in Montreal is home to this apartment, which is one of 158 homes in 354 stacked, prefabricated concrete “boxes”.
    Its bathroom features a shower fronted by dichroic glass that changes colour depending on which angle it’s viewed from. Vertical concrete wall tiles were designed in a nod to the brutalist building’s structure.
    Find out more about Unit 622 ›
    Photo by Edmund SumnerPedro Reyes House, Mexico, by Pedro Reyes and Carla Fernandez
    This Mexico City home was made primarily from concrete, applied in varying degrees of coarseness, and was designed for and by a Mexican sculptor and fashion designer.
    In the bathroom, the sink was moulded into a shape that resembles pottery and the bathtub is made from stone to look like a rock pool. The rough-hewn shapes match the rough feel of the concrete walls and ceiling.
    Find out more about Pedro Reyes House ›
    Photo by BoysPlayNiceArt Villa, Costa Rica, by Formafatal and Refuel Works
    The Art Villa is nestled into the Costa Rican jungle and was designed to reference the tropical landscape and buildings by architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha, which are known for their monolithic concrete forms.
    The concrete walls and ceilings in its bathroom match the large stone bathtub and contrast the wood used for the floor. Large floor-to-ceiling windows offer views of the verdant countryside.
    Find out more about Art Villa ›
    Photo by Amy Barkow S-M-L Loft, US, by BC–OA
    Located in a cast-iron building dating from 1880 in New York’s Soho district, the S-M-L Loft draws on its past as a warehouse.
    The functional, industrial vibe of the flat can also be seen in the bathroom, which has solid walnut millwork paired with raw concrete panels and white porcelain tiles.
    Find out more about S-M-L Loft ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring interiors that prove beige doesn’t have to be boring, tidy kitchens with slick storage solutions and save-saving pocket doors.

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    The Mint List fits out London office with mid-century-style movable furniture

    Bespoke furniture with a mid-century feel can be rearranged to alter the use of this office space in north London, which interior design studio The Mint List has created for a music management company.

    Camilla Kelly and Lucy Tudhope of The Mint List designed the headquarters for management company Everybody’s, which recently upgraded to larger premises on the ground floor of a former shipping depot.
    Everybody’s office is located in a former shipping depotArchitect Duncan Woodburn developed plans to reconfigure the large, light-filled unit as an open-plan workspace including a high-ceilinged entrance along with a kitchen and dining area.
    For the interior scheme, The Mint List focused on retaining the building’s existing character and creating a flexible workspace with a midcentury feel.
    The Mint List designed custom joinery to divvy up the interior”We wanted to ensure that we respected the modernist nature of this industrial site, whilst integrating a sense of creativity that was absolutely key for the client,” Kelly said.

    One of the main challenges was zoning the large space to create different functional areas. This was achieved using custom-built joinery to separate self-contained yet open-plan spaces.
    Modular furniture features throughout the office interiorMuch of the joinery is modular, allowing the space to be reconfigured if required. Large storage units at the entrance are accessible from both sides and completely movable so they can be rolled away to create an open event space.
    Most of the time, the units serve to separate the office from the entrance area and provide staff with a degree of privacy from visitors.
    The office also houses a lounge for playing musicThe main workspace is flooded with light that enters through the building’s glazed frontage. It contains desks and bespoke oak credenzas that can also be easily moved to completely clear the open-plan room.
    At one end of the office is a kitchen with built-in storage, including coloured drawers and cupboard fronts that complement the African sapele wood joinery.

    Victorian warehouse in London transformed into Greencoat Place office

    The kitchen contains bar seating next to the windows and a dining space arranged around a three-metre-long leather-topped artist’s table.
    A full-height glazed wall specified by the client separates the workspace from private offices and a cloakroom on the ground floor, as well as a mezzanine that houses an acoustically sealed meeting room and a lounge for playing music.
    Glossy tiles feature in the stairwell”The brief was a seamless, vertical grid of glass,” explained Kelly. “So we helped to translate that in terms of the finishes – textured glass to obscure vision through to the office and a beautifully finished oak frame that complements the midcentury scheme.”
    Throughout the project, The Mint List applied a palette of tactile and honest materials including sapele wood, oak, concrete and burnished brass.
    The Mint List added wood surfaces and brass detailsA colour scheme based on natural hues including greens, creams and earthy browns adds visual richness to the spaces.
    The office’s Marmoleum flooring is a custom design that subtly separates the space into different zones. The renewable material was chosen for its excellent acoustic properties in order to help absorb sound within the open spaces.
    The bathrooms are playfully decorated with colourful tilesBathrooms located on the ground floor feature retro sanitary- and brassware complemented by playful tiles, with each wall laid in different patterns and colours.
    Other recent office makeovers in London include Office S&M’s self-designed studio inside a former paint-making workshop and creative agency Ask Us For Ideas’ Soho office, which is split across two diametrically opposed floors.
    The photography is by Dave Watts.

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