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    Functional Creative Design refreshes NeueHouse co-working space in New York

    Functional Creative Design founder Sarah A Abdallah has revamped the interiors of members’ club NeueHouse in Manhattan, turning the front of the space into a restaurant that can easily become a stage for events.

    The New York-based designer and consultant returned to refresh NeueHouse, having first worked on the project with Rockwell Group in 2014.
    A circular bar serves NeueHouse members throughout the dayA member of the creative co-working space herself, Abdallah used her knowledge of the place and extensive experience in hospitality design to renovate the interior as it approached its 10-year mark.
    Conversations about the project began pre-pandemic, and the restrictions enacted as a result ended up guiding portions of the design.
    Various seating options are offered to the side of the Spanish stepsMajor changes to the space included converting the front area into a restaurant, which is used for dining, informal meetings and as a workspace during the day.

    At night, this spot becomes a stage for speakers or performers, who form part of a robust events program.
    A new cafe and retail space features walnut millwork”Space planning for this particular area was very key to insuring people felt safe, also I had to be sure we were compliant with NYC regulations that were changing weekly,” Abdallah told Dezeen.
    With this need for flexibility in mind, the designers installed lightweight banquettes from Danish brand Menu that can be unclipped and easily moved by staff.
    Furniture like marble-topped tables is easily moveable so that the space can be transformed for eventsThese are accompanied by two-top tables with violet-hued marble surfaces, where members can “grab a tea and laptop and have their own morning ritual”.
    The restaurant faces a set of Spanish steps, which form areas for casual work and act as an amphitheatre of seats during events.
    The bathrooms are designed as elevated spaces for hand-washing ritualsThese were updated with new metal details, walnut veneer, custom pillows and tables for laptops or drinks.
    “We added small round tables by Bernhardt Design at the bottom steps and cluster stools by Suite NY so this could also be an extension of the restaurant as well,” said Abdallah. “Two people could sit together for a drink and small plates.”
    Floor-to-ceiling marble was added to bathroom areasTo the left is further seating that serves as a cafe during the day and a wine bar at night, including a custom banquette built into the side of the steps.
    The circular bar, designed as a freestanding sculptural element, is faced in leather padding and topped with a green marble counter.
    Two matching high-top tables in front allow members to gather and circulate as they wish, while a variety of seating options are available beyond.

    NeueHouse opens Los Angeles co-working space inside landmarked Bradbury Building

    Behind the Spanish steps is a new cafe and retail area, organized around a walnut island.
    In the bathrooms, floor-to-ceiling marble was added in the stalls and behind the urinals, and wood panelling also creates an elevated residential-like environment.
    “Hand washing became an essential ritual to our health during the pandemic and so we wanted to also elevate the bathrooms to allow members to take more time to look in the mirror, be in gratitude and also take in the design details,” Abdallah said.
    Abdallah used her experience in hospitality design to give all spaces a welcoming feelThe designer previously worked on projects including the Park Hyatt in Washington DC, the Intercontinental Hotels in Cairo and Geneva, and 15 Hudson Yards in NYC before founding Functional Creative Design.
    NeueHouse also operates three locations in Los Angeles, including one inside the landmarked Bradbury Building, while a fifth has been announced for Miami.
    Dezeen hosted a series of talks with the company in 2022, including a conversation about the metaverse and another focused on Afrofuturism.
    The photography is by Ball & Albanese.

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    Neri&Hu inserts shed into old lane house for Blue Bottle Coffee shop in Shanghai

    Chinese studio Neri&Hu has inserted a stainless-steel shed into a Shanghainese lane house for Blue Bottle Coffee’s latest cafe in Shanghai, which opened to the public last week.

    Located in Zhangyuan in one of the area’s 140-year-old traditional Shikumen mansions, Neri&Hu’s design for the coffee shop aims to evoke “an intimate and nostalgic experience and bring back the memories of ‘home’.”
    The Blue Bottle coffee shop is located in an old Shanghainese lane houseShikumen, also known as lane houses, is a traditional type of Shanghainese house that was popularised during the 19th century. They usually feature high brick walls that enclose a small front yard, with residential units arranged close to one another in narrow alleys.
    For this project, Shanghai-based Neri&Hu kept the existing brick walls, wooden doors and windows of the original architectural facades but replaced the interior wooden structure with concrete.
    A shed made of stainless steel at the centre of the cafe is used as a coffee barThe formerly separate units in the building were removed to form a large open space for the cafe. A stainless-steel shed was erected at the centre of the space to serve as the main coffee bar area.

    The structure of the shed was built with brushed, perforated and bent stainless steel to maximise the transparency of the space and contrast the heavy palette of the existing architecture.

    Keiji Ashizawa designs Blue Bottle Coffee shop for “cave-like space” in Maebashi hotel

    The areas around the bar hold seating arrangements including long benches, low stone tables, wooden stools, and vintage walnut furniture, which were chosen to reflect the traditional lifestyle in Shikumen.
    Neri&Hu also nodded to the informal constructions that people living in Shikumen houses used to extend their private spaces into the alleys, by adding metal rods and small platforms to existing structural columns.
    The steel span of the coffee shop shed and its integrated lighting design came from the clothes-hanging-rods and street lamps commonly seen in the old Shikumen homes.
    The seating area features a range of vintage furnitureBlue Bottle Coffee was founded as a small roastery in Oakland, California, in 2002 and has since grown into a chain of cafes across United States and Asia.
    This is the third Blue Bottle Coffee shop in mainland China. The first one was opened in February this year, designed by Schemata Architects, followed by the second one designed by Keiji Ashizawa Design in August, all located in Shanghai.
    Neri&Hu also recently turned an old textile factory in Beijing into the headquarters of a Chinese pastry brand.
    The photography is by Zhu Runzi.
    Project credits:
    Partners-in-charge: Lyndon Neri, Rossana HuAssociate-in-charge: Qiucheng LiDesign team: Jiaxin Zhang, Xi Chen, Peizheng Zou, Shangyun Zhou, Greg Wu, Luna HongFF&E design and procurement: Design RepublicGeneral contractor: Blue Peak Image Producing Co.,Ltd
    Dezeen is on WeChat!
    Click here to read the Chinese version of this article on Dezeen’s official WeChat account, where we publish daily architecture and design news and projects in Simplified Chinese.

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    Wabi-sabi philosophy leads revamp of Palau apartment in Barcelona

    Local studio Colombo and Serboli Architecture has completed a clean and contemporary renovation of an apartment in Barcelona, spotlighting some of its “imperfect” original features.

    The Palau apartment is situated a stone’s throw from the city’s Palau de la Música concert hall and backs onto a cluster of secluded courtyards.
    Colombo and Serboli Architecture has completed the Palau apartment in BarcelonaIts owner, an Italian fashion designer, had initially asked Colombo and Serboli Architecture to upgrade only the bathroom and closet storage. But the practice suggested carrying out a more extensive renovation that indulged the apartment’s lofty proportions.
    The practice also wanted to place greater emphasis on the home’s existing quirks in the spirit of wabi-sabi – the Japanese philosophy that celebrates the beauty of imperfections and the changes that come with the passage of time.
    The hallway still boasts the apartment’s original stucco walls”We decided to face the project through a wabi-sabi approach that could easily incorporate original features and imperfections while retaining the charm of the apartment,” the studio explained.

    “Shapes are kept simple and bold with recurring basic forms – squares, circles, spheres – while sturdy solid surfaces were used to combine the monumental language of existing elements.”
    Hollow steps in the new staircase hold cooking paraphernaliaThe apartment is entered via a narrow hallway, where the practice left much of the original stucco walls exposed to reveal “layers of history”.
    At the heart of the floor plan is a new multi-part staircase. It begins with a few suspended steps crafted from pale timber, followed by a micro-cement landing and a couple more timber steps.
    White cabinetry was installed in the kitchenThe bottom block of steps is painted white and dog-legs around the wall to form a planted backrest for a white boucle sofa.
    This small sitting area is dressed with a spherical paper lamp and a glass coffee table supported by terracotta orbs. Another large weathered patch of the apartment’s original stucco walls was preserved at the rear of the space.
    A 3.5-metre bookshelf towers over the living roomThe bottom section of the staircase also extends in the other direction to form a bench seat for the arched travertine table in the dining area. Steps facing this part of the home were hollowed out to accommodate crockery, recipe books and cooking ingredients.
    Nearby, an all-white kitchen suite is finished with a porcelain countertop and backsplash. A bespoke boxy kitchen hood made from brushed steel was installed above the stove.

    Deep-blue cabinetry and coral-pink arches redefine Barcelona apartment

    Just opposite the apartment’s sitting area is a larger double-height living room, illuminated by a tall corner window.
    At its base, Colombo and Serboli Architecture created a chunky micro-cement platform where the owner can perch and take in views across the courtyards.
    On the opposite side of the room, a 3.5-metre-high gridded shelf provides space for the owner to display his ever-growing collection of books and art objects.
    The bedroom i up on the mezzanine levelThe bedroom can be found on the apartment’s mezzanine level. One side of the room is taken over by a closet, which the studio fronted with wicker doors to turn it into a “warm monolith”.
    LED lighting fitted on top of the storage draws attention to the apartment’s time-worn wooden ceiling beams.
    Wicker doors front the lengthy closetOne door of the closet has a diagonal cut-out that functions as a handrail for the stairs, while another can be pulled back to reveal a small nook containing a mirror and washbasin.
    A third door hides the apartment’s bathroom, which is clad entirely in iridescent mother-of-pearl tiles.
    “We played with different finishes, from glossy to rough, against the otherwise neutral palette,” explained the practice.
    The bed’s wicker headboard doubles as a balustrade for the mezzanineThe same wicker used for the closet was wrapped around the bed’s headboard, which doubles as a balustrade for the mezzanine. Surrounding the headboard is a thick wooden ledge that forms two bedside tables.
    The space was otherwise modestly decorated with a vintage orange leather chair and a wobbly-edged mirror.
    The bathroom is concealed behind a closet doorColombo and Serboli Architecture, which is run by Italian architects Matteo Colombo and Andrea Serboli, has revamped a number of homes around Barcelona in recent years.
    Among them is the Klinker Apartment, which features brightly-coloured paintwork, and the Font 6 flat where a porthole window peeps through from the kitchen to the bathroom.
    The photography is by Roberto Ruiz.
    Project credits:
    Architecture: Colombo and Serboli ArchitectureStyling and art direction: CaSA

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    Christ & Gantenbein adds “techno-futuristic” lobby to Oxford Street office

    Swiss studio Christ & Gantenbein has completed its upgrade of UK House on Oxford Street, adding a baroque-influenced lobby informed by the building’s history.

    The renovation of the Grade II-listed building aims to respond to the need for communicative corporate architecture. Designed to be a welcoming “place of arrival”, the new lobby combines the baroque themes from the existing building with modern elements.
    Christ & Gantenbein has upgraded UK House on Oxford Street”We conceived this lobby as a location full of hospitality, with a unique mix of baroque and techno-futuristic elements,” said Christ & Gantenbein’s founding partner Emanuel Christ.
    “The result is a creative spatial identity and generous sequence of rooms that offer high-quality experiences for the tenants and visitors alike.”
    The studio has added a baroque-influenced lobbyChrist & Gantenbein’s renovation expands upon the building’s conversion into an office block during the 1970s.  The structure still features two of its original baroque facades, which partially inspired the design of the new lobby.

    “We worked with this history to generate our vision of corporate architecture in the 21st century: bold, futuristic, open, communicative, yet steeped with history,” said the studio.
    Its design references the building’s historyLarge windows framed by bronzed metal at the front of the building draw upon the surrounding retail facades of Oxford Street. The lobby is accessed through a pair of revolving glass doors with frames of chromed stainless steel, which offer views of the mirrored columns inside.
    Inside the lobby Christ & Gantenbein placed a front desk and a coffee point, along with an ancillary space that can be used for meetings. A work by artist Wolfgang Tilmans features on the right wall of the space.

    Christ & Gantenbein designs Roche office to give staff “a reason to come to work”

    A marbled floor made from black and white stone spans the space, forming a checkered pattern which references the history of the building.
    A metal grill ceiling divided into a more subtle grid mirrors the checkered pattern of the floor, spanned by linear lighting elements that illuminate the lobby.
    There is a metal grill ceilingWith “apse-like” endings that project slightly into the lobby, the walls mimic the original baroque forms of the building. The walls are covered in neutral ceramic tiles which act as a subtle backdrop to the space.
    Mirrored columns reflect the patterns from the floor through the lobby, while polished chrome elements, including the elevator doors, feature throughout the space.
    A marbled floor forms a checkered patternBeyond the lobby, the addition of new staircases and elevators has connected the entry hall to a basement space featuring a separate lobby for cyclists and a multi-level bike storage space. Black and white patterns on the epoxy floor mark the route to the bike store, transitioning into a circular pattern to mark the entry to the changing space.
    Other facilities on the level include showers and lockers, along with hyper-modern elements designed by the studio which have been arranged throughout the functional space.
    Other facilities include showers and lockersFounded by Emanuel Christ and Christoph Gantenbein in 1998, architecture studio Christ & Gantenbein was named Architect of the Year in Dezeen Awards 2018.
    Other projects recently completed by the studio include a multifunctional workspace in Germany and a museum for chocolate brand Lindt.
    The photography is by Thomas Adank.

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    Kengo Kuma and Edition hotels create “oasis at the heart of the city” in Tokyo

    Hospitality brand Edition has teamed up with Japanese architect Kengo Kuma to create a luxury hotel filled with plants in the Toranomon district of Tokyo, Japan.

    Occupying the upper floors of a high-rise building in the Tokyo business district of Toranomon, the 206-room hotel is the first outpost in Japan for the Edition brand, which partnered with architect Kuma on the interior design.
    The Tokyo Edition, Toranomon, features a lobby filled with plantsThe heart of the hotel is a two-storey lobby space bursting with plants, which guests arrive at after taking the elevator up to the 31st floor.
    “I wanted to prove that it was possible to create a real oasis at the heart of the big city,” Kuma told Dezeen.
    The hotel lobby features large beams covered with wooden slatsThe large, open atrium, which draws from the layout of Buddhist temples, contains a bar, restaurant and numerous different seating areas.

    The double-height space is broken up by several large beams covered with wooden slats, which also adorn the ceiling of the space.
    Wood is used throughout the hotel suites”The beams are primarily parts of the structure, but we didn’t treat them in a way that might disturb the interior,” Kuma said.
    “Rather, we took advantage of the beams, covered them with wooden louvres and elevated their existence to a symbol of the hotel.”
    Sliding partitions separate sleeping and living areas in the bedrooms and suitesThe abundant use of wood continues throughout the hotel, including the bedrooms and 22 suites, where Kuma also introduced sliding screens.
    “In traditional Japanese houses, movable partitions are often applied to enhance flexibility in the interior, and we extended the idea to the rooms at Edition,” he said.
    The Blue Room restaurant features deep blue upholsteryThe hotel largely sticks to the neutral colour palette and natural materials such as marble and wood that are characteristic of the Edition brand.
    Vibrant pops of colour have been introduced in the two restaurants, which are helmed by Michelin-starred chef Tom Aikens.
    The Jade Room restaurant features green upholsteryThe aptly named Blue Room, which occupies one side of the lobby space, features upholstery in deep hues of sapphire.
    The Jade Room, which adjoins the lobby, swaps the blue for vibrant shades of green and opens onto a verdant terrace overlooking the red-and-white Tokyo Tower landmark.
    A terrace overlooks the Tokyo Tower”It’s unusual to provide a green terrace on top of a high-rise building, but we dared to do so in order to connect the indoor and outdoor in a most natural way,” Kuma said.
    Other hotel amenities include a swimming pool, spa and conference spaces.
    The less aptly named Gold Bar, which is situated on the ground floor of the building that houses the hotel, combines black walls, floors, curtains and furniture with a white vaulted ceiling. An artwork hung above a fireplace on one side of the room is the only significant golden addition to the space.
    The Gold Bar features black walls and a white vaulted ceilingThe hotel, which opened last year, is the first of two Edition hotels planned for Tokyo, with a second hotel in the Ginza district of the city set to open soon.
    Previous Edition hotels include the West Hollywood Edition in Los Angeles designed in partnership with John Pawson and the Times Square Edition in New York City created with Yabu Pushelberg. Both hotels feature similarly plant-filled spaces.

    West Hollywood Edition Hotel by Ian Schrager and John Pawson opens in Los Angeles

    The Edition brand is a partnership between Marriot International and renowned hotelier Ian Schrager, who is best known for co-founding the infamous nightclub Studio 54 in New York City in the late 1970s and 1980s.
    “I became acquainted with Ian in the 80s when I was studying in New York, and have admired his philosophy and sensitivity ever since,” Kuma said. “I believe our chemistry worked well and we could work together without much talking.”
    Black furniture and gold decorations feature in the Gold BarWhile the Tokyo Edition in Toranomon is the first Edition hotel in Japan, Japanese design has had a significant influence on Schrager’s work, according to the hotelier.
    “I have always had a spiritual connection with the approach and aesthetics of Japan,” Schrager said. “Their rationality, their simplicity, and their restraint has been the foundation of everything I’ve done.”
    “They are truly original thinkers but execute their ideas in such a humble and modest fashion,” he continued. “The end results are bold yet refined and shouts in a quiet way. It’s a sweet spot that is completely seductive for me.”

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    Note Design Studio draws on Swedish Grace style for Habitat 100 apartment

    Local firm Note Design Studio has overhauled a 1920s flat in Stockholm, adding sound-absorbing marble floors, mouldings informed by the eaves of the building and custom-made furniture.

    The studio renovated the apartment, which is located in a building designed by architecture studio Höög & Morssing in the early 1920s, to create an interior that “might pass for the original”, it said.
    The original interior of the apartment informed the renovationThe studio made significant changes to the floor plan for its renovation of the 350-square-metre Habitat 100 apartment.
    “The biggest changes were made to the practical spaces and the reception rooms,” Note Design Studio architect Jesper Mellgren told Dezeen. “The entrance was awfully tight in relation to the size of the residence, so we rearranged the floor plan in order to create a generous atrium with clear guidance in how to navigate the apartment.”
    Note Design Studio added new floors in the whole apartmentNote used greyed wood to mark the private spaces in the flat and separate them from the atrium, lowered the ceiling and removed the floors to create better acoustics.

    “To reach the anticipated level of acoustical improvement all floors had to be removed in order to strengthen the joists and put in 100 tons of marble gravel,” Mellgren said.
    “Then we casted a new floor in the whole apartment to glue the new wood and marble floors upon. For the ceilings, we needed to create new ones detached from the original slabs.”
    Ceilings were lowered throughout to improve the acousticsLocated in central Stockholm, the house that the apartment is in was built during the Swedish Grace era, a romantic, refined style movement in the 1920s.
    In terms of interior design, Swedish Grace was “very much about the architectural promenade — implementing new findings while exploring a floor plan,” Mellgren explained.
    The Habitat 100 apartment features a mix of wood and marbleNote Design Studio nodded to this idea in its renovation of Habitat 100, which also features multiple references to surrounding buildings.
    “Walking through the apartment is very much a journey of discovery where every space has unique qualities influencing its design,” Mellgren explained.

    Note Design Studio creates “unexpected” restaurant in historic Stockholm food hall

    “We borrowed a lot from the immediate surroundings for obvious references to the style of the building and its context,” he added.
    “For instance; the radiator covers are balcony railings from the neighbouring building, the ceiling mouldings are similar to the eaves of the building, and the floor patterns are inspired by entrance door ornaments in the area.”
    Note Design Studio custom-made a number of the furniture pieces for the home, including this deskThe studio used a materials palette of marble and different types of wood to create a calm atmosphere in the flat and match the other materials used in the building.
    Swedish Ekeberg and Brännlyckan marble was used in parts of the flats in a nod to the communal stairwell, which is clad in Italian marble.
    Wood was also used throughout the flat. “As a contrast for social spaces and bedrooms we used oak to bring warmth and calmness,” Mellgren said. The studio stained the oak to achieve the right colour.
    “Two precious woods, mahogny and wenge, circles the cross-patterned oak floors to mimic traditional Swedish floor laying,” the architect added.
    Different types of wood were used throughout the interior, for which Note Design Studio also made the bedside tablesNote Design Studio also aimed for the furniture chosen for Habitat 100 to add “another layer.”
    “We were fortunate to be trusted with designing a lot of custom-made furniture for the different spaces; nightstands, desks, mirrors, tables and washstands, which gave us more control in the creation of a vivid coherent expression,” Mellgren said.
    The studio used LED light strips, hidden beneath the ceiling mouldings, to create gradients of light and shadow on the walls.
    The apartment has a clean, light interiorThe aim for Habitat 100, so called because it was designed almost exactly one hundred years after the building was completed, was for it to never be demolished.
    “This project is very much about restoring the residence to something genuine and appropriate for its original architecture,” Mellgren said.
    “The main goal is for this interior detailing never to be demolished or replaced, still being personal to the client and exploratory for us in finding a contemporary interior that was conceivable 100 years ago.”
    Marble in the communal hallway informed the choice of material in the apartmentOthe recent projects by Note Design Studio include a restaurant in a historic Stockholm food hall and a warm-hued wine bar that doubles as an office.
    The studio has also designed a number of furniture and lighting pieces, including the streamlined Sprinkle pendant lamp for Zero Lighting.
    The photography is courtesy of Note Design Studio.

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    Interiors project of the year “resolves space through furniture” say Dezeen Awards judges

    Ecole Camondo Méditerranée by Emilieu Studio won Dezeen Awards 2022 interiors project of the year because “students can define the spaces according to their needs,” says judge India Madhavi in this movie.

    The design school in Toulon by interior architecture practice Emilieu Studio beat 10 other project winners to win the overall interiors project of the year award, as well as being named civic and cultural interior of the year.
    The school’s sofas are upholstered in old boat sailsFeaturing moveable storage units and furnishings made from old ship sails and plywood offcuts, the design school is spread across 2,000-square-metres. Paris-based architect Madhavi said the judges “felt that resolving space through furniture is a good alternative today”.
    “Actually having this modularity I think influences your way of thinking and it allows you to be more open, to be more free and to interact in a very different way,” she continued.
    Joining Madhavi on the interiors panel was Lore Group creative director Jacu Strauss, Studiopepe co-founder Chiara Di Pinto, London-based fashion designer Mary Katrantzou and Design Haus Liberty founder Dara Huang.

    The wheeled furnishing creates a flexible working environmentWheeled plinths made from marine plywood can be transformed into mobile trolleys, whiteboards or work tables to facilitate flexible working methods.
    The school’s modular sofas, upholstered in old boat sails from the harbour in Marseille, also sit on wheeled plinths. These can be regrouped and stacked in a series of seating arrangements in the space.
    “There’s an openness and a mobility and a sobriety of the space, which I think is quite contemporary,” said Madhavi. “Sobriety doesn’t mean minimal, it means just meaningful in the right way.”
    The storage units nod to the local marble and rock found in ToulonThe boxy storage units interspersed throughout the space were also made from marine plywood offcuts sourced from a nearby factory.
    Artist Pierre-Yves Morel painted the surfaces of the units to emulate the different types of marble and rock that are local to Toulon.
    “There are these big faux marbles, which are absolutely beautiful, and are kind of dividers in the space,” said Madhavi.
    The space features blown up magnetic maps of ToulonThe decoration in the space is limited to a few blown-up maps of Toulon which Emilieu Studio mounted on walls. The studio designed the maps to encourage a better understanding of the local territory and they were designed to be annotated, as well as magnetic, to stimulate interaction between students.
    The judges commended the project for “its sense of openness and mobility, embodying what a school should be all about and setting a new example of how to approach education design”.
    “Its modular design is one that nurtures individuality and imbues its openness within its students,” they added. “The modularity allows students to create their own spaces according to their needs at any one time.”
    Tomorrow we will feature a movie on the Dezeen Awards 2022 design project of the year.
    The photography is by Antoine Huot. More

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    Monumental Damien Hirst sculptures feature inside Bacchanalia London restaurant

    Interior architect Martin Brudnizki Design Studio has created a classical Greek and Roman mythology-informed restaurant complete with sculptures by British artist Damien Hirst in Mayfair, London.

    Named Bacchanalia London, the restaurant is located on a corner site of 1 Mount Street in Mayfair that was previously a Porsche showroom.
    Sculptures more than 2,000 years old sit on the bar at Bacchanalia LondonOpened 1 December, the restaurant has an opulent interior designed by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio that makes use of mosaics, classical details, hand-painted ceiling murals and Greek and Roman artworks more than 2,000 years old.
    The main dining room features five monumental statues designed by British artist Hirst that depict a winged lion, a unicorn ridden by a pair of winged lovers, another unicorn, Medusa and Bacchus.

    Dezeen filmed an exclusive first-look video tour of the restaurant.
    The walls of the main space were covered in floor-to-ceiling murals painted by artist Gary Myatt that interpret French artist Thomas Couture’s 1847 painting Romans in their Decadence.
    However, in Myatt’s murals the classically dressed figures can be seen using laptops and holding iPhones.
    Gary Myatt’s mural depicts classical figures using modern technologyThroughout the restaurant period and modern Greek and Roman art was showcased. Many pieces are over 2,000 years old. Over 300 books of 24-carat gold leaf were used across the interiors of the project.
    Over 400,000 tiles were used in the ladies restroom to conjure orchard greenery inspired by the Garden of Hesperides, where according to Greek mythology golden apples grow.
    The men’s restrooms – with high-gloss black toilets – are supposed to represent Hades’ underworld.

    Damien Hirst designs his second Pharmacy restaurant for Newport Street Gallery

    Informed by the Roman festival of Bacchus’ drunken celebrations, Bacchanalia London is the latest restaurant from restauranteur Richard Caring.
    At the launch event in November, Caring heralded it as a place for “the drinking of wine in excess and the co-mingling of the sexes thereafter”, adding that “Bacchanalia London could help with the former but guests would have to work out the latter for themselves”.
    Martin Brudnizki Design Studio previously renovated Caring’s other London club, Annabel’s, in 2018. Hélène Darroze at The Connaught is another Mayfair restaurant that has been recently revamped. To mark its 10-year anniversary in 2019, French designer Pierre Yovanovitch overhauled the dining space in the luxury hotel.
    The photography is by Johnny Stephens Photography.

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