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    The Quoin hotel by Method Co opens in historic Delaware bank

    US hospitality firm Method Co has turned a Gilded Age-era bank building into a boutique hotel in Wilmington, Delaware, which boasts the city’s first rooftop bar.

    The Quoin offers 24 guest rooms within a four-storey Victorian Romanesque brownstone that was constructed as the Security Trust and Safe Deposit Company Building.
    The lobby at The Quoin features a mixture of contemporary and Shaker-influenced furnitureCompleted in 1885 by Philadelphia architect Frank Furness, the downtown building features original arched windows and mouldings that were preserved during the renovation, which Method Co’s in-house team undertook in collaboration with Stokes Architecture.
    “Pronounced ‘coin’, the name is derived from the Old French word meaning ‘corner’ or ‘angle’, honouring the legacy of the original building, while also referencing the legacy of the original banking house — connecting the building’s history, location, and architecture through a single thread,” said Method Co.
    The hotel’s main restaurant and bar is located just off the lobbyThe building’s time period influenced the colour palette for the hotel’s interiors, based on paints dating back to 1820.

    Natural motifs were also introduced through hand-drawn illustrations, and various patterned wallpapers found throughout the communal areas and the bedrooms.
    Patterned wallpapers with natural motifs are used throughout the interiorsIn the lobby, an eclectic mix of contemporary and Shaker-influenced furniture forms a cosy lounge area around a black fireplace.
    Three food and beverage spaces have been given distinct identities.
    Bedrooms on the top level have extra character thanks to the original arched cove windowsJust off the lobby, The Quoin Restaurant and Bar serves wood-fired fare based on the cuisines of southern France and northern Italy and features wood panelling and banquette seating that create an intimate setting.
    A craft cocktail lounge, named Simmer Down, has an original brick ceiling and a mural painted by Reverend Michael Alan.

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    The bar on the rooftop, billed by Method Co as the city’s first, is designed as a happy hour spot with cushioned rattan seating and offers light bites on the menu.
    Bedrooms are simply decorated, with wallpaper used to create feature walls behind the headboards, as well as wooden furniture and herringbone parquet flooring.
    The rooftop bar is billed as Wilmington’s firstThose on the top level have extra character thanks to the cove-arched windows and walls that curve to follow the roofline.
    Method Co’s other hotel properties include the Roost East Market in Philadelphia and the Whyle in Washington DC, which was longlisted for the 2021 Dezeen Awards. Both were designed with Morris Adjmi Architects.
    The building was constructed in 1885 as Security Trust and Safe Deposit Company BuildingThis is the company’s first venture in Wilmington, the largest city in the small coastal state of Delaware, which is known for its beach houses.
    Examples of these include an oceanfront residence by Robert Gurney and a single-family home built using wood reclaimed from a nearby agricultural structure by DIGSAU
    The photography is by Matthew Williams.

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    White leather curtains enclose Lisbon wellness centre by AB+AC Architects

    Portuguese practice AB+AC Architects has designed a multifunctional wellness centre in Lisbon that doubles up as an artists’ residence.

    The Open Hearts wellness centre is arranged around one large room, which AB+AC Architects refers to as the shala. This Sanskrit term refers to the idea of home but also, in the context of yoga, a place where people can learn and practise together.
    The Open Hearts centre is orientated around a curtained room known as the shalaAs well as yoga classes, this adaptable space will host everything from breathwork classes and sound baths to meditation sessions, film screenings, dining experiences and creative writing workshops.
    Running around the periphery of the shala are floor-to-ceiling curtains crafted from white vegan leather, which can be drawn to keep the room out of view from the bustling street outdoors.
    At the front of the room, a wall of gold-tinted mirrors conceals a series of storage compartments. When an event is being held, the room can also be temporarily dressed with floor cushions and long birchwood tables.

    Behind the shala is the artists’ residence”Normally, when a design is very flexible, there is a risk of ending up with a very generic or sterile space, as if the only way to address adaptability is through non-specific design,” explained AB+AC Architects.
    “We knew that creating a neutral mood that could accommodate a variety of programs would not be stimulating, so we decided that the centre had to be able to evoke different emotions based on the function occurring at that given moment.”
    This includes a dining room and bespoke kitchenA grand limestone archway to the side of the shala grants access to the artists’ residence, which is entered via a narrow lounge area.
    The room is topped with a light-up ceiling that measures eight metres long and, when the artist is hosting an exhibition, washes their work in a complementary glow.

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    Next up is a small dining area and a custom-made kitchen suite featuring wooden cabinetry and a terrazzo-style countertop.
    Surfaces in the adjacent bedroom are painted a crisp shade of white while the corner dedicated to the bathroom – complete with a freestanding tub – is clad in distinctive terracotta tiles.
    The same gold-tinged mirrors from the shala are used here to help disguise the toilet.
    A terracotta-tiled bathroom contrasts with the white walls of the bedroomShould the resident artist want some fresh air, they can head outside to the small private patio.
    Here, a concrete planter that winds around the edge of the space is overspilling with leafy tropical plants, while volcanic stone pebbles are scattered over the floor.
    Foliage lines the private outdoor patio of the artists’ residenceOpen Hearts Lisbon has been shortlisted in the civic and cultural interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.
    Other projects in the running include a cow shed-turned-library, a historic cinema in Berlin and the world’s first multi-storey skatepark.
    The photography is by Ricardo Oliveira Alves.

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    Large fireplaces bookend Evangeline rooftop bar at Ace Hotel Toronto

    The rooftop bar and lounge at the recently opened Ace Hotel Toronto, by local studio Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, continues the earthy tones and exposed concrete from the lobby.

    Named Evangeline, the 80-seat bar overlooks Toronto from the 14th floor of the new building by Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, with interiors by Atelier Ace – the hospitality group’s in-house design team.
    Custom ceramic tiles by David Umemoto flank one of two fireplaces in the Evangeline lounge”With energy swinging from sunset cooldowns to late night revelry, Evangeline celebrates creativity through a keen eye for curation — drinks, bites, sounds and sights,” said a statement from Ace Hotel.
    “Its name is an ode to the first feature film out of Canada and its atmosphere influenced by the creative spark of the silver screen.”
    The bar and lounge is located on the 14th floor of the Ace Hotel TorontoServing craft cocktails and small plates by chef Patrick Kriss, the bar comprises a cosy indoor space and an outdoor terrace, divided by a fully glazed wall.

    The plant-filled patio faces south and west, enjoying views of Downtown Toronto and capitalising on sunset vistas.
    The space features various seating areas, patterned rugs and plenty of plants”A lush display of plants moves from indoors to outdoors, where the furnishings adopt a more casual, contemporary tone,” said the Ace Hotel team.
    The indoor space features tall ceilings and is bookended by large fireplaces – one of which is flanked by sculptural ceramic tiles by Montreal-based artist David Umemoto.

    Ace Hotel Toronto by Shim-Sutcliffe Architects features a suspended lobby

    Continuing the earthy colour palette from the hotel’s lobby, various seating options in the bar feature sage green and pale terracotta cushions, and the tables are mostly wood.
    A row of thick, board-marked concrete columns along one side of the room creates smaller seating nooks in between and delineates the lounge from the bar service area.
    The interiors by Atelier Ace continue the earthy tones from the hotel’s lobbyVintage-style patterned rugs cover the tiled floor, while light fixtures were custom-designed for the space by Toronto studio MSDS.
    Evangeline opened to the public on 21 October 2022, following the hotel’s debut in July.
    The outdoor patio faces south and west to overlook Downtown TorontoThe programming team plans to host a roster of events hosted by DJs, record labels and party producers, as well as a rotating series of artwork by Canadian talent.
    This is the hotel group’s 10th property, joining locations including Sydney, Brooklyn, Kyoto and New Orleans.
    The photography is by William Jess Laird.

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    Tom Dixon furnishes penthouses in Herzog & de Meuron's One Park Drive skyscraper

    British designer Tom Dixon’s Design Research Studio has furnished the interiors for two duplex penthouses that Herzog & de Meuron has created within its cylindrical Canary Wharf skyscraper.

    Architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron designed the seven penthouses in the residential One Park Drive skyscraper, which were the last part of the project to be completed, to contrast the commercial buildings that surround them.
    “We had to think about what it means to live vertically and how to create a strong distinction between something that is commercial and something that is residential,” Herzog & de Meuron’s UK studio director John O’Mara said at the penthouses’ opening.
    The seven penthouses feature wood-clad courtyardsLocated on the 56th and final floor of the 205-metre-tall One Park Drive building, the duplex penthouses feature balconies overlooking Canary Wharf. To give them a more residential feel, Herzog & de Meuron added an unusual detail – hidden internal courtyards.
    The wood-clad courtyards open up towards the sky via D-shaped ceiling cut-outs and function as a “back garden,” the studio said.

    Each of the penthouses, which range from 152 to 362 square metres, also feature a statement spiral staircase made from concrete poured in-situ. The staircases all have different designs.
    Spiral staircases were made from concrete poured in-situDesign Research Studio furnished the interiors for two of the duplex penthouses in One Park Drive using a combination of furniture by Dixon’s studio and handpicked vintage furniture.
    Among the vintage pieces used for the design were chairs by Danish designer Verner Panton and lamps by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. Dixon also custom-made large artworks for the space.
    The penthouses are on the 56th floorDixon’s studio used the theme of Home of the Collector to imagine what the interiors of the penthouses should feel like.
    “Each room has been meticulously curated – we wanted every single object to feel as if it has been made specifically for this space or that it has been carefully selected for it,” Dixon explained.
    “It should feel personal, convincing, compelling and aspirational – we didn’t want to design a typical luxury apartment,” he added.
    “The beautiful, fluid spaces feature high ceilings and large expanses of wall and windows and the artworks create the sense of a private gallery.”

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    Coming up with a concept for an imaginary homeowner was an enjoyable aspect of the job, Dixon added.
    “It’s actually really good fun to try and invent a personality and try and work out what they would actually do,” he said, explaining that he had envisioned the apartments being filled with art pieces and furniture that had been picked up on travels.
    Bathrooms have sand-coloured Tadelakt wallsThe apartments in One Park Drive are all designed by Herzog & de Meuron with a tactile material palette that helps to draw attention to the interiors.
    Wood was used to create striking details for the interior architecture, including the wardrobe doors with leaf-shaped openings.
    The studio used Tadelakt plaster to create sand-coloured bathrooms with globe-shaped lights and rounded mirrors, while floors are concrete or pale wood.
    The penthouses also have balconies overlooking Wood WharfThe duplex penthouses are the last part of One Park Drive to be completed. The skyscraper, which contains 484 apartments in total, forms part of developer Canary Wharf Group’s plan to add homes to the predominantly commercial Canary Wharf neighbourhood.
    Other recent projects by Tom Dixon include a twentieth-anniversary exhibition that featured mycelium towers and Design Research Studio’s design for restaurant The Manzoni.

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    Sarah Jefferys creates Passive House in Brooklyn with dramatic cedar screen

    American studio Sarah Jefferys Architecture + Interiors has renovated a slender townhouse in Brooklyn with airy rooms and a cedar screen on the facade to meet Passive House standards.

    Located in the Park Slope neighbourhood, the Passive House project involved the overhaul of a brick-faced, three-storey townhouse built in 1921 and owned by a family of four.
    Sarah Jefferys Architecture + Interiors remodelled a Brooklyn townhouse into a passive houseNew York-based Sarah Jefferys Architecture + Interiors sought to create a tranquil living atmosphere with elements that pay homage to the family’s Indian and Danish roots.
    Moreover, the team wanted the 3,000-square-foot (279-square-metre) building to align with Passive House standards for energy efficiency.
    High-quality windows were installedTo significantly reduce heating and cooling needs, the team installed triple-pane Zola windows, which are often used in passive houses. Walls were reconstructed to create an airtight envelope, which included the addition of cellulose insulation.

    The team also added an electric heat pump and an energy recovery ventilator, which helps purify the air.
    The front facade was kept intact and refurbished, while the rear wall was redesigned to add ample glazing. To provide privacy and to modulate incoming daylight, the team added an artful cedar screen that acts as both “a sculpture and a veil”.
    White oak was used to complement the bright coloursWithin the slender home, the team incorporated pops of colour and pale materials such as white oak.
    “We strategically used light hues and reflective materials, and created an airy environment to offset the narrow footprint of the townhouse,” the team said.
    The ground level has an open plan and holds the communal spaces.
    Reflective and light materials helped the studio meet environmental standardsUp front is the living room, where one finds a blue Living Divani sofa, rattan chairs from Fritz Hansen and a Muuto table.
    A wood-burning fireplace, an element not often found in passive homes, sits between the living and dining areas.
    To curb emissions from the hearth, the architects added a triple-pane glass enclosure and an extraction fan with an insulated cap. Still, because of the fireplace, the home does not fully meet the PHIUS certification requirements, the architect said.
    The all-white dining room is furnished with Ant chairs by Arne Jacobsen and a PH50 pendant by Poul Henningsen. Just beyond is the “showpiece kitchen”, which is framed with an LED light cove.
    The staircase has a skylight above”The light cove acts as a separation point – an outline – and provides an atmospheric glow throughout the kitchen,” the team said.
    In addition to the special lighting, the kitchen features slatted wooden cabinetry, yellow pendants by Louis Poulsen, and an island topped with Glassos crystallized glass.
    Part of the island consists of a live-sawn slab of white oak, which is lined with bar stools.
    The living room features a Muuto table”The beautiful juxtaposition between Glassos and white oak exemplifies the nature of the kitchen as both a practical work area and a leisurely lounge space for entertaining,” the team said.
    A sky-lit staircase leads to the upper levels. The first floor holds the main bedroom and bathroom, along with an office – all of which are arrayed along a corridor lined with frosted glass.

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    The main bedroom features a BoConcept bed, sconces by Robert Dudley Best for Bestlite and a graphic blanket by Pia Wallén for HAY. The bathroom is adorned with matte glass and penny-round tiles from Ann Sacks.
    The office is infused with a “touch of nostalgia”. Pieces include a Hans Wegner armchair, a teak Danish dresser and a 1962 copper pendant by Jo Hammerborg.
    Bright colours were used throughoutThe top level contains a den and two additional bedrooms. The house also has a cellar.
    Other Brooklyn townhouses include a house by Space4Architecture that has a skylit staircase and minimalist decor, and the family home of architects Fanny and Matthew Mueller, which features floating steps and a wood-and-steel bridge.
    The photography is by Morten Smidt.

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    Reflecting pool centres XC273 fashion boutique in former Shanghai towel factory

    Chinese studio Dongqi Design has turned a disused factory in Shanghai into a multi-brand fashion and lifestyle store, adding glossy marble and metal surfaces to offset its exposed concrete shell.

    Set across three floors, the XC273 retail space houses designer showrooms and pop-ups alongside a small cafe, as well as providing spaces for temporary exhibitions and events.
    Dongqi Design has turned a former factory into a fashion boutiqueFormerly a state-owned towel factory, the building had already been changed several times before the latest round of renovations.
    Dongqi Design strived to preserve and emphasise these different layers of history, which are contrasted against shiny new finishes to create a kind of “nostalgic futurism”.
    “All the differences of the space were kept as part of the building’s history so that people walking in could feel that the boundaries between the past and the present are blurred, as if they had walked into a timeless space,” the studio explained.

    The XC273 store houses a cafe alongside designer showrooms and pop-upsThe building is organised around three voids, which now form the basis of the store’s circulation routes.
    The largest of these voids consists of a double-height space at the core of the building, where Dongqi Design added a small reflecting pool surrounded by a collonade.
    Glossy surfaces are contrasted against the building’s raw concrete shellThe collonade’s raw concrete columns are left exposed where they face the pond, while their other three sides are wrapped with either marble, wood or metal.
    This approach is replicated across the store’s display fixtures to create a sense of spatial continuity. It can also be seen on the first floor, where new paving was added to enhance the existing geometric flooring.

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    A sound tunnel that provides visitors with an experimental music experience was placed near the cafe on the ground floor.
    The second floor is accessed via a metal staircase, which is suspended above the reflecting pool and winds its way up through a small hole in the ceiling.
    A reflecting pool was installed at the core of the building”The key element connecting all the spaces is the stairs,” the studio explained.
    “The stairs are designed in their purest metallic form, further enhanced by the details of the balustrade where the fence becomes a simple element sliding into the structural beam at the bottom while having a profile on the top to allow visitors to grab the handrail comfortably.”
    Concrete paving was added to complement the geometric flooring on the first floorOn the second floor, Dongqi Design selected a bright white finish to emphasise the old wooden structure of the building’s pitched roof. A series of square windows let light into the space and offer views out across the city and toward the sky.
    To balance out the otherwise all-white interior, the VIP room is finished in a darker palette. During spring and summer, these darker shades also contrast with the colour of the trees outside.
    Dongqi Design gave the second floor a bright white finishXC273 has been shortlisted in the large retail interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.
    Other projects in the running include a second-hand bookshop in Shanghai that uses supermarket-style crates to display its wares and a reusable sales showroom with fabric walls.
    The photography is by Raitt Liu.

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    Semba Corporation creates own office interior from reclaimed materials

    Interior construction firm Semba Corporation has renovated the interior of its headquarters in Tokyo to include reclaimed materials discarded during the demolition of other offices.

    The company’s redesign of its own office interior is shortlisted in the sustainable interior category for the upcoming Dezeen Awards, which will announce its winners next month.
    The interior is made from materials salvaged from demolished officesCalled Semba Good Ethical Office, the project features various pared-back tables, seating and shelving created from materials salvaged from previous office demolitions.
    This furniture is positioned across a single open-plan space in Japan’s capital, which is brightly illuminated by overhead lighting and rectilinear windows.
    Plinth-like seating and stairs forms a centrepieceA plinth-like centrepiece takes the form of both a staircase and a designated desk area, which was formed from boxy arrangements of surplus wood and old filing cabinets.

    Semba Corporation centred the interiors around two principles – “ethical” and “hackable” design – in order to complete the project, the company said.
    Semba Corporation applied its own design principles to the project”To incorporate ‘ethical design’, a circular interior design [theory], into the office renovation, we mined materials from unnecessary stuff generated by office demolitions,” Semba Corporation told Dezeen.
    “Under the theme of ‘hackable design’, we can redefine our working style and attitudes. We completely renovated our office to be friendly to the Earth, people and society,” explained the firm.
    Reconstituted foam was used to create padding on benchesAccording to the company, 80 per cent of the furniture in the Semba Good Ethical Office is reused, while the office achieved a waste-recycling rate of 99 per cent.
    Reconstituted foam was used to create the padding on benches that make up informal meeting booths, while various offcuts of wood were used to construct geometric shelves throughout the interior.

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    Semba Corporation explained that it hopes that other firms will begin to adopt similar design principles when creating their office interiors.
    “Especially in Japan, the lifespan from construction to demolition and disposal has become very short since [increasing] economic growth, and waste has been dumped in landfill,” the firm said.
    “However, Japanese culture has originally valued attachment to things and has an aesthetic sense to continue to use them with creative ideas. So I think our principles have an affinity to that culture.”
    “We hope that ‘ethical design,’ a future-friendly interior design, will be a basic principle in interior design for the future.”
    Reclaimed wood was used to form various shelvingSemba Good Ethical Office joins a group of existing self-designed studios that other firms have created to be more sustainable than the average office, according to the companies.
    These include German studio Urselmann Interior’s renovation of its studio to include biodegradable, recycled or upcycled materials.
    The images are courtesy of Semba Corporation.

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    M Moser Associates transforms historic power station in Singapore into Dyson HQ

    International practice M Moser Associates has repurposed a former power station in Singapore to create the global headquarters for technology company Dyson, with interiors blending the station’s industrial heritage with contemporary materials.

    The transformation provides Dyson with 140,000 square feet (13,006 square metres) of office space. The design was both shortlisted and recently named public vote winner in the large workspace interior category of Dezeen Awards 2022.
    Amphitheatre-style seating encourages informal gatheringOriginally built in 1926 in the Edwardian style, the coal-fired St James Power Station was Singapore’s first municipal power plant and remains an important heritage landmark, decommissioned in 1976 and used as a warehouse for nearly two decades.
    During the transformation of Singapore’s industrial harbourfront into a commercial area in the 1990s, the plant became a bustling nightlife venue before closing in 2018, with the project to redevelop it beginning in 2019.
    A sculptural spiral staircase frames the former turbine hallThe focal point of M Moser Associates’ design was the former turbine hall, which has been used to create a dramatic, four-storey atrium framed by exposed black steelwork and a sculptural spiral staircase.

    Sheltered underneath tall trees in raised planters that double as desks, a cafe sits alongside an area of amphitheatre-style seating to encourage informal gathering.
    Employees enter through the turbine hall”A dramatic four-storey industrial space, inspired by the quadrangles of university campuses, this central space serves as a circulation hub, connecting all areas,” explained the practice.
    “Employees enter the Turbine Hall as they head to work, [and] are greeted with a symbolic reminder of the building’s new revitalised purpose – to spark design and technological innovation,” it continued.
    M Moser Associates created a mixture of spaces insideOrganised around this central space, four levels are zoned into a mixture of offices, laboratories, and social spaces, designed to provide a range of more private, quiet spaces and collaborative areas.
    On the top floor, spaces benefit from higher ceilings underneath the exposed, black steel trusses of the plant’s roof structure, and above this, a landscaped rooftop terrace provides external gathering space overlooked meeting rooms with full-height glazing.

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    Externally, the building’s brick and paintwork has been restored with Dyson’s logo emblazoned on a chimney, and the new material choices seek to reference this industrial heritage.
    A simple palette of dark stone, wood and metal complements and celebrates the contrast with the exposed structure, such as in an atmospheric meeting room housed at the base of one of the brick chimneys.
    An atmospheric meeting room is housed at the base of one of the brick chimneys”Concrete flooring and black metal speak of the building’s past, while technical materials like polycarbonate, metal mesh and mirrored cladding announce its new future,” said the practice.
    “This sympathetically repurposed building is a rare example of architectural renewal and urban sustainability,” it continued.
    Concrete flooring “speaks of the building’s past”In London, another historic coal-fired plant – the iconic Battersea Power Station – has recently reopened following an extensive redevelopment by WilkinsonEyre, and now houses shops, office space and apartments.
    The images are courtesy of M Moser Associates. 

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