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    VSHD Design creates “intriguing and mysterious” interior for sushi restaurant Origami

    Emirati studio VSHD Design has completed a dark and dramatic interior for a restaurant in The Dubai Mall, featuring a pared-back palette of natural materials chosen to reflect Japanese minimalism.

    Origami is a sushi restaurant, whose first outpost opened in Dubai’s Jumeriah neighbourhood in 2014.
    VSHD Design has designed the Origami restaurant in The Dubai MallFor its second branch, the owners asked VSHD Design to create a space that provides a unique experience within the cookie-cutter environment of a shopping mall.
    The studio, led by interior architect Rania Hamed, used materials such as textured grey plaster, matte-black tiles and low lighting to create an atmosphere that evokes the underground sushi bars found throughout Japan.
    Glass bricks form a low bar in the waiting area”Origami’s interior makeover features simple forms in natural materials, and organic shapes reflecting the simplicity and minimalism of traditional Japanese culture,” VSHD Design explained.

    The interior features monolithic columns and walls informed by the architecture of temples, along with seating covered with draped fabric and textured glass partitions that contribute to the feeling of “intrigue and mystery”, the studio said.
    Six-metre-thick columns frame the restaurant’s entranceThe restaurant is entered through the gaps between a number of six-metre-thick columns, designed to enhance the sense of separation between the mall and the main dining room.
    A small retail space on one side of the entrance hosts a concession selling chocolates while on the other side, a low bar area with wooden stools and a glass-block counter provides a waiting area for diners.

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    “The solid shop front facade made of rammed-earth clay and glass bricks evokes a feeling of intrigue meant to draw people inside,” said VSHD Design.
    The narrow entrance also limits the amount of natural light entering the dining room, which helps to maintain the dark and intimate feel.
    The main dining room is dimly litThe restaurant is arranged over two split levels that offer different seating arrangements, with the main area featuring built-in bench seating arranged around its perimeter.
    Three steps lead up to a space housing the sushi bar, which is illuminated by an overhead light box and allows diners to watch the chefs at work.
    A sushi counter at the back allows diners to watch the chefs at workBlack tiles covering the walls, floors and counter create a dark and minimalist ambience throughout the interior.
    The furnishings, including wooden chairs and benches upholstered with draped white fabric, provide a more relaxed and tactile element.
    “Overall, it is the lines, the materials and the colours incorporated within the design that uphold a Japanese sensibility and spirit, while still appealing to a modern sense of luxury,” the studio said.
    Black tiles cover the walls and floorsRania Hamed founded VSHD Design in 2007 and has since worked on residential and commercial projects in countries including Jordan, Egypt and the United Kingdom.
    The studio’s projects in Dubai include a gym that references brutalist architecture and underground fight clubs, as well as a coffee shop with a curved ceiling and boulder-like counters.
    The photography is by Oculis Project.

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    Merry Christmas from Dezeen!

    Merry Christmas! We’ll be back tomorrow – in the meantime read our review of 2022 and enjoy this Christmas tree designed by Japanese studio Nendo.

    The review of 2022 rounds up the most interesting and popular architecture, design and interior stories from the past year. It includes roundups of the top houses, home interiors, staircases, skyscrapers, rebrands, furniture and much more.
    Read the review of 2022 ›

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    Space-age design informs Nodaleto shoe store by Rafael de Cárdenas

    French shoe brand Nodaleto has chosen Miami as the location of its first US store, which New York studio Rafael de Cárdenas designed with sci-fi-influenced red and chrome interiors.

    The shop opened in Miami Design District during the city’s art week earlier this month, starting a two-year lease in the 1,000-square-metre space (10,764 feet).
    Sculptural red seats run through the middle of the Nodaleto storeRafael de Cárdenas based the interior on mid-century French design, as a homage to the influence this movement had on sets created for sci-fi movies.
    The studio also linked the shape of Nodaleto’s signature heels to chairs featured in Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
    The interiors pay homage to midcentury French design and space-age movie sets”The design, driven by the concept of ‘hyper-modern hospitality’, explores shapes and materials that echo the feel of a space station as well as an idea of a glamorous future,” said the Rafael de Cárdenas team.

    “In many ways, midcentury French design defined the frontier of space as much as NASA; the interior reflects that.”
    Shoes are displayed on white shelves in front of brushed chrome panelsSci-fi references can be seen across the store, which is fully carpeted in bright red and features brushed chrome panels divided by thin light strips along its walls.
    “In cinematographic style, a warm satin velvet floor meets cold steel shelves,” the studio said. “The store space – in line with brand’s creative tone – strives to induce the experience of contemporary luxury.”
    The shape of Nodaleto’s signature heel reminded Rafael de Cárdenas of the seats in 2001: A Space OdysseyShoe displays run the length of the narrow space, with white shelves suspended in front of the metallic panels.
    Through the middle are a series of sculptural, undulating modular seats for shoppers to sit and try on the footwear.

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    A large red volume right at the centre is emblazoned with the brand’s backlit logo, as well as three pairs of white mannequin legs that emerge from the vertical surface.
    “The store serves as a moldable creative field for the brand and strives to offer an intimate immersion into Nodaleto’s mischievous personality,” said the studio.
    White mannequin legs emerge from a wall under the Nodaleto logoRafael de Cárdenas was shortlisted for interior design studio of the year at the Dezeen Awards 2022. Named after its founder, the studio’s previous projects include a bar inside New York’s Nordstrom department store and the Manhattan offices of beauty brand Glossier.
    Miami Design District is home to the stores of many luxury brands, with architecture and interiors by internationally renowned studios, including Louis Vuitton’s menswear store wrapped in a diamond-patterned facade by Marcel Wanders.
    The brand’s first US store is located in Miami Design DistrictThe city, seen by some as the capital of Latin America, received an influx of creative talent during the Covid-19 pandemic and continues to grow as a cultural destination.
    “Nodaleto chooses Miami because it’s a crossroad of cultures, a city permanently kissed by the sun, a hub for arts and design, because of its daring nerve and unapologetic energy,” said the studio.
    Also during this year’s Miami Art Week, Kelly Wearstler debuted a collection of knotted marble furniture and Nike showcased hundreds of Virgil Abloh-designed sneakers.
    The photography is by Kris Tamburello.

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    Casa Olivar is a Madrid apartment designed as a “sensorial refuge”

    Designers Matteo Ferrari and Carlota Gallo have transformed a traditional two-storey apartment in Madrid, Spain, into a tranquil home for themselves featuring a pared-back palette of natural materials and crafted details.

    Casa Olivar is located in a typical corrala – a type of apartment building found in the old parts of Madrid, where housing units are accessed from external covered corridors.
    Matteo Ferrari and Carlota Gallo have designed their own apartment in MadridThe apartment’s interior was in poor condition when Ferrari and Gallo purchased the property, and decided to convert it into a contemporary home.
    The design retains some of the building’s historical features while reorganising the compact interior to create a series of light and bright interconnected spaces.
    Its living room is flooded with light via two huge windowsFerrari and Gallo describe the apartment as a “non-urban place, a sensorial refuge to reconnect with ourselves, regulate our emotions and disconnect from the hustle and bustle of the outside world”.

    The couple used a pared-back material palette to create a warm and comfortable atmosphere, making the most of the daylight that enters the interior through two large windows in the living room.
    Arched openings separate the dining area from the living room”The intervention is characterised by a spatial continuity and a warm minimalism,” the duo explained. “It seeks to elevate natural light and encourage the use of local craft materials, generating a close dialogue between light and materiality.”
    A central partition dividing the dining area from the living room was altered by adding a pair of lowered arches that echo the proportions of the facade openings.
    Aluminium kitchen fronts provide a counterpoint to the muted colour paletteLight from the windows passes through the openings to reach the kitchen, while the bedroom downstairs receives indirect illumination from a pair of openings in the floor above.
    Throughout the interior, the designers chose to use simple and authentic materials, featuring predominantly earthy tones.
    “The approach is to be honest with the materials, respecting their authentic appearance and textures while prioritising natural resources and local craftsmanship,” Ferrari and Gallo explained.

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    The apartment’s entrance opens directly into the kitchen and dining area, which is arranged around a sculptural table designed by the couple that features a textural Tadelakt plaster finish.
    Floors are covered with handmade terracotta tiles to create consistency between the spaces. The same tiles are used in the bathroom, with their varying dimensions giving each space a unique quality.
    The bedroom receives indirect illumination from openings in the floor aboveTables and display stands were created using stone salvaged during the renovation process, while the kitchen’s aluminium storage units provide a contemporary counterpoint to the natural tones and textures.
    Gallo designed the textiles used within the apartment to add texture and dynamism to the spaces. These include a draped nylon curtain that echoes the warm tones used in the bathroom.
    Draped nylon fabric acts as a shower curtain in the bathroomOther works of art and craft bring personality to the apartment, such as the washbasin made by designer María Lázaro and a hammock woven in Colombia using traditional techniques.
    Ferrari moved from Italy to Madrid in 2008 after completing his architecture studies at the University of Ferrara. He founded his own studio in 2015, which focuses on using simple gestures to create timeless and familiar spaces.
    The photography is by Asier Rua.

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    Renovated Mayfair pub The Audley is filled to the brim with art

    Artworks by Andy Warhol, Lucian Freud and more can be seen throughout The Audley pub and its restaurant in London’s Mayfair, designed by architecture studio Laplace.

    The venue occupies a listed five-storey building dating back to 1888, which formerly functioned as a pub with rooms for staff upstairs.
    Laplace designed The Audley pub (above) and its restaurant (top image) in LondonNow, the ground-floor public house has been restored while the upper levels were converted into the Mount St Restaurant, complete with four private dining rooms.
    The renovation was commissioned by Artfarm – the hospitality company of Hauser & Wirth founders Iwan and Manuela Wirth – with the aim of upgrading the pub’s interior while preserving its original features.
    British artist Phyllida Barlow has created a colourful collage on the pub’s ceiling”The word Audley is English Anglo-Saxon for ‘old friend’ and the pub has been an old friend to people who live and work in Mayfair ever since it opened in Edwardian times,” said Artfarm’s CEO Ewan Venters. “We wanted it to remain just that.”

    “This area is so rich in culture and history, and where better for those stories to continue than at the local pub?”
    Mount St Restaurant sits above the pub on the building’s first floorFrench studio Laplace was selected to lead the pub’s redesign, having already worked on a number of Hauser & Wirth’s international art galleries including its outposts in Somerset and on the Spanish island of Menorca.
    In the ground-floor pub, the studio freshened up the woodwork and brought in a team of specialists who, over the course of eight weeks, hand-polished almost every surface of the interior.
    Restoration work was also carried out on The Audley’s 19th-century clock and fireplace, and a new chestnut-brown leather banquette was installed.
    Artworks cover every wall of the restaurantThe ceiling is now covered in a newly commissioned collage by British artist Phyllida Barlow. It comprises brightly coloured sheets of paper that were pasted into an abstract pattern, at points forming arch shapes that mimic the curvature of the pub’s windows.
    More artworks by the likes of Turner Prize-winner Martin Creed and Canadian artist Rodney Graham were mounted on the walls.
    The salt and pepper shakers take cues from artist Paul McCarthy’s Tree sculptureThe Audley sells traditional pub snacks while in the upstairs Mount St Restaurant, a full menu of classic London dishes is on offer.
    This first-floor space is jam-packed with art pieces including a self-portrait by Lucian Freud, a lobster print by Andy Warhol and an abstract landscape by painter Frank Auerbach that depicts London’s Primrose Hill.

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    The floor is taken over by a bold mosaic created by American artist Rashid Johnson and made up of different types of marble. Another American artist, Matthew Day Jackson, is responsible for the crimson-coloured dining chairs with wriggly frames.
    Art also inspired the restaurant’s finer details; the salt and pepper shakers are modelled after Paul McCarthy’s playful sculpture Tree while the lamps that centre each of the leather-topped tables are based on Swiss artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp’s work Powder Box.
    “We have created coherent spaces in which art and design flow naturally, avoiding the pitfalls of obsolete artistic or aesthetic statements,” explained Laplace.
    The Swiss Room is one of four private dining rooms on siteThe project also saw the studio create four private dining spaces on-site, which are available for hire.
    On the building’s second level is The Swiss Room, designed to celebrate the nationality of Iwan and Manuela Wirth, who founded Hauser & Wirth together with Ursula Hauser in Zurich in 1992.
    Here, the parquet oak floor was stained brown, red and teal-blue to emulate a watercolour by Taeuber-Arp.
    Palazzos inspired the rich look of The Italian RoomNearby is the Italian Room & Bar, which draws on the aesthetic of grand palazzos. Its walls are painted a rich mustard-yellow hue, while deep-green Verde Alpi marble from Italy was used to craft the countertop of the bar and the flooring.
    The building’s third level accommodates The Scottish Room with a nine-metre-long oak table at its centre surrounded by hand-carved chairs, each inlaid with a custom tartan designed by weaver Araminta Campbell.
    Directly above hangs a dramatic antler chandelier.
    An antler chandelier is the focal point of The Scottish Room. Photo by Sim Canetty-ClarkeFinally on the fourth level is The Games Room, which Laplace styled to have the feel of a “clandestine enclave”.
    It features tasselled ceiling lamps, a blood-red tufted sofa and a one-off rug made by Laplace in collaboration with the former assistant of French-American artist Louise Bourgeois.
    At this level, guests can also see the inside of the building’s turret, which features an erotic fresco by British artist Anj Smith.
    Plush furnishings fill The Games Room. Photo by Sim Canetty-ClarkeLondon’s affluent Mayfair neighbourhood is a hotspot for bars and restaurants.
    Among them is the recently-opened Bacchanalia, which features giant mythology-inspired sculptures by Damien Hirst, and The Red Room bar inside The Connaught Hotel, which is designed to feel like an art collector’s home.
    The photography is by Simon Brown unless stated otherwise. 

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    Concrete creates art-oriented space for CitizenM's first Miami hotel

    Dutch hotel group CitizenM has opened a hotel in Downtown Miami in a high-rise building with multiple terraces that was designed to be a “3D art piece”.

    For the 277-foot-tall (84-metre-tall) building in Downtown Miami, Amsterdam-based architecture studio Concrete worked with Gensler as the local architect to carry out the design of the tower.
    Concrete worked with Gensler to create a CitizenM hotel in MiamiThe envelope features large swathes of concrete and glass organised in a series of discreet boxes that break up the massing of the facade.
    Since construction, much of the facade has been dedicated to a massive mural by American artist Jen Stark.
    The hotel was designed to showcase local artists”The architecture is considered as a 3D art piece with large colorful murals by Jenny Stark on every side of the building; by this the building is recognizable among all the other buildings,” said Concrete.

    “By using twisted boxes, you can experience the art from all sides.”
    Vitra supplied most of the hotel’s furnitureInside, a glass-lined entryway is meant to act as an “art gallery” as visitors access the set of elevators that go up to the lobby level on the second floor.
    The lobby space features a number of modular couches, workstations and plenty of light, with exposed concrete beams supporting a ceiling with wood accents.

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    Also on the second floor is the canteen area, which features a black-and-white checkered floor and a wraparound bar with a black marble countertop and wood panelling topped with a hanging bar cage that holds a number of plants.
    The 20-storey building has 252 rooms, as well as a series of meeting rooms on the third floor. The rooms are mostly micro-suites, with some of the smallest clocking in at less than 200 square feet (60 metres).
    The second storey includes workspaces and terracesDespite the small size, most of the rooms have an extra large bed that sits under the window with storage space underneath.
    The bathrooms are tucked across from a compact sink and wrapped in polycarbonate that has been outfitted with LED lights. These can be controlled through a tablet that manages most of the room’s functions, including the blinds, television and room services.
    Throughout the property, most of the furniture was sourced from Swiss furniture company Vitra, with whom the hotel chain has a long-standing relationship.
    The hotel features a series of micro-suitesFor decoration, the hotel held a competition that selected local artists. CitizenM Miami Brickell is also the first location to have a rooftop pool for the brand.
    Since its inception in 2008, the hotel chain has expanded internationally with 27 hotels, and the hotel plans to open two more in Miami.
    Earlier this year, CitizenM announced a project that aimed to make it the first hospitality company to have a hotel in the digital space known as the Metaverse.

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    Dishoom Canary Wharf recalls 1970s Irani cafes near Bombay Stock Exchange

    Prolific restaurant Dishoom has opened its first new London venue in five years, featuring an interior designed around a “financial fraudster from the 1970s”.

    As with previous venues, restaurant co-founders Shamil and Kavi Thakrar teamed up with architecture studio Macaulay Sinclair on the design of Dishoom Canary Wharf.
    Dishoom Canary Wharf is the restaurant’s sixth venue in LondonReferencing its setting near many of London’s banking headquarters, the design imagines an Irani cafe near the Bombay Stock Exchange in 1970s India.
    “When we create a Dishoom, we always start with a story,” explained Shamil Thakrar.
    The entrance leads into a double-height bar”We imagined the fictional owner of the restaurant to be a financial fraudster from the 1970s who owns a cafe on Dalal Street, close to the Bombay Stock Exchange,” he told Dezeen.

    “This story gave us an opportunity to experiment with the aesthetic and feeling of the 1970s in Bombay, which, as you can imagine, has a rich history of financial intrigue.”
    The backdrop to this space is a high-gloss teal wallKey to the design is the retro furnishings that feature throughout the 750-square-metre restaurant.
    Vintage chairs, lighting fixtures and ornaments were sourced from antique dealers in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), carefully restored and shipped back to the UK.
    “The procurement process for each Dishoom starts with the sourcing trip,” said Ian Roome, associate director at Macaulay Sinclair.
    A vintage clock provides a focal point within the bespoke joinery of the barOne of the most important finds was a vintage diamond-shaped clock, which is set into bespoke joinery as the focal point of a grand bar that greets guests when they first arrive.
    According to Roome, this element draws inspiration from the lobby clock in Mumbai’s West End Hotel, which is located in the same neighbourhood as the Bombay Stock Exchange.

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    “The position of the 10-metre bar servery is, in our opinion, the key component in the restaurant,” he told Dezeen.
    “It creates an impressive focal point in the Permit Room bar, engaging with guests from all angles and viewpoints.”
    Restored vintage furniture features throughout the dining spacesThis double-height arrival space is naturally divided into zones by different furniture types that include low-slung lounge seats, banquette booths and cushioned leather bar stools.
    Rotating ceiling fans and rattan panelling – both Dishoom staples – also feature here, while the backdrop is a glossy teal wall that takes its cues from the Bombay Gymkhana.
    “We researched 1970s Bombay extensively,” said Roome, before reeling off a list of places in Mumbai’s Fort area that were visited as part of the design process.
    “They guide every single detail of the design aesthetic and tone,” he said.
    Retro wallpaper infills timber wall panellingThe dining spaces are more intimate in scale, set beneath a mezzanine-level kitchen.
    These spaces are filled with texture, thanks to parquet and patterned-tile floors, panelled walls infilled with retro wallpaper, and a mix of wood and marble tabletops.
    Seating upholstery comes in patterned fabric and leather in shades of green, yellow, brown and red. A family room sits off to one side, with colours that reference the stairwell of the Parsi Lying-In Hospital.
    The family room features green leather seating upholsteryThe Dishoom restaurants, which first launched in 2010, are based on the Irani cafes that were once widespread in Bombay but are now increasingly rare.
    There are now six Dishooms in London, including one in a former transit shed near King’s Cross station, plus outposts in Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester.
    Shamil Thakrar explained the concept in a 2010 interview with Dezeen founder Marcus Fairs.
    Old photographs hang on the wallsWith Dishoom Canary Wharf, Thakrar hopes to have created a stronger sense of 1970s glamour than in any of the restaurants.
    “It feels like one of the richest designs we’ve created,” he said. “The room furthest back feels to me like the Air India first class lounge circa 1973, although I’m too young to remember this of course.”
    “I also love the artwork, which works again to reinforce the character and the time setting of the protagonist in our story.”

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    Maison Lune gallery in California showcases art and design in residential setting

    This art and design gallery in Venice, California occupies a former private house where interiors by designer Gabriella Kuti provide a warm, neutral backdrop for the works on show.

    Maison Lune was co-founded by French artist and designer Sandrine Abessera and Ukrainian fashion designer Lubov Azria, who set about creating a “dream home, where beauty rules”.
    Maison Lune is presented as a collector’s house, where all the art and design pieces are for sale”We want to build an alternative to traditional galleries, which are often perceived as too elitist and intimidating,” said Abessera and Azria.
    The duo worked closely with interior designer Gabriella Kuti to turn what was a private house in a protected historical building into a space to showcase a rotating series of exhibitions.
    The house has various terraces and balconies used to display works outdoorsThe gallery is organised like a collector’s home, with artworks and design pieces spread across multiple rooms that total 4,000 square feet (371 square metres).

    Their intention was to allow visitors to journey through the different rooms and floors, which are designed to exude a warm atmosphere.
    The interiors were designed to provide a warm and neutral backdropThe team didn’t need to alter too much of the existing interiors but added storage and lighting to help better display the works.
    “The space was already an amazing canvas for this purpose: high ceilings, lots of lights and skylight, white limestone floors,” the co-founders told Dezeen. “We created more shelving with LA artisans and added more lights.”
    The gallery’s debut exhibition is titled Transcendence and is curated by Gaia Jacquet MatisseArchitectural features like circular windows, spiral staircases and marble bathrooms all bring character to the gallery.
    The house also has a terrace with a small swimming pool and balconies for displaying pieces outdoors.
    The team added shelving created by LA-based artisans for displaying smaller objectsEverything displayed through the various styled vignettes, from artworks to collectible design pieces, is for sale.
    The aim is to spotlight a wide range of both established and emerging artists and designers, who work across mediums and techniques including painting, sculpture, photography, furnishings, ceramics, lighting, textiles and objects.

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    “The pieces showcased represent the varied and changing cultural landscape of identities, values and beliefs,” the pair said.
    Inaugurating the gallery is a group exhibition titled Transcendence, curated by Gaia Jacquet Matisse and including work by her mother, Sophie Matisse, along with artists Bobbie Olivier, Jeannie Weissglass, Edson Fernandes, James Fischetti, Angela Damman and Santiago Martinez Peral.
    Existing architectural features like a circular bathroom window add character to the galleryTogether, the show aims to “examine the concept of duality within our existence as humans inhabiting the earth, alongside nature” according to the team.
    This debut exhibition will continue until the Frieze Los Angeles 2023 art fair, which takes place 16-19 February, then the gallery is scheduled to host four showcases per year.
    Maison Lune is located in a historic part of Venice, California, next to one of the city’s canalsPresenting art and collectible design in a residential setting has become a popular way for gallerists and fairs to contextualise the objects, and make them more appealing to potential buyers.
    Galleries like The Future Perfect, which operates showrooms in LA and New York under the moniker Casa Perfect, and the Nomad Circle series of travelling design fairs are among those that have found success through this format.

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