Markus Andrews

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    Cox Architecture celebrates heritage features of its own Sydney studio

    A brick, steel and timber structure is left exposed in this office interior in Sydney, which local firm Cox Architecture has revamped to house its own studio.

    Cox Architecture removed previous alterations to the structure, which occupies five floors of the heritage-listed Metcalfe Bond Stores warehouse in Tallawoladah, to highlight its original features and complement them with pared-back, flexible workspaces.
    Cox Architecture has designed its own studio in a Sydney warehouse”Our objective was to do more with less, balancing the poetic with the pragmatic,” explained the studio.
    “Restrained interventions allow the heritage to be the hero and minimise the project’s embodied energy,” it continued. “Our starting point was a process of reduction, removing non-heritage elements to create clarity.”
    The studio exposed its existing structureThe interior is defined by the original steel and timber structure’s columns and beams that have been painted white, and the brickwork of the outer walls that are left exposed.

    New elements such as glass doors and walls, room dividers, curtains and furniture were chosen to touch the existing structure “as lightly as possible”, and feature alongside dark-wood carpentry and gallery-style lighting tracks.
    Dark-wood carpentry features throughoutThe workspaces themselves are designed to be flexible and “hackable”, allowing areas to be reconfigured and subdivided easily by staff.
    This includes a forum space on the fifth level of the building, which has a wall lined with magnetic whiteboards and can be used as anything from a collaborative workshop space to a presentation area for 200 people.

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    Alongside it is a kitchen with a backdrop of exposed brickwork and two long counters topped with unsealed brass that will patinate over time.
    A black-steel stair leads up to a mezzanine level above containing further desk spaces. This sits at the top of the building, lit by skylights in the apex of the pitched roof.
    The workspaces are designed to be flexible”Anchored by a generous kitchen, a flexible forum space is a magnet for serendipitous exchange between Cox’s own people and the wider design community,” said the studio.
    “The majority of elements within the space are movable, creating an experimental, nimble workspace allowing teams the autonomy to control their space and future-proofing the studio as the workplace evolves,” it continued.
    The presentation space is lined with magnetic whiteboardsFacing the street, Cox Architecture created a “shopfront window”, giving staff the opportunity to populate vitrines with the studio’s work.
    Cox Sydney Studio has recently been shortlisted in the large workplace interior category of Dezeen Awards 2023. Another office interior completed by the studio is the Midtown Workplace in Brisbane, which features a large, plant-filled atrium with by a weathered-steel staircase.
    The photography is by Nicole England and Cameron Hallam.

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    Linda Bergroth designs “user-centric” Cover Story paint shop in Amsterdam

    Interior designer Linda Bergroth has added colourful beams to the Amsterdam concept store for plastic-free paint brand Cover Story, which was designed to streamline the redecorating process for shoppers.

    The “paint studio” is the second iteration of Cover Story outlets designed by Bergroth, who also created the interiors for the Finnish brand’s flagship Helsinki store.
    The Cover Story shop in Amsterdam features oversized colourful beamsShortlisted in the small retail interiors category of this year’s Dezeen Awards, the paint shop features oversized colourful beams. These were informed by cranes in the port city, as well as the decorative vignettes that top many of Amsterdam buildings’ facades, according to the brand.
    “The design playfully explores the use of colour, incorporating three-dimensionality through roof bars and considering how light interacts with colour to influence perception,” said Cover Story.
    Linda Bergroth designed the interiorFollowing a similar format to the Helsinki outlet, the Amsterdam shop also serves as a showroom, office and events space, despite its small size.

    A large colour chart made from hand-painted swatches in 47 different shades, designed to make choosing colours easier for customers, was attached to the wall.
    Colourfully painted blocks and plinths were incorporated to show how light responds to each Cover Story shadeChunky painted plinths were positioned in the shop window, as well as smaller colourful blocks on a central silvery table, to emphasise the different ways in which light and shadow respond to various paint options.
    Cover Story explained that Bergroth chose to highlight the old building’s “unique characteristics”, rather than introduce new furniture, including its sloping walls and the metal supports that adorn its structural pillars.

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    “Despite the significant influence that wall colour holds in shaping the atmosphere of a room and influencing interior design, paint is often perceived merely as a renovation accessory,” said the brand.
    “Cover Story’s mission is to position paint as a design product, which is why the Amsterdam paint studio is strategically located on a bustling shopping street alongside other concept stores where interior design products are sold,” it added.
    “Every aspect is thoughtfully crafted to promote a sustainable and user-centric experience.”
    The beams were informed by Amsterdam’s architectureFounded in 2020 by Anssi Jokinen and Tommi Saarnio, the brand produces 100 per cent plastic-free paint, which is also odourless.
    Finnish designer Bergroth has completed a number of colour-infused projects including Durat’s Helsinki showroom and a blue pop-up restaurant in New York built from recycled food packaging.
    The photography is by Paavo Lehtonen. 

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    RooMoo reuses distillery’s old whiskey barrels to decorate its bar

    Chinese interiors studio RooMoo has used nearly 6,000 pieces of oak from discarded distillery barrels to adorn this whiskey bar in Shanghai.

    Laizhou Bar is located in the city’s buzzy Xuhui District and is an offshoot of Laizhou Distillery, a Chinese whiskey producer based out of Sichuan province.
    Wood offcuts from Laizhou Distillery’s whiskey barrels feature across the bar’s facadeThe distillery prides itself on reducing its environmental impact by using low-temperature saccharification machinery and collecting wastewater so it can be converted into biogas energy.
    So Shanghai-based studio RooMoo placed a similar emphasis on sustainability when designing the bar, where almost 6,000 pieces of wood from the distillery’s discarded oak barrels were reused as decoration.
    The offcuts were then used to construct a ringed structure on the bar’s ceiling”The bar imports the materials used in the distillery’s production process, creating a symbiosis between the two spaces,” said the studio.

    “Each dismantled barrel piece was different in terms of width, length and grain, so we classified them and applied them to different positions.”
    RooMoo assessed and classified all of the offcuts before useBarrel pieces are first seen on the bar’s facade, where they have been placed horizontally to create a lattice-like effect.
    The facade is otherwise only punctuated by a wide-set door and an expansive window, where barrels printed with the distillery’s logo are displayed.
    The bar’s slatted partition walls are also made from barrel offcutsOnce inside, guests step into a whiskey sampling area with a green marble tasting counter. Suspended directly above the space is a dramatic double-ringed sculpture crafted from barrel offcuts.
    More wooden barrel pieces were used to construct a curving, slatted partition in front of the main bar.
    A long seating banquette bends around the back of the room, accompanied by a series of black tables and leather chairs. There is also a huge light-up wall where liquor bottles are put on display.
    Black leather furnishings were incorporated throughout the main bar areaOn the ceiling here are the beginnings of another ringed sculpture, which will be completed as soon as the distillery has used up more barrels for the studio to use.
    “We made the ceiling structure beautiful enough to open the bar first,” explained the studio. “We are not hurrying to finish it, but following the production process and waiting for the wasted materials to be produced.”
    Off to the side of the main bar is a more private VIP tasting room. At its centre hangs a bespoke light crafted from the circular metal bands, which once held together the distillery barrels.
    The ceiling sculpture will be completed once the studio receives more offcutsLai Zhou Bar has made it to the shortlist in the sustainable interior category of the 2023 Dezeen Awards.
    The project is up against Edit restaurant by Elly Ward and Joe Morris, which is clad with salvaged terracotta tiles, and the Big Beauty store by Nina + Co, which is decked out in biomaterials like mycelium.

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    Building meeting rooms costs 55 per cent more than buying office pods according to research

    Promotion: buying office pods instead of building meeting rooms could save companies in the US around $30 billion by 2030, according to research by soundproof booth manufacturer Framery and real-estate investor CBRE.

    Post-pandemic working habits are driving a transformation in office layout and design worldwide says Framery.
    More people working from home means employers are scrambling to use costly office space more effectively, while the increasing prevalence of video calls has resulted in growing demand for small, acoustically insulated meeting spaces.
    The coronavirus pandemic triggered a sea change in office layouts”Office occupiers are investing more and more into flexible spaces and different types of adjustable spaces to meet the demand of flexibility and to attract their workforce back to the office after the pandemic years’ remote working,” said CBRE’s Jussi Niemistö.
    A study by Framery and CBRE found that as well as offering options for changing office setups, pods are more cost-effective than constructing new meeting rooms.

    CBRE compared the costs associated with getting one-, four- and six-person Framery office pods with the cost of building meeting rooms of equal size in different cities around the world.
    The research indicates that many offices will need to be refurbished to accommodate new working demandsIt found that meeting pods tended to be significantly cheaper – with constructing equivalent meeting rooms costing 55 per cent more on average.
    Building a permanent phone room in a New York office is 155 per cent more expensive than getting a one-person Framery booth, according to the study.
    A separate study by real-estate firm Cushman & Wakefield found that more than 41 per cent of office space in the US is in need of refurbishment in order to support hybrid working by the end of the decade – around 241 million square metres.
    CBRE’s research indicates that meeting pods are a far cheaper option than constructing new meeting roomsFramery’s analysis based on CBRE’s research indicated that building new meeting rooms in that amount of space would cost more than $85 billion. By comparison, the same area of Framery pod space could be purchased for around $55.5 billion.
    Framery CEO Samu Hällfors also argues that meeting pods reduce office running costs.
    Framery claims to have manufactured the world’s first meeting pod”Pods are compact and make better use of existing space,” said Hällfors. “They allow for greater flexibility in rearranging and reconfiguring offices and they can be moved to a new location when needed.”
    “That all greatly reduces the lifetime costs associated with running an office, especially in larger cities with high-priced real estate,” Hällfors continued.
    Founded in 2010, Framery claims to have invented and sold the world’s first office pod, and its Framery O is the world’s best-seller.
    The study looked at costs of building meeting rooms in cities across North America, Europe and AsiaThere are now more than 200 pod manufacturers around the world, according to Hällfors.
    “The increasing demand for these office pods isn’t coming so much from management as it is from employees themselves,” he said. “Reimagining the workplace in these innovative, cost-effective ways is what is going to get employees excited to return to the office.”
    To view more about Framery and its products, visit its website.
    Partnership content
    This article was written by Dezeen for Framery as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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    Video reveals Austin guesthouse perched above existing family bungalow

    This exclusive video produced by Dezeen features The Perch, architect Nicole Blair’s elevated house extension in Austin, which was designed to maximise living space.

    As its name suggests, the structure is perched just two feet above the roof of the existing home to minimise disturbance to the residence below.
    Blair clad the guesthouse in weathering-steel panels and added wood-framed windows provided by Windsor Windows & Doors. The Burnt Pumpkin colour of the windows was selected to complement the Corten-steel exterior.

    The structure spans 660 square feet and consists of an irregularly shaped steel volume supported by four columns.
    The assembly of the steel structure took place offsite, in order to minimise disruption to the mature vegetation on the premises and reduce on-site material storage.
    The wood-clad windows were provided by Windsor Windows & DoorsThe architect designed the interior of the guesthouse to have a bright, airy atmosphere and adorned it with colourful accents.
    It features wood flooring supplied and installed by local company Artisan Hardwood Floors, which was complemented with pink cabinetry and exposed plumbing fittings throughout the home.
    The materials used for the wood flooring were a mix of pre-finished plain and rift-sawn white oak, along with excess wood recycled from a larger project by the company.
    The wood flooring was supplied and installed by Artisan Hardwood FloorsThe first floor of the guesthouse encompasses an open-concept kitchen, living room and dining area with compact footprints and vaulted ceilings for an increased sense of space.
    The upper level includes a room facing the street and another overlooking the backyard, designated for use as a guest bedroom and a hair salon for one of the hairstylist owners.
    The photography is by Casey Dunn.
    Partnership content
    This video was produced by Dezeen for Windsor Windows & Doors and Artisan Hardwood Floors as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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    Colour-drenched coffee shop by Uchronia references “sunsets in the Tunisian desert”

    Gradated lava stone flooring and suspended planet-like orbs feature at the Cafe Nuances coffee shop in Paris, which was created by Dezeen Awards-nominated studio Uchronia.

    Located on the city’s Rue de la Tremoille, the coffee shop is the third Uchronia-designed branch for Parisian coffee roaster Cafe Nuances.
    Cafe Nuances’ latest branch has a bright white facadeThe one-room shop is fronted by a bright white facade in stark contrast to its vivid-hued interior.
    Studio founder Julien Sebban was informed by the landscapes he experienced on a recent trip to Tunisia when creating the cafe’s walls and lava stone flooring, which are decorated in ombre swathes of red, orange and blue.
    The colorful interior was informed by sunsets in Tunisia”They reminded him of the sunsets in the Tunisian desert – a veritable ode to the gentleness of summer days,” said the studio, known for its playfully eclectic designs and shortlisted in the emerging interior designer category at this year’s upcoming Dezeen Awards.

    The coffee shop’s entrance is flanked by two bright red benches topped with metallic-effect fabric – one curved, and the other straight.
    Uchronia crafted the counter from stainless steelLow-slung interlocking tables, which can double as stools, can be reconfigured to suit customers’ needs.
    Uchronia placed a chunky stainless steel counter at the back of the intimate cafe, which is overlooked by deep orange lacquered shelving – a design element found in the other two Cafe Nuances outlets.

    Beata Heuman designs colour-drenched Hôtel de la Boétie in Paris

    “This new address picks up on the codes present in the second shop, accentuating the [coffee] brand’s colourful, futuristic retro universe,” explained the studio.
    A cluster of striking, spherical objects were finished in the same colours as the rest of the space and suspended from the reflective ceiling.
    Planet-like orbs add decoration to the space”Unlike [this branch’s] two big sisters, whose interiors feature striated shapes, here, the poly mirror tiles are complemented by half-spheres in saturated colours, accentuating the dreamlike feel of the coffee shop,” continued Uchronia.
    “They create the illusion of floating balls, which could be mistaken for Saturn.”
    Bespoke interlocking tables also function as stoolsThe studio previously livened up a Haussman-era Paris apartment for a pair of jewellery designers with furniture crafted to nod to the appearance of precious stones.
    Elsewhere, Canadian design duo Julia Jamrozik and Coryn Kempster created a sky-blue coffee shop in a century-old house in Buffalo, New York, with an optical illusion staircase.
    The photography is by Félix Dol Maillot.

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    Studio XAG creates fixtures for Coach pop-up using discarded leather scraps

    A colourful, reconstituted leather made from cutting room scraps was among the recycled materials used to create the fixtures and fittings for Coachtopia, a London pop-up store for American label Coach.

    Located in the Wonder Room at Selfridges in London, the temporary store was created to launch a new collection of Coach products crafted from reused leather bags and recycled materials.
    Called Coachtopia, the collection seeks to challenge fashion’s linear system where most products end up in landfill.
    Coachtopia was located in department store Selfridges’ Wonder RoomEach of the products in the Coachtopia collection has a clear pathway for reuse and recycling, according to the brand, and comes with an embedded NFC chip that tracks its lifecycle.
    Chosen by Coach for its sustainable approach and B Corp-certified status, retail experience agency Studio XAG was commissioned to create a temporary store space to launch the product line.

    The resulting space, which features a modular display system made of recyclable parts that slot together, has been shortlisted in the retail interior (small) category of Dezeen Awards 2023.
    It features display counters made from reconstituted leather”The Coachtopia product line is designed to be ‘circular from the start’ – considering the future life of a product proactively, rather than reactively,” Studio XAG said.
    “We mirrored Coach’s circular ethos for the collection through three approaches to the physical space.”
    The first approach was to keep the use of virgin materials to a minimum by using repurposed neon flex, recycled leather scraps and Ecoboard – a material made from agricultural waste.
    The modular fixtures were “made to be remade”Secondly, Studio XAG ensured that the modular fixtures, like the products on sale, were ‘made to be remade’ and could be disassembled and repurposed at the end of their current use.
    Finally, the studio selected materials that offer meaningful recycling opportunities at their eventual end of life and said it considered the embodied carbon, toxicity and afterlife opportunities in every component.

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    “The challenge was to create a pop-up that would have visual impact, but could be dismantled and rebuilt in new locations, again and again,” explained Studio XAG.
    “Any items which couldn’t be used in a future pop-up, such as the hoarding and some of the wall panels, were donated to Selfridges to use in their future launches.”
    Studio XAG used Ecoboard to create displaysThe collection’s slogan Have Taste Love Waste, which serves as a statement of intent and action, was boldly written in neon signage crafted from offcuts of neon flex that would otherwise be discarded.
    The lighting will be reused for other key stores, including Coach’s flagship on Regent Street.
    The store’s slogan was made from reused neon flex”To create a sustainable lighting solution was a challenge, as most neon alternatives are manufactured from virgin materials,” explained Studio XAG.
    “To resolve this, we contacted a lighting manufacturer and requested that they collect all their offcuts from previous projects over the months leading up to the installation of Coachtopia,” it added.
    “All of these offcuts were then meticulously threaded together to make a unique set of signs, made up of hundreds of individual scraps which would have otherwise been thrown in the bin.”
    Studio XAG chose materials that “offer meaningful recycling opportunities”The Coachtopia tables and display units are covered in reconstituted leather made using scraps from the cutting-room floor that might have otherwise gone to landfill.
    These modular pieces can easily be taken apart using a system of slotting together rather than permanent glueing or fixing.
    Colourful leather scraps were used to create displaysEcoboard – a carbon-negative material manufactured in the Netherlands from seasonal agricultural waste like straw, seeds, rice and corn – was used in place of MDF. Unlike MDF, Ecoboard does not emit any damaging organic acids.
    “In the Wonder Room, visitors are given insight into what circularity means for the future of fashion,” commented the studio. “The space feels exploratory and educational, using sustainable materiality and clear signage as a guide.”
    Other projects shortlisted in the retail interiors (small) category include a gallery shop in Australia housed in a “translucent bubble” and a steel-clad boutique in Bratislava.

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    WOA designs own studio space using materials that had been “relegated to landfill”

    Indian architecture studio Workers of Art has converted a former storage space into its own plant-filled office, using recycled and repurposed waste materials in almost every aspect of its design.

    Called WOA Second Home, the office is located in Kochi, Kerala, and occupies a 1,450-square-foot (135-square-metre) concrete structure that was previously used for storing tiles.
    Aiming to “underscore the necessity of the curtailment of waste output in architecture,” Workers of Art (WOA) made use of materials that had been “relegated to landfill” including concrete board, PVC pipes and acrylic sheets, to create a workspace that would reflect the studio’s ethos.
    WOA has converted a former storage space into an office in Kerala”The design celebrates the value of materials that might have otherwise been discarded, creatively forming patterns and combining different elements to breathe new life into the space,” said the studio.
    “For instance, odd-shaped waste tiles are harmoniously mixed and matched, finding their new home in the powder room. A strikingly repurposed tile piece also elevates the entry steps, underscoring the studio’s attention to detail and innovative flair,” it added.

    Organised across one floor, the entrance to the office leads into a large space lined with a zig-zag of ferrocement desks along the eastern wall, next to a meeting table and sample board at the centre of the room and a more private workspace to the west.
    The design uses recycled and repurposed waste materialsA new partition with a large arched opening and blackout curtain leads through to a breakout area and facilities space containing a locker area, kitchen and bathroom.
    “The design of the workstations, which meander through the shared workspace, was strategically planned to encourage teamwork while also allowing for individual space,” WOA co-founder Priya Rose told Dezeen.
    “The philosophy was to create a workspace that feels like a ‘second home’ – evident in the thoughtful design elements that prioritise comfort, aesthetic pleasure, and a sense of belonging,” she added.

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    Custom black light fittings on the ceiling were created by repurposing lengths of PVC pipe, while bespoke planters were made using ferrocement lined with blue plastic barrels.
    The existing tile floor in the building was retained, with areas that had become cracked removed and infilled with microcement to create contrasting dark grey geometric areas.
    Throughout the studio, discarded antiques and over 100 species of local plants were introduced to bring a “homely” quality to the space.
    A large arched opening forms a new partition within the officeWOA Second Home has been shortlisted in the workplace interior (small) category of Dezeen Awards 2023.
    In Madrid, designer Lucas Muñoz used upcycled junk and construction waste to create nearly every interior element of the Mo de Movimiento restaurant.
    The photography is by Ishita Sitwala. 

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