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    Mariette Sans-Rival Studio brings set-design philosophy to Apollo Palm hotel

    Paris-based Mariette Sans-Rival Studio has used floor-to-ceiling curtains, brass lighting and custom furniture to fit out this boutique hotel, set across two Bauhaus-style buildings in the centre of Athens.

    Studio founder Mariette Sans-Rival, whose background is in set design, took references from Greek seafaring culture when designing the interiors for the Apollo Palm hotel.
    The whitewashed buildings of the Apollo Palm hotel surround a secluded courtyard”As my first architecture and interior design project, I leaned heavily on my background in the world of opera and live theatre to create a unique perspective, drawing parallels between set scenography and an inviting hotel atmosphere,” said Sans-Rival.
    Situated in the lively Psyrri neighbourhood, close to the city’s ancient Agora and Acropolis, the 48-key property is intended as a refuge for travellers and locals alike.
    Two neighbouring buildings were combined to create the hotelTo house the Apollo Palm hotel, Sans-Rival combined a pair of white-washed 20th-century buildings while creating a secluded courtyard at the centre, where guests can enjoy drinks and fare from the Patio Wine Bar and Bistro in the shade of palm fronds.

    A cocktail bar on the roof, which also serves brunch at the weekend, has an unobstructed view of the Acropolis and hosts music events, cinema nights and sunset parties.
    The hotel features a curved reception desk wrapped in brassDuring the renovation of the Bauhaus-style buildings, which feature clean lines and curved balconies, the studio also restored a large stained-glass window that spans multiple floors.
    A curved reception desk wrapped in brass matches the lighting fixtures found throughout the Apollo Palm hotel, washing spaces in a golden glow.
    Mariette Sans-Rival custom-designed the Lucie chairs for the hotel”I was challenged to create emotions through a narrative vision in an entirely new setting, building stories into the nascent place and developing recurring patterns to make the hotel autonomous and alive,” said the designer.
    In the guest rooms, floor-to-ceiling drapery billows over the large windows and in some spaces also continues around the walls.
    Drapery features heavily throughout the guest roomsTheir largely white-and-cream colour scheme is accented with sunny yellow, soft peach or pale green, used across the bedding, upholstery and plush carpets.
    Some of the rooms feature mirrored walls behind the beds, while others are furnished with reflective desks and vanities.

    House of Shila designs industrial yet sultry interiors for Mona Athens hotel

    Sans-Rival custom-designed much of Apollo Palm’s furniture, including the Lucie range of chairs and stools that are typified by geometric cutouts in their colourful wooden frames.
    “I started drawing unusual shapes, which ultimately led to the exclusive Lucie collection of furniture created for the hotel,” she said.
    Peach and pink tones feature in another guest bedroomLater this year, the hotel will also open a late-night bar and music venue named Studio Olala, which will be open to both guests and locals and available to hire for private events.
    Athens is currently experiencing a boom in its creative scene, as artists flock to the city for the fair weather and relatively cheap cost of living, as well as an increase in tourism from those choosing to stay longer when in transit to the popular Greek islands.
    Guests can enjoy drinks and fare from Apollo Palm’s courtyard cafeAs a result, the city has seen a wave of new hotels including the industrial yet sultry Mona Athens, and the Esperinos guesthouse filled with local artworks and modern furniture.
    The photography is by Jules Lanzaro.

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    Home Studios revamps Nantucket bar and restaurant using maritime references

    Brooklyn-based Home Studios has refreshed a trio of hospitality spaces on Nantucket that includes a bright restaurant and a subterranean lounge that immerses guests in an “cinematic” underwater scape.

    The Pearl restaurant, The Boarding House bar and Below the Rose lounge are all located under one roof at 12 Federal Street, Nantucket – an island off the coast of Massachusetts that is popular with summer vacationers.
    The Pearl is one of three hospitality spaces renovated by Home Studios at 12 Federal Street, NantucketAfter 30 years, the establishment changed hands and was in need of updates, so Home Studios was enlisted to rethink the interiors while retaining some familiarity for regulars.
    “The Pearl and its offshoot spaces are beloved Nantucket institutions, so Home Studios identified the goal as continuing the existing story and tradition: to reinterpret it, not rewrite it; polishing and refining its origin story,” said the studio, which took two years to complete the project.
    The restaurant features white oak tables and chairs, shaped to contrast the colonial-era architectural detailsThe aim of the interior design was to create an individual look and feel for each of the three spaces, yet keep a level of visual cohesion across the connected rooms.

    “There’s an immersive, cinematic experience across the board,” studio founder Oliver Haslegrave told Dezeen. “However, each space is distinct in its material and colour scheme choice.”
    Floral patterns by two different artists decorate the perimeter of the back barRenovating The Pearl involved “polishing” the main restaurant, private dining rooms and patio area.
    In the light-filled restaurant, warm white and beige tones are complemented by cooler blues, and glossy tiles that clad the chimney stacks introduce texture and sheen.
    The Pearl’s private dining rooms were also updated, including this earth-toned lounge areaThe white oak tables and chairs have soft, contemporary shapes that contrast the rigid, colonial-era architectural details.
    Behind the stone-topped bar, floral patterns including a mural by Lukas Geronimas Giniotis and mirror art by Paul Clifford add flourishes.
    The private dining rooms include a selection of vintage furnitureDarker earth tones decorate one of the private dining spaces, which includes a lounge area with leather and bouclé seating, and a selection of vintage furniture pieces.
    For The Boarding House revamp, Home Studios looked to the island’s maritime history for influences.

    Home Studios refreshes Daunt’s Albatross motel in Montauk

    Many of its original elements were kept, including the bar, back bar, and stone floors, while the interiors were updated to present a contemporary take on the building’s federal-style architecture.
    “With The Boarding House, we sought to create a space built to withstand the trials of life at sea, and the place to host the exuberant celebration of one’s return,” Haslegrave said.
    Home Studios also created a dark and moody subterranean lounge, Below the Rose, as part of the projectHis studio also designed a new dark and moody lounge in the basement, named Below the Rose, where a different take on the oceanic theme was applied.
    Envisioned as an underwater scape, the deep blue hues across the walls and ceilings feature a mural of aquatic creatures – also by Geronimas Giniotis – to make guests feel like they’re submerged below the waves.
    The dark blue space starkly contrasts the restaurant upstairs”We approached the spatial design as if it were an ocean filled with unfamiliar creatures, textures, and forms,” said Halsegrave. “It’s dark and moody, and full of character and unique detailing.”
    Richly grained wood wraps the cased openings and the base of columns, and forms arches across the back bar that frame more mirror artwork by Clifford.
    A mural of aquatic creatures allows guests to feel as if they’re underwaterRust-coloured bar stools, dark brass sconces and champagne-toned glass flush mounts all stand out against the darker hues.
    The lounge is starkly different in atmosphere to the dining spaces above, but together they bring a storied local institution back to life.
    Details like rust-coloured stool and dark brass lighting stand out against the blue surfacesHome Studios has multiple hospitality projects under its belt, ranging from the refresh of the Daunt’s Albatross motel in Montauk to the design of the Laurel Brasserie and Bar in Salt Lake City.
    Founded by Halsegrave in 2009, the studio has also created a Mediterranean-influenced hotel in Los Angeles and converted a Wisconsin train station into a restaurant.
    The photography is by Matt Kisiday.

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    Eight retro interiors that capture the mood of a Wes Anderson film

    Following the release of American filmmaker Wes Anderson’s eleventh motion picture Asteroid City, we have collected eight interiors that embody his distinctive cinematic style for our latest lookbook.

    Anderson is known for his retro pastel colour palettes and use of symmetry, as seen in the sets from his latest feature film that are currently the subject of an exhibition at London’s 180 the Strand.
    From a Milanese cafe designed by the director himself to a quirky makeup store in China that was styled to mimic 1970s offices, here are eight interiors that were either directly influenced by Anderson or look as if they are taken straight out of one of his films.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bedrooms with bathtubs, Parisian apartments and striking art gallery interiors.
    Photo is by Ye Rin MokBoisson, USA, by Studio Paul Chan

    Local firm Studio Paul Chan took cues from the opening scene of Anderson’s 2021 film The French Dispatch when designing the interiors for this bottle shop by non-alcoholic drinks brand Boisson in Los Angeles.
    Elements of mid-century Hollywood design and art deco were combined in a space that includes walnut-stained wooden wall panelling, dusty green accents and a bespoke glass-block counter.
    Find out more about Boisson ›
    Image is courtesy of AIM ArchitectureHarmay store, China, by AIM Architecture
    A colour palette of muted yellow, orange and brown characterises this shop by makeup brand Harmay, which is set across the renovated second floor of a business park in Hangzhou.
    Chinese studio AIM Architecture designed the space to mimic a 1970s office by using rows of yellow desks to display stock and incorporating a retro woollen carpet and frosted-glass sliding “meeting room” doors.
    “Creating an ‘old fashioned’ physical retail experience in an actual office space just seemed a fun way to translate this duality of space and time,” the studio’s founder Wendy Saunders told Dezeen.
    Find out more about this Harmay store ›
    Photo is by Alex LysakowskiThe Annex, Canada, by Superette
    The vivid colour palettes and geometric shapes often associated with Anderson’s cinematography also feature at The Annex, a marijuana dispensary in Toronto that was modelled on Italian delis.
    Green and beige checkerboard flooring was paired with deli props, tomato-red stools and hanging pendant lights while various cannabis paraphernalia was laid out like groceries.
    Find out more about The Annex ›
    Photo is by Roland HalbeBar Luce, Italy, by Wes Anderson
    Created by Anderson himself, Bar Luce is located within the OMA-designed Fondazione Prada in Milan.
    Pastel colours and veneered wood panelling were applied to the space, which was designed to reference iconic city landmarks and cafes – particularly those dating back to the 1950s and 60s.
    “I tried to make it a bar I would want to spend my own non-fictional afternoons in,” said the filmmaker, who stressed that the bar was not designed as a set but rather as a “real” place.
    Find out more about Bar Luce ›
    Photo is by Mikael LundbladCafe Banacado, Sweden, by ASKA
    Cafe Banacado is an all-day breakfast cafe in Stockholm designed by local architecture studio ASKA.
    ASKA followed “a strong symmetry” when creating the interiors, which feature checkerboard flooring, arched mirrors and a sunny colour palette that was specifically chosen to evoke the dreamlike atmosphere of Anderson’s films.
    Find out more about Cafe Banacado ›
    Photo is by Derek SwalwellThe Budapest Cafe, Australia, by Biasol
    Local studio Biasol designed this salmon-hued cafe in Carlton, Melbourne, to reference Anderson’s 2014 feature film The Grand Budapest Hotel – in particular its symmetrical compositions and “nostalgic” colour palettes.
    Stylised steps to nowhere decorate the walls, while a curved archway frames a glossy point-of-sale counter with a tubular base finished in terracotta.
    Find out more about The Budapest Cafe in Melbourne ›
    Photo is by James MorganThe Budapest Cafe, China, by Biasol
    Biasol also designed another outpost for The Budapest Cafe in Chengdu, China, that references the titular film.
    Here, Biasol combined pastel shades and marble surfaces with similar chunky elevations to those found in the Melbourne cafe. The centrepiece of the room is a tiered terrazzo seating area topped with a pink ball pit and an original Eero Aarnio Bubble chair.
    Find out more about The Budapest Cafe in Chengdu ›
    Photo is by Romain LapradeHotel Palace restaurant, Finland, by Note Design Studio
    When Note Design Studio renovated a restaurant within Helsinki’s Hotel Palace, the Swedish firm set out to honour the history of the modernist building, which was opened in time for the city’s 1952 Summer Olympics.
    Teak panelling, luxurious teal carpet and expansive windows lend themselves to a cinematic atmosphere, while white tablecloths add a touch of glamour to the space, where visitors can imagine Anderson’s characters dining.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bedrooms with bathtubs, Parisian apartments and striking art gallery interiors.

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    W Budapest hotel occupies 19th-century Drechsler Palace

    Interior design studios Bowler James Brindley and Bánáti + Hartvig have transformed a 140-year-old neo-Renaissance building in central Budapest into the latest outpost from hotel chain W Hotels.

    W Budapest is set inside the 1886 Drechsler Palace designed by architects Ödön Lechner and Gyula Pártos, previously home to a grand cafe and the headquarters of the Hungarian State Ballet Academy.
    Bowler James Brindley and Bánáti + Hartvig have renovated Drechsler PalaceWorking with local studio Bánáti + Hartvig, London-based Bowler James Brindley (BJB) wanted to draw out the glamorous history of the building, which had stood empty for 15 years before being acquired by W Hotels’ owner Marriott International.
    BJB aimed to “playfully modernise” the interiors while drawing on the architecture of the surrounding area on Andrássy Avenue – a UNESCO World Heritage site that’s also home to the Hungarian State Opera House.
    The building now houses the 151-room W Budapest hotelAlongside 151 rooms and suites, the building now houses a restaurant, lounge, spa and speakeasy.

    “The challenge from the outset was not to be overawed by the beauty and strength of the building,” BJB partner Ian Bayliss told Dezeen.
    “Many original details of Drechsler Palace were studied and re-imagined, as were original colours and textures. Protected architecture has been carefully restored and celebrated, and original glazed tiles have been reused.”
    Gridded metal screens surround the beds in the guest roomsCentral to BJB’s conversion was the re-establishment of the palace’s two original entrances. This allowed the studio to free up the spaces bordering Andrassy Avenue and create a “living room” within the building’s light-filled inner courtyard, which has been enclosed by a glass roof.
    Tasked with modernising the building’s interiors while adhering to heritage protection rules, BJB made what it calls “second skin” interventions, which included the creation of new “corridors” within the palace’s ornate arches using freestanding, fret-cut installations.
    In the bathrooms, checkerboard tiles reference Hungary’s affiliation with chess”We wanted to respect the fabric and ‘skin’ of Drechsler Palace so we set about designing spaces, which created a new atmosphere while not touching the beautifully restored fabric,” Bayliss explained.
    The studio took the same approach to the restoration of the palace’s vaulted basement spa, which uses “Houdini-inspired” mirror illusions to create a feeling of never-ending space.

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    Curving bronze metal installations follow the vaulted ceilings, while dimly lit treatment rooms were inserted within the natural spaces left by existing columns.
    “In homage to Houdini, the treatment rooms are completely mirror-clad and essentially disappear, literally reflecting the existing architecture and the new second-skin installations,” Bayliss said, referencing Hungarian-born magician Harry Houdini.
    Turquoise wall panelling is contrasted with gold-toned detailsIn the guest rooms, turquoise wall panelling is contrasted with the gold-toned screens that wrap the beds, while mirrored checkerboard doors with brass details nod to Hungary’s long ties to the game of chess.
    The chess theme continues in the bathrooms, where monochrome checkerboard tiling is offset by handmade terrazzo-lined double sinks and lightbulb-framed Hollywood mirrors that pay tribute to Hungarian-American socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor.
    “The combination of a beautiful free-standing French Renaissance-inspired building by a famous local architect with a modern, idiosyncratic interior inserted into it could only happen in Budapest,” Bayliss said.
    The hotel opens later this monthSet to open later this month, W Budapest follows the opening of the brand’s Rome outpost in 2021.
    Previous projects by Bowler James Brindley include several guest rooms at the W Barcelona and apartments on the lower levels of Herzog & de Meuron’s One Park Drive skyscraper in Canary Wharf.
    Other hotels recently featured on Dezeen include a “thoughtfully designed” brutalist hotel in Mexico and Capella Hotels’ Sydney outpost, which is housed within a heritage-listed former government building.
    The photography is courtesy of W Budapest. 

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    Chinese architects and designers can “bring something different to the world” say Dezeen Awards China judges

    Architects and designers in China are poised to have a greater global influence as the country emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, according to Dezeen Awards China judges at a talk at Design Shanghai.

    Hosted by Dezeen’s co-CEO Benedict Hobson, the panel discussion marked the launch of Dezeen’s new regional edition of Dezeen Awards to celebrate architecture and design in China, which is open for entries now.
    It featured Dezeen Awards China judges Alex Mok and Frank Chou, alongside Neri&Hu managing director Jerry del Fierro, who stood in for Dezeen Awards China judge Rossana Hu, who had to pull out due to illness.
    Frank Chou is a product designer and Dezeen Awards China judgeAccording to Chou, who is one of the most established product designers in China, the country has a huge amount of untapped design potential.
    “In Europe, there are so many design firms,” he said.

    “In China, we have a population of 1.4 billion, but how many designers are there? There’s really a huge potential for Chinese designers to bring something different to the world.”
    Frank Chou designs furniture under his own brandChou believes that emerging Chinese designers are cultivating a unique, contemporary design language that draws from China’s rich history without being overly deferential to it.
    “We need to shape the real modern Chinese culture,” he said.
    “When we talk about culture, many people equate this to history, to something in the past. But we should also be thinking about the culture of the future. What will be China’s future culture?”
    Jerry del Fierro is managing director of Neri&HuOne firm that has successfully created a contemporary Chinese design identity is Neri&Hu, one of China’s best-known architecture and design studios.
    According to managing director Del Fierro, the practice’s co-founders Hu and Lyndon Neri have been highly influenced by cultural theorist Svetlana Boym and her concept of “reflective nostalgia”.
    “Reflective nostalgia is not a nostalgia that recreates the old, it respects the old but projects something new, something inspiring,” he said.
    “It’s not about feeling sad about something that’s lost, but rather to taking elements from the past and making them fresh and new.”
    Recent Neri&Hu projects include The Relic Shelter teahouse in Fuzhou, ChinaHe believes that the conditions are right in China for architects and designers to push boundaries.
    “If you work in America, and I worked in America for many years, some of the developers are very conservative,” he said.
    “A lot of the Chinese developers are actually ready to try something more innovative. I think there’s something to be said about the culture here that allows for innovation.”
    Alex Mok is co-founder of Linehouse and a Dezeen Awards China judgeMok, who is co-founder of Shanghai- and Hong Kong-based architecture and interior design studio Linehouse, agreed.
    “Transitioning from working in the UK to China was a revelation,” she said.
    “At first, I was a bit shocked. But very quickly I just embraced how fluid and fast it is here. We now have the opportunity to be working globally, but our heart is still in China.”
    Taking place as part of the Forum programme of talks at Design Shanghai 2023, the first edition of the annual trade show that has taken place since China relaxed international travel restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic, the panel discussion explored how China’s architecture and design scene has been impacted by the pandemic.
    Recent Linehouse projects in China include the Coast restaurant in ShanghaiAccording to Mok, Covid-19 forced many architecture and design firms in China who previously relied on foreign workers to nurture and cultivate local talent instead.
    “Everything had to be more local, which I think was a positive thing,” she said.
    “It became a bit more about Chinese creativity. When we were hiring, we kept getting all these CVs from foreign architects, but it was impossible [to hire them]. This meant we ended up fostering more local Chinese talent.”
    Del Fierro said that Neri&Hu experienced something similar, with many of the firm’s foreign workers returning to Europe or the US and working remotely. According to Fierro, this had the unexpected but welcome consequence of increasing the practice’s international projects.
    Covid-19 pandemic created “new opportunities” for architects and designers
    “Our practice is very different from three years ago,” he said.
    “When the pandemic happened, there were a number of our staff who wanted to return to Europe. We now have about 50 per cent of our projects diversified. Fifty per cent of them are still in China, but 50 per cent are now outside of China.”
    According to Del Fierro, the global acceptance of remote working will provide more opportunities for firms based in China to work on projects abroad.
    “The concept of remote working is now very commonplace and we are not limited by physical travel anymore,” he said.
    “So suddenly, we have all these new opportunities. We are based in Shanghai, can we work in Cape Town? Absolutely! And we don’t have to go there every month. So I think the pandemic caused an interesting situation to create new opportunities.”

    Dezeen Awards China open for entries until 24 August
    Chou, Mok and Neri&Hu co-founder Hu are among the first judges to be announced for Dezeen Awards China, which launched in Shanghai on 8 June in partnership with Bentley. Further judges will be announced in the coming weeks.
    Dezeen Awards China is open for entries now until 24 August 2023, but studios can save money on their entry if they enter before 13 July 2023.
    There are 17 project categories to enter across architecture, interiors and design. The winners of these project categories will go head to head for the chance to be crowned one of three project of the year winners across architecture, interiors and design.

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    Socca restaurant feels like “a pocket of Southern France in Mayfair”

    Local practice Fabled Studio has designed the interiors for London’s Socca restaurant, adding hand-painted murals informed by the French Riviera.

    Fabled Studio co-founder Tom Strother describes the eatery as “a pocket of Southern France in Mayfair,” with a playful and whimsical interior that complements the French Mediterranean menu.
    Socca is a French restaurant in London’s Mayfair”Both the menu and the interior are inspired by the Côte d’Azur and Nice,” Strother told Dezeen. “They have a laidback attitude but with French finesse.”
    Fabled Studio restored the original terracotta tiles on the facade of Socca’s Grade II-listed building, as well as maintaining its ornate ceiling mouldings.
    Hand-painted murals decorate the wallsThe main dining area, named the grand salon, is decorated with wood panelling on the lower portions of the walls while a warm-toned stucco finish covers the upper portions.

    Informed by French painter Raoul Dufy’s depictions of Nice, artist Mark Sands hand-painted blue-toned murals onto the walls to frame the hung artworks.
    Dark wood and bronze details feature throughout the interiorDark wood parquet covers the floors and short cream curtains were used to separate the dining room’s navy-blue leather banquette seats.
    The curtains are suspended from bronze metal rails, with matching metallic details dotted around the room in the form of fixtures and lights including the whimsical shell-shaped sconces.

    Pirajean Lees creates Arts and Crafts-style interior for Mayfair restaurant

    To the side of the dining space is a bar topped with Breccia Violetta marble. This backs onto a trio of arched mirrors in a wooden box frame, stretching up to the same height as the picture rail moulding that encircles the room.
    Beyond the grand salon is a second bar space with oxblood leather seating and murals depicting illustrations of leaves and faces.
    Breccia Violetta marble tops the barAt the rear of the restaurant is a second dining space named the petit salon, designed to have a cosy, almost residential appearance.
    The petit salon is dominated by green hues, found across walls and seats to differentiate it from the other dining space.
    “We did this to give it a different identity and unique personality to the grand salon,” said Strother.
    Green tones were used in the petit salonMore hand-painted murals by Sands adorn the walls, including curving frames, faces and curling vines informed by artist and poet Jean Cocteau.
    Downstairs, the bathrooms were also designed to have a “residential ambience” with striped wallpaper, marble vanities and bronze hardware.
    Murals on the walls were informed by French artistsFabled is a London-based interior design practice founded in 2011 by Tom Strother and Steven Saunders. Socca is the sixth restaurant the practice has completed in collaboration with restauranteur Samyukta Nair of LSL Capital.
    Other London restaurants recently featured on Dezeen include 20 Berkeley, with Arts-and-Crafts-style interiors by Pirajean Lees, and an Italian restaurant designed to mimic the glamorous atmosphere of a 1980s Italo-American trattoria.
    The photography is by James McDonald.

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    Keiji Ashizawa designs “home-like” The Conran Shop in Hillside Terrace

    Designer Keiji Ashizawa has devised the interiors of The Conran Shop Daikanyama in Tokyo, which is located inside a building by architect Fumihiko Maki and spotlights products from Japan and Asia.

    The latest outpost from British retailer The Conran Shop is located in the modernist Hillside Terrace in Daikanyama, a quiet area close to the Tokyo city centre.
    The complex was designed by Pritzker Prize-winner Maki and constructed between 1967 and 1992.
    The Conran Shop Daikanyama was designed to resemble someone’s homeAshizawa aimed to take the existing architecture of the two-storey building into consideration when designing the interior of The Conran Shop.
    “Since the existing space had great potential, we knew that the work had to be put into elevating what was already there – thinking about the proportions of the space, the dry area and so on,” he told Dezeen.

    “Although it is inside a well-known architecture, there were elements where we thought we could bring change to the inside.”
    It features pieces by Japanese and Asian designersThese changes included turning one glass section into a solid wall.
    “Glass walls were used extensively as part of the architectural concept so that the store space could be viewed through the layers of glass,” Ashizawa said.
    “While building the store, we decided that there wouldn’t be a problem in making a section of the glass wall become a solid wall, considering its serenity as a space and its relationship with the street.”
    A mezzanine showcases a sofa and other living room furnitureThe designer created the 200-square-metre store to look like someone’s home, in a nod to the peaceful nature of the surrounding area. It features a large atrium on the ground floor, connecting it to an adjoining courtyard.
    “Daikanyama is a very calm neighbourhood in Tokyo, where we wished to design a store where people could feel relaxed and away from the stimulation of the city,” Ashizawa said.
    “We intended to create a space for people to stay for a long period of time and feel the space.”
    The store is located in the iconic Hillside Terrace complexThe interior design was also based on The Conran Shop’s three keywords – plain, simple and useful – CEO of The Conran Shop Japan Shinichiro Nakahara told Dezeen.
    The store’s product selection also places a special focus on Japanese and Asian design.
    “Specifically for The Conran Shop Daikanyama, the selections were focused on objects from Asia, including Japan,” Nakahara said.

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    “The process of [founder] Terence [Conran] travelling around the world, finding and buying items in each place by himself, has not changed,” he added. “Many of the objects selected by the Conran team in Japan have a sense of craftsmanship.”
    “We created the space by imagining a situation in which such objects would be displayed alongside each other. For example, the details of the objects are reflected in the interior design.”
    It features a staircase with a handrail made from black paper cordsThe interior uses materials that are common in Japan including concrete, steel, wood, plaster, Japanese stone and paper.
    “The use of Japanese paper in interior design is an element that is distinctively Japanese,” Ashizawa explained.
    “Shoji screens are an important element in creating a Japanese-style room but I realize that they can also be well used in both functional and aesthetic ways in a modern space.”
    Concrete walls and shoji screens were used for the interiorThe studio also used Japanese paper that had been dyed in a grey hue as wallpaper to give the space a “soft and contemporary feel.”
    “Since we weren’t building an actual house but rather a home-like Conran store, the materials were thoughtfully instrumented to achieve a balance,” Ashizawa said.
    The ground floor of the store holds furniture, homeware and apparel, and also has a mezzanine floor that is accessible by a staircase featuring a handrail made from black paper cords.
    A gallery-like space is located on the basement floorAshizawa designed the basement floor, which functions both as an additional shopping area and a gallery space, to have a calmer atmosphere.
    “Filled with natural light, the ground floor uses colours that bring grandeur and a sense of calmness,” he said.
    “The basement floor is toned to create a more private feeling. We respected the natural colours of the materials as much as possible, while also considering the harmony with the objects on display and in the gallery.”
    The store has a neutral colour palette and wooden detailsThe Conran Shop Daikanyama also has an adjoining bar where visitors can enjoy teas such as sencha and macha.
    Ashizawa has previously worked on a number of other projects in Tokyo, including the Bellustar Tokyo “hotel in the sky” and the Hiroo Residence.

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    BAO Mary draws on “utilitarian design” of Taiwanese dumpling shops

    London’s latest BAO restaurant is modelled on the liveliness of Taiwan’s dumpling shops, with designer MATHs opening up its shopfront to “allow people to spill out”.

    Design studio MATHs aimed for restaurant chain BAO London’s latest outpost in Marylebone, named BAO Mary, to let its visitors interact more with the space outside the restaurant to create a vibrant feel.
    “With all our sites, we look to distil an element of Taiwanese culture,” BAO co-founder Shing Tat Chung and MATHs designer Priscilla Wong told Dezeen.
    “Taiwanese dumpling shops are lively – there’s a sense of excitement and chaos,” they added. “As with a lot of informal eateries in Asia, there are diners pouring into the street.”
    BAO Mary is located in central London’s Marylebone areaThe first change the duo made when taking over the 110-square-metre restaurant, which had previously housed another eatery, was to open it up more towards the street by removing banquette seats that made its front look closed-off.

    “The first design move was to open up the shopfront to allow people to spill out and blur the threshold between inside and out,” MATHs said.
    “This helps to create the liveliness that we find in dumpling houses.”
    It has a wood-panelled interiorThe goal for the interior of the two-storey restaurant, which serves dumplings and quick cold dishes, was to create an intimate atmosphere.
    As its existing fit-out had been completed just 18 months earlier, MATHs kept the timber-lined walls but added a parquette floor and simple white tiles in the kitchen.
    “The main dining space is small, so we wanted to lean into that and create a sense of intimacy, whilst referencing the utilitarian design of dumpling houses,” Chung and Wong explained. “The overall material palette helps to strike a balance between the two.”
    Tables and chairs were custom-madeFor the outdoor dining space, the designers used brushed-metal terrace tables from Arcalo that are altered to be shorter and complemented by stools from Artek.
    Inside, chairs and tables are bespoke and the restaurant is lit by lamps from Flos and Artemide.

    BAO King’s Cross pays tribute to Asia’s Western-style cafes

    BAO Mary also features a nod to the open self-serve fridges often seen in Taiwan.
    “It’s quite common in Taiwan to have open self-serve fridges,” the designers said. “Whilst in London, we contemplated whether we could do the same but in the end decided against it.”
    “To reference this feature, we have a cold drinks fridge in the back corner of the room,” they added. “These points of reference, alongside the glass table tops and the softly swirling fans, add to the feel of what we wanted to achieve.”
    A fridge next to the kitchen nods to Taiwanese self-serve fridgesAs the primary material used inside the space was the existing wooden walls, MATHs wanted to create a colour palette that would complement the panelling.
    The studio chose a “buttery yellow colour” for the ceiling, while cream and tan leather add neutral colour details upstairs.
    The basement floor, which can be booked by larger groups, has orange banquette seating.
    The open kitchen is the focal point of the spaceThe designers also referenced BAO London’s beginnings as a market stall with the design of BAO Mary, where the tiled kitchen functions as a focal point.
    “We wanted to create a glow at the end of the space – almost theatrical – to draw people in and create a visual focus,” Chung and Wong said.
    “The first view on entry is the brightly lit kitchen and sharp light of the fridge, which is sandwiched by the dark timber walls,” they added.
    “When we first started as a market stall, the great satisfaction was that immediate interaction, and feeling part of the restaurant and seeing it feel and come together rather than being stuck in a basement.”
    BAO Mary is set over two storeysHaving the kitchen open also creates a connection between the chef and the diners, the duo said.
    “It creates that focus in the room, the buzz, the clatter, the chatter,” they added. “It becomes that activation in the small room.”
    Other recent bao restaurants featured on Dezeen include BAO London’s King’s Cross branch, which was informed by Asia’s Western-style cafes, and Bao Express in Paris, which draws on traditional Hong Kong diners.
    The photography is by Ash James.

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