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    ASA Studio Albanese references mid-century offices for Thom Browne store in San Francisco

    American fashion label Thom Browne has opened its first retail location in San Francisco, designed by ASA Studio Albanese to feature dramatic marble against white slatted blinds.

    The flagship store is situated at 432 Jackson Street in the historic Yeon Building, which dates back to 1855, in the heart of the city’s luxury shopping district.
    Thom Browne’s San Francisco store pairs decorative marble walls with white slatted blindsIts interior is the latest collaboration between Thom Browne’s eponymous founder and architect Flavio Albanese of Italy-based ASA Studio Albanese, who has designed over a dozen stores for the brand since 2017.
    Like its counterparts around the world, the 1,250-square-foot (116-square-metre) space is outfitted to look like a Mad Men-era workplace.
    A selection of mid-century furniture pieces was curated for the spaceThis is achieved by pairing highly decorative marble surfaces with strips of white slatted blinds and tube lighting.

    “Behind Thom Browne’s signature slat blind-covered windows is a minimalist mid-century style office with rows of fluorescent tube lighting, polished with white Calcutta and Carrara marble floors, and banker grey Bardiglio and Carrara marble walls,” said the Thom Browne team.
    The store’s desaturated colour palette is reflective of the brand’s clothingAmong the furniture pieces curated to embellish the theme are a glass-topped desk placed in the centre of the room at one end and chairs that form a small seating area at the other.
    “Thom continues to outfit this space with mid-century furniture by American and French designers — including seating and lamps by Jacques Adnet, a desk by TH Robsjohn-Gibbings, office chairs by Knoll, benches by McCobb, coffee tables by Mathieu Mategot, and display etagere’s by Maison Jansen,” the team said.
    Accessories are displayed on minimalist shelving unitsThe largely desaturated colour palette – reflective of the brand’s clothing – is interrupted by brass accessories and details on the furniture, as well as a few camel-toned garments.
    A black band wraps around the rooms at floor level, separating the grey marble on the walls from the lighter toned stone underfoot.

    Thom Browne holds “teddy talk” for toy-inspired Autumn Winter 2022 collection

    Clothes are presented on metal rails mounted on wheels, while bags, shoes, eyewear and fragrances are displayed on minimalist freestanding shelves.
    The fitting rooms are hidden behind doors covered in the same material as the walls so that they blend in seamlessly when closed.
    The store is located in the historic Yeon Building on Jackson SquareThom Browne founded his label in 2001 with five suits in a small by-appointment shop in New York City’s West Village, and eventually expanded to include ready-to-wear and accessories lines for both men and women.
    Browne’s Autumn Winter 2022 collection was an ode to toys and featured sculptural tailoring, presented at New York Fashion Week in front of an audience of 500 teddy bears.
    The photography is courtesy of Thom Browne.

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    Ten living rooms that use warm neutrals to create a cosy ambience

    As the days get darker in the northern hemisphere, our latest lookbook spotlights 10 living rooms rendered in warm yet discrete colour palettes, proving that neutrals don’t have to feel clinical.

    Mixing tactile natural materials with toasty shades of chocolate brown, creamy beige and blush pink can help to create a sense of homeliness in a room without being overbearing.
    From a São Paulo apartment filled with Brazilian modernist design to a converted biscuit factory in Los Angeles, here are 10 American homes that show how it’s done.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bathrooms with statement sinks, homes with Eames chairs and contemporary living rooms in Victorian and Georgian houses.
    Photo is by Joe FletcherTwentieth, USA, by Woods +Dangaran

    This Santa Monica home features two separate living areas – a family room (top image) and a formal living room (above) – which flank a central courtyard housing a decades-old olive tree.
    Despite being framed by glazing, the rooms maintain a homely atmosphere with the help of an earthy material palette ranging from the travertine fireplace to a rose-gold cashmere rug and club chairs finished in tactile chocolate-brown corduroy.
    Find out more about Twentieth ›
    Photo is by Sean DavidsonAmity Street Residence, USA, by Selma Akkari and Rawan Muqaddas
    Architectural designers Selma Akkari and Rawan Muqaddas used warm oak floors and cream-hued walls, contrasted against dark stone and stained-wood bookshelves, to enliven this “neglected” apartment in a 20th-century building in Brooklyn.
    “A dialogue of opposites was the main theme behind the creation; minimal but warm, understated yet rich,” Muqaddas told Dezeen.
    Find out more about Amity Street Residence ›
    Photo is by Denilson Machado of MCA EstúdioHygge Studio, Brazil, by Melina Romano
    A black fireplace is suspended from the ceiling in this living room to contrast with the otherwise soft colour scheme of the interior, reflected in everything from the cream sofa and woven rug to the cobogó block screen that acts as a room divider.
    Walls and floor throughout the São Paulo apartment are covered in terracotta tiles, chosen by local designer Melina Romano to strike a balance between “modern and bucolic”.
    Find out more about Hygge Studio ›
    Photo is by Nicole FranzenEast Village Apartment, USA, by GRT Architects
    New York-based GRT Architects used warm tones and materials to modernise this renovated East Village apartment – set in a Beaux-Arts building on Second Avenue – while “preserving its turn-of-the-century disposition”.
    In the lounge, this was achieved by adding a storage wall backed with sienna-coloured panels and complementing it with a geometric, art deco-style rug rendered in muted shades of sage green and dusty rose.
    Find out more about this East Village Apartment ›
    Photo is by The Ingalls and Matthieu SalvaingSanta Monica Proper, USA, by Kelly Wearstler
    Although not technically a living room, the lounge of the Santa Monica Proper hotel features all the trappings of a cosy den – timber bookshelves, creamy-white Soriana lounge chairs and a Coulmier limestone coffee table with three orbs for legs.
    Interior designer Kelly Wearstler used natural materials and neutral colours throughout the hotel to reference its seaside setting.
    “Organic materials, neutral colour stories, everything has a texture,” Wearstler told Dezeen. “There’s a patina, there’s a hand, there’s something that feels very warm.”
    Find out more about Santa Monica Proper ›
    Photo is by Sean DavidsonWest Village apartment, USA, by Olivier Garcé
    American interior designer Olivier Garcé found a creative outlet during last year’s coronavirus lockdown by working remotely with friends and colleagues to transform his West Village home into a show space for contemporary art and design.
    His lounge now houses a vintage Axel Einar Hjorth rocking chair, paired with a lava-stone coffee table and side chair upholstered in alpaca wool by New York designer Ian Felton, complementing the terracotta-coloured tiling on the building’s original fireplace surround.
    Find out more about this West Village apartment ›
    Photo is by Brian Ferry20 Bond apartment, USA, by Home Studios
    Curves feature liberally throughout this family apartment in New York’s NoHo neighbourhood, from its copper-edged skirting to the rounded oak-and-brass shelving unit in the living room, which was made bespoke by interior practice Home Studios.
    The muted tones of the timber are complemented by a set of antique Danish armchairs with woven leather seats and a blush-coloured version of designer Sabine Marcelis’s Candy Cube side tables.
    Find out more about 20 Bond apartment ›
    Photo is by Fran ParenteGale Apartment, Brazil, by Memola Estudio
    Furnishings are coloured in grounding, earthy hues inside this lounge flanked by two double-height statement walls – one housing the owners’ art collection and the other clad in a broken-edge stone mosaic.
    “Furniture has been reupholstered to match the new colour palette, inspired by the autumn and the sunset colours found in the horizon,” said design practice Memola Estudio, which was responsible for renovating the São Paulo apartment.
    Find out more about Gale Apartment ›
    Photo is by Justin ChungBiscuit Loft, USA, by OWIU Studio
    Japanese design informed this apartment in a converted 1920s biscuit factory in Downtown Los Angeles, with a guest room modelled on a traditional Ryokan inn that also functions as a space for hosting gatherings and tea ceremonies.
    Local practice OWIU Studio added Noguchi pendant lights to bathe the room in a warm glow, while a convertible platform made from pale wood conceals extra storage and functions as a base for a futon when guests are staying over.
    Find out more about Biscuit Loft ›
    Photo is by Denilson MachadoDN Apartment, Brazil, by BC Arquitetos
    Walnut wood panelling and soft furnishings upholstered in caramel-coloured leather help to temper the chunky concrete columns of this apartment, housed in a 1970s building in São Paulo’s traditional Jardins neighbourhood.
    Local practice BC Arquitetos describes the home as a “gallery apartment” as it houses an extensive collection of mid-20th century Brazilian art and design, ranging from the net-backed Janguada armchair by Jean Gillon to Jader Almeida’s Verde Corvo sofa, which is finished in a faded olive green.
    Find out more about DN Apartment ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bathrooms with statement sinks, homes with Eames chairs and contemporary living rooms in Victorian and Georgian houses.

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    Studio MK27 combines different textures in São Paulo apartment interior

    Furry upholstery, lace curtains and tactile rugs all feature in Flat #6, a São Paulo apartment designed by Studio MK27.

    The local architecture and design studio reworked the four-bedroom flat to provide a cosy but practical home for a couple and their three teenage sons.
    Flat #6 is home to a couple with three teenage sonsIts interior design draws on a love of Brazilian design, both vintage and contemporary, which is shared by both the owners and Studio MK27 founder and architect Marcio Kogan.
    Designs by the likes of Lina Bo Bardi, Jorge Zalszupin and Giuseppe Scapinelli feature alongside ipe wood wall panelling and basalt stone flooring.
    Living spaces occupy an L-shaped space that wraps the apartment on two sides”The decoration adds a layer of tactility to each corner of the apartment,” said Studio MK27.

    “A mixture of contemporary and vintage pieces already owned by the couple blends harmonically with the sober finishings and adds a touch of colour.”
    A piano provides a focal pointFlat #6 is shortlisted in the apartment interior category at the 2022 Dezeen Awards.
    Studio MK27 was commissioned for the project after having already designed another apartment in the same building, Flat #12.
    The two homes have the same layout, with all of the main family living spaces occupying a single L-shaped space that wraps the apartment on two sides.
    Furnishings include a mix of contemporary and vintage piecesThese living spaces create a buffer zone between the private bedrooms and bathrooms, and a glazed veranda-like space at the front.
    However, the design of the two homes is very different. While Flat #12 has a more pared-back feel, Flat #6 features a greater variety of colours and textures.
    Lace curtains create a textural backdrop to the living spaceA key starting point was the lace curtain that spans all the windows in the open-plan family room. Designed by one of the clients, it creates a natural play of light and shadow.
    The curtain provides a striking backdrop to the characterful furnishings, which also include designs by Piero Lissoni and Paola Navone alongside some of Studio MK27’s own pieces.

    Studio MK27 creates Patina Maldives resort on new island

    “The perforated artisanal fabric acts like a soft mashrabiya, filtering the sunlight and creating shadow drawings throughout the apartment,” the design team explained, comparing the curtain to the latticework screens found in traditional Islamic architecture.
    “Natural light warms up every piece and every corner, letting the woods, the velvets and the stones speak louder.”
    A library wall provides display space for books and other objectsA library wall provides a space for displaying books and objects, with a free-standing staircase providing access to the higher shelves.
    Other details include a dedicated backgammon table, a study desk and a lounge chair positioned alongside a lamp and magazine rack to create space for quiet reading.
    A slatted wood wall separates the main living space from the rest of the homeDoors to the adjacent bedrooms, the TV room and the main bathroom are integrated into a wall of slatted wood, allowing them to be almost invisible when the family hosts guests.
    The same material palette features in bedrooms and bathrooms, where highlights include a custom bed surround in the primary bedroom and a bathroom with a dark stone basin.
    “Designed with extreme attention to detail, the combination of textures and sharp forms create wide and soulful spaces that embrace a joyful living,” added the design team.
    The main bedroom features a custom-designed bed surroundStudio MK27 is also shortlisted in the leisure and wellness interior category at this year’s Dezeen Awards with its spa at the Patina Maldives resort.
    Other recent projects from the practice include Caza Azul, a rainforest home raised up on pilotis.
    The photography is by Fran Parente.
    Project credits
    Architecture and interiors: Studio MK27Project team: Marcio Kogan, Diana Radomysler, Luciana Antunes, Mariana Ruzante, Carlos Costa, Laura Guedes, Mariana Simas, Renato Perigo

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    Ten bedrooms with wardrobes that are disguised as walls

    This lookbook rounds up 10 bedrooms where architects have designed discreet built-in wardrobes to conceal clothing and clutter, creating the illusion of a seamless wall.

    Built-in wardrobe walls are an efficient way to supersize storage and utilise every centimetre of space in a bedroom, unlike freestanding units that often leave dead spaces around their edges.
    When finished with a minimalist design, they can also blend into the background, helping to create spacious and serene interiors that are suitable for sleep.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring interiors with arched openings, bathrooms with statement sinks and living rooms in Victorian and Georgian-era homes.
    Photo is by Mattias Hamrén with styling by Hanna TunemarFunction Walls, Sweden, by Lookofsky Architecture

    This wall of storage surrounds the doorway of a bedroom in the Function Walls apartment, which was recently renovated by Lookofsky Architecture in Stockholm.
    The pale grey units contain a mix of different-sized cupboards without handles, forming a neutral backdrop to bright yellow bedroom furnishings including a 1970s IKEA floor lamp.
    Find out more about Function Walls ›
    Photo is by Lorenzo ZandriWakehurst Road, UK, by Matthew Giles Architects
    Matthew Giles Architects designed a series of white-oak storage units for the Wakehurst Road house in London, including this pared-back wardrobe wall in one of the bedrooms.
    Its deliberately simple design ties in with a calming colour and material palette of stone, concrete and brick that runs through the updated Victorian residence.
    Find out more about Wakehurst Road ›

    House at the Pond, Austria, by Hammerschmid Pachl Seebacher Architekten
    The compact bedroom in House at the Pond is lined with wooden walls – two of which double as storage.
    Disguising the wardrobes helps keeps the interior details to a minimum, which in turn retains focus on the large window and prevents the small space from feeling cramped.
    Find out more about House at the Pond ›
    Photo is by Ben BlossomBavaria Road Studio, UK, by West Architecture
    Plywood panels are used as fronts for both the tall wardrobes and the doorway of the bedroom at Bavaria Road Studio, helping them to blend in with the rest of the space, which is lined with the same material.
    According to designer West Architecture, the goal was for them to “read as a single wall of flush panelling, effectively disappearing and allowing the room to be read as one seamless, minimalist environment”.
    Find out more about Bavaria Road Studio ›
    Photo is by Richard ChiversMaison Pour Dodo, UK, by Studio Merlin
    Designed to minimise clutter and visual noise, these understated built-in wardrobes are part of the “spectrum of storage” that Studio Merlin created for this flat in London.
    The seven wardrobe doors blend in seamlessly with the grey-hued walls of the main bedroom, while their wooden knobs complement the pale Douglas fir floorboards that run throughout.
    Find out more about Maison Pour Dodo ›
    Photo is by Yiorgos Kordakis with styling by Anestis MichalisXerolithi, Greece, by Sinas Architects
    White grooved doors line the built-in wardrobe wall in this bedroom, which Sinas Architects created at the Xerolithi house on the Greek island of Serifos.
    Aligned with a door to an ensuite bathroom, the wardrobes create a unpretentious backdrop to the space, drawing the occupant’s attention to the uninterrupted view of the sea outside.
    Find out more about Xerolithi ›
    Photo is by Mariell Lind HansenNarford Road, UK, by Emil Eve Architects
    Emil Eve Architects lined the nook of this monochromatic loft extension in London with bespoke wardrobes, which appear to extend up to meet a skylight overhead.
    Finished with wooden handles with brass caps, the units are complemented by a matching window seat with two in-built drawers and pale wood floors that help them blend into the background.
    Find out more about Narford Road ›
    Photo is by Mariko ReedMountain View Double Gable Eichler Remodel, USA, by Klopf Architecture
    A pair of built-in wardrobes have been incorporated within a walnut wall unit in a bedroom of this 1960s residence in Silicon Valley, recently remodelled by Klopf Architecture.
    The same wood has been used for the headboard and plinth for the bed, helping them to read as a single piece. The wardrobes are only distinguishable by two subtle leather handles placed on the front of each one.
    Find out more about Mountain View Double Gable Eichler Remodel ›
    Photo is by Andy StaggKennington House, UK, by R2 Studio
    These bedroom cupboards follow the sloped edge of a giant corner window, introduced to Kennington House in London as part of a renovation and loft extension project.
    Designed by R2 Studio as one of many storage facilities for the house, they help residents keep the room clutter free and have white-coloured fronts that are disguised as part of the wall.
    Find out more about Kennington House ›
    Photo is courtesy of Matt GibsonWellington St Mixed Use, Australia, by Matt Gibson
    Drawers and full-height wardrobes are incorporated into this floor-to-ceiling storage unit, which runs the length of a bedroom in the Wellington St Mixed Use house in Melbourne.
    Its design means it doubles as a tactile wooden wall for the room, which forms a part of a large multi-generational home by architect Matt Gibson. The other bedrooms have similar wardrobe layouts, ensuring plenty of storage for inhabitants.
    Find out more about Wellington St Mixed Use ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring interiors with arched openings, bathrooms with statement sinks and living rooms in Victorian and Georgian-era homes.

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    YOD Group designs Terra restaurant interior to “mirror its surroundings”

    Ukrainian design studio YOD Group dressed this restaurant interior in Vynnyky with terracotta tiles and slabs of green glass to reflect the earthy landscape outside.

    Called Terra, the eatery features a colour and material palette that takes cues from the rolling hills and a lake that border the restaurant. It was completed in February 2022, just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
    YOD Group designed Terra’s interior to reflect the landscape outsideYOD Group created the interior across a single hall, which features clusters of plush, low-slung armchairs and sofas arranged around both meandering and rectilinear dark wooden tables.
    These seating areas are interrupted only by large rounded columns clad in glass bricks, which are illuminated from the inside to create a watery green glow designed to echo the nearby lake.
    Waiter stations are clad in terracotta tilesThe largest of these columns houses a curved wine cellar within an internal spiral staircase, while the transparent glass reveals the ghostly silhouettes of stored wine bottles.

    Textured terracotta tiles make up rounded waiter stations, which were designed to mirror the earthiness of the restaurant’s exterior setting.
    The stations also nod to the Ukrainian tradition of covering furnaces and fireplaces with tiles, according to YOD Group.
    A curved wine cellar includes an internal staircase”We aimed to extract colours, textures and impressions from the landscape to translate them into the interior design language,” explained the studio.
    “Like the eyedropper tool in Photoshop, but on a real-life scale, we designed the space to mirror its surroundings.”

    Venice floodwaters inform two-tone interior of Warsaw bar Va Bene Cicchetti

    Another wall is covered in adjustable copper-hued glass slabs that feature decorative markings made by imprinting local grasses on their surfaces.
    The moveable wall is intended as a metaphor to symbolise the way reeds sway in the wind, said YOD Group.
    “Guests can not only touch the glass slabs but also interact with them and change the pattern on the wall, becoming co-creators of the design.”
    Copper-hued glass slabs can be moved across a large wallBouquets of pampas grass are interspersed throughout the interior, in a nod to the restaurant’s lakeside terrace where visitors can dine outside.
    Terra is shortlisted in the restaurant and bar interior category of the 2022 Dezeen Awards, which announces its winners later this month.
    Pampas grass decorates the restaurantLast year, the category’s winning eatery was another restaurant in Ukraine – Yakusha Design’s Istetyka in Kyiv, which has an interior characterised by rough concrete, polished stone and smooth steel.
    YOD Group also designed a coffee shop in Ukraine’s capital that features pixel-like mosaics in a hole-in-the-wall-style bar.
    The photography is by Yevhenii Avramenko.

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    MoreySmith turns Bristol power station into flexible workspace

    The Victorian power station that once supplied Bristol’s tram system has been transformed into a shared office space, designed by British interiors studio MoreySmith to celebrate its industrial past.

    The waterside Generator Building originally opened in 1890 to power Bristol Tramways – the electric tram system that serviced the city until it was destroyed in the second world war.
    MoreySmith was commissioned to transform the building into a flexible co-working space set over six floors, which has been shortlisted in the large workspace interior category of Dezeen Awards 2022.
    The Generator Building was renovated by MoreySmithThe new workspace includes dedicated offices, private desks and event spaces, as well as a lounge and cafe that are open to the public to ensure that the building contributes to the wider regeneration of the local neighbourhood.
    MoreySmith worked closely with Historic England to restore the once-derelict Grade II listed building, taking care to preserve original features such as the steelwork and tiled brick facade.

    The studio also retained various graphics such as the stencilling on the building’s glazed tiles and brick walls, which was used to label the four steam engines and generators housed in the power station.
    The interior references the building’s industrial pastOther aspects of the interior scheme were designed to pay homage to the building’s industrial past. This includes the aged copper cladding used on the storage lockers and quiet booths, which references the rusted metal objects found in the building during the renovation.
    A central spiral staircase is complemented with mosaic tiles, mimicking the building’s original flooring, while a bespoke lighting system that recalls industrial power generators illuminates the bar area.
    MoreySmith took care to ensure that natural light filters throughout the building’s various spaces, and that workspaces have views out across the city and waterways below.

    Weathered-steel staircase wraps plant-filled atrium at Midtown Workplace

    A double-height breakout space provides additional room for casual meetings. Flooded with natural light from a skylight above, this lofty space highlights the building’s generous proportions.
    Contemporary furnishings and an abundance of green planting were added to contrast with the raw finishes and industrial features.
    The design studio also inserted pod structures on the fifth floor to create mezzanine offices in between the building’s trusses.
    Its floors are connected by a spiral staircase”The Generator Building is a glorious example of what is possible when buildings are sensitively restored in a way that both celebrates their history while bringing new life to an existing structure,” said MoreySmith.
    Other projects shortlisted alongside the Generator Building in the large workspace interiors category of Dezeen Awards 2022 include Dyson’s global HQ inside St James Power Station in Singapore.
    Also in the running is the Midtown Workplace in Brisbane, which features a plant-filled atrium wrapped by a weathered-steel staircase.
    The photography is by Fiona Smallshaw.

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    Architecture at Home exhibition presents “human-centred” housing prototypes

    New York studio Levenbetts and Mexico City practice PPAA are among the firms that have designed sustainable and socially conscious architecture prototypes for an exhibition on housing at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas.

    Architecture at Home is an exhibition that brings together experimental housing by five architecture firms based across the Americas.
    The prototypes are positioned alongside The Fly Eye Dome by Richard Buckminster FullerThe prototypes respond to issues central to the state of today’s housing in both the USA and around the world by acknowledging the present needs of occupants and their natural surroundings, as well as reflecting on the past.
    Curated by Dylan Turk, the show takes place outside along the meandering Orchard Trail at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.
    Levenbetts created a pinewood structureThe designs are positioned alongside a 50-foot prototype of the 1965 Fly’s Eye Dome by the late American architect and theorist Richard Buckminster Fuller – a prototype that encompassed his idea for the ultimate affordable, portable and self-sufficient home.

    One of the five prototypes is House of Trees: City of Trees by Levenbetts, a structure made from Arkansas southern yellow pine that is composed of two pavilions connected by walkways, which are housed under fanned slats of wood.
    Built from mass timber, the prototype was designed to offer a low-cost and sustainable solution to housing with a form that complements the contours of its surrounding landscape, according to Levenbetts.
    Translucent panels connect inside and outside spaces in PPAA’s prototypeAnother prototype that aims to connect inside and outside spaces was created by PPAA, which includes natural soil flooring.
    Formed from translucent geometric panels, the house is designed to stand alone as a single structure or can be scaled to achieve a series of linked houses that would encourage community-based co-living.
    Totem House: Histories of Negation attempts to highlight systemic racism in Arkansas and beyond”The concepts presented here offer hope for the future,” said the museum.
    “Each structure demonstrates how thoughtful design can inspire more sustainable and human-centred models of building and living.”

    Safdie Architects to expand Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

    Totem House: Histories of Negation is an experimental sculpture by Studio Sumo that aims to discuss the often-suppressed histories of Black and Indigenous peoples in northwest Arkansas through architectural symbols.
    Designed as a series of totemic structures, each totem is engraved with information citing events that detail the forced migration or expulsion of these communities over many years in Arkansas and elsewhere.
    Studio: Indigenous designed a prototype that emphasises a house’s hearthThe structures take the form of an outline of a house from a distance. But up close, the shape is meant to disappear – drawing attention to the injustice and displacement endured by local communities.
    Totem House can also be expanded into a functioning structure that can be prefabricated off-site, according to its architects.
    “Each firm recognises the complexities and barriers that exist in the current housing system, from financing and established building practices to neglected histories of place,” added Crystal Bridges.
    Mutuo offered a sculpture that addresses issues surrounding home ownershipStudio: Indigenous founder Chris Cornelius offered a prototype that aims to explore how conventional housing models could be improved for Indigenous peoples.
    Cornelius designed an experimental structure with a towering steel hearth, which he described as an important place to gather inside the home.
    Compartmentalised rooms also offer internal flexibility – a hallmark of many Indigenous homes, according to Cornelius.
    Architecture at Home takes place outside at Crystal Bridges Museum of American ArtLos Angeles-based practice Mutuo used concrete, steel, clay and Mexican handcrafted wood to create a prototype that aims to explore issues surrounding homeownership inclusivity.
    Made up of rigid columns, these building blocks represent stumbling blocks that many people experience when trying to secure their own house.
    Large sections of each room in the prototype home were omitted from the design, aiming to expose the many issues within the housing industry that are not often enough acknowledged, according to Mutuo.
    Visitors can explore the works along the museum’s Orchard Trail”My goal is to prove that affordability, beauty, and diversity in housing types can coexist when designing, regulating and developing housing,” said Turk.
    Other projects that explore experimental housing concepts include a community in Mexico with homes by Frida Escobedo and Tatiana Bilbao, a pair of hill-like buildings in France by MVRDV designed for “a variety of income levels” and Hackney New Primary School and 33 Kingsland Road – Henley Halebrown’s affordable housing project in London.
    The photography is by Ironside Photography. 
    Architecture at Home takes place from 9 July to 7 November 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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    Thermory wood cladding forms backdrop to Grand Emily Hotel in Ukraine

    Promotion: design agency YOD Group has designed the interior for the Grand Emily Hotel Lobby and Terra restaurant near Lviv, opting for Thermory’s rustic wood cladding throughout.

    The hotel, which was completed this year despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is located in the Ukrainian town of Vynnyky near Lviv. The hotel and restaurant form a part of the Emily Resort that YOD Group has designed with a natural, tactile aesthetic.
    YOD Group used Thermory products at the Emily Resort in UkraineIts aesthetic was achieved using a mix of natural and natural-looking materials, including material manufacturer Thermory’s range of Drift cladding.
    This saw YOD Group awarded the best interior project in the Thermory Design Awards Grand Prix competition, which was held by Thermory for its 25th anniversary.
    The agency created the interior for the Grand Emily Hotel LobbyIn the Grand Emily Hotel Lobby, the Thermory thermally modified Drift cladding is used across the walls.

    It was selected for its worn, rustic appearance, which is intended to evoke reclaimed wood without sacrificing quality or durability.
    Thermory’s Drift cladding was used throughoutSelected in shades of Black Pearl and Smoked Brandy, the cladding provides the lobby with “touchable surfaces” that form a natural backdrop to the space.
    “We aimed to get the visual lightness and tell the story about the morning breeze that passes on the lake surface and combs the reeds,” said YOD Group designer Volodymyr Nepiyvoda.
    The wood gives the interiors a natural aesthetic”We created this emotion by the structure of the boards that we used for the wall covering of the hall,” added Nepiyvoda.
    The cladding also forms a suitable yet contrasting backdrop to a large sycamore tree that is suspended through the Grand Emily Hotel Lobby, forming its centrepiece.
    YOD Group’s aim was to give the hotel “touchable surfaces””We rejected the idea of a massive chandelier in the atrium in favour of a strongly meaningful installation,” explained Nepiyvoda.
    “A tree means connection with roots and family values, growth, and development, strong bar, and flexible branches. It connects the earth and space.”
    YOD Group also designed the resort’s Terra restaurantOver in the Grand Emily Hotel’s Terra restaurant, Thermory Drift Cladding has also been used.
    YOD Group used the material to help blur the boundary between the restaurant interior and a terrace outside that is lined with American sweet gum trees.
    The Thermory wood is also used in the adjoining terraceAccording to Nepiyvoda, it is designed to encapsulate the landscape of western Ukraine.
    “We reflect all of that in the interior of Terra restaurant,” they said. “Vast expanses, rich colours, textures and flavours, generous nature, lust for life, and existential joy.”
    To find out more about Thermory products and how they are used, visit the brand’s website.
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    This article was written by Dezeen for Thermory as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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