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    James Shaw’s light-filled London home is almost entirely underground

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    Lumpy recycled plastic furniture and circular skylights characterise this sunken London house, which designer James Shaw concealed on a 60-square-metre plot for himself and his family.

    Located in a conservation area in east London, the two-storey dwelling was constructed by Shaw and his friend, architect Nicholas Ashby.
    James Shaw built himself a sunken but light-filled homeThe neighbourhood’s planning restrictions required the pair to build all but 2.7 metres of the building out of sight from the street level, resulting in a sunken home with a large basement invisible from the outside.
    An open-plan kitchen, living and dining area feature in this underground space, which has exposed concrete walls interrupted by large, floor-to-ceiling glass doors that open onto a small terrace with a dinky plunge pool.
    The designer squeezed a bespoke sofa into one of the irregular cornersShaw and his writer-curator wife Lou Stoppard chose eclectic interiors for the home they share with their baby daughter – a collaboration that began with the duo’s 2022 London Design Festival installation of clashing furniture, created to poke fun at the tensions that arise when couples move in together for the first time.

    Made by Shaw, the pear-shaped walnut table from the installation features in the living area, surrounded by spindly stacking chairs first designed by furniture brand Blå Station founder Börge Lindau in 1986.
    Veneered MDF defines the kitchen cabinetsA custom aluminium bookshelf stretches across the wall opposite the table, built by Shaw to fit the unusual space. The designer also squeezed a bespoke burnt orange sofa into one of the irregular corners, illuminated by a large circular skylight.
    Known for his Plastic Baroque furniture made from recycled and extruded HDPE, Shaw placed a lumpy two-tone blue lounge chair next to the sofa – another piece that featured in his previous installation.
    The bathroom features Anni Albers-style mosaic flooringOpposite the living and dining area, the rectilinear kitchen cabinets were finished in veneered MDF, while the fridge was also fitted with a knobbly plastic handle.
    Stainless steel and pale blue HIMACS make up the worktops – one of which is on wheels to allow for flexibility when hosting.
    Squiggly pear-shaped sculptures top the bedpostsAcross the basement, a combination of oak finger parquet and raised-access metal tiles were used to create contrasting flooring. The silver-hued tiles can be lifted to reveal extra storage.
    Also underground, the bathroom was designed with a playfully patterned mosaic floor informed by the work of Bauhaus artist Anni Albers, including an abstract illustration of the couple’s cat, Rupert.
    The mirrored bathtub reflects and enhances the intricate flooring, while another rounded skylight adds natural light to the space.

    WillemsenU submerges house under the ground in the Netherlands

    An extruded blue plastic bannister snakes up the staircase to the bedroom – the only street-level room in the house.
    The Shaw-designed oak and brass bed features bedposts topped with squiggly pear-shaped sculptures, while the thin timber wardrobe was hand-painted with decorative panels by artist Marie Jacotey, who completed the project on-site.
    The bedroom is the only street-level roomStoppard’s vast art collection features throughout the sunken home, including delicate paintings by emerging artists Lydia Blakely and Mary Stephenson and antique artefacts from various travels.
    Elsewhere in London, Shaw’s trademark plastic furniture has also been used for retail projects. Footwear brand Camper’s Regent Street store includes bumpy yellow shelving by the designer, and a Traid charity clothes shop in Shepherd’s Bush has a wiggly bench upholstered in unsold clothes salvaged from the Traid warehouse.
    The photography is courtesy of James Shaw and Lou Stoppard. 

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      Sam Jacob gives “soft brutalist” University of Kent building a modern makeover

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      Architecture studio Sam Jacob Studio has refurbished a 1960s building at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England, using playful architectural references and bright colours to add layers of “wit and delight” to the existing interiors.

      The project provides teaching spaces for the university’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning, which is part of a campus designed by William Holford that opened in 1965.
      Sam Jacob Studio has refurbished the interiors of a 1960s University of Kent buildingSam Jacob Studio (SJS) looked to retain what it described as the “soft brutalist” character of the brick and concrete Marlowe Building when reorganising the existing interior.
      The Marlowe building originally housed the university’s physics department, which featured a series of cellular offices on the ground floor and a top-lit lab space above.
      The studio wanted to retain the building’s “soft brutalist” feelingFollowing a detailed consultation with faculty and students, Jacob and his team defined a strategy that balances areas dedicated to specific year groups and subjects with the ability to transform and open up the spaces.

      The team at SJS said it was interested in “what happens between the logic of architecture and the happenstance of creative working”.
      They based their design on a variety of famous creative spaces including the Bauhaus school and Paul Rudolph’s brutalist Yale Art and Architecture Building, as well as The Factory created by artist Andy Warhol in New York City.
      Large sliding doors were used to separate spacesThe architects gutted the existing interior to expose the concrete ceiling alongside the building’s structure and services, which were retained as the backdrop for a series of minimal interventions targeted at fulfilling the space’s new role.
      “This is a project that reveals the intrinsic qualities of the 1960s building, while also contrasting a more fluid contemporary character,” the studio said.
      “It is an architecture that invites inhabitation rather than imposing order, that recognises character, wit and delight as part of an essential role of architecture.”
      Polycarbonate portholes allow light to pass through the spacesSJS worked as much as possible with the existing spatial layout, adding just one wall to the ground floor and two on the first floor so that the interiors can evolve to meet different future requirements.
      Rather than functioning merely as static partitions, the walls are activated by incorporating moving components that can be used to adapt the layout of the studios.
      Large sliding doors with polycarbonate portholes allow some of the spaces to be separated, while pivoting wall sections can be opened or closed depending on the desired layout.

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      The partition walls incorporate full-height pinboards for displaying work. These surfaces were given a more dynamic appearance by cutting the boards diagonally from corner to corner.
      The standard-height pinboards are topped with a shelf, onto which adjustable lights are clamped to allow illumination of the students’ work. Mirrored panels above the shelf create the illusion of a continual space.
      Pinboards feature clamped adjustable lights to illuminate student’s workThe studio can be customised further to suit different working modes by rearranging freestanding elements including drawing boards, easels, screens and moveable storage units built using standard warehouse shelves.
      Existing furniture was reused wherever possible, while doors salvaged during the strip-out were converted into desks, with yellow laminate pieces added to fill in holes where the locks and vision panels were once located.
      Pivoting wall sections can be opened or closed depending on the desired layoutThe interior incorporates several explicit architectural references, according to SJS, including a colour palette based on Le Corbusier’s 1959 paint system.
      “A series of columns used to define thresholds act as 1:1 models of, variously, Canterbury Cathedral, Brancusi and James Stirling, like a library of other architectures inhabiting the school,” the team explained.
      To prevent sunlight from overheating the studios, a series of coloured window blinds was added along with moveable perforated pinboard panels that help to control privacy. This creates a changing topography that animates the building’s exterior.
      Moveable perforated pinboard panels provide privacy and shadingSam Jacob established his eponymous studio in 2014, having previously worked as part of the radical architecture collective FAT for over 20 years.
      Previous projects by SJS include a new entrance at London’s V&A museum made from hundreds of glass tubes and a brightly coloured studio and office for designer Yinka Ilori.
      The photography is by Timothy Soar.

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      Mirzoyan Studio models Bursa Bar in Kyiv on musical instrument

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      This hotel bar in the centre of Kyiv, Ukraine, was designed by Mirzoyan Studio to have plywood panelled walls and a green latticed ceiling to improve acoustics.

      Bursa Bar opened earlier this year in the city’s historic Podil neighbourhood, on the first floor of the boutique Bursa Hotel.
      Bursa Bar was designed to look like the inside of a speaker or musical instrumentThe 55-square-metre cocktail bar was designed by Mirzoyan Studio founder Nastia Mirzoyan as a place for music lovers, hoping to attract “vinyl record enthusiasts and live-set lovers every weekend”.
      “The architect’s idea was to create a space reminiscent of a musical instrument, where every visitor would feel like they’re inside a giant music speaker or guitar, surrounded by a cosy atmosphere of plywood,” said the team.
      The space is lined with dark-stained plywood as a nod to contemporary Japanese designThe interior is lined with dark-stained plywood as a nod to contemporary Japanese design.

      The material forms evenly spaced wall panelling, simple bench seating and shelves for displaying liquor bottles and vinyl records.
      The space includes a DJ booth and an extensive vinyl record collectionA grid of wooden boards creates a coffered ceiling that helps to dampen echoes and improve acoustics in the space, as well as preventing the sound from travelling to guest rooms above.
      This results in a lower ceiling height but allows lighting and ventilation systems to be hidden inside while creating a more intimate atmosphere within the bar.
      Plywood is also used for built-in seating, accompanied by furniture with stainless steel legs”In our design, we aimed to subtly implement the features of Eastern style: orthogonal lines, clean shapes, horizontal orientation of objects, vertical rhythm of walls, and orthogonal ceiling,” Mirzoyan said.
      Furniture with stainless steel legs is pushed to the edges of the rectangular room, with the bar and accompanying stools on one side, and a row of small high-top tables along the built-in bench on the other.
      The bar counter front is clad in ochre, white and dark green relief tilesStraight in front of the entry door is a DJ booth, also crafted from plywood, behind which the extensive vinyl record collection is stored.
      The centre of the space is left empty as a dance floor, where guests can move freely to sounds from the Ojas speakers.

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      The front of the bar counter is clad using relief tiles in ochre, white and a dark forest green hue that matches the ceiling and the Flowerpot lamps by Verner Panton, which illuminate some of the tables.
      Extra seating is provided at stainless steel counters installed in the window niches on either side of the door.
      Additional seating is provided at stainless steel counters installed in window nichesThe lighting scheme is fully adjustable to create different atmospheres in different areas of the room.
      “We combined accent lighting for guest seating areas, creating small bright spots, and used soft linear lighting to emphasize vinyl shelves and exquisite drinks,” said Mirzoyan. “This way, every guest feels special.”
      Sound from Ojas speakers is improved thanks to the coffered ceilingDespite Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia, several projects have completed in Kyiv – from a laser clinic with futuristic interiors to a dance studio outfitted with custom furniture made from materials sourced in the face of wartime shortages.
      Other spots for drinking and dancing in the city include the Virgin Izakaya Bar in a former arsenal building, which was shortlisted in the restaurant and bar interior category of Dezeen Awards 2021.
      The photography is by Yevhenii Avramenko.

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      Sullivan’s Fish Camp designed so “guests can’t be sure if it’s 1982 or 2024”

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      South Carolina-based studios SDCO and Basic Projects have overhauled a seaside restaurant in Charleston with a nostalgic design that extends across everything from interiors to memorabilia.

      Contemporary details feature throughout the redesigned Sullivan’s Fish Camp, but are interwoven with retro elements to create an aesthetic that respects the restaurant’s long history.
      Sullivan’s Fish Camp is a family-owned diner that first opened in 1988Located on Sullivan’s Island, at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, the family-owned diner has been serving cold beers and seafood to locals and beachgoers for over 35 years.
      Amy Pastre and Courtney Rowson of brand strategy studio SDCO worked closely with Kate and Ben Towill of interiors studio Basic Projects to bring a cohesive visual identity throughout.
      Large hand-painted letters boldly spell out the restaurant’s nameBold typography, cartoon-style illustrations, vintage art and furniture, and playful messaging all feature in the reimagined restaurant experience.

      “The design intent was to create a world that conjures the delight and affection that generations of beachgoers had for the original, family-owned restaurant,” said Pastre and Rowson.
      “Some details feel modern, some nostalgic. Experienced together, guests can’t be sure if it’s 1982 or 2024.”
      The graphic design identity includes drawings of the building’s exteriorOn the outside, Sullivan’s Fish Camp is spelt out in large hand-painted letters across a projecting red roof canopy, identifying the restaurant as a local landmark.
      Other graphic-design identifiers include drawings of the building’s exterior and two hand-drawn characters: a “cheery flounder” and Captain Sully, a “salty sea captain-meets-fish”.
      Both vintage and contemporary artworks cover the wallsThe restaurant’s interior walls are covered in artworks that continue the seaside and maritime themes, from a stitched portrait of a fisherman to a lobster painting by local artist Katherine Dunlap.
      Commissioned works include fish illustrations by “Carolina legend” Duane Raver, whose work also features on the placemats, and a large sculpture of a marlin fish.

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      “It was important to preserve what felt inherently right for the story and space,” said Pastre and Rowson.
      “We wanted to pay homage to seaside fish camps while bringing modernity to the brand and experience,” they said. “No corner was left untouched.”
      Artworks include a stitched portrait of a fishermanThe designers commissioned a local joiner to build furniture elements, including tables, seating banquettes, and a counter that frames the merchandise display and walk-up ice cream window.
      Basic Projects sourced many of the other furniture and lighting elements from antique markets, as well as from Ebay and Etsy. A stained glass pendant lamp is one of the most striking finds.
      “My background is in film set design, so I loved every bit of the sourcing,” said Kate Towill.
      A counter frames the merchandise display and a walk-up ice cream windowDurability was an important consideration; heavy rain and high tides can cause the restaurant to flood, while beachgoers bring plenty of sand in on their feet.
      “We welcome sandy and salty beachgoers,” said Towill.
      “The floors are VCT (vinyl composition tiles) and all the wood is pressure-treated and sealed with marine-grade sealer.”
      Illustrations by “Carolina legend” Duane Raver feature on the placematsSDCO designed an extensive range of merchandise, including key chains, hats, tote bags, sweatshirts, T-shirts, bottle openers and bumper stickers.
      Custom design also extends to the tableware.
      Cups are emblazoned with the Sullivan’s Fish Camp branding, while plates feature scalloped seashell illustrations that reference the border of the original 1988 menu.
      T-shirts feature Captain Sully, a “salty sea captain-meets-fish””The result is a feel-good space that quite literally takes you on a journey through food, drink, design, nostalgia and souvenirs that create indelible memories,” added Pastre and Rowson.
      Sullivan’s Fish Camp is the latest in a series of notable design projects in Charleston, a town that has seen an influx of creatives over the past decade.
      Others include boutique hotel Post House, also designed by Basic Projects, and the newly opened International African American Museum, designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and Moody Nolan.

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      Glass bricks divide spaces in Suprematism apartment in Kyiv

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      Design studio Dihome has created a colourful industrial-style interior for this compact 15th-floor apartment in Kyiv, Ukraine.

      Named Suprematism, this 42-square-metre apartment was adapted for a young couple who wanted a bright, colourful apartment with the most functional use of space.
      “I wanted to dress the interior in a modern, bold way to give it a young and relaxed theme,” Dihome founder Yevheniia Sytnik told Dezeen.
      Geometric shapes and block colours characterise this apartment in Kyiv by design studio DihomeExisting walls were removed to create an open-plan layout, while glass bricks and panels were added to create spatial zoning without obstructing natural light.
      “Glass blocks, plywood and concrete are the DNA of this project,” said Sytnik.

      “The glass blocks in the living room required the builders to take them for grinding three times to ensure they fit perfectly,” she continued.
      The colour scheme is based on a palette of orange, blue, yellow and redSet against a backdrop of painted white walls, colour was introduced through furnishings and decorative pieces, including an orange coffee table and a deep blue velvet sofa in the living space.
      Above hangs a burnt orange wall panel by Ukrainian artist Tasha Oro, whose work references the early 20th-century art movement Suprematism – which the apartment is named after.
      “Suprematism is characterised by simple abstract forms such as squares, circles, and rectangles,” said Sytnik.
      The apartment is set across an open-plan areaWhile the living spaces are spread across one open-plan space, the kitchen is distinguished from the rest of the living area with a reeded glass partition and a change in materials.
      Grey stools with tubular red legs tuck under the kitchen work surface to create a space-saving dining area, with a floor-to-ceiling mirror panel incorporated to create the illusion of space.
      Dividing the bedroom from the social spaces is a structural concrete pillarA structural concrete pillar acts as a partition between the living spaces and the bedroom, doubling as a TV unit on one side and shelving space on the other.
      “This volume incorporates the constructive element of the building – the concrete pillar – and becomes the axis of the entire interior,” said Sytnik.

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      Two additional decorative wall panels by Tasha Oro hang on the bedroom side of the pillar in pastel tones.
      “I worked on the project as if in a constant dialogue with Oro’s panels,” said Sytnik.
      Space-saving storage solutions are incorporated throughout the designIn the bedroom is an inbuilt desk and a low platform bed, with a yellow curtain used to neatly conceal wardrobe space.
      Rough-textured concrete ceilings with exposed electrical wiring give the apartment an industrial look.
      A colourful geometric panel, designed by Re:Quiet using recycled plastic bottles, functions as a noise absorber.
      Glass bricks separate the bathroom from the wider apartmentDivided using a glass brick wall, the bathroom is the only separate volume in the apartment, with red and yellow tones continued here.
      “Suprematist motifs in the bathroom tiles and bright yellow kitchen are complimented by the graphic patterns of the ceramic granite,” said Sytnik.
      Other Kyiv-based projects recently featured on Dezeen include an apartment renovation by Modektura and a fitness studio made from leftover materials in the face of wartime shortages.
      Photography is by Andrey Avdeenko.

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      DAB Studio adds contemporary touches to Dutch home from Amsterdam School period

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      An Ettore Sottsass gridded feature wall and a sculptural green ladder characterise this 1920s Dutch house, which interiors firm DAB Studio designed to reference the Amsterdam School.

      Called Collectors Home, the dwelling is defined by the intricate brickwork and stained glass windows typical of the Amsterdam School – a movement from 1910 to 1920 that paid equal attention to the architecture and interior design of a building.
      DAB Studio has renovated a Dutch home from the Amsterdam School periodLocal firm DAB Studio renovated the Amsterdam house’s interiors to reflect its roots while adding contemporary touches.
      “The building dates from around 1929 and was designed by Eduard Cuypers,” studio co-founder Lotte Bruns told Dezeen.
      Called Collectors Home, the dwelling also includes contemporary touches”His studio was considered the origin of the Amsterdam School because the ringleaders of this style, Michel de Klerk, Joan van der Mey and Piet Kramer, were all formed in his office,” she added.

      The team enlarged and rearranged the living room’s neutral-hued fireplace, which has smooth, subtle corners – “a recognisable reference to the Amsterdam School,” according to Bruns. 
      Dedesigned to be deliberately off-centre, the fireplace mouth was decorated with modernist black marble discs that echo the room’s rounded sconce lights, positioned on a marbled mahogany feature wall.
      A gridded feature wall characterises the living spaceAlthough the wall design was originally created by Memphis Group founder Sottsass for Alpi in the 1980s, the gridded arrangement of the wood recalls the “ladder windows” common to Amsterdam School architecture, explained Bruns.
      A recognisable Wassily Chair by Bauhaus designer Marcel Breuer sits opposite a sculptural, low-slung coffee table and a deep red Gubi chaise lounge, first created in 1951.
      DAB Studio sourced a range of furniture for the project”The clients’ love of both modernism and postmodernism was the starting point for our research,” said Bruns.
      DAB Studio made use of the home’s bay window by inserting a lumpy, vintage fruit-picking ladder into the space – a formerly utilitarian object from 1890, painted green and transformed into art for the project.
      A fruit-picking ladder functions as an art piece”The semi-circular window was a big challenge because it was too small to be functional and too big to leave empty,” considered Bruns.
      “The ladder’s colour complements the stained glass and the green background of the grass and trees in the garden,” she added.

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      Art features throughout the home, including in the timber-clad kitchen, where a red copper table lamp with a shaggy, gold-hued fringe illuminates the sleek worktop.
      Connected to the open-plan living room, the dining space was finished with a long, dark wood table, mustard-coloured silk curtains and bespoke glass ceiling panels.
      The timber-clad kitchen houses a contemporary red copper lamp”The interior has a free, creative spirit in which each element can stand on its own and be seen as art,” concluded Bruns.
      Founded in 2016 by Lotte and her partner Dennis Antonio Bruns, DAB Studio previously transformed the kitchen floors and ceilings of a family home in Zwaag, the Netherlands, with two types of wood.
      Also based in Amsterdam, Studio Modijefsky created a contemporary family home inside a local dijkhuis – a traditional Dutch dwelling set next to a dyke.
      The photography is by Alice Mesguich.

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      Marmol Radziner creates club space in modernist Park Avenue skyscraper

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      The third floor of the iconic Lever House skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan has been renovated by architecture firm Marmol Radziner to complement the building’s original modernist design.

      Marmol Radziner completed the interiors for the Lever Club within the office tower at 390 Park Avenue, which was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in the International style and completed in 1952.
      The entrance to Lever Club is lined with green marble flooring and soapstone wall panelsSOM finished restoring the building last year, after it was purchased by developers Brookfield Properties and WatermanClark in 2020, and Marmol Radziner worked on updating its communal spaces that had fallen into disrepair.
      “Lever House is a globally renowned architectural marvel, symbolising the era’s shift to modern skyscrapers,” said Marmol Radziner.
      The green hues used through the interior nod to the colour of the building’s curtain wall facade”Recognised with the prestigious Twenty-five Year Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the building remains an icon of architectural excellence,” the studio added.

      Originally a cafeteria and repurposed several times over the years, the third floor now serves as a lounge, bar and dining space that continues onto a terrace projecting from the tower’s elevated base.
      The club’s layout revolves around “a series of paneled volumes”Design cues were taken from SOM partner Gordon Bunshaft’s own residence, and other modernist masters, to create an interior that feels in keeping with the building’s history and architecture.
      “From the beginning, we felt that the design of Lever Club should feel like a sympathetic insertion within the iconic curtain wall of the building,” said Marmol Radziner partner Ron Radziner.
      The bar is bookended by rosewood volumes and backed by a screen from John Lewis GlassThe club is entered via a lobby area where floors and walls are covered in panels of green marble and soapstone, contrasted by a simple cuboid reception desk made from wood.
      Inside, the layout revolves around “a series of paneled volumes set within the glass perimeter, taking advantage of the views and access to the most superbly sited outdoor terrace in the city”, according to Radziner
      The dining area overlooks an expansive terrace on top of the building’s elevated baseThe marble flooring, which echoes the green hues of the building’s pioneering facade, extends into the lounge area where tone-matched carpet demarcates soft seating areas.
      Many of the armchairs and sofas are upholstered in a complementary green hue, while chocolate-coloured leather is used to cover other seating options such as bar stool and banquettes.
      The curved banquettes are wrapped in chocolate-brown leather”The furnishings, largely bespoke, respond to and soften the hard edges of the architecture with plush texture and rich tones most often seen in a residential setting,” Radziner said.
      Rosewood tables match the large vertical elements that bookend the bar, which is backed by a John Lewis Glass patterned screen.

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      Aluminium also appears as table bases and chair frames that echo the slender window mullions.
      “It was important to us that the design respond intelligently and reverently to the building while also creating a real sense of comfort, warmth, and luxury,” Radziner said.
      Aluminium chair frames echo the slender window mullionsThis isn’t the first time that Marmol Radziner has created interiors for a SOM-designed skyscraper – the firm was also behind the penthouse at Fifteen Fifty in San Francisco, which was temporarily turned into a collectible design gallery in 2021.
      Earlier this year, Marmol Radziner completed California’s tallest residential skyscraper in Downtown Los Angeles.
      Lever Club can be used by the building’s tenants during the day and at nightLever House is one of several Manhattan office towers from the mid to late 20th century to have been retrofitted in recent years, aiming to attract new tenants.
      Among them are the postmodern AT&T Building by Philip Johnson, which was rebranded as 550 Madison after it was overhauled by Snøhetta and its lobby was transformed by Gensler.
      The photography is by Scott Frances.

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      Rudy Guénaire draws on American modernism for Matsuri restaurant interior

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      French designer Rudy Guénaire has created the interiors of Japanese restaurant Matsuri in Paris, combining wooden furniture covered in lacquer with pastel-coloured domes informed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

      Located in Paris’ 16th arrondissement, the 200-square-metre restaurant was given a full redesign by Guénaire.
      As the menu focuses on “Japanese sushi from a Californian angle”, Guénaire drew on Japonisme – the Western fascination with Japanese design – for its interior.
      Matsuri is located in Paris’ 16th arrondissement”I drew on everything that has marked me from these two countries that I adore,” Guénaire, who runs Nightflight Studio, told Dezeen.
      “From Japan, I took this idea that fascinates me, which is that the Japanese frame everything,” he added.

      “As if everything had to be an island, firmly delimited by something that protects it and makes it unique.”
      Rudy Guénaire referenced American modernist design for the interiorThe American influence comes across in the shapes used to decorate the interior, which features colourful ceiling domes that are lit from the inside.
      “From California, I took these incredible obliques that make me melt,” Guénaire said. “The kind you find in Frank Lloyd Wright or John Lautner’s work.”
      “A slant that recalls the Native American tent, the primordial shelter,” he added.
      “American modernists loved Japan and sometimes, they’d never even been there. It’s this Japonism that I wanted to prolong.”
      The restaurant features Japanese postersAt the centre of Matsuri is the kaiten – conveyor belt – on which the sushi comes out. The designer used wood throughout the restaurant and covered it in lacquer for this centrepiece.
      “The kaiten is covered in high-gloss lacquer, reminiscent of the beautiful lacquer worshipped by the Chinese and then the Japanese,” he said.
      “I used wood throughout because in Japan, everything is made of wood, that’s just the way it is and has to be!”
      The central kaiten was covered in glossy lacquerPastel-hued domes decorate the ceiling above the kaiten, creating soft lighting and adding a touch of colour to the mainly white and wood interior.
      “For the ceiling, I think I got the idea from the amazing ceiling of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Penfield House,” Guénaire said.
      “I used industrial skydomes that I turned upside down and lit from the inside.”

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      The colour was toned down to create the right atmosphere for the restaurant.
      “We set up a sophisticated lighting system with very subtle colour control,” Guénaire added.
      “I chose cheerful, very American colour bases, and then, we subtly desaturated them to approach the Japanese aesthetic where nothing is ever garish.”
      Guénaire added pastel-coloured domes to the ceilingGuénaire also designed chairs for Matsuri that draw on those found in traditional Izakayas – Japanese pubs – though he says the original ones don’t correspond to his memories of them.
      “While searching for photos of Izakaya, I never found this chair shape,” the designer said.
      “Yet, as I recall, it’s exactly this chair that I’ve seen everywhere. All small and cute,” he added.
      “Maybe that’s what Japonism is all about. You invent a lot when you think you’re bringing back memories.”
      The designer created chairs that reference Izakaya furnitureThe interior of Matsuri, which is part of a restaurant chain founded in 1986 by a French-Japanese couple, is also decorated with old posters brought back from Japan.
      “We always have friends coming back from Japan. We asked them for a little help!” Guénaire said.
      Other Japanese restaurants on Dezeen include a sushi restaurant and sake bar with oxblood tiles and the Aragawa steakhouse selling “UK’s most expensive steak”.
      The photography is by Ludovic Balay.

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      BoND’s PatBo Miami boutique features soft curves and floral touches

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      New York studio BoND has created a “feminine, organic” interior for Brazilian brand PatBo’s store in Miami Design District, complete with a dramatic sweeping staircase.

      The two-level retail space was designed by BoND following the studio’s work on the PatBo headquarters in Manhattan, which opened last year.
      The ground floor space at PatBo’s Miami store features tall ceilings, terrazzo flooring and sculptural displaysThe team took a similarly soft, feminine approach in the Miami flagship, pairing white and pale pink with rich woods and brass accents.
      “The new store is an artful and site-specific reinterpretation of the feminine, organic aesthetic that is synonymous with the brand’s stores in Brazil,” said BoND.
      A ribbon-like balustrade follows the staircase up through the store, circling oversized silk flowers by Hana FormEntering under a dramatic arched canopy, customers find themselves within a tall, bright space featuring terrazzo flooring, geometric wooden display plinths and brass rails.

      Hints of green marble can be spied in custom furniture pieces, as well as the stair treads and risers hidden behind a solid, ribbon-like guardrail.
      An arched opening leads through to bright coral-coloured fitting roomsAn arched opening beside the register leads into a bright, coral-coloured changing area, where terracotta tiles cover the floor.
      The staircase glides up the curved back wall of the store, and rises through a gap in the upper floor plate, around which the balustrade circles back on itself.
      Darker woods and carpet create a more intimate atmosphere on the upper level”A winding white and green marble staircase serves as a focal point of the space connecting visitors to the second-floor salon and dressing area,” said the studio.
      Curved wood panels and caramel-coloured carpet provide a more intimate atmosphere upstairs, exaggerated by the lower ceiling height.
      The warmly lit fitting rooms on the upper level are lined with curved wood panelsThe brass railings continue, whereas the coral fitting rooms are swapped for wood-lined chambers with curved corners and warm lighting.
      “An overarching geometry of soft curves is a running thread that ties all spaces together,” the studio said.

      BoND uses pink scaffolding at New York “embassy” for fashion brand PatBo

      Furniture pieces including Frank Gehry’s Wiggle chair, a green marble coffee table and a curved grey sofa form a seating area for customers to relax while they shop.
      Overhead are a pair of oversized silk flowers by artist Hana Form, which also appear on the ground floor suspended through the staircase void.
      Green marble appears behind the facade, as well as on the staircase and custom furniture insideBoND also created a facade of pale pink wooden slats to help the building to stand out in the Miami Design District, where brands are encouraged to get creative with their frontages.
      A Louis Vuitton store wrapped in a diamond-patterned facade by Marcel Wanders and a Kengo Kuma-designed block of sculptural buildings are among other examples.
      BoND wrapped the store exterior in pale pink wood slats to help it stand out in the Miami Design DistrictBoND was founded by Noam Dvir and Daniel Rauchwerger, whose studio has also completed a bold yellow scheme for a men’s apparel store in New York.
      The firm’s other projects include the renovation of a mid-century Sears Catalog kit house in Fire Island Pines and a Manhattan hair salon featuring wooden frames and moveable styling stations.
      The photography is by Studio Pyg.

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