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    Sky-blue cafe in Buffalo features “Alice in Wonderland” staircase

    Canadian design duo Julia Jamrozik and Coryn Kempster have created a playful all-blue cafe in a century-old house in Buffalo, New York, with an optical illusion staircase.Named Tipico Coffee, the cafe’s identity was formed with the intention of designing a space that encourages social interactions and supports local craftsmanship.

    The cafe’s main bar is grafted from reclaimed furniture
    Reclaimed furniture and lighting made from construction-site string lights feature alongside an oversized staircase to nowhere which forms amphitheatre-style seating.
    The cafe’s main bar is made from ten reclaimed wooden tables sourced from classified advertisements website Craigslist.

    The main bar encourages social interactions

    The tables are grafted together and painted in sky-blue, forming a unified bar which runs along one wall of the cafe.
    “The process of designing the cafe really started with the idea of the social infrastructure of the grafted bar,” Jamrozik and Kempster told Dezeen.

    Drinks on ice are displayed between the bar’s table-tops
    The open bar has clusters of swivelling stools arranged around blue table-tops that jut out of the bar’s customer side, allowing easy socialising between customers and staff.
    “The different shapes of the tables come together to create opportunities for conversations,” continued the designers.
    “This is augmented with the use of swivelling bar stools that allow patrons the ability to turn their bodies to orient themselves to a new connection.”

    Swivelling stools encourage random encounters between customers and staff

    BLUE Architecture Studio adds U-shaped glass box to Shanghai coffee shop

    Groups of circular olive-green garden tables and chairs, as well as built-in blue benches, make up two intimate seating areas behind each side of the bar, which are separated by a wall.
    The tables and chairs used are purposefully outdoor furniture. This means that the seating can be moved onto an exterior patio in the summer months.

    Tipico’s atmosphere is a mix of indoors and outdoors
    Various scattered potted plants blend green and blue furniture together and continue the theme of bringing the outdoors inside.
    Jamrozik and Kempster explained their intentions for using sky-blue as the cafe’s dominant colour.

    Ménard Dworkind creates retro coffee bar in downtown Montreal

    “We wanted to use a vibrant colour to visually tie together the bar and benches to create continuity in the space and give visual emphasis to the bar as the main design gesture.”
    “We chose blue to both complement the olive green furniture and plants, but also to create moments of contrast with the bespoke yellow lights,” they continued.

    Potted plants are scattered around the space
    The bespoke lights designed for the cafe are composed of construction-site string lights, wound around sections of aluminium stock tubes. They hang above the bar and the seating areas.
    “We wanted to transform the string lights, while still making it clear what the source product was,” explained the designers.

    Lighting made from construction-site string lights
    Metal pegboard is another off-the-shelf material used in the space, making up a menu board behind the bar, a merchandise display board and a community message board.
    The bottom of the main bar and built-in-benches was also lined with wooden pegboard in order to “give them both a visual texture, taking advantage of the acoustic properties of the perforations,” said Jamrozik and Kempster

    A merchandise display board made from metal pegboard
    A sense of the building’s historic charm remains in the existing fireplace that is preserved, which is painted in a strip of the same sky-blue paint as the main bar.
    An over-scaled stairwell acts as an additional, cosy seating area fit for a couple of customers at a time.

    The building’s original fireplace and its playful stairwell
    Sealed off by a mirror and leading to nowhere, the stairwell is intended as an “Alice in Wonderland moment,” enhancing the cafe’s playfulness.
    “The stairway’s oversized steps effectively shrink the visitor and act as seats while the mirrored ceiling gives the impression that the space continues up,” explained Jamrozik and Kempster.
    “We imagine people will be drawn to the curious space and hope that they enjoy the tongue-in-cheek reference that plays on the domestic history of the original building,” continued the designers.

    Sealed off by a mirror, the stairwell is an optical illusion
    Jamrozik and Kempster note the importance of playful design in their work, which they believe connects people in public spaces.
    “We use the language of play to create social infrastructures: physical prompts which encourage contact between strangers.”
    “We believe that questioning the way people use and occupy space and their relationship to one another through playful encounters has enormous potential to speak across generations and cultural differences,” they continued.

    The importance of play is an influence in Jamrozik and Kempster’s design work
    Designers everywhere are acknowledging the importance of designing public spaces to maximise social interactions. In Montreal, Ménard Dworkind has created a cafe with a central standing bar, while Central Saint Martins graduates have created blocky outdoor furniture for a public square in Croydon, London.
    Julia Jamrozik and Coryn Kempster have collaborated on design projects since 2003. Their varied work spans temporary installations and permanent interior and architectural commissions.
    Photography is by Sara Schmidle.
    Project credits: 
    Architecture team: Abstract Architecture PC

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    Penthouse of SOM-designed tower transformed into collectible design gallery

    Seminal furniture designs by Brazilian modernists sit alongside contemporary art in a shoppable exhibition within the 40th-floor penthouse of a recently-opened San Francisco residential tower by architecture firm SOM.Travelling French-Lebanese gallery Gabriel & Guillaume has decorated the interior of the penthouse of the new Fifteen Fifty building in bright colours and patterns, and furnished it with a mix of new and mid-century pieces, all of which are for sale as part of the showcase.

    Top: An open living space is at the centre of the penthouse. Above: The apartment’s office features a sofa by Carlo Hauner and Martin Eisler
    The exhibition, which will run through summer 2021, is a collaboration between the gallery, the building’s developers Related California and branding agency FrenchCalifornia, which specialises in creating exhibitions within model apartments.
    The team was tasked with decorating the three-bedroom, three-bathroom penthouse – with interior architecture designed by Los Angeles firm Marmol Radziner – to create a scheme that is “livable and approachable”.
    “We always work to conceptualise and execute spaces that help visitors see that collectible design can be attainable and fun, so this project came very naturally to us,” FrenchCalifornia told Dezeen.

    The master bedroom features almond green walls and a hand-knotted wool and silk rug by Marguerite le Maire

    Pieces on show hail from Italy, France and Brazil, dating from the 1940s to present day.
    They sit alongside a contemporary art collection curated by gallerist Jessica Silverman, which includes works by American sculptor Davina Semo, multi-media artist Julian Hoeber, painter and photographer Ian Wallace, Israeli artist Amikam Toren and Berlin-based Claudia Wieser.

    A Jacaranda wood and marble dining table by Sergio Rodrigues sits in the dining room area alongside dining chairs by Martin Szekely
    Vivid paint colours such as the deep blue in the open kitchen, almond green in the bedroom and 1980s-style graphic green wallpaper in the office were chosen to reflect the spirit of the city while complementing the furniture and helping to define the different rooms.
    Describing their style as “eclectic”, Gabriel & Guillaume pulled together a diverse selection of furniture from different countries and eras.
    Pieces designed in the 1980s by French designer Martin Szekely sit alongside work by Brazilian modernists such as Martin Eisler and Carlo Hauner, who founded illustrious furniture brand Forma, and Jorge Zalszupin.

    The living space opens up into a dining room
    Contemporary furniture pieces include designs by Beirut-based Ranya Sarakbi and Niko Koronis, who is known for his work with resin. Rugs by Iwan Maktabi and textile designer Marguerite Le Maire, as well as pieces by ceramicist Maloles Antignac were chosen to complement the furniture.
    “When we buy pieces, we don’t think of how they will go together,” Nancy Gabriel and Guillaume Excoffier of Gabriel & Guillaume told Dezeen. “Most great pieces usually go together if proportions work – and when one piece looks uneasy with another one, just add a third one.”

    10 homes that double up as galleries or artists’ workspaces

    In the past decade, an increasing number of galleries and art shows have moved their showcases from traditional gallery spaces to domestic settings.
    “Buyers, designers and decorators alike prefer to see pieces in situ and visualise a piece in a lived-in space, and the model residence is obviously the perfect platform to do this,” said FrenchCalifornia.

    The living room features ballet slipper pink walls
    “With retail moving fast online, when you want to actually bring people to an exhibition, you need to offer them an experience,” Gabriel & Guillaume added.
    “The coldness of a white cube does not do that. In comparison, getting into a home is always a more special moment. While you can see the pieces, you can also discover the way they go together and the curation of the space. The homely format definitely has more soul.”

    Tall windows in the bathroom offer views of the city beyond
    This sentiment is echoed by the founders of Nomad, a travelling art fair founded in 2017 that showcases collectible design in exclusive villas and apartments.
    Speaking about the fair’s residential context, Nomad co-founder Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte told Dezeen: “What is good is that you can relate on a domestic scale with the objects. Most design collectors don’t buy for their storage for investment, they buy pieces to live with them. So to have them in a domestic environment is definitely perfect because you can relate to them.”
    Photography by Douglas Friedman.

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    Ten designer bathrooms with freestanding baths

    For our latest lookbook, we’ve rounded up 10 dream bathrooms with statement baths ideal for luxurious bathing, including tubs made from teak, clay, concrete and porcelain.This is the latest roundup in our Dezeen Lookbook series providing visual inspiration for the home. Previous articles in the series showcased peaceful bedrooms, colourful kitchens and living rooms with calm interiors.
    Below are ten bathroom interiors from the Dezeen archives featuring standalone baths that sit in the middle of the room or away from the walls.

    Screen House, Sydney, Australia, by Carter Williamson Architects
    The bathroom of Screen House by architecture studio Carter Williamson is covered from floor to ceiling with tactile black tiles to create a spa-like setting for its owners.
    A freestanding bathtub was placed under a bubble-like pendant light that is suspended from the asymmetric pitched roof.
    Find out more about Screen House ›

    Chimney House, Sydney, Australia, by Atelier Dau
    As part of an extension and refurbishment of a heritage-listed building in Sydney, architecture studio Atelier Dau added a ground floor bathroom.
    The bathroom is defined by porcelain floor tiles designed by Patricia Urquiola and a statement roll-top bath alongside a narrow window with views to the home’s internal courtyard.
    Find out more about Chimney House ›

    Highgate house, London, UK, by House of Grey
    This London home designed by interiors studio House of Grey incorporates a range of natural materials and finishes.
    In the bathroom (above and top), the walls are coated with a lime-based plaster surface called Tadelakt, which is waterproofed using a soap solution. The bath and sink were made from a combination of sands, unfired clays, pigments and minerals.
    Find out more about Highgate house ›

    Art Villa, Costa Rica, by Formafatal and Refuel Works
    Czech studios Formafatal and Refuel Works left the concrete structure exposed throughout this villa nestled into the jungle in Costa Rica.
    In the master bedroom, a concrete tub is set alongside a pair of glass doors that allow the space to be opened up to the surrounding jungle.
    Find out more about Art Villa ›

    Mountain cabin, Italy, by Modostudio
    The bathroom of this secluded mountain cabin designed by Modostudio has spectacular views over Italy’s Adige Valley.
    Set at the centre of the room the freestanding bath was positioned to take the best advantage of these views through full-height windows.
    Find out more about Mountain cabin ›

    Tsubo House, London, UK, by Fraher & Findlay
    Architecture practice Fraher & Findlay focused the renovation and extension of this home in east London on a small courtyard.
    All of the house’s bathrooms feature graphic monochromatic tiled floors, while the master bathroom has its own fireplace and a freestanding jet-black tub.
    Find out more about Tsubo House ›

    House V, Slovakia, by Martin Skoček
    The dramatic en-suite bathroom of the master bedroom of this gabled house near Bratislava, designed by architect Martin Skoček, is lined with salvaged bricks.
    Its centrepiece, aligned with the apex of the pitched ceiling, is an oval, freestanding bathtub.
    Find out more about House V ›

    Atelier Villa, Costa Rica, by Formafatal
    The bathrooms within this perforated-aluminium clad villa in Costa Rica are defined by floors made with cement tiles from Nicaragua.
    One of the bedroom suites has a freestanding bath that is lit by mottled light coming through the cladding perforations.
    Find out more about Atelier Villa ›

    Leaf House, London, UK, by Szczepaniak Astridge
    The focal point of the rooftop extension to architectural photographer Edmund Sumner and writer Yuki Sumner’s London home by Szczepaniak Astridge is a Japanese-style wooden bath.
    Positioned against a large window that has views across London, the bath was made from waxed teak by furniture maker William Garvey.
    Find out more about Leaf House ›

    The Boathouse, Devon, UK, by Adams+Collingwood Architects 
    London studio Adams+Collingwood Architects designed this house overlooking Salcombe Estuary so that its first-floor living spaces could take advantage of views across the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
    On the ground, which is embedded into the hillside, there are four bedrooms and three bathrooms, including the master en-suite that features a copper bathtub.
    Find out more about The Boathouse ›
    Photography is by Jim Stephenson, Brett Boardman, Edmund Sumner, BoysPlayNice, Adam Scott, Laura Egger, Tom Ferguson, Michael Sinclair and Matej Hakár.
    This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing peaceful bedrooms, calm living rooms and colourful kitchens.

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    Life Meets Art book offers glimpse inside homes of leading creatives

    Norman Foster’s lofty dining room and the tactile living space of Faye Toogood are among the home interiors revealed in author Sam Lubell’s new book, Life Meets Art.Life Meets Art was curated by Lubell to “reveal a new side” to over 200 of the world’s best-loved creatives by offering a glimpse inside their private spaces.
    The homes of both notable and lesser-known architects, designers, musicians, poets and artists from across six different centuries and more than thirty countries are also shown – many for the first time.

    Top: Richard Neutra’s former home features in the book. Above: Life Meets Art by Sam Lubell

    “It started with the people, the world’s most talented, interesting, original, and in some cases strange artists, architects, writers, musicians, and more,” Lubell told Dezeen.
    “We knew we wanted to reveal a new side to these creatives, but we also wanted a lot of surprises, people and places that people might not have heard of.”
    “All the spaces are reflections of their owners”
    According to Lubell, one of the most significant discoveries in the book is how “all the spaces are reflections of their owners”.
    “There’s this phenomenal feedback loop between a creative person and their living space,” he explained.

    John Pawson offers a look inside his minimalist home and studio

    “Their experience inspires their art, which inspires their home, which inspires their art, which inspires their experience, and so on,” he continued.
    “Every square inch is fueled with a creative vision that manifests in entirely different ways. We learn how they’ve shaped their homes, and how their homes have shaped them. It’s almost like peeking inside someone’s body.”
    “The homes of designers have most influence on residential design trends”
    Lubell believes Life Meets Art also encapsulates the extent of the influence that architects and designers have had on residential interiors.
    According to Lubell, this “trend rolls through history”, and is evident in homes ranging all the way from Charles Moore postmodernist dwelling in Texas to the minimalist London residence of John Pawson.
    “I think the homes of architects and designers had the most influence on residential design trends,” Lubell explained.
    “This makes sense because that’s their speciality, and in many cases, their homes were opportunities to experiment with and advocate for entirely new design philosophies.”
    Read on for Dezeen’s pick of 10 designer homes in the book:

    La Voile, France
    One of the most notable contemporary architects to feature in the book is Pritzker Prize-winning architect Foster, with his La Voile residence that he created within a 1950s tower on the French Riviera.
    The building was carved out to create an open, futuristic interior, with a series of balconies overlooking a white-walled dining room and a living room at its heart.

    Toogood/Gibberd Residence, UK
    Toogood’s minimalist home, which she shares with Modern House co-founder Matt Gibberd, is located in a 1960s house in London by Swiss architect Walter Segal.
    In her living room, pale bricks are used as a tactile backdrop to a number of pared-back furnishings that range from her own pill-shaped coffee table to playful geometric tapestries.

    Cabin at Longbranch, USA
    American architect Jim Olsen created this stilted woodland house for himself at the age of 18 and remodelled it several times since.
    The dwelling is characterised by its exposed-wood framework and large windows, captured here in this seating area, which is designed to retain focus on the home’s natural surroundings.

    Rainbow Penthouse, UK
    The vibrant and colourful home of Zandra Rhodes, aptly named Rainbow Penthouse, is an embodiment of the fashion designer’s trademark style.
    Located on top of London’s Fashion and Textile Museum, which she also owns, the penthouse apartment is filled with colour-blocked surfaces and adorned with her personal art collection.

    Finn Juhls Hus, Denmark
    Modernist furniture and artwork fill every space of Finn Juhl’s former home in Ordrup. This includes the living room, photographed above, within which his Chieftan lounge chair takes centre stage.
    In the book, Lubell describes the dwelling as a “perfect example of how Juhl weighed interior design and architecture equally”.

    Moore/Andersson Compound, USA
    The final home of late Charles Moore, which he created for himself was in Texas, perfectly captures the bold postmodernist style for which he is best known.
    Life Meets Art spotlights the dwelling’s main living area, which is crammed full with decorative pilasters, a collection of toys, colourful ceramics and statues of kachina dolls.

    Villa E-1027, France
    Furniture is the focus throughout Villa E-1027, the former clifftop home of modernist designer Eileen Gray that is now open to the public in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.
    Life Meets Art homes in on its main living room, which features her the iconic Bibendium chair and the glass and steel E-1027 side table.

    Rashid Residence, USA
    This gallery-like kitchen and dining room forms part of industrial designer Karim Rashid’s four-bedroom townhouse in Manhattan.
    White walls and floors form a backdrop to bright finishes that range from a luminous lime-hued backsplash to a multi-coloured carpet that echoes Rashid’s joyful approach to design.

    Juan O’Gorman House-Studio, Mexico
    Located just outside Mexico City is the home of the late architect, painter and muralist Juan O’Gorman, which he built for himself in 1933. It is positioned close to La Casa Azul, the dwelling he created for Diego Riviera and Frida Kahlo.
    Today it is owned by artist Paulina Parlange, who has teamed its bright, light-filled finishes with an eclectic mix of furnishings, murals and patterned textiles.

    Neutra VDFL Research House, USA
    Large glazed walls that frame views of a neighbouring reservoir line the Neutra VDFL Research House – the former home of modernist architect Richard Neutra.
    Lubell selected the dwelling for the book in recognition of its innovative, mid-century design, which he describes as “strikingly ahead of its time”.
    Photography is courtesy of Phaidon.

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    AHEAD hospitality awards “means more now than it ever did” say its global winners

    The winners of the AHEAD Global hospitality awards describe how the programme has brought the industry together during the coronavirus pandemic in this video produced by Dezeen for AHEAD.The AHEAD Global awards, which celebrate striking hospitality projects from around the world, announced its winners in a livestream that was broadcast on Dezeen in December.
    The event was the culmination of a two-year programme of events split into four different regions: Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEA), Asia and the Americas.

    Dexamenes Seaside Hotel by K-studio, winner of the AHEAD Global Ultimate Accolade

    Throughout last year, the physical ceremonies that AHEAD usually hosts to announce the winners were replaced by a series of live-streamed versions broadcast on Dezeen in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
    “There’s a massive wealth of diversity within the hospitality industry across the globe,” says AHEAD’s Amy Wright in the video.
    “AHEAD global brings together the winners of all the regions from across two years to compete to be the best of the best,” she said.

    AHEAD Global ultimate winner offers “meaningful luxury” in a converted wine factory

    According to the winners, the awards programme has offered hoteliers and hotel designers a sense of community while the hospitality industry struggled in the face of the global travel restrictions put in place to combat the spread of Covid-19.
    “Ahead awards brings the industry together,” said Amar Lalvani, CEO of Standard International, whose Standard Hotel in London won the Social Scene Award.
    “In the year of the pandemic when people are so far apart, to bring industry people together and recognise the hard work that our teams do to bring projects to life means more now than it ever did,” he continued.

    The Standard Hotel in London won the Social Scene Award
    Dexamenes Seaside Hotel in Greece took home the AHEAD Global Ultimate Accolade, the most significant award of the event.
    The project is a conversion of an abandoned wine factory on the Peloponnese coastline by Athens-based practice K-studio, and makes use of the industrial character of the site.
    “Dexamenes is a wonderful example of the creative reuse and regeneration of a derelict building,” said Wright. “It’s a perfect example of what hoteliers can and should be doing more.”

    Dexamenes Seaside Hotel by K-studio, winner of the AHEAD Global Ultimate Accolade
    Amongst the other projects commended at the event was Amanyangyun, a resort hotel in Shanghai designed by Kerry Hill Architects and winner of the Regeneration Award.
    Amanyangyun incorporates 10,000 Camphor trees as well as 50 historic buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties that were transported 600 kilometres from a site where they were under threat from the construction of a new dam.
    “The ambition and foresight is special,” said Tanuj Goenka, director of Kerry Hill Architects. “This doesn’t happen very often.”

    Amanyangyun, a resort hotel in Shanghai designed by Kerry Hill Architects, won the Regeneration Award
    The Wild Coast Tented Lodge in Sri Lanka won The Gamechanger Award, an accolade given to a project that challenges established norms in the hospitality industry.
    Its dome-like dwellings were designed to mimic rocky outcrops scattered across the local landscape.
    “It celebrates the flora and fauna and culture of the area with minimal intrusion in the natural landscape,” said Olav Bruin, creative director at Nomadic Resorts.

    The Wild Coast Tented Lodge in Sri Lanka won The Gamechanger Award
    Omaanda, a boutique lodge in Namibia constructed using local building methods, took home the Rural Retreat Award.
    “We have chosen to go with the concept of rounded huts with thatched roofs the way the local Owambo tribe has been building their houses for years and years” explained Arnaud Zannier, founder of Zannier Hotels.

    The Omaanga lodge in Namibia by Zannier Hotels won the Rural Retreat Award
    Kelly Wearstler’s design for Santa Monica Proper Hotel in the USA won the project the People’s Choice Award.
    The 271-room boutique hotel makes use of natural materials, neutral colours and vintage furniture to create a sensory experience that references Santa Monica’s beachside identity.
    “Santa Monica Proper was really meant to introduce a looser kind of luxury to the city,” said Patrick Pahlke, commercial vice president of Proper Hospitality.
    “Using Santa Monica as a muse, our designer Kelly Wearstler took most of her cues from classic Santa Monica history with a design-forward sense of luxury.”

    The People’s Choice Award went to Kelly Wearstler’s Santa Monica Proper Hotel
    The Urban Award was given to Rosewood Bangkok, a 159-room, 30-floor tower with an angular form based on the Thai custom of pressing one’s hands together in greeting.
    “The atmosphere is very contemporary – timeless, I would say,” stated Michael Kaesemann, executive assistant manager of rooms at the hotel.

    Rosewood Bangkok in Thailand won the Urban Award
    The Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland, a spa resort embedded amongst blue geothermal pools and moss-covered lava fields, won the Sanctuary Award.
    The hotel’s designers brought the features of its otherworldly natural surroundings into the building, using lava as a building material and prioritising views of the landscape throughout.
    “The key characteristic of The Retreat at Blue Lagoon is this relationship between the man-made, the building, the interior and exterior, the nature,” said Design Group Italia chief design officer Sigurdur Thorsteinsson.
    “The whole project evolved around how to get the feeling of nature flowing into the building.”

    The Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland won the Sanctuary Award
    The Beachfront Beauty Award went to Asbury Ocean Club, a seaside hotel located 70 minutes’ drive from New York on the Jersey Shore.
    The hotel occupies the fourth floor of a residential tower, with rooms that look out over a garden sculpted to resemble sand dunes.
    “Though it is on the fourth floor of a building, we manage to make believe that this whole place is hidden in the dunes next to the ocean,” explained its designer Anda Andrei.

    Anda Andrei’s Asbury Ocean Club won the Beachfront Beauty Award
    In March last year, Dezeen broadcast a ceremony announcing the winners of the AHEAD Asia 2020 awards, after the physical event was called off following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
    The winners of the AHEAD Americas 2020 awards were streamed in June 2020 as part of Dezeen’s Virtual Design Festival. In November, Dezeen broadcast ceremonies announcing winners of the MEA and Europe legs of the competition.
    This video was produced by Dezeen for AHEAD as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here. Images courtesy of AHEAD.

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    Warm hues and central oven define Sofi bakery in Berlin

    The layout of this craft bakery in Berlin, designed by Danish architects Mathias Mentze and Alexander Vedel Ottenstein, revolves around an open kitchen that showcases the beauty of the bread-making process.Located in the courtyard of a restored brick factory in the city’s Scheunenviertel quarter, Sofi is a craft bakery that makes bread and cakes using grains sourced from small, organic farmers in Northern Europe.

    Above: Sofi is housed in a former brick factory. Top image: A long, communal table offers space to eat
    The project is a collaboration between Danish chef and restaurateur Frederik Bille Brahe and Design Hotels founder Claus Sendlinger.
    As well as making baked goods using organic ingredients and low-intervention techniques, the owners’ ambition is for Sofi to serve as a community hub and to supply fresh bread to a selection of local restaurants.

    A 3.5-metre-tall bread shelf separates the bakery from the guest area

    Its interior was designed by Mentze and Vedel Ottenstein in collaboration with Augsburg-based interior design studio Dreimeta.
    “We were introduced to the project last summer when Frederik Bille Brahe approached us about a new bakery he was working on in Berlin,” Vedel Ottenstein told Dezeen.
    “Like Frederik, we are based in Copenhagen and have frequented his existing cafes and restaurants. So he brought us on to ensure that there would be a distinct Copenhagen feel to his first endeavour outside of Denmark.”

    A corner bench is made from solid elm
    “When we first visited the site in July 2020, the former tenant — which was a famous bagel shop — had just vacated the space. From the beginning, it was quite easy to imagine that this could be an amazing project, as the space itself has a lot of nice qualities,” he recalled.
    “The double-height ceiling as well as the connection to the inner courtyard bring both light and a certain curiosity to the location. The space needed a lot of work but we felt the assignment was more to bring forth existing qualities instead of inventing new ones.”

    All furniture was custom-made for the interior
    The new floor plan revolves around an open-plan kitchen that sits at the centre of the space. Conceived as a “production floor”, this allows guests to watch Sofi’s small, international team of young bakers rolling out dough and working the ovens.
    “Making bread is a highly technical skillset with all these different steps and we wanted this process to be the generator of the plan layout,” said Vedel Ottenstein.

    Six bakeries and sweets shops with delectable interiors

    “A bakery has a very clear narrative in which the oven is the heart of the place and so we wanted to place the oven in the exact middle of the space,” he continued.
    “It’s like a choreography and we wanted to showcase the beauty of the process to all of the customers – from mixing the flour and water all the way to stocking up the bread shelf with freshly baked goods.”

    The shelves display a range of the team’s favourite products
    A red vinyl floor and walls painted in a delicate yellow hue are intended to reflect the colours of the bricks in the courtyard outside.
    Peg coat racks and shelves wrap the walls while a 3.5-metre-tall bread shelf and long communal table fill up the centre of the space.

    The stools were made by Rammelisten
    All are made from solid elm with walnut detailing, with larger pieces such as the counter, bread rack, work table and shelves fabricated by a German carpentry firm. Smaller, movable items including the stools and benches were crafted by Rammelisten, a small woodwork studio based just north of Copenhagen.
    “This was so that we could be more hands-on, follow the production and do alterations to the designs if we discovered issues,” explained Vedel Ottenstein.

    Atelier Vime’s wicker lamp was decorated with a flower display by Danh Vo
    The huge wicker pendant lamp that hangs over the communal table was handmade by French studio Atelier Vime and has been decorated with a flower display by local artist Danh Vo.
    “The flower arrangement installed inside the shade is made from bast and hops flowers as a nod to the leftover waste from beer production that Frederik intends to use in the bread-making at Sofi,” explained Vedel Ottenstein.

    Pinocchio is a tiny bakery in Japan decorated in the colours of bread

    “The installation is a seasonal piece, where Danh Vo will bring in new flowers and plants according to the season from his farm north of Berlin, called Güldenhof,” he continued.
    “He wishes to challenge the typical idea of a flower arrangement by using unexpected plants and weeds such as flowering leeks and lettuces.”

    The bakery’s colourful glazed tableware comes from Studio X
    A tall, open shelving unit separating the bakery and guest area displays a range of the team’s favourite products — including ceramics, coffee, tea, natural wines and flour from the Danish Kørnby mill.
    Colourful glazed tableware by London’s Studio X, hand-crafted cups by Danish artist Kasper Hesselbjerg and vintage cutlery were all carefully selected by the design team and owners.
    Sofi is not the first warm-hued bakery to feature on Dezeen. Design studio I IN decorated this tiny bakery in Japan in the colours of bread, while US studio The New Design Project outfitted a West Village cookie shop with speckled terrazzo, beige tiles and creamy walls to reference the baked goods for sale.
    Photography is by Volker Conradus.

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    DU Studio revamps Zhengzhou Yutong Bus headquarters

    Dezeen promotion: DU Studio has redesigned the headquarters of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus in Zhengzhou, China, creating an updated corporate identity while reusing up to 60 per cent of the existing structure and materials.Zhengzhou Yutong Bus – China’s largest electric bus manufacturer – commissioned interior design firm DU Studio in 2017 to update its head office and create a space that better reflected company’s successful development in recent years.
    The goal was to improve the building’s spatial efficiency, aesthetics and sustainability, creating a multifunctional environment while reusing the majority of the existing structure and materials.

    A three-storey green wall towers over the main sales lobby at the Zhengzhou Yutong Bus headquarters

    Located in Zhengzhou’s Jingkai District, the headquarters comprises of a 12-storey research and development building and a 15-storey sales office – totalling approximately 60,000 square metres that encompasses multiple lobbies, public spaces, workspaces and VIP areas.
    “The main challenge of this renovation was to make the best use of the existing structure, materials, and equipment, and to upgrade the function and aesthetics of the space as much as possible so that it better fit Yutong’s corporate culture,” said DU Studio founder Zhu Ping.

    Curving room dividers and tables in the financial hall mimic the design of the brand’s buses
    The studio overhauled the main lobby of the sales building, creating a green wall that stretches three levels to bring plants into the building and underscore the renovation’s sustainability goals.
    A new sculptural reception desk features three metal rings, one on the floor as the desk itself and two suspended from a central column.

    DU Studio added improved lighting in the financial hall, including a light box to create a more human scale
    These rings symbolise the wheels of the buses manufactured by the company, and one features a bright digital display screen. DU Studio added new ceiling lights to make the space feel brighter and more welcoming.
    The studio also switched up the lighting in the building’s financial hall, putting a large light box in the ceiling to create softly diffused light. Low, curving room dividers and tables mimic the design of the brand’s buses.

    In the sales reception hall, planters represent gears and the lights are wheels
    The light box “brings the space to the human body scale, increasing the intimacy and forming a cozy waiting area,” according to Ping.
    DU Studio also channelled this mechanical inspiration into the tree-filled planter benches in the sales reception hall, which are designed to look like gears biting together.

    Black panels were added to the hall to help absorb sound
    Ring-shaped pendant lamps are suspended over this atrium and also represent wheels, while doubling as sound-absorption units. To further improve the acoustics in the hall, black panels were added to act as sound baffles and break up the harsh reflective surfaces.
    Each office floor has a dedicated coffee area for employees to use, as well as two new cafes for visitors to the headquarters.

    Wood panels fixed to the walls at different angles are influenced by the movement of gear wheels
    For the second-floor cafe, located next to the exhibition area, DU Studio used burnished metal panels to evoke machinery parts.
    Another cafe, located on the building’s 15th floor, is intended to be used by overseas business visitors. Tranquil blue hues were chosen to evoke the ocean, while white ceiling panels installed at different heights mimic clouds.

    The 15th-floor cafe for overseas visitors is designed to be calm
    Wooden panels line the atrium reserved for VIP guests, which also features trees in planters to represent growth and prosperity. “The renovation design used dense and varied wood grain grids to raise up the three-story height, unifying the visual effect and strengthening the vertical sense of the space,” said Ping.
    In the research and development building, DU Studio transformed the previously cramped lobby into a two-storey space covered with a futuristic stainless steel ceiling and glass walls.

    Wood panels and trees can be found in the VIP atrium
    Each R&D office floor is equipped with exhibition and social spaces for employees to gather in, helping to foster a sense of community.
    For the communal spaces of the offices, display shelves feature a decorative pattern of tyre tracks. Lots of different types of seating give employees a range of comfortable places to meet or work from.

    Tyre tracks are printed on the walls of the office space
    Splashes of blue, the Yutong Bus livery colour, brighten up the open-plan desk areas, which feature lots of plants too. A pattern of buses picked out in grey over a blue wall decorates the office’s storage space.
    Since its completion in November 2020, over 5,000 employees have moved into the revamped headquarters. DU Studio hopes to have created an environment in which they can work more efficiently and enjoyably.

    A motif of buses decorates the open-plan office
    “It was important to analyse in great detail the corporate structure and functional requirements of the spaces, take full use of the existing materials and conditions, and strive to achieve maximum improvement on the quality of the spaces that are functional, aesthetically pleasing, and same time provide a strong sense of comfort and well-being,” said Ping.
    The designer founded her Shanghai-based studio around the principles of developing “healthy, humanistic and happy” spaces that include retail, offices, education centres and more. Visit the firm’s website for more information.
    Project credits:
    Client: Zhengzhou Yutong BusInterior design: DU Studio (向合空间)Design director: Zhu PingInterior design group: Cai Xinhang, Jiang Yishan, Shen YiwenTechnology consultant: Yan GangLighting: BPI
    Partnership content
    This article was written by Dezeen for DU Studio as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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    Merooficina carves up former fisherman's house into two bright apartments

    Porto architecture practice Merooficina has converted a former fisherman’s house in Aveiro, Portugal, into two apartments that blend original features with new interventions.Casa da Beiramar is located in the historic neighbourhood of Beira-Mar with its colourful terraced houses. These have long, narrow floor plans and an adobe structure, meaning they are built from bricks made of earth and other organic materials.

    Above: Casa da Beiramar is situated in Aveiro’s Beira-Mar neighbourhood. Top image: the ground-floor flat now opens up onto a patio
    Clad in traditional azulejos tiles and decorated with green ceramic flowerpots, the houses were originally built for the local fishing community.
    “This part of the city has been witnessing an interesting fusion between the old dwellers and more recent inhabitants,” explained Merooficina founders Catarina Ribeiro and Vitório Leite.

    The downstairs kitchen features yellow tiles and marble countertops

    The studio was commissioned by one of these new residents to restore a two-storey, 150-square-metre adobe house, which sits on a corner plot with two street-facing facades.
    The client asked Merooficina to create a flexible design that would allow the building to be used in multiple different ways – initially as two apartments but with a longterm view of converting it back into a single house or an office for the owner’s new psychology practice.

    The stairwell leading up to the first-floor apartment is painted blue
    “We understand flexibility as a way to enrich ageing buildings,” said the studio. “It’s a matter of adding and layering possibilities on a specific place, so the new occupation can be multiple and transformative.”
    Using the house’s two existing entrances, the studio was able to create two separate apartments – one on each floor of the building. The first-floor apartment can be reached via a bright blue stairwell, while the ground-floor apartment is accessed directly from the street.

    Palma Hideaway in Mallorca is obscured from the street by a tiny tiled garden

    A door that connects the two apartments at the bottom of the stairwell has been temporarily closed off but yellow panes of glass help to funnel light into the stairwell.
    The studio restored and reinforced the existing adobe walls and floors to improve the apartments’ thermal and acoustic insulation. Original windows, doors and other structural and ornamental elements were retained as much as possible.

    A new balcony juts out over the patio
    The biggest intervention was the addition of a new steel structure, which allowed the back of the building to be opened up. Here, the previous owners had added a haphazard extension using ceramic bricks and steel sheets, covering what used to be a patio.
    This structure was demolished to return the space to its former use, while pivot windows were added to open up the ground floor apartment to the outdoor space.
    The patio walls are clad in a gradient of yellow tiles that were painted by a local artist, in a homage to Aveiro’s long history of tile production.

    The yellow tiles from the kitchen are matched on the patio
    The patio connects to an open-plan living and dining area and a kitchen, which features matching yellow tiles, marble countertops and birch plywood cupboards.
    From the kitchen, a mirrored door leads to the bathroom, bedroom and kitchen.
    A glazed balcony was added above the new patio on the first floor, which houses a bathroom and a bathtub enrobed in a white curtain to create a barrier between the bather and the busy street.

    The bathtub is hidden from view through a white curtain
    “We wanted to mix and match the ambiences of both apartments using the tiles and other details, but they are quite different,” Ribeiro told Dezeen.
    “In the upstairs apartment, we tried to retain all of the existing features, such as the windows and wood detailing – adding only the glazed balcony in the bathroom and a new kitchen. Downstairs, however, was in a very bad state when we began the project. So here we used a cleaner, more minimal design language and organisation.”

    Pinewood flooring runs through the first-floor apartment
    In the upstairs kitchen, the architects restored the original tiles, brown rose plaster and marble as well as replacing the pinewood flooring.
    Whenever the owners want to convert the property back into a single dwelling, the apartments can easily be connected via the door at the bottom of the stairwell while the kitchen on the first floor could be converted into an additional bedroom.

    Yellow glass panes separate the two apartments
    Alternatively, the downstairs entrance, bathroom and bedroom could be closed off from the kitchen and living room and turned into an office for the owner’s work as a psychologist.
    “The mixture between the new interventions and the existing, recovered features is a liquid blend between two ways of building,” explained the architects. “One more universal – related to the new habits and comfort demands of the new inhabitants – and the other more vernacular, related to the place, the existing building and the local culture.”
    In Spain, Iterare Arquitectos used traditional construction techniques and local materials to update a 100-year-old home in a former fisherman’s neighbourhood in Valencia. The minimalist interior is designed to blend in with its historical surroundings.
    Photography is by Tiago Casanova.

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