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      Sleeper turns Kyiv shoe factory into eclectic headquarters

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      Ukrainian architects Veronika Arutunyan and Olga Malyshenko have transformed the interior of a former factory in Kyiv into meeting and manufacturing spaces for fashion label Sleeper.

      Sleeper completed the conversion of three floors inside the 1940s industrial at the end of 2021 – months prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
      The brand’s HQ is inside an old factoryUkrainian architects Arutunyan and Malyshenko worked with Sleeper founders Kate Zubareva and Asya Varetsa on the remodelling of the interior, which was geared towards both the productivity and well-being of the company’s team.
      “Sleeper’s vision completely animated this fading industrial building in the historical part of Podil,” said Arutunyan.
      The designers fitted out the interior to accomodate specialist machineryThe workspaces, breakout areas, meeting rooms, dedicated manufacturing rooms and specialist photography studio all contain homely touches, such as soft seating, coffee tables and mismatched chairs.

      “We’re not big fans of fast fashion or corporatised, artificially-created design,” explained Sleeper co-founder Zubareva.
      “Instead, we wanted to create a place where people would feel comfortable.”
      Interiors were furnished with assorted designer furnishings from a range of design periodsAntiques and retro items are scattered throughout, with notable examples including cantilevered Marcel Breuer-designed armchairs, a 1960s chair brought from a hotel in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, and a pair of red 1970s art nouveau chiclet armchairs designed by Ray Wilkes for Herman Miller.
      “The designers referenced the mid-twentieth-century aesthetic of celebration halls and scientific institutes, with their simple futuristic forms,” the brand commented.

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      The adaptive reuse of the building allowed for original features – such as parquet floors and high ceilings – to be preserved, while providing the Sleeper team with necessary specialised facilities.
      Flexible layouts were designed to accommodate the brand’s growing team and allow for expansion, as well as its need for specialised amenities associated with clothing production.
      The interior has a neutral colour palette punctuated with pops of colourIn addition to aesthetic considerations, the designers ensured that the team was provided with ample facilities to carry out a wide range of tasks.
      A photo studio, meeting spaces, silent room, changing rooms and lounge spaces, in addition to manufacturing rooms, were created to ensure that each step of the creative process could be facilitated comfortably.
      Contrasting furniture was chosen to make the space feel more domesticSleeper is a fashion brand that designs and creates high-end sleepwear intended to be used both in the home and on the street, according to the label.
      The company has clothed notable actors, singers and celebrity personalities including Lily James, Katy Perry, Emma Roberts, Kendall Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian among others.
      Areas dedicated to garment production are clear-cutThe production of garments at the brand’s Kyiv atelier has been temporarily paused due to the war in Ukraine, which has damaged over 140 heritage sites in the country since the invasion by Russia in February 2022.
      Sleeper’s team has partially returned to their headquarters in the capital, with the remainder of its team working remotely in other parts of the world.
      “We have no doubts that the Sleeper’s home should be located in Ukraine, the country where the brand was born,” the brand told Dezeen.
      Glass walls allow natural light to enter all spacesOther reuse projects that feature on Dezeen include Chinese pastry brand Lao Ding Feng’s headquarters in a former warehouse by Neri&Hu, and a radio station in an old furniture store by Atelier38.
      The photography is by Andrey Bezuglov.

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      Coordination merges Berlin attic apartments to create artsy penthouse

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      Design studio Coordination has combined two attic apartments into a single penthouse in Berlin, crafting its interiors around the owner’s art collection.

      The formerly separate attic apartments were added to the 19th-century residential building in the 1990s. By bringing them together, Coordination created a spacious penthouse of 131 square metres, with a floorplan that is split into a private and a public zone.
      Coordination has designed a penthouse in BerlinThe latter houses the kitchen, which is finished with dark wooden cabinetry to complement a moody 17th-century portrait displayed in the adjacent dining area.
      Here, there’s a large oval table supported by two concave legs, while amorphous pink, orange and berry-red pendant lights are suspended from the ceiling.
      The apartment’s owner can showcase ornaments on a custom shelving unitDividing these two spaces is what appears to be an oversized marble island but is actually a part of the apartment below that juts into the penthouse.

      Rather than trying to obscure this structure, Coordination has made it into a display plinth for the owner’s sculpture collection.
      Blue walls in the bedroom nod to the maritime-themed artwork on displayA tall brass-edged glass door grants access to the more private section of the home, where the living room can be found. Its walls are rendered in very pale green, drawing on the colours of an 18th-century painting of Christ and the Virgin Mary that’s mounted above the sofa.
      The same shade of green was applied to the base of a bespoke floor-to-ceiling shelf, where the owner can showcase different ornaments. A niche was also added to house their piano.

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      In the bedroom, surfaces were painted blue in reference to the various maritime artworks on show here.
      Turquoise-coloured storage was installed in the dressing room and a navy feature panel fitted behind the sink in the bathroom.
      Turquoise storage was installed in the adjacent dressing roomBerlin-based Coordination was founded in 2004 by Flip Sellin and Jochen Gringmuth.
      The studio isn’t the only one to take a client’s private collection into consideration when designing their home.
      In London, Gianni Botsford Architects devised a corten-steel extension to accommodate the owner’s curated selection of photographs, prints and lithographs, while over in Amsterdam i29 added double-height shelving to an apartment to show off the owner’s vast array of books and art objects.
      The photography is by Anne Deppe.
      Project credits:
      Architecture: CoordinationInterior concept: Flip SellinTeam: Chikako Sakamoto, Theresa OttoPartners: Vorschub, Greendom, Steinzeit BerlinProject management: Lena KramerFurniture design: Flip Sellin, Max WosczynaLighting concept: Coordination, Weißpunkt und purpurStyling: Nici Theuerkauf

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      Design + Health exhibition in Valencia highlights importance of design in the health sector

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      Promotion: exhibited as part of World Design Capital Valencia 2022, the Design + Health exhibition showcases the influence of design on advancements in science and medicine.

      Presented at the Valencian Museum of Enlightenment and Modernity (MuVIM) in Spain, the exhibition aims to illustrate how design has been used in the health sector to improve people’s wellbeing.
      The exhibition takes place from 11 November 2022 to 16 April 2023, during Valencia’s tenure as the World Design Capital 2022.
      The exhibition is part of World Design Capital Valencia 2022The Design + Health exhibition combines research from various design industries, including architecture, interiors, industrial design, graphic communication and fashion.
      Organised into 25 themes, the display outlines the progression of science and medicine by reviewing past disciplines, analysing current practices and illustrating future possibilities.

      The exhibition examines the impact of design within the health sector”Design in itself cannot cure anything, but neither could a vaccine if we did not have a syringe to inject it with,” said exhibition curator Ramón Úbeda.
      “Designing is part of the solution, it is not an added value but rather intrinsic to the development of any innovation for the social good.”
      It covers designs from a range of industries, including architecture, interiors and fashionThe exhibition contains over 500 examples of design for health, including creations from renowned designers and architects such as Charles and Ray Eames, Barber Osgerby, Philippe Starck, Yves Béhar, Nendo, Piero Lissoni, Matali Crasset, Benjamin Hubert, Raw Color and Tokujin Yoshioka.
      On display for the first time in Spain is the Emergency Bike, an electric bicycle design currently being tested in Paris.
      The bike was created by creative agency Wunderman Thompson to allow doctors to cut through road traffic and reach medical emergencies faster.
      The exhibition contains over 500 examples of health product designsOne of the aims of the display was to promote design for the health sector, which is often overlooked compared to designs that are more prominently featured in magazines, such as furniture and lighting.
      “This is probably one of the most ambitious exhibitions in the entire programme of Valencia World Design Capital 2022,” said Xavi Calvo, general director of the year-long programme.
      On display is a medical electric bike”The open, witty and didactic nature of this exhibition will bring society as a whole closer to such familiar and vital issues as health and the search for wellbeing,” Calvo continued.
      The exhibition concludes with the screening of the documentary The Hospital of the Future, which was created by Dutch architecture studio OMA.
      Design + Health exhibition takes place at the Valencian Museum of Enlightenment and Modernity, Valencia, Spain from 11 November 2022 to 16 April 2023 as part of World Design Capital Valencia 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
      Partnership content
      This article was written by Dezeen for World Design Capital Valencia 2022 as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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      Remedy Place in Manhattan is designed to “bring back hospitality into healthcare”

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      Sculptural decor, soft furniture and warm tones feature in this wellness centre in New York City, created by Remedy Places’ in-house team as an antidote to traditional medical facilities.

      Remedy Place is a membership-based health and wellness club situated within a 7,200-square-foot space in the Flatiron District of Manhattan.
      Remedy Place is a members wellness club in Manhattan”Our goal with every club is to bring back hospitality into healthcare and give an unparalleled experience like no other place in the world in our category,” Remedy Place cofounder Jonathan Leary told Dezeen.
      “I wanted to create a club that positively enhances your physiology from the moment you walk in the door, from the aromatic rituals to the minimalistic and balanced design, materials, layout, furniture and lighting – it all has purpose behind it.”
      The reception is centred around a potted treeAccording to Leary, the design is meant to have a positive effect on member wellness.

      “It is designed to heal,” Leary explained. “Most health spaces such as hospitals and clinics have a negative physiological effect on the body – there’s something called ‘white coat syndrome’ where your body tenses up, heart rate increases,” he said.
      “If you are not well and you enter an environment that is further having a negative impact on your body it only makes things worse,” he continued.
      “Having an understanding of human psychology and physiology and then applying it to the design has made a huge impact and people feel it when they’re in the club.”
      It has wooden furniture and sculptural decorMembers enter Remedy Place through a reception clad with walls of Venetian plaster that has dark-coloured leather seats arranged around a potted tree in the middle of the room.
      On one side of the space, a bar serving healthy snacks is positioned opposite diner-style tables with bell-shaped pendant lamps above, while wooden shelving units filled with sculptural ornaments line the walls.
      The walls are Venetian plasterOn the other side, a separate exercise room filled with yoga mats is enclosed in a glass box.
      Running around the periphery of the room are floor-to-ceiling curtains in a dark grey hue, which can be drawn to keep the room out of view from the bustling lobby.

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      As well as offering chiropractic movement classes, the space houses everything from acupuncture baths, vitamin drips, a lymphatic infrared sauna and ice baths.
      At the core of the design is a focus on providing health and wellness services for its members in a social environment. Lounges spread across the two-storey club can be used for work, gatherings or events.
      Meanwhile, walls throughout the rest of the club are punctured by circular openings to promote interaction.
      Several lounges and seating areas are dotted throughout”Everything in the club, although you can do it by yourself, is designed to be experienced with someone else. We call it ‘social self-care’,” Leary said.
      “We believe human connection is the most important form of self-care so we offer experiences that are ‘social substitutions’,” he continued.
      “This is a new way to date, take meetings, hang out after work, have your birthday or even have a full-blown event.”
      Circular openings punctuate the wallsRemedy Place is just one of many a number of spaces that have popped up recently around the world in response to the growing demand for improved mental, spiritual or physical health.
      The Manhattan location builds on the ethos found in its West Hollywood branch, which has a similarly dark colour scheme and plush furnishings.
      Among them are Open Hearts by AB+AC Architects, a multifunctional wellness centre in Lisbon that doubles up as an artists’ residence and a lakeside retreat in Ontario by DesignAgency.
      The photography is courtesy of Remedy Place.

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      Dezeen's top 10 shop interiors of 2022

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      A fashion store filled with pillows and a furniture showroom that looks more like a luxury apartment are among our pick of the best shop interiors of the year, in the next instalment of Dezeen’s review of 2022.

      Designers continued to play with retail conventions this year, and 2022’s roundup of shop interiors also featuring a supermarket-style second-hand book store and a cosmetics brand outlet modelled on a 1970s office.
      Read on for Dezeen’s top 10 shop interiors of 2022:
      Photo by Michael RygaardGarde Hvalsøe Aarhus, Denmark, by Bunn Studio
      This showroom, for Danish cabinet maker Garde Hvalsøe, was designed by New York practice Bunn Studio to look more like a grand apartment than a retail space.

      Housed in a majestic Renaissance building in Aarhus, the interior showcases the brand’s signature handcrafted kitchens and walk-in wardrobes alongside other domestic furniture.
      The idea was to help customers visualise how the cabinets would look in their own homes.
      Find out more about Garde Hvalsøe Aarhus ›
      Photo by Hu YanyunDeja Vu Recycle Store, China, by Offhand Practice
      Dezeen’s most-viewed retail interior of 2022 is a store in Shanghai that puts a new spin on second-hand shopping.
      Intending to counter the “shabby” image associated with flea markets, local studio Offhand Practice created an interior featuring supermarket-style crates and minimalist railings, displaying pre-owned books and fashion.
      The design was named large retail interior of the year at Dezeen Awards 2022.
      Find out more about Deja Vu Recycle Store ›
      Photo by Benoit FlorençonJacquemus Shop-in-Shop, France, by AMO
      French accessories brand Jacquemus unveiled one of its most playful retail interiors to date in 2022, designed by OMA’s design and research studio, AMO.
      Pillows form everything from wall coverings to display stands in this 60-square-metre boutique, located in department store Galeries Lafayette Haussmann.
      OMA partner Ellen van Loon told Dezeen she wanted to create “a cocooning and relaxed atmosphere, inviting customers to lounge and browse for as long as they want”.
      Find out more about Jacquemus Shop-in-Shop ›
      Photo by Alex LysakowskiThe Annex, Canada, by Superette
      Marijuana retailer Superette opened another of its retro-style stores in 2022, this time in the Annex neighbourhood of Toronto.
      Superette, which is French for “mini supermarket”, has created a nostalgic feel in all of its shops. Here, the brand’s in-house team modelled the design on an Italian deli, with chequerboard flooring, vintage-style posters and tiled surfaces.
      Find out more about The Annex ›
      Photo by Maris MezulisCowboy, France, by Ciguë
      French design studio Ciguë had a car-free future in mind when designing this retail outlet for electric bicycle brand Cowboy.
      Located in Paris department store Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, the shop features a winding concrete walkway reminiscent of a cycle path, surrounded by areas of crushed earth.
      Roughly hewn limestone provides seating, while the walls are covered in raw earth.
      Find out more about Cowboy ›
      Photo by HandoverMONC, UK, by Nina+Co
      Sustainable materials play an important role inside this debut store for eyewear brand MONC, designed by Nina+Co.
      The entire interior is formed of either bio-based or recycled materials, on the basis that the brand only had the London retail space on a short-term lease. These include cornstarch foam, which forms the undulating ceiling and display shelves.
      This circular design ethos led to the project being named small retail interior of the year at Dezeen Awards 2022.
      Find out more about MONC ›
      Photo courtesy of DuratDurat Showroom, Finland, by Linda Bergroth
      Finnish designer Linda Bergroth chose bold colour combinations in her design for the Helsinki showroom of tile manufacturer Durat.
      Almost every element in the 100-square-metre showroom is formed of Durat’s terrazzo-like surface material, which is made from plastic waste and is 100 per cent recyclable.
      The most eye-catching colour pairings include salmon-pink and mustard, and apple-green with bright orange.
      Find out more about Durat Showroom ›
      Photo courtesy of HarmayHarmay Hangzhou, China, by AIM Architecture
      Chinese office AIM Architecture has designed a series of interiors for cosmetics brand Harmay, but the most imaginative so far is this one in Hangzhou, which is modelled on a 1970s office.
      The design draws on its setting in the Renzo Piano-designed OōEli business park. The space features a wool carpet and suspended ceiling tiles, with products displayed on desks, meeting tables and bookshelves.
      Find out more about Harmay Hangzhou ›
      Photo by Felix SpellerCubitts Leeds, UK, by Child Studio
      Different design periods combine in this store in Leeds, designed by Child Studio for British eyewear brand Cubitts.
      Set in a historic shopping mall that boasts pink marble columns and mosaic ceilings, the shop features Victorian-style joinery, a mid-century counter, an Eileen Gray-designed modernist lamp and an art-deco-style bakelite clock.
      Find out more about Cubitts Leeds ›
      Photo by Sharon RadischJonathan Simkhai, USA, by Aruliden
      Irregular, overlapping arches wrapped in soft-toned fabric defined shopping areas in this temporary installation for fashion brand Jonathan Simkhai in New York City.
      Created by design agency Aruliden, the interior drew on the geometric shapes and signature cut-outs of the brand’s clothing.
      Find out more about Jonathan Simkhai ›

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      Design Brut: Philia & Kids showcases sculptural furniture designed by “rather wise” children

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      Designers Antoine Behaghel and Alexis Foiny have created sculptural olive wood furniture based solely on drawings by children for a Galerie Philia exhibition.

      Design Brut: Philia & Kids is the inaugural programme of a non-profit initiative conceived by international art gallery Galerie Philia that aims to engage children in design.
      Design Brut: Philia & Kids was an exhibition on display in ParisThe project’s first edition invited 19 kids from a primary school in the Breil-sur-Roya village in France to design sculptural furniture that was exhibited at Espace Meyer Zafra in Paris from November until last week.
      Informed by the late French painter Jean Dubuffet, the initiative is named after art brut – or “raw art” – Dubuffet’s name for art created outside of academic limitations, such as art made by children.
      The furniture was constructed using children’s drawingsParticipants aged six to seven took part in a workshop over five months, where they were asked to draw their own interpretations of sculptural design under the supervision of BehaghelFoiny Studio founders Antoine Behaghel and Alexis Foiny and their teacher Virgile Ganne.

      The drawings range from a crocodile-like bench to colourful dining chairs and spikier, more abstract forms.
      “Several shepherds’ children drew hooves on the legs of the furniture, or horns on the backs of the chairs,” noticed Behaghel and Foiny.
      “Others, living near olive groves and the surrounding forest, drew leaves and branches on their furniture,” they told Dezeen.
      Nineteen children took part in the projectThe designers explained that they encouraged the kids to “assert their own creativity” as well as observe their classmates’ drawings and borrow forms from each other to make the design experience collaborative.
      “Against all odds, we realised that, when faced with furniture design, the children’s first intentions were rather wise, and copied the shapes of furniture they saw every day,” they said.
      Antoine Behaghel and Alexis Foiny constructed the furniture from olive woodAfter this, Behaghel and Foiny sorted the drawings into different furniture typologies including tables, chairs, stools, coat racks and pedestal tables, as well as categorising the creations by “spirits and styles”.
      The pair then worked with a cabinetmaker in Breil-sur-Roya to bring the drawings to life by making physical furniture out of local olive wood.
      “In some places, we shrank or enlarged the silhouettes drawn by the children, to better distribute the weight,” noted the designers.

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      During this process, the children were taken on a tour of a local sawmill and shown every stage of the production process in order to familiarise them with carpentry.
      Behaghel and Foiny explained that olive wood was chosen for its cultural significance to Breil-sur-Roya, which is known as the “pays des oliviers” (olive tree country).
      The designers painted the material in various colourful shades that aimed to subtly tint, rather than conceal, its veiny surface.
      “It seemed to us very relevant to associate the intervention of very young children wiht a thousand-year-old wood!” noted the designers.
      The pieces range from recognisable silhouettes to more abstract formsThe pair hopes that the workshop will have taught the children about the importance of furniture design while showcasing their personal creativity without limitations.
      “In the end, the children’s drawings showed a real spontaneity,” reflected Behaghel and Foiny.
      “They are both free from technical reflexes and therefore led us to take risks and at the same time detached from the aesthetic automatisms that we impose on ourselves more or less consciously as professional designers,” they added.
      “They led us to extract ourselves from standardisation of tastes and beauty, to play more with imbalances and proportions.”
      Subtle colour was used to brighten each wooden pieceThis is not the first time that children have tried their hand at chair design. Third and fourth graders at a school in New York have designed a number of seating collections under the supervision of art instructor Bruce Edelstein, including chairs with horns and other wooden seats.
      The photography is by Maison Mouton Noir. 
      Design Brut: Philia & Kids was on display at Espace Meyer Zafra from 10 November to 8 December 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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      Dezeen's top 10 restaurant and bar interiors of 2022

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      For the latest roundup in Dezeen’s review of 2022, we have selected 10 restaurant and bar interiors published this year, including a coastal cocktail bar in Italy and a space-themed cafe in South Korea.

      This year’s roundup 0f restaurant and bar interiors also features a European-influenced eatery in a palatial hotel in Salt Lake City, a bar with floors that were designed to look like the flooded streets of Venice and a monochromatic Chinese restaurant.
      Read on for 10 restaurants and bars we covered in 2022:
      Photo by Edmund DabneySketch, UK, by Yinka Shonibare and India Mahdavi
      Artist Yinka Shonibare and architect India Mahdavi replaced the famous pale pink interior of London restaurant Sketch with warm, golden yellows and textured materials.

      “I didn’t want everybody to ask me what the new colour at the gallery is and therefore, I really worked on textures and materials that are evocative of the richness of Africa,” said Mahdavi. “Warmth is the new colour at Sketch.”
      Find out more about Sketch ›
      Photo by Brian W FerryLaurel Brasserie and Bar, US, by Home Studios
      Designed by Brooklyn-based architecture and interiors practice Home Studios, the Laurel Brasserie and Bar is a restaurant inside Salt Lake City’s The Grand America Hotel.
      The hotel was built in a palatial style and includes interiors based on classic European designs. Home Studios retained the brasserie’s European influences but added a contemporary look, incorporating bold and colourful areas to suit family-style dining.
      Find out more about Laurel Brasserie and Bar ›
      Photo by Gregory AbbatePiada, France, by Masquespacio
      Spanish interior design studio Masquespacio used design elements from traditional Italian restaurants to inform the interior of this Italian eatery in the French city of Lyon.
      Booth seating in hues of lilac and nude line the restaurant between wooden tables, chairs and tiled mint-green walls and floors.
      Find out more about Piada ›
      Photo by Peter Paul de Meijer/Eline WillaertBlueness, Belgium, by Space Copenhagen
      In Antwerp, interior design studio Space Copenhagen combined original carved sandstone and marble columns with contemporary Scandinavian furniture to decorate Blueness, a French and Japanese-influenced restaurant.
      A custom bar crafted from red walnut wood by Brussels and Antwerp-based design studio Destroyers Builders was inserted into the space and paired with brushed steel surfaces, dark wooden barstools and a cast aluminium waiter’s station.
      Find out more about Blueness ›
      Photo by Carlo OrienteCivico 29, Italy, by Gae Avitabile
      Ocean blues, wave-like forms and nautical materials fill the interior of Civico 29, a coastal cocktail bar by architect Gae Avitabile in the seafront town of Sperlonga in Italy.
      An aluminium mesh curtain that moves as wind blows through the bar lines two walls of the space and complements a waving, blue-to-white gradient bar that references the nearby ocean and sits at the centre of the space on top of dark red-and-white floor tiles.
      Find out more about Civico 29 ›
      Photo by Jeremie Warshafsky PhotographyBao, China, by StuidoAC
      Canadian design firm StudioAC used a skewed perspective to draw visitors’ eyes to the open kitchen at the rear of this micro-cement-lined Chinese restaurant.
      Cubic and rectilinear tables and benches were similarly clad in micro-cement and line the walls of the restaurant beneath rows of vertical vinyl blinds that were concealed within bulkheads but visible enough to provide a shimmering, sequin-like look.
      Find out more about Bao ›
      Photo by PION studioSyrena Irena, Poland, by Projekt Praga
      Set within a 1950s building in the centre of Warsaw, Syrene Irena bistro designed by Polish architecture firm Projekt Praga combines contemporary and mid-century features.
      The self-serve restaurant uses mid-century design references such as terrazzo-style tables, neon signs and frosted glass sconces to nod to the building’s history as well as the restaurant’s nostalgic menu.
      Find out more about Syrena Irena ›
      Photo by Piotr MaciaszekVa Bene Cicchetti, Poland, by Noke Architects
      Designed by Polish architecture and design studio Noke Architects, Va Bene Cicchetti is an Italian bar in Warsaw informed by Venice that serves drinks and small plates.
      The bar is accessed via an arched doorway that is lined with antique mirrors. Inside a monolithic, red travertine bar is surrounded by hues of red and gold in a nod to the colours of the Venetian flag. The floors of the bar and the bases of chairs were coloured in a sea-like shade of turquoise that aimed to recreate the look of the flooded streets of the Italian archipelago.
      Find out more about Va Bene Cicchetti ›
      Photo by Yevhenii AvramenkoTerra, Ukraine, by YOD Group
      Glass bricks, large columns, terracotta tiles and coppery hues define this restaurant interior in Vynnyky, Ukraine, designed by YOD Group. Named Terra, the restaurant borrows its colour and material palette from the surrounding rolling hills and lake.
      “We aimed to extract colours, textures and impressions from the landscape to translate them into the interior design language,” said the studio. “Like the eyedropper tool in Photoshop, but on a real-life scale, we designed the space to mirror its surroundings.”
      Find out more about Terra ›
      Photo by Yongjoon ChoiSik Mul Sung, South Korea, by Unseenbird
      Sik Mul Sung is a space-age-themed cafe in downtown Seoul, South Korea. Designed by South Korean studio Unseenbird, it incorporates sheets of stainless steel wrapped across the walls, countertops and fixtures.
      The metallic surfaces are contrasted against a red pebble floor and spacey decorative rocks, while a glass-fronted vitrine is a focal point at the cafe and is used to grow vegetables in a vertical farming system.
      Find out more about Sik Mul Sung ›

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      Oak-lined boxes delineate living spaces at Bureau Fraai's Panorama Penthouse

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      Architecture office Bureau Fraai used freestanding wooden volumes to organise the interior of this penthouse in the Netherlands, preserving panoramic views of the surroundings from within the living areas.

      The 300-square-metre Panorama Penthouse occupies the upper floor of a former office building in the South Holland region that was converted into a high-end residential development.
      The penthouse has large open-plan living spacesBureau Fraai was asked to develop a proposal for the apartment’s interior that would optimise views through its glazed facades towards the sea on one side and the city on another.
      “We believe the only way to experience the panoramic views at the fullest was by getting rid of walls obstructing the facades and therefore decided to introduce an open floor plan concept,” Bureau Fraai cofounder Daniel Aw told Dezeen.
      Oak-lined boxes separate spacesInstead of compartmentalising the penthouse into a series of cellular rooms, the architects introduced freestanding oak structures that are removed from the facade to maintain views throughout the interior.

      “This way, the surroundings are always present in every part of the penthouse, making you fully aware of the changing colours of the seasons, the tides and of the sunrise and sunset that are never the same,” the studio added.
      The apartment layout optimises panoramic viewsThe four timber-clad volumes contain private functions including a study and a sauna, as well as the main bedroom’s bathroom and walk-in closet.
      The sequence of wooden boxes are arranged along one side of a hallway leading from the entrance to the main communal areas. This configuration helps create a semi-porous partition between the corridor and the two bedrooms.
      A private study is located in one of the timber-clad boxesFully glazed steel sliding doors integrated into the oak volumes can be closed if physical separation from the hall is required. Curtains and solid pocket doors allow the bedrooms to be visually closed off from the rest of the apartment at nighttime.
      The penthouse’s interior features a neutral palette with white or light-grey floors, ceilings and walls chosen to enhance the connection with the surroundings.

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      The pale oak wood used for the freestanding joinery aims to provide a warm and natural complement to the dunes and beaches that are visible through the adjacent glazed facades.
      Cabinetry in the kitchen and dining room at the far end of the property has a muted, grey finish intended to echo the distant city skyline.
      A library ladder provides access to upper level storage spaceThe common areas are configured as a trio of separate but linked spaces comprising the raised living area, a media and lounge room, and the dining area and kitchen.
      Sliding doors incorporated into the glazed walls provide direct access from each of these spaces to the large decked terraces.
      At the centre of the apartment is a long, rectangular volume containing storage, technical equipment, a toilet and a second bathroom.
      Glazed facades provide views of the sea and the cityThe ceiling height at one end of this volume reaches 4.75 metres, allowing space for a mezzanine level that provides additional storage and a lookout point for observing the rest of the apartment.
      The high ceilings extend through to the media room, which contains full-height bookshelves with a library ladder providing access to the upper storage areas.
      The apartment has a neutral colour paletteBureau Fraai was founded in 2014 by architects Rikjan Scholten and Daniel Aw. The Amsterdam-based studio aims to produce timeless, one-of-a-kind architectural projects inspired by their context and the client’s unique requirements.
      The firm’s previous work includes the conversion of a building in central Amsterdam into high-end apartments featuring a strong contrast of light and dark colours. The project was longlisted in the apartment interior category of Dezeen Awards 2022.

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