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    Studio Aisslinger completes “nature-loving” renovation of Hotel Seegarten

    Designer Werner Aisslinger has renovated a lakeside hotel in Germany’s Sauerland region, adding hydroponics and locally sourced materials including wood and terrazzo to craft interiors informed by the surrounding nature.

    Hotel Seegarten is owned and operated by TV chef Olaf Baumeister, who took over the traditional inn from his parents in 1992 and has overseen its transformation into modern boutique accommodation.
    Werner Aisslinger has renovated a boutique hotel in the SauerlandWerner Aisslinger’s studio was influenced by the hotel’s location overlooking the Sorpesee lake when developing its “nature-loving” concept for the guest rooms and public areas.
    This includes Baumeister’s Seegarten restaurant, where hydroponic shelves are used to grow ingredients for the kitchen.
    Terrazzo and wood feature throughout the interior”The overall atmosphere is friendly and close to nature, as all materials are processed in their purest form and can be felt,” said the design team, adding that further inspiration came from Baumeister’s passion for using local produce in his cooking.

    The studio described the hotel’s setting as an “oasis in the Sauerland”, which informed a design that is casual, modern and focused on promoting wellbeing.
    The two main materials used throughout the scheme are terrazzo and wood, which are intended to evoke the pebble beaches of the nearby lake and the trees of the surrounding forest.
    Stones from a nearby quarry were incorporated into the grey terrazzoOther elements such as curtains, carpets, plants and rattan screens were chosen to complement these two cornerstone materials, as well as adding different tactile surfaces to the interior.
    Stones from a nearby quarry were incorporated into the grey terrazzo, which was processed by a local firm and is used throughout the bathrooms.
    As well as referencing the natural surroundings, the use of local materials and regional manufacturers helps to minimise the project’s carbon footprint by reducing shipping requirements.

    Keiji Ashizawa Design and Norm Architects create “honest” Trunk Hotel in Tokyo

    The bedrooms feature bespoke shelves housing planters filled with herbs, along with equipment that guests can use to brew their own tea.
    In the bathrooms, Studio Aisslinger commissioned custom-made towel rails shaped like swimming pool ladders that attach to the bathtubs.
    Traditional wood panelling features in the Seegarten restaurant, providing a contrast with the metal hydroponic troughs and their bright LED grow lights.
    Furniture designs by Aisslinger include the Wood Bikini chairThe hotel’s wellness area features flat and curved rattan screens that are suspended from the ceiling and can be adjusted in height to provide privacy if required.
    Furniture created by Aisslinger for various design brands is used throughout the hotel, including the Geometrics pouf for Cappellini and the Wood Bikini chair for Moroso.
    The public areas also feature the solid oak Cep tables, the geometric Urban Jungle rugs and the Addit sofas designed for German furnituremaker Rolf Benz in collaboration with Studio Aisslinger’s design director Tina Bunyaprasit.
    Curved rattan screens and sheer curtains feature in the hotel’s wellness areaAisslinger founded his studio in Berlin in 1993, adding a Singapore office in 2008.
    The studio’s previous projects include the transformation of a famous Berlin squat into a photography museum and the design of a futuristic exhibition exploring topics from urban farming to robotics.
    The photography is by Nicoló Lanfranchi for Studio Aisslinger.

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    Eight compact micro interiors that make the most of their small space

    For our latest lookbook, we’ve collected eight micro apartments and micro homes that use clever solutions to fit the most into a single room, which often functions as both the living room and the bedroom.

    A “sleeping cocoon” and built-in space-saving furniture are among the solutions used to create comfortable living and sleeping spaces in these projects.
    The interiors, which range from a home in Taipei to a small apartment in Beirut, feature a number of innovative designs that allow their owners and tenants to stretch out – even in spaces that are as small as 15 square metres.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring minimalist kitchens and homes with pyramidal ceilings.
    Photo by Pierce ScourfieldFerguson, Scotland, by Lee Ivett, Simon Harlow and Duncan Blackmore

    Colour decorates the walls in this 25-square-metre apartment in Glasgow, which doesn’t contain any freestanding furniture. Instead, a fixed bench and a shelf that functions as a desk create a living room and workspace.
    The bed can be found on a mezzanine that sits above a compact shower room and is reached via wooden steps. Custom-made sinks ensure that the white goods don’t take up too much space in the flat, which the owner uses as a temporary base in the city.
    Find out more about Ferguson ›

    Corten steel micro home, Lithuania, by IM Interior
    This micro home located inside a former garage in Lithuania shows “how little a person needs,” said designer Indrė Mylytė-Sinkevičienė, founder of IM Interior.
    The home measures 21 square metres and has warm birch wood lining. Its bed is positioned like a window seat beneath one of its two narrow windows and surrounded by concealed storage. A slim, built-in shelf functions as both a desk and a dining table.
    Find out more about the Corten steel home ›
    Photo is by Hey! CheeseMicro-flat, Taiwan, by A Little Design
    Local studio A Little Design used built-in, space-saving furniture for this Taipei apartment, which measures just 17.6 square metres.
    Built-in cabinets provide storage next to a staircase that leads up to a mezzanine bed, while a foldable table can be used as a desk or dining space.
    Find out more about the micro-flat ›
    Photo is by Peter BennettsMicroloft, Melbourne, by Studio Edwards
    Chipboard was used to create much of the furniture in this 24-square-metre apartment in Melbourne, including storage units, a sofa and a bed.
    The designers also customised IKEA furniture for the home, wrapping a bedside stool in recycled aluminium to help with the acoustics and using aluminium legs to extend the same stools to create seats for dining.
    Find out more about Microloft ›
    Photo by Ståle EriksenShoji Apartment, UK, by Proctor & Shaw
    A translucent “sleeping cocoon” wrapped in panels that reference Japanese shoji screens gave this flat its name. Designed by London studio Proctor & Shaw, it measures 29 square metres and has a design that takes advantage of its high ceilings.
    “This apartment renovation project is conceived as a prototype for micro-living in existing housing stock with constrained floor areas but traditionally generous ceiling heights,” explained the studio.
    Find out more about Shoji Apartment ›
    Photo by Marwan HarmouchShoe Box, Lebanon, by Eliemetni
    This compact Beirut apartment, located on the roof of an old building, has just 15 square metres of floor space but manages to fit everything into one room.
    The floor was coated in white epoxy to maximise the light in the small space, which has lots of under-bed and under-seating storage in its custom-built space-saving furniture. Matching white walls add an airy feel to the space.
    Find out more about Shoe Box ›
    Photo by Koji Fujii Nacasa and PartnersLove2 House, Japan, by Takeshi Hosaka
    This Tokyo micro home, which measures 19 square metres, receives plenty of natural light from its two large skylights.
    Architect Takeshi Hosaka built it for himself and his wife, designing the compact home with seven partitions that extend out from the reinforced concrete walls to define the dining, kitchen and sleeping zones.
    A large sliding door opens the home up to the street, creating additional space in the warm months.
    Find out more about Love2 House ›
    Photo by JAG StudioDoméstico, Ecuador, by Juan Alberto Andrade and María José Váscones
    Located inside the Qorner building in Quito, Ecuador, this micro apartment measures 27.5 square metres and features a floor-to-ceiling unit that the designers described as a “habitable artifact”.
    It contains storage space as well as a bed and desk, both of which fold up. A door in the corner leads to a bathroom with a sink, shower and toilet.
    Find out more about Doméstico ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring minimalist kitchens and homes with pyramidal ceilings.

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    Space Available opens closed-loop design workshop and studio in Bali

    Design studio Space Available has transformed a former warehouse in Bali into a workshop and office space featuring a mezzanine clad in offcuts from its plastic recycling projects.

    Situated in an industrial suburb of the island’s capital Denpasar, the building houses the first physical workspace for Space Available, which creates products and clothing from ocean plastic and other waste materials.
    Space Available has designed its own studio and workshop in BaliThe organisation, founded in 2020 by English designer Daniel Mitchell, wanted to create a studio that can act as a creative hub for hosting activities centred around the themes of recycling and closed-loop design principles that aim to keep waste materials in use.
    The space was designed to accommodate recycling machines, upcycling stations and a bio-design lab created in collaboration with MycoWorks – a Californian company that develops materials from mushroom mycelium for brands including Hermès.
    The studio makes products from recycled plasticMitchell and Space Available’s in-house architect Andika Permana oversaw the renovation of the 500-square-metre building, defined by typical industrial features including grey breeze block walls.

    “The raw warehouse space underwent a transformation of refinement to make it feel less industrial,” Mitchell told Dezeen.
    “We skimmed and painted the walls white along with painting the previously unfinished metal ceiling. Our aim was to create a clean, white, almost gallery-like atmosphere.”
    Offcuts from the production process were used to clad the stairsTowards the rear of the space, a double-height steel structure was erected to house the laboratory as well as an office on the upper level. This volume is clad in waste plastic offcuts that are repurposed from the studio’s homeware and furniture production.
    “The blue ‘marble’ structure stands out against the clean white backdrop, creating a dramatic ‘structure within a structure’ effect that really pops out as you enter the studio,” Mitchell added.

    Space Available and Peggy Gou create furniture from “heartbreaking” plastic waste

    The use of offcuts fits with Space Available’s mission to “change the perception of waste through elevated design”.
    In addition to forming the facade, the material is used to create shelving, furniture, speakers and other amenities throughout the building.
    The warehouse’s remaining open floor area functions as a flexible space for building and exhibiting projects or hosting events. Large shelving units at one end are used to store and display the studio’s furniture and archival products.
    The studio’s sheet material was also used to form various furnishingsSpace Available was founded during the coronavirus pandemic by Mitchell, who moved to Bali with his wife in 2014 after working in the fashion industry for several years.
    Shocked by the global plastic waste crisis that is evident in the volume of pollution washing up on Indonesia’s beaches, he wanted to develop a design studio that would explore circular design principles and revolutionise the perception of ocean plastic and waste.
    The organisation has recycled more than six million plastic bottles in its projects, which range from large-scale sculptural installations to furniture and fashion design.
    A shelving unit displays the studio’s furniture and archival productsIts furniture and solid surface sheet materials are made from waste plastic collected from rivers and landfills. The material is shredded, added to a mould and baked to create panels featuring vibrant colours and patterns.
    Space Available previously collaborated with South Korean DJ Peggy Gou to create a chair made from 20 kilograms of recycled plastic with an integrated compartment for storing records.
    The recycled plastic resembles colourful marbleIn 2022, the studio opened a dedicated gallery, recycling station and upcycling bar called Museum of Space Available in the coastal town of Canggu, which features
    The building features a facade made from 200,000 recycled plastic bottles and showcases the work of the studio alongside projects by other artists, designers and scientists.
    Another Indonesian organisation giving new life to plastic waste is Sungai Watch, which recently launched its first furniture designs made using discarded plastic bags.

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    In Common With opens Quarters showroom and hospitality venue in Tribeca

    New York lighting brand In Common With has opened a multi-functional space in a 19th-century Tribeca loft in time for NYCxDesign, and will host a shoppable experience and a variety of events during the festival and beyond.

    In Common With founders Felicia Hung and Nick Ozemba renovated the 8,000-square-foot (473-square-metre) space on the second floor of a historic building on Broadway as a venue to host events and showcase installations and collections both by themselves and others.
    Designed with a residential feel, the Quarters venue includes a wine bar for hosting events”A marriage of warmth and grandeur, whimsy and irreverence, Quarters is both a concept store and community gathering space,” said the duo.
    “Inspired by Tribeca’s rich artistic history – and by the participatory spirit of 1960s ad hoc art spaces – Quarters shifts between the expected and the altogether disarming, a curated space and one that’s improvisational and alive.”
    Quarters is divided into multiple interconnected spaces, including one styled as a living roomDesigned and styled to have a residential feel, the venue unfolds through various interconnected rooms, including a bar, lounge, library and great room.

    Each features richly hued decor and is populated with artful vintage and contemporary designs, the majority of which are shoppable.
    The majority of the design products on show are available to buyThere’s also bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and powder rooms that feature dramatic marble sinks and are lined with handmade tiles.
    Other highlights include large tapestries hung on the walls, built-in burl wood storage that matches a counter base in a foyer, and the bar area that’s framed with a fresco by artist Claudio Bonuglia.
    The furniture, lighting and artwork presented in the space – by In Common With and many of their collaborators – will change frequently”Quarters is more than a retail concept; it’s a platform for showcasing our unique view on domesticity and hospitality and sharing our creative vision with a broader audience,” said Ozemba.
    “It represents our imagination, values, and ambitions in a tangible form, and it’s an open invitation for others to find inspiration within our world.”
    In Common With’s lighting collections including Flora, designed by Sophie Lou Jacobsen, are dispersed throughoutSince starting In Common With six years ago, Hung and Ozemba have collaborated on lighting collections with designers including Sophie Lou Jacobsen, Danny Kaplan and Simone Bodmer-Turner.
    All of these are represented throughout the different rooms, in pendant, floor, table and chandelier variations and multiple colourways.
    The various spaces, including bedrooms, a kitchen and a dining room, are all decorated with a mix of vintage and contemporary furnitureThe launch of Quarters also coincides with In Common With’s debut collection of wooden furniture, which features hand-painted trompe l’oeil surfaces and customisable inlaid ceramics created with artist Shane Gabier.
    Other new pieces on view include glass lighting and objects with hand-cut graphic patterns, and a three-piece series of hand-embroidered fabric lighting fixtures.

    In Common With opens lighting studio and showroom in Brooklyn warehouse

    Hung and Ozemba plan to use the space as a platform for their fellow designers and artists, as well as their own work, and to entertain their peers with wine evenings and dinners.
    The displays will be updated to present new projects and collections, and to reflect In Common With’s fluid approach to collaborative design.
    Highlights include a marble counter with a burl wood base in a foyer area”By welcoming others and fostering our artistic community, [Quarters] will continue to evolve in new and exciting ways,” said Hung.
    “With each new perspective and collaboration, Quarters will transform again and again, pushing the boundaries of design, expression, and creative connection.”
    Bathrooms and powder rooms feature handmade tilesQuarters launched just in time for NYCxDesign, New York’s annual design festival, and is hosting a variety of events over the course of the month. Check out Dezeen’s NYCxDesign highlights and all of the events we’re hosting.
    In Common With previously opened a studio, showroom and production facility inside a Brooklyn warehouse in 2022.
    The photography is by William Jess Laird.

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    Eight converted-barn interiors that reveal echoes of their pasts

    An “unprecious” restaurant, a sculptor’s studio and a handful of holiday homes are among the converted barns in our latest lookbook, which explores how to transform the interiors of these agricultural buildings.

    Traditionally, barns are farm buildings that house livestock or store resources such as grain or hay.
    But around the world, architects and designers have renovated these spaces – often hundreds of years old – to create homes or for them to be used for other contemporary purposes.
    While the insides of some barns have been entirely remodelled, others purposefully celebrate their original features such as timber beams and gabled roofs.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring minimalist kitchens, pyramidal ceilings and eclectic hotels.

    Photo by José HeviaRelámpago House, Spain, by H3O
    Barcelona practice H3O transformed an old barn in Sant Just Desvern, Spain, into a one-storey home with an unusual interior layout.
    The studio created zigzagging walls for Relámpago House in to reference an old family legend told by the homeowner, whose ancestors are said to have survived a lightning bolt that struck the barn and entered the building through the chimney, narrowly avoiding the family members sheltering under the dining table.
    Find out more about Relámpago House ›
    Photo by Rory GardinerRedhill Barn, UK, by TYPE
    A dilapidated barn in Devon, southwest England, was transformed into a secluded house that has retained its 200-year-old stone walls.
    London architecture studio TYPE used neutral hues for the interiors, designed to complement the barn’s original stone and lime plaster walls and columns.
    The studio also created a new Douglas fir floor and roof structure that was chosen to evoke the rhythm and simplicity of traditional agricultural buildings.
    Find out more about Redhill Barn ›
    Photo by Alex BaxterBarn at the Ahof, the Netherlands, by Julia van Beuningen
    Designer Julia van Beuningen added a plywood spiral staircase to this thatched barn in Gelderland, the Netherlands, which she converted into a holiday home.
    The staircase’s smooth timber and sinuous curves contrast the ceiling’s rustic wooden beams. A slender steel kitchen island also features on the ground floor and imbues the 19th-century barn with a contemporary touch.
    Find out more about Barn at the Ahof ›
    Photo by David BarbourCroft 3, UK, by Fardaa
    Set within an abandoned basalt barn, Croft 3 is a gabled restaurant on Scotland’s Isle of Mull by emerging studio Fardaa.
    “Unprecious” interiors characterise the eatery, which features salmon-hued, exposed plaster walls and long communal tables carved on the island from a single Douglas fir tree.
    Find out more about Croft 3 ›
    Photo by Lorenzo LandriniWraxall Yard, UK, by Clementine Blakemore Architects 
    The Wraxall Yard complex is a series of holiday homes in Dorset, southwest England located in formerly derelict stone barns.
    Clementine Blakemore Architects designed the project, accessed via a curved pathway, with accessibility in mind. Brick and timber accents characterise the interior, created to feel homely rather than clinical.
    Find out more about Wraxall Yard ›
    Photo by Thomas HeimannLandhaus, Germany, by Thomas Kroeger Architekt
    Landhaus – or Country House – is a holiday home and guest annexe in a converted 140-year-old barn in Uckermark, Germany.
    Designed by Thomas Kroeger Architekt, the building has a double-height large hall at the centre of the former barn. A statement red-brick fireplace with integrated seating on its sides features on one side of the paved courtyard.
    Find out more about Landhaus ›
    Photo by Brigida GonzálezKressbronn Library, Germany, by Steimle Architekten
    Also in Germany, Steimle Architekten converted a former barn into a library and community centre for the village of Kressbronn am Bodensee.
    The vertical wooden slats that clad the building allow diffused daylight to enter the interior, which features concrete flooring and an open gallery tucked beneath the preserved timber trusses.
    Find out more about Kressbronn Library ›
    Photo by Jim StephensonArt Barn, UK, by Thomas Randall-Page
    Architect Thomas Randall-Page designed an artist’s studio and airtight archive space for his sculptor father, Peter Randall-Page.
    The project is a converted barn in Devon with a largely open interior except for a cosy “winter studio” contained within a cork-clad structure positioned on timber supports. The space underneath the studio creates a lounge area with a wood-burning stove.
    Find out more about Art Barn ›
    The main image of Art Barn is by Jim Stephenson.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring minimalist kitchens, pyramidal ceilings and eclectic hotels.

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    Locally produced tiles clad walls and table in Blue Bottle Coffee shop in Nagoya

    Japanese studio Keiji Ashizawa Design sourced local materials for the design of Blue Bottle Coffee cafe in Nagoya, Japan, which features tiles across its surfaces and lamps made from pottery plates.

    The studio used tiles across the walls, floors and tables of the cafe, which were all produced by local manufacturer Ceramic Olive Bricks.
    “This cafe is located in the Chukyo area of central Japan, an area that excels in manufacturing, so we decided to make the most of it,” Keiji Ashizawa Design’s founder Keiji Ashizawa told Dezeen.
    Tiles cover the walls in this Blue Bottle Coffee cafe in Nagoya”We used a lot of tiles on the walls this time,” Ashizawa added.
    “Inspired by Blue Bottle Coffee’s philosophy of valuing the local, we decided to use tiles that are produced in the Chukyo area,” he continued.

    “These tiles are used to cover the structural walls of the building that exist as pillars to create three frames.”
    A table at the centre of the space is also tiledAs well as cladding the walls in tiles, the studio used them to demarcate seating areas and created a tile-clad table as a centrepiece of the 311-square-metre space.
    “We designed the table specifically for the space,” Ashizawa explained. “The tiles used are different from the wall tiles but are from the same tile manufacturer, glazed for easy cleaning.”
    Wooden furniture is used throughout the space”We thought that the cafe, which often serves as a lounge in a large building, needs to have a central space where everyone can remember,” Ashizawa added.
    “When deciding to create a large centre table, we thought a tiled table would be both iconic and appropriate for this space.”
    Tiling also lines parts of the floor of the cafeThe cafe features wooden furniture throughout and is decorated with rounded wall sconces and pendant lamps made from pottery plates.
    “The pendant and wall lamps are made of pottery plates from the same region as the tiles, and are also used as tableware in the store,” Ashizawa said.
    “The surface gives a soft, diffused light, where the light hitting the slightly uneven edges of the plate adds a touch of craft.”
    Above the counter is a brass lamp that references Nagoya CastleIn addition, the studio drew on a local monument for the interior design. Above the main tiled table, a mobile adds an extra decorative touch.
    “The lighting on the counter finished in brass colour was created in homage to the famous ornaments on the top of Nagoya Castle,” the designer said.

    Blue Bottle Coffee Qiantan references greenhouses and Shanghai’s brick architecture

    “The mobile that looks like a tree branch was designed by an architect friend who also designed the Blue Bottle Coffee Fukuoka cafe,” continued Ashizawa.
    “Depending on how the light hits, it appears as if it is a lighting fixture. The delicate mobile, named In the Sky, made of brass subtly defines the place and creates a charming atmosphere.”
    A slim mobile hangs above the main tableThe interior has an earthy colour palette with pink-coloured tiles.
    “The elegant pink color of the tiles, the gray floor and walls, added with the natural wood and textiles of the furniture were chosen to work in harmony with one another,” Ashizawa said.
    The cafe is located in Nagoya’s Chunichi BuildingThe Chunichi Building, in which the cafe is located, is a well-known Nagoya landmark that was formerly a theatre and now houses a hotel. This also influenced how Ashozawa thought about the design of the space.
    “The cafe was conditioned to be on the ground floor of the building that is familiar to the locals with its historical existence and the newly constructed hotel floors,” he said.
    “I had the inspiration to somehow add value to the place by making it not just a cafe, but more of a lounge space in a hotel that provides a sense of comfort.”
    The Blue Bottle Coffee shop is the seventh designed by Keiji AshizawaThis is the seventh Blue Bottle Coffee cafe designed by Keiji Ashizawa Design, with others including a shop in Shanghai’s Qiantan area with a glazed facade and another in Kobe’s Hankyu department store that takes advantage of its display windows.
    According to Ashizawa, the studio aims to tailor the different designs to suit their surroundings.
    “For all of them, it is always a pleasure to have discussions about local, landscape, and the culture of the place and country to be utilized in designing the store,” he concluded.
    “Indeed, this is what makes them a challenging project as every store has its own character and constraints.”
    The photography is by Tomooki Kengaku.
    Project credits:
    Architect: Keiji Ashizawa DesignProject architect: Keiji Ashizawa and Chaoyen WuConstruction: TANKTiles: Ceramic Olive IncFurniture: Karimoku and Karimoku CaseLighting design: Aurora and Yoshiki IchikawaPendant, wall lamp shade and logo plate: Juzan

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    Miriam Barrio creates “organic and natural” interiors for Barcelona curly hair salon

    Barcelona-based Miriam Barrio Studios has transformed the interiors of a modernist building into Curly Lab, a curly hair salon incorporating curved shapes and copper-toned surfaces.

    Located at the base of a gothic and modernist building designed by Catalan architect Enric Sagnier in 1895, Curly Lab is situated at Diputación in the Eixample district of Barcelona.
    Miriam Barro has designed curly hair-informed interiors for Curly Labs salonMiriam Barrio Studios designed Curly Lab’s 65-square-metre-interior to convey an “organic and natural language”. The space, previously occupied by a real estate agency, now features rich textures that contrast the surrounding architecture.
    Continuous microcement surfacing was used across the salon’s light-toned floors and its terracotta-toned wall to create a distinct backdrop. This microcement was locally sourced and manufactured within the vicinity of Barcelona.
    Microcement was used for the light-toned floors and terracotta-hued wallsNew elements include curved shapes that form the structure of salon countertops, furnishings and lighting fixtures, creating pathways and routes across various workstations.

    “The organic shapes were a match because in the modernist world they symbolised beauty and were entirely aligned with the DNA of curly hair,” designer Miriam Barrio told Dezeen.
    Polished copper tiles decorate these countertop bases, coexisting with historical features also on display.
    Copper-toned tiles furnish the bases of workstation countertopsRemnants of the previous interior are still visible throughout the renovated space. They include exposed brick walls and a Catalan vault ceiling with original floral paintings, which the studio preserved in their current state.
    This process involved a thorough cleaning. The studio then unified the ceiling backgrounds using plain colours, followed by a matte and transparent patina application.
    “The colour of the original ceiling drawings, they were pure inspiration!” Barrio said.
    “A great find and a stroke of luck since there is nothing more natural and special than copper tones,” she added.
    “We wanted to choose a colour derived from the tones of the ceiling and make it the protagonist. It needed to be warm and deep at the same time, neither too feminine nor too masculine. Based on that colour, all the materials for the project were chosen.”
    Preserved features include exposed brick walls and a Catalan vault ceiling with original floral paintingsThe lighting in the space was arranged to highlight the interior’s key architecture and design components, creating an eye-catching display at night when viewing the salon from outside.
    “The lighting in the main space with high ceilings needed to serve two functions: technical lighting for work and decorative lighting to set the atmosphere and enhance the architecture,” Barrio said.

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    “They were positioned at mid-height to illuminate the ceilings from the same element. Curved track lights were designed to flow in the space in the same way as the other elements,” she added.
    Barrio used black metal for the majority of the fixtures besides lighting, including oval-shaped mirrors on dressing tables and Color Bar furniture. Other notable accessories include ceramic lamps and velvet sofas.
    Lighting fixture positioning accentuates the architecture and design of the space”I think it is important to feel beautiful in a salon, for the space to be a fitting companion,” Barrio expressed.
    “We want [consumers] to feel welcomed and inspired, close to feeling like they are in a special temple. In a place of care on all levels.”
    Curly Labs combines new and old shapes and colours to create an “organic and natural” atmosphereOther innovative salon interiors across the globe include the Buller and Rice in London designed by Anita Rice and Stephen Buller, Koda in Sydney by Arent & Pyke and Treadwell by Gin Design Group.
    The photography is by Salva López.

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    Alessandro Mendini was an “atomic bomb of fantasy” says Philippe Starck

    In this video produced by Dezeen for Triennale Milano and Fondation Cartier, Philippe Starck describes the “genius” of Alessandro Mendini following the opening of Io Sono Un Drago, an exhibition celebrating the designer.

    French designer Starck, who has contributed an immersive installation to coincide with the exhibition, emphasised the impact that Mendini has had on his own work, citing his sprawling approach to creativity.
    “Mendini is something special for me,” he said in an exclusive video interview with Dezeen. “His brain was an atomic bomb of fantasy, with no limits.”
    Starck’s installation accompanies a retrospective exhibition celebrating Mendini at Milan design week, presented by cultural institutions Triennale Milano and Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain.
    Titled Io Sono Un Drago (I am a dragon), the exhibition contains more than 600 pieces by Mendini across his 60-year career. ​​Mendini passed away at the age of 87 in February 2019.

    Mendini was a key figure in the radical design movementThe exhibition sets out to explore Mendini’s influence on 20th-century design and architecture, particularly in his multidisciplinary approach to creativity.
    “Alessandro Mendini was a key figure of the last century, not just for design but also for art and architecture because he was able to link all these disciplines and blur the lines between them,” explained Michela Alessandrini, curator for Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain.
    “He revolutionised the idea that design is a well-drawn object,” added Triennale Milano curator Nina Bassoli.
    “He worked with design as a tool for communicating art, poetry, literature, feelings.” said Bassoli.
    The exhibition brings together work from across the realms of art, architecture and designThe title of the exhibition comes from a drawing of a dragon by Mendini, with different parts of its body associated with different professions. Created as an allegorical self-portrait by Mendini, the image was highlighted by the curators as a representation of Mendini’s vast breadth of work across many different practices.
    “[When] talking about Mendini it is quite impossible to have a clear distinction between what is art, what is useful, what is object, what is designed,” said Bassoli.

    Triennale Milano celebrates Alessandro Mendini at Milan design week

    The exhibition is split into six thematic sections and opens with a section titled Identikit, which showcases a series of self-portraits Mendini created over the course of his life.
    Through the display of architectural models, furniture pieces, sculptures and artworks, the show explores themes such as Mendini’s architectural practice with the Atelier Mendini workshop, his experiments with postmodernism and radical design, and his research within design theory.
    Mendini created an optical illusion-like installation towards the end of his careerThree installations created by Mendini towards the end of his life also feature in the exhibition, and engage with the concepts of dreams and nightmares.
    Starck’s installation, titled What? A homage to Alessandro Mendini, is located in the Triennale’s Impluvium space, in accompaniment to the main exhibition.
    The audiovisual installation was designed to take viewers into a sensory journey through Mendini’s mind.
    The installation uses surreal visual projections and fragmented audio to immerse the viewer. Image by Delfino Sisto Legnani DSL Studio, courtesy of Triennale Milano”When you arrive in this room you receive Alessandro,” said Starck. “You receive his eyes, his face, his voice. I tried to create what I think is inside his brain.”
    “What I learned from Mendini is that the real geniuses are always kind,” he added. “There are no bad geniuses. If they are bad, they are not a genius.”
    The installation will be displayed until 13 October and was conceived, designed and directed by Starck.
    The exhibition was curated by Fulvio Irace, with exhibition design by designer Pierre Charpin.
    Io Sono Un Drago is open to the public at the Triennale Milano 13 April to 13 October. What? A homage to Alessandro Mendini runs from the 16 April to 13 October. See our Milan design week 2024 guide on Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks that took place throughout the week.
    Partnership content
    This video was produced by Dezeen for Triennale as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen’s partnership content here.

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