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    Eight living rooms dominated by giant sofas

    From a curving couch in a Parisian apartment to an extra-wide settee in São Paulo, our latest lookbook collects eight living rooms where oversized sofas take centre stage.

    The sofa may be most people’s favourite place to sit and relax, but it can also make a bold design statement.
    Below, we highlight eight living rooms where couches, which are significantly more substantial than standard furniture, serve as the focal point.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more, see previous lookbooks featuring living rooms with paper lamps, sculptural furniture and 1970s decor.
    Photo by Denilson Machado (also top)DN Apartment, Brazil, by BC Arquitetos

    An olive-green sofa in the shape of a broad sickle, courtesy of designer Jader Almeida, commands attention in the open-plan living room of this home in São Paulo.
    Part of a 1970s building, the apartment was renovated by local studio BC Arquitetos and filled with classic Brazilian art and furniture, including a Petala coffee table by Jorge Zalzupin bearing a bronze head sculpture by Florian Raiss.
    Find out more about DN Apartment ›
    Photo by Giulio GhirardiCanal Saint-Martin apartment, France, by Rodolphe Parente
    Interior designer Rodolphe Parente overhauled this classic Haussmann-era Parisian apartment to celebrate its original features while showing off the owner’s contemporary art collection.
    Nowhere is this juxtaposition of styles more pronounced than in the living area, where a sculptural vintage sofa wraps around a pearlescent coffee table in the centre of the room, with a black-and-white graphic rug beneath its feet.
    Find out more about this Canal Saint-Martin apartment ›
    Photo courtesy of Hotel Valley HoHotel Valley Ho, USA, by 3rd Story
    The suites at this mid-century hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona, feature generous U-shaped sofas with colourful upholstery.
    As part of its renovation, Anissa Mendil of architecture and interiors firm 3rd Story sought to introduce contemporary furniture that would complement the building’s modernist architecture.
    Find out more about Hotel Valley Ho ›
    Photo by Fran ParenteGale Apartment, Brazil, by Memola Estudio
    From the double-height ceilings to the mosaic wall and the extensive artwork collection, multiple elements compete for attention in the living room of this São Paulo apartment renovation by local firm Memola Estudio.
    Anchoring them all is a super-long sofa along one wall, which ensures that the room’s overall colour palette remains neutral despite the vibrant wall hangings above.
    Find out more about Gale Apartment ›
    Photo by Serena EllerG-Rough, Italy, by Gabriele Salini
    Italian hotelier Gabriele Salini wanted this Rome hotel in a 17th-century palazzo to have a rough-yet-refined feel, fusing historic elegance and Italian modernism.
    In entertaining spaces in the rooms, an extra-deep sofa that can also serve as a spare bed provides an intriguing focal point.
    Find out more about G-Rough ›
    Photo by Julie SmorodkinaRadikal Klassisk, Spain, by Puntofilipino
    Radikal Klassisk is a Madrid apartment conceived by local studio Puntofilipino as an unusual take on Danish design, with an intense colour and material palette that creates a brooding atmosphere.
    A curving couch from Danish brand NORR11, composed of three separate parts upholstered in different fabrics, dominates the sparsely furnished living room.
    Find out more about Radikal Klassisk ›
    Photo by Brett BoardmanBreezeway House, Australia, by David Boyle Architect
    A built-in sofa lines the living room wall in this holiday home on the Australian east coast designed by New South Wales studio David Boyle Architect.
    The generous seat is reminiscent of patio or garden furniture, playing into a theme of ambiguity between the indoors and outdoors that is continued throughout the house.
    Find out more about Breezeway House ›
    Photo courtesy of Design Space AlUla 2024Design Space AlUla 2024, Italy, by Sabine Marcelis and Cloud
    Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis and architecture studio Cloud created a lounge to promote Saudi city AlUla during this year’s Milan design week.
    At its centre was a massive modular seating area by French design studio Hall Haus that bears striking similarities to Pierre Paulin’s never-produced Ensemble Dune from 1970.
    It was not the only design of its kind in Milan this April. Another installation, which explored the future of the living room, featured a yellow sofa platform made specially by design studio Panter & Tourron.
    Find out more about Design Space AlUla 2024 ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring living rooms with paper lamps, sculptural furniture and 1970s decor.

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    Atelier Tao+C creates “luminous” bookshop in Chinese ski resort

    Interior studio Atelier Tao+C has completed a light-filled bookshop with a timber roof at a ski report in northern China for local retailer Naïve.

    Located in the ski resort of Aranya Chongli in northern China, the bookshop was built within an existing concrete frame.
    A circular opening on the pitched roof allows natural light inA grid of steel and timber frameworks were inserted in between the concrete columns of the original building, while the partition walls of the 420-square-metre space were removed, creating unobstructed views from interiors to the exteriors.
    “We conceived the new Naïve bookshop as a luminous space in the midst of ice and snow, seamlessly integrated with the surrounding landscape, climate and nature,” said the Shanghai-based studio.
    A gridded framework of timber and steel is inserted into the concrete spaceThe timber frame was raised at the south side of the building, taking advantage of the double height ceiling of the original structure and forms a pitched roof with a circular opening.

    The south facade allows views of sloping snow field and forest from the building through the timber-framed, full-height windows.
    Translucent fibreglass on top of the display tables add warmth to the interiorsThe south facing glazed facade along with the circular opening on the pitched roof allow plenty of natural light into the space, creating playful lighting dynamics throughout the day.
    The bookshelves and seatings were arranged along the grids along with a cafe, library and leisure area.
    The glazed facade invite the snowy landscape into the buildingThe timber bookshelves are supported by a stainless steel structure, while the display tables are made of the same timber on wheels but covered by an extra layer of fibreglass with round edges, creating visually lightweight and translucent installations that also allow flexibility.
    “The light birch and fibreglass complement the snowy landscape, making the previously grey concrete space more exquisite and brighter, like warm mist rising from the snow,” said Atelier Tao+C.
    “As the sunlight moves, penetrated, and filtered by the texture of the fibreglass material, softens the hard light and cast soft shadows, the honey colour light oscillates and flows in the space.”

    Atelier Tao+C creates serene timber and travertine reading room

    Bespoke furniture pieces were placed along the south window facade, accommodating both solo resting and casual gatherings.
    Three banquettes in a fluid and meandering shape combine seats on one side and display table on the other, providing an easy access to books for resting customers.
    The bookshop is located in a ski resortAtelier Tao+C was founded in 2016 by Chunyan Cai and Tao Liu, who will join Dezeen Awards China as judges for the interiors category. They have recently selected five projects for Dezeen that best reflect their work.
    The photography is by Wen Studio.

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    ORA utilises LA’s fallen street trees inside Uchi West Hollywood restaurant

    Vertical fins of live-edge wood, which was sourced from fallen street trees, divide spaces at this Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles by local studio ORA.

    Uchi West Hollywood is the first West Coast location for chef Tyson Cole’s Austin-based chain, operated by Hai Hospitality Group.
    Fallen street trees sourced from across LA form spatial dividers through the restaurantSituated on a prominent corner along Santa Monica Boulevard, the 5,200-square-foot (483-square-metre) restaurant seats 160 covers amongst a timber-dominant interior.
    “We collaborated closely with local artists, makers and craftsmen, elevating humble natural materials to create a sense of surprise and connection to the unexpected natural beauty and spirit of our city,” said ORA founding principal Oonagh Ryan.
    Custom pieces created for the space include a sculptural light fixture by Kazuki Takizawa above the bar counterOne of the main collaborations for this project was with Angel City Lumber, which sourced wood from 25 Aleppo Pine trees that had fallen across 14 different city neighbourhoods.

    “With an average diameter of 30 inches and an average length of nine feet, nearly 26 tons of local LA trees were turned into wood for Uchi,” said the team.
    The live-edge wood boards trace sinuous lines through the space, creating more intimate seating areasThe 42 logs from these trees were cut into live-edge boards of varied lengths, and suspended vertically from the restaurant’s ceiling to form spatial dividers.
    The panels follow sinuous lines that demarcate seating areas, and are followed around the top by vertical wood bands that conceal cove lighting designed by Dot Dash.
    Travertine is mounted behind the sushi barIn between, hand-troweled plaster across the ceiling helps to improve acoustics in the space.
    Meanwhile, custom concrete planters by landscape firm SBLA run underneath the dividers and extend out to a patio with further dining space.
    Light boxes above the banquettes create silhouettes of the decorative objects displayed in frontThe remainder of the earth-toned material palette is dominated by woods such as white oak and walnut, complemented by upholstery from Maharam, Knoll and Carol Leather.
    At the perimeter, bespoke booth seating by ORA is placed below glowing light boxes that create silhouettes of decorative objects displayed on shelves in front.

    Stitched brick wall welcomes guests to Uchi Miami restaurant by Michael Hsu

    Striations in travertine panels mounted behind both the sushi bar and drinks bar are accentuated by thin metal shelves for storing dishes and bottles respectively.
    Also in the bar area, a custom sculptural light fixture created by LA artist Kazuki Takizawa to evoke cherry blossoms hangs above the end of the stone counter.
    Custom concrete planters below the wooden board dividers extend out to the patio dining areaBoth the solid white oak and brass bar stools by Lawson-Fenning and the handmade ceramic lamps by Ceramicah were made locally.
    Other California-based artists represented in the space include Liisa Liiva, Molly Haynes, Rajiv Khilnani and Rachel Duvall.
    The corridor to the bathrooms is lined with thin wooden stripsThe bathrooms are reached via a corridor lined with thin vertical wooden strips, and are themselves clad in dark grey tiles.
    Uchi – which means “house” in Japanese – also has locations in Austin, Miami, Dallas and Denver, while its sister brand Uchiko has an outpost in Houston designed by Michael Hsu.
    The photography is by Eric Staudenmaier.
    Project credits:
    Architect: ORAInterior design: ORAFurniture and accessories: Hai Hospitality and ORALighting: Dot DashLandscape: Stephen Billings Landscape ArchitectsStructural: Nous EngineeringMechanical: Engineered SolutionsElectrical: TEK Engineering GroupFoodservice design: MyersContractor: Build GroupLumber shop: Angel City LumberMillwork fabricator: Architectural Woodwork of Montana

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    Eight cleverly organised homes with rooms divided by storage solutions

    For our latest lookbook, we’ve collected eight homes that make the most of space by using storage units and shelving as room dividers.

    The examples below show how much-needed storage space can be integrated into a home’s design to form partition walls between rooms or create different zones within one space.
    Many of the designs feature different storage arrangements on either side of a wall to suit the rooms it is functioning, such as kitchen cupboards, hallway shelving, dressing area wardrobes, desks and fold-out tables.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring wood-lined kitchens, board-marked concrete living rooms and interiors that pair together red and green colours.
    Photo by Marcela GrassiLoft in Poblenou, Spain, by NeuronaLab

    Local architecture studio NeuronaLab inserted a blue unit with wardrobes into the centre of this renovated Barcelona apartment, separating a bedroom, study, and open-plan kitchen and living area.
    As well as dividing the ground floor spaces and providing storage, the unit also has built-in stairs leading to a second bedroom on a mezzanine level.
    Find out more about Loft in Poblenou ›
    Photo by Tololo StudioYamaguchicho House, Japan, by Slow
    A black wood storage unit creates a dividing wall between the living area and the skylit entryway at Yamaguchicho House, which was designed by Japanese practice Slow.
    The unit was elevated from the ground to help spread natural light through the space, and a television was mounted on its side facing a sofa.
    Find out more about Yamaguchicho House ›
    Photo by Kevin KunstadtSterling Place apartment, US, by Light and Air Architecture
    This two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn was transformed by New York studio Light and Air Architecture to have an open-plan layout with ample storage.
    Custom-built shelving and cupboards made from Baltic birch form opaque and see-through dividers, separating the kitchen, bathroom and living room.
    Find out more about Sterling Place apartment ›
    Photo by Shinzawa IppeiHouse in Nakauchi, Japan, by Snark
    Architecture studio Snark created a timber-framed home in Maebashi, Japan, for a family of four, adding a shared children’s room on the first floor.
    Wooden built-in storage was designed to separate the room into two private spaces, with ladders leading to individual sleeping platforms above.
    Find out more about House in Nakauchi ›

    Studio studio apartment, Australia, by Catseye Bay
    Designed by local design firm Catseye Bay, wood storage solutions were added to this studio apartment in Sydney to create informal space dividers and replace bulky furniture items such as wardrobes and bookshelves.
    The largest unit in the home conceals a bed, providing bedside shelving on one side and clothes storage on the dressing area side.
    Find out more about the Sydney studio apartment ›
    Photo by David FoesselLa Tournette, France, by Freaks Architecture
    An arched storage unit sits at the centre of La Tournette, a Parisian workshop that was converted into an apartment by French studio Freaks Architecture.
    The mobile unit separates the kitchen and living areas and can be adjusted to accommodate different living arrangements. It has shelving on one side and a fold-out dining table on the other, which can be turned to form an extra kitchen counter.
    Find out more about La Tournette ›
    Photo by José HeviaPalma Hideaway, Spain, by Mariana de Delás
    A diagonal partition wall with shelved storage cuts across the Palma Hideaway apartment in Palma de Mallorca, which was transformed by architect Mariana de Delás.
    The angular shape of the storage wall separates the hall and kitchen on one side from the bedroom on the other, where it features a built-in desk and wardrobes.
    Find out more about Palma Hideaway ›
    Photo by Lisbeth GrosmannFlinders Lane Apartment, Australia, by Clare Cousins Architects
    Local studio Clare Cousins Architects aimed to create extra bedrooms without losing living space when renovating the Flinders Lane Apartment in Melbourne.
    The studio created a hoop-pine plywood platform and storage wall with cupboards and shelves, forming two separate bedrooms boxed off from the open-plan living room and kitchen.
    Find out more about Flinders Lane Apartment ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring wood-lined kitchens, board-marked concrete living rooms and interiors that pair together red and green colours.

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    Bofink Design Studio creates “beefy” interior for members’ club in Stockholm

    Stockholm-based Bofink Design Studio has turned the Börshuset cattle-auction building into a members’ club, updating its Jugend interior with plywood panels that evoke animal skins.

    Located in Stockholm’s historic meatpacking district Slakthusområdet, the 1912 building had its interior extensively renovated in the 1980s but Bofink Design Studio’s refurbishment has revealed its original details.
    Parts of the walls are deliberately left raw”Hidden behind all the layers of paint, plastic, linoleum, woven wallpaper, floor screed and plasterboard walls were beautiful surfaces such as the terrazzo floors, tiled flooring, wall murals and wood panelling,” interior architect Jenny Askenfors told Dezeen.
    The building’s main Börssalen hall – which measures 140 square metres – was designed for trading cattle, but was barely used for its original purpose and instead quickly converted into a workers’ canteen.
    The main 140-square-metre hall was revamped”Over the years, the building has housed a police station with jail cells, and, among other things, a bank, post office, hotel, and restaurant,” Askenfors said.

    The studio made several interventions to restore the 3,600-square-metre building to its architect Gustav Wickman’s original design in the Jugend style – the German branch of the art nouveau movement.
    “We removed a floor level in the old Börssalen to recreate the double-ceiling height and to reveal the beautiful bullseye-shaped windows, hidden in the smaller rooms on the top floor,” Askenfors said.
    “We also discovered some old murals around the windows, which were carefully restored.”
    Bofink Design Studio recreated a mezzanine floor and added a spiral staircaseBofink Design Studio’s design retains part of Börshuset’s upper floor, recreating an original mezzanine level. It is designed to accommodate the members’ club and community workspace A House.
    A spiral staircase formed of patinated metal connects the main hall and the upper floor, where the studio has added a balcony balustrade in laser-cut metal.
    “We left [the staircase] outdoors for a while, which gave it a nicely patinated surface,” Askenfors said. “The old hotel rooms on the upper floor kept their layout and now serve as office spaces. The bank vaults have been turned into smaller meeting rooms.”
    Moulded plywood panels decorate the main hallBofink Design Studio drew on the industrial history of the surrounding area when choosing the materials for the interior.
    “The walls in the corridor have hand-painted panels that allude to the tile-covered walls that are common in the Slakthusområdet district, and the Börssalen space has moulded plywood panels that look like stretched animal skins,” Askenfors said.
    Vintage furniture was sourced for the projectOther materials used for the interior include stainless steel, concrete, tiles, terrazzo, mirror, wood, cork and leather. The studio also deliberately left much of the interior in a raw state.
    “Part of the old wood panelling was discovered behind plaster boards – it’s been preserved in the condition we found it in to highlight its history,” Askenfors said.

    “World’s largest wooden city” set to be built in Stockholm

    “The woven wallpapers were torn down, but haven’t been plastered over, telling us something about the passing of time,” she added.
    “The raw walls become an architectural map while also creating contrast and giving the space character.”
    Börshuset’s colour palette has warm brown and tan coloursNature and animals inspired the colour palette for the interior, which features plenty of warm brown, tan and red hues.
    “Meadow green, oxblood red, cowhide brown, butter yellow, milk white, flower meadows, clover orange and earthy colours that evoke the cattle and nature,” Askenfors said.
    The restoration unveiled decorative wall paintingsBy filling the space with vintage furniture, sourced together with vintage studio Temporärt, Bofink Design Studio underlined the importance of the building’s past as an inspiration.
    “With ‘beefy Jugend’ as our watchword, we searched far and wide for designs that highlight the building’s history,” Askenfors said.
    “A great find was the wall fixtures in the Börssalen space, which we discovered on a sourcing trip in the Netherlands.”
    Wooden furniture was sourced with vintage studio TemporärtThe animal theme continues with the furniture, which is intended to evoke the livestock once housed in the neighbouring area.
    “‘Beefy’, chubby sofas in leather, with animalistic and powerful characteristics; substantial wooden armchairs upholstered with animal skins, organic shapes, bentwood; chairs and tables in the Jugend style and gigantic plants to bring the outside in and honour the livestock,” Askenfors said.
    A House is part-owned by real estate developer Atrium Ljungberg, which is redeveloping the wider meatpacking district surrounding Börshuset and is also behind Stockholm Wood City, the “world’s largest wooden city”.
    Also in Stockholm, 3XN recently designed a stepped building with a spiralling “innovation hub”.
    The photography is by Viktor Tägt.

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    Beacon House extension by Office S&M features bubblegum pink tiles

    A London house extension designed by Office S&M features a ceramic facade with the same pink glaze used for Tube station tiles on the Hammersmith and City Line.

    Office S&M designed Beacon House, a single-storey rear extension, for a Victorian terraced house in Tottenham, north London.
    Pink “pillow-shaped” tiles clad the extensionIt creates a larger kitchen and dining space for a couple and their two young children.
    The architects chose “pillow-shaped” tiles for the extension’s facade, giving the structure a puffy aesthetic.
    The pink glaze is the same used for tiles on Hammersmith and City Line stationsThe bubblegum pink glaze is specifically used on Hammersmith and City Line station tiles, to match the colour that indicates the line on the London Underground map.

    Here, it was selected to complement the original brickwork and reflect the clients’ love of municipal architecture.
    Pale green window frames contrast the pink”Alex and Ella showed us examples of public buildings they grew up with and ones they visited on their travels, which included sun-bleached climbing frames, tiled swimming pools, leisure centres and stations,” said Catrina Stewart, co-founder of Office S&M along with Hugh McEwen.
    “Just like with these buildings, they wanted their home to be both robust and joyful,” Stewart told Dezeen.
    The extension creates a generous kitchen and dining areaThe extruded clay tiles, handcrafted by manufacturers Materials Assemble and Teamwork Italy, contrast with the pale green colour of the window frames and downpipe.
    “Ella grew up in west London and her dad used to take the Hammersmith and City line every day; the pink tiles reminded her of home,” added Stewart.
    Curved details include a kitchen island and the wall wrapping a downstairs WCThe renovation also involved improving the building’s performance, making it better insulated and ventilated, and bringing a contemporary feel to the interiors throughout.
    The design features the bold colours and graphic style that have become Office S&M’s calling card, as previously seen in projects like Mo-tel House and Graphic House.
    As with Graphic House, the interior features several bespoke elements that inject a sense of the owners’ personality. Stewart points to the kitchen island as an example.
    Bold colours feature throughout the houseThe central focus of the extension, it features a resin and timber worktop made by surface design studio Mirrl, using a technique inspired by Japanese lacquer craft Tsugaru Nuri.
    “A bespoke pattern was created, referencing the clients’ memories of pastel hues and fading colours found along the British seaside,” Stewart said.
    The hallway includes monochrome tiles and a round yellow mirrorTiled surfaces and curved details feature all over, continuing the aesthetic of the building’s exterior.
    Examples of tiles include a yellow-grouted kitchen splashback, the monochrome flooring in the entrance hallway, and the soft yellow and pink surfaces in the first-floor bathroom.
    Pale pink and yellow tiles were installed in the first-floor bathroomProminent curves include the kitchen island, as well as a rounded wall framing the downstairs toilet and a yellow-framed hallway mirror.
    “Many of the municipal buildings that they showed us were associated with a story or a memory,” said Stewart.
    “The subtle references in their home serve as a reminder of these stories and experiences.”
    The three-bedroom property is home to a couple with two childrenThe colour scheme naturally progresses through the building, with richer tones at the front of the house and lighter tones as you move through to the top-lit extension.
    Local craft makers were involved in many of the smaller details, from the baby blue banquette upholstery in the kitchen, to the hand-painted gold number fixed to the front door.
    The photography is by French + Tye.
    Project credits
    Architect: Office S&MStructural engineer: Foster StructuresContractor: YG BuildersFurniture build: YG BuildersKitchen surfaces: MirrlGlazed pink external tiles: Materials Assemble, Teamwork ItalyGlobal paints: YesColoursUpholstery: Studio SwadeGold number sign: Mark Errington

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    Post Company and Lázaro Rosa-Violàn turn 17th-century convent into Lisbon hotel

    Design studios Post Company and Lázaro Rosa-Violàn have combined historic features and contemporary touches for the Locke de Santa Joana hotel on the site of a convent in Lisbon, Portugal.

    A 17th-century convent building has been renovated and integrated alongside newly constructed additions to form part of the hotel.
    The Locke de Santa Joana hotel occupies a 17th-century convent in LisbonAmerican studio Post Company designed the interiors of the rooms, while Barcelona-based Lázaro Rosa-Violàn oversaw the design of the hotel’s public spaces.
    Locke de Santa Joana is the latest and biggest property from Locke Hotels – set across nine floors, it contains 370 units comprised of hotel rooms, apartments and suites, as well as a range of public spaces.
    The studios refined and highlighted existing architectural details”The hotel was originally a convent built in the 1600s – in designing the rooms, we wanted to marry this rich history with the contemporary culture of Lisbon,” Post Company partner Jou-Yie Chou told Dezeen.

    While the rooms’ interiors are largely clean and minimal, Post Company refined and highlighted architectural features including archways, pillars and mouldings.
    “We wanted to create a dialogue between the rooms’ architectural ‘bones’ and their interiors,” said Chou.
    Contemporary furniture and lighting elements were added to the roomsThese historic details were complemented with modern furniture, lighting fixtures and decorative elements added in natural tones.
    “Chairs in the kitchens and living spaces have a clear foundation in pews or church furniture, but still read as modern,” said Chou.

    Archiloop converts 12th-century Italian monastery into hotel Vocabolo Moscatelli

    “Mohair and boucle upholstered furniture in sinuous shapes lend geometric friction, while clean, minimal millwork is softened by over-stuffed textiles,” Chou continued.
    Fabrics, ceramics and stone finishes were sourced from the surrounding area, including rugs and textiles from local makers, as well as a Portuguese stone, Rose Aurora, for the washbasins and a local limestone for the bathroom floors.
    Glass and wood partitions were used to divide spaces within suite-style roomsEach suite-style room has its own living area and burnt orange kitchenette alongside a bedroom, which was divided using a glass and wood partition screen.
    “Glass and wood partitions provide design interest and functionality all at once,” said Chou.
    “They offer both privacy and room definition, creating a residential feel while still allowing light to permeate the room.”
    Lázaro Rosa-Violàn oversaw the design of the public spaces including a cafePublic spaces within the hotel include restaurants, cafes, bars, a co-working and meeting space, as well as a gallery to display pieces found during the renovation of the convent.
    There is also a courtyard pool at the centre of the hotel, framed by dark wooden decking.
    Terracotta pots and mosaic tiles were incorporated throughout the hotel’s interiorLázaro Rosa-Violàn continued the natural, rustic colour palette of terracotta, yellows, greens and blues used in the rooms for the shared spaces.
    “We tried to evoke warm, contemporary spaces while still taking inspiration from the colour tones of the existing architectural elements,” studio founder Lázaro Rosa-Violàn told Dezeen.
    Blue and white mosaic tiles were intended to reference the hotel’s location in PortugalCeramics feature heavily throughout the hotel, with large plant-filled terracotta pots and mosaic tiles traditionally associated with Lisbon lining the walls and tabletops.
    “When talking about Lisbon, the first thing that comes to mind is the distinctive tiles adorning the city’s buildings,” said Rosa-Violàn.
    “We’ve incorporated this element in a modern and contemporary way, combining them with rich textures, patterns, natural materials and colourful fabrics, accentuating the historical architecture.”
    Since its first location opened in 2016, Locke has expanded to include 17 sites across the UK and mainland Europe.
    Other Locke Hotels recently featured on Dezeen include Locke am Platz in Zurich and Locke at East Side Gallery in Berlin.
    The photography is courtesy of Locke Hotels.

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    IM Pei retrospective shows “architecture and life to be inseparable”

    A retrospective of architect IM Pei at the M+ Museum in Hong Kong, aims to examine his architectural projects in social, cultural and political context.

    Named IM Pei: Life is Architecture, the exhibition, which according to the museum is the first full-scale retrospective of the Chinese American architect, documented Pei’s seven-decade long career.
    IM Pei: Life is Architecture is on show at M+ Museum in Hong KongCurated by M+ Museum design and architecture curator Shirley Surya and Nieuwe Instituut director Aric Chen,  the exhibition features more than 400 objects, including original drawings, models, photographs, films, and documentation that has never been exhibited before.
    The curators approached the exhibition through six chapters, summarising Pei’s life and work that “not only define his unique practice, but also place his architectural projects in dialogue with social, cultural, and biographical trajectories, showing architecture and life to be inseparable”.
    “Though one of the world’s most famous architects, IM Pei and his contributions are relatively little understood,” said co-curator Surya. “We hope this exhibition will further shed light on a figure who influenced countless individuals, cities, and, indeed, the world.”

    it features more than 400 objects, some of which have never been on display beforeThe exhibition begins with an introduction of Pei’s upbringing and architectural education, which laid the foundation of his future practice of confronting tradition and modernity across various cultures.
    It then follows with his lesser-known period of working for Webb & Knapp in New York, the largest real-estate development company during post-war America, where he contributed to the regeneration of US cities in the 1960s.
    A mockup of the Musée du Louvre pyramid occupies the centre of the exhibition. Photo by Wilson LamOne of them is Bedford-Stuyvesant Superblock in Brooklyn New York, one of the largest African-American communities in the country at the time, where Pei proposed integrating landscaped paths, parks, and playgrounds to the gridded streets for the local community to gather and social.
    “For Pei, the success of urban redevelopment was inseparable from broad programmatic thinking intended to alleviate social and economic ills,” said Surya.
    The curators believe Pei’s work should be studied moreAt the centre of the exhibition stands a mockup of Paris’s Musée du Louvre pyramid, perhaps Pei’s best-known project, on a  base displaying media coverage of the project from the time of its construction.
    According to Surya, Pei is understudied but often reported, which informed the curatorial direction of the exhibition.

    10 of IM Pei’s most significant buildings

    “It’s interesting to argue the value of architecture lies in theories or in production,” Surya told Dezeen. “Our angle here is it’s as a production.”
    “It’s no longer just about how you design it, but what it looks like, how it was conceived, how did it get manifested, what does it mean to the public, it’s not just about a formal analysis, is it this ‘-ism’ or that ‘-ism’, he doesn’t play that game, he just built,” she continued.
    The exhibition highlights Pei’s contribution to urban designThe exhibition concluded with a chapter called Reinterpreting History through Design, which aims to demonstrate how Pei’s made modern architecture relevant to different histories and traditions.
    This section included the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, where Pei aimed to create a form that can translate to a monumental scale for the large museum.
    Informed by Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo, its formal, spatial, and material simplicity was appropriate for the context of Qatar, a young nation with no particular architectural tradition for a building of this scale.
    Pei’s Museum of Islamic Art aims to be both traditional and modern. Photo by Mohamed SomjiSome projects are repeatedly mentioned across various chapters, as intended by the curators to show consistency in Pei’s work.
    “We want people to see the process of each theme crosses geographies and periods, there’s a consistency – a commitment to city, to history and tradition and how you approach it, some projects recurs,” said Surya.
    “Pei drew from the regional while shaping the global. His work articulated artistic and cultural ideals while forging urban skylines—negotiated through dialogue and collaboration, and with results that innovated architectural forms and feats of engineering,” she added.
    The photography is by Dan Leung, courtesy of M+, unless stated otherwise.
    IM Pei: Life is Architecture is on display from 29 June 2024 to 5 January 2025 at the M+ Museum. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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