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      Residence for Two Collectors is an art-filled Chicago penthouse

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      An extensive art collection is complemented by industrial detailing, a walnut floor and earthy, muted colours in this Chicago penthouse flat that local studio Wheeler Kearns Architects designed for two art collectors.Working together with Sharlene Young of Symbiotic Living, Wheeler Kearns Architects created the interior of Residence for Two Collectors for a couple who wanted a home that would have space for their family, art and furniture.

      The foyer features wooden accessories and earthy colours
      Located in a Chicago high-rise, the penthouse flat measures 6,350 square feet (590 square metres) and was gutted to a shell condition ahead of Wheeler Kearns Architects’ refurbishment.
      Designed for a couple and their dog, the residence is intended to be a welcoming space for family and friends. The owners, who are actively engaged in the community, also wanted room to host philanthropic events for up to 75 people.

      In the living room, floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the Chicago skyline

      “As such it is a bit of a transformer, with a series of perforated metal partitions that open and close to adjust to the needs of the day,” Wheeler Kearns Architects principal Dan Wheeler told Dezeen.
      “Acoustics and lighting systems were carefully integrated into the shell to attend to the technical demands.”

      The guest room has sliding doors for privacy
      The apartment has a master bedroom and a kids’ room as well as a guest room, family room, living room, dining room, a sitting room and two offices.
      A kitchen and a laundry room complete the residence, which also features a terrace and has its own service entrance in addition to the main foyer.

      The dining room is located between the living room and kitchen
      As all rooms are on one floor and many are open-plan, the walnut flooring and muted wall colour are intended to keep the design consistent throughout.
      One of the owner’s father was a machinist, which informed a steel and wood material palette that runs through the apartment.

      Pieces from the owners’ art collection decorate the walls
      “This led to a use of metals, patinated plate and perforated sheet steel,” Wheeler explained. “[The owner’s] focus was down to the selection of the profile of a screw head, something that we could all love.”

      The large, custom-made bookshelf with a dedicated spiral staircase
      “She was drawn to the end-grain walnut block flooring inspired by factory flooring, but here softer, warmer, each milled squared, laid in a grid to purposely bely directionality in the residence,” he added.
      “Those two elements, steel and walnut, drove the project home.”

      Chainmail curtains let light into the living room
      To design the interior the studio worked together with Young, who is the founder of Symbiotic Living, an interior architecture and design firm.

      Vladimir Radutny overhauls industrial Michigan Loft apartment in Chicago

      The owners’ extensive art collection played a big part in her choices for the interior design with key pieces including a George Nakashima bench, Harry Bertoia sculptures and furniture by Paul Evans.

      A green custom-cast glass table adds warmth
      Even the bathrooms, of which there are two as well as an additional powder room, are filled with art. The master bathroom features a lighter colour scheme with pale blue-grey walls and a marble floor.
      Other details include a custom-made loft and bookshelf with a spiral staircase that takes up one side of the living room, which opens up into the dining room; and drapery that resembles chainmail.

      Sculptures decorate the master bathroom
      “Chainmail, a material used historically in both Eastern and Western cultures, conveys strength and endurance, yet it also bears the surprising qualities of visual softness and ability to diffuse sunlight,” she explained.
      Also in Chicago, Vladimir Radutny overhauled an industrial loft on the city’s Michigan Avenue inside a century-old structure that was built for automotive assembly and display.
      Photography is by Tom Rossiter Photography.
      Project credits:
      WKA Team:​​ Dan Wheeler, FAIA, Principal, ​​​Janette Scott, AIA, Project ArchitectConsultants ​General Contractor: JDL Development CorporationOwners Construction Advisor/Manager: Peter SeigelStructural Engineer: Halvorson and PartnersMillwork: Glazebrook WoodworkingAcoustical Consultant: Threshold AcousticsLighting Design: Mitchell Cohn LightingMEP: BES Engineering SystemsInteriors: Sharlene Young with Wheeler Kearns Architects (founder of Symbiotic Living)

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      Ten home kitchens that use colour to make a statement

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      We’ve rounded up 10 residential kitchens by designers who have experimented with bright tiles and coloured cabinets to challenge the ongoing trend of all-white cooking spaces.

      Plaster Fun House, Australia, by Sans-Arc Studio
      A pink-terrazzo breakfast bar is complemented by duck-egg blue cabinetry, spherical pendant lights and abundant brass detailing in this kitchen by Sans-Arc Studio.
      It was built as part of an extension to a cottage in Torrensville and takes its cues from art deco and P&O architecture – a style that emerged following the popularity of cruise liners in the 1930s.
      Find out more about Plaster Fun House ›

      Delawyk Module House, UK, by R2 Studio
      R2 Studio introduced mustard-yellow cabinets to the cooking space of this 1960s home on a London council estate, as part of a playful redesign of the dwelling for a young family.
      The kitchen units are teamed with retro, orange splashback tiles, minimal silver handles and an oak floor has been stained dark for contrast.
      Find out more about Delawyk Module House ›

      Nagatachō Apartment, Japan, by Adam Nathaniel Furman
      A bubblegum-pink kitchen suite sits at the heart of this Tokyo apartment that Adam Nathaniel Furman designed as “a place of happiness, joy and lightness” for a retired couple.
      The units are paired with slender, blue wall tiles that are arranged in a herringbone pattern and a stripy watermelon-green floor. There is also an adjoining breakfast nook with a lilac carpet that is intended to resemble icing.
      Find out more about Nagatachō Apartment ›

      House P, China, by MDDM Studio
      MDDM Studio combined vibrant yellow walls with earthy terrazzo fixtures made from green, orange and beige stones to create this colourful kitchen in a Beijing apartment.
      Contrasting turquoise accents, seen on the cabinets and sliding doors to the room, were also added to accentuate the colour of the green stone in the terrazzo.
      Find out more about House P ›

      Klinker Apartment, Spain, by Colombo and Serboli Architecture
      Terracotta-coloured cement lines the ceiling, wall and floor of the kitchen inside of Klinker Apartment, a holiday home by Colombo and Serboli Architecture in an art-nouveau building in Barcelona.
      These warm surfaces are complemented by matching cabinetry and a central breakfast island but contrasted with the surrounding patterned floor tiles that were saved from the flat’s previous fit-out.
      Find out more about Klinker Apartment ›

      Belgian Apartment, Belgium, by Carmine Van Der Linden and Thomas Geldof
      The birch-wood cabinets and shelving that line this apartment’s kitchen have been stained a murky shade of green to evoke seaweed and marram grasses, paying homage to its setting on the Belgian coast.
      They are paired with a dusky plaster wall finished in the same colour, alongside chunky industrial steel detailing, light marble worktops and a speckled grey floor.
      Find out more about Belgian Apartment ›

      Kennington House, UK, by R2 Studio
      Kennington House’s multi-coloured cooking space was designed by R2 Studio as “a kitchen that doesn’t scream ‘kitchen'” by avoiding the use of cold and shiny surfaces.
      Instead, it is lined with birchwood cupboards that have cobalt blue, lemon yellow and sage green matt finishes, adorned with coral-hued stools and concrete countertops.
      Find out more about Kennington House ›

      Esperinos, Greece, by Stamos Michael
      This kitchen is one of several rooms in a guest house in Athens that Greek designer Stamos Michael overhauled to evoke a gallery-style space.
      Warm plum-purple walls are animated by a large piece of modern art and set against emerald-hued cabinetry and black, industrial-style shelves.
      Find out more about Esperinos ›

      Apartment in Born, Spain, by Colombo and Serboli Architecture
      Blush-coloured quartz was used to craft the flecked breakfast island and splashback inside this kitchen in a 13th-century apartment in Barcelona.
      They are offset with grey kitchen units with brass handles, exposed oxblood-hued extraction ducting and a coral-coloured arched volume on one side that conceals a small toilet.
      Find out more about Apartment in Born ›

      White Rabbit House, UK, by Gundry & Ducker
      A large green kitchen island with an overhanging monochrome worktop made from terrazzo is positioned at the centre of this kitchen in Gundry & Ducker’s White Rabbit House.
      The island is teamed with a backdrop of matching built-in wall cabinets, arched windows and doorways, and a floor lined with large slabs of luminous white, blue and grey terrazzo.
      Find out more about White Rabbit House ›

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      AHEAD Middle East and Africa hospitality awards winners to be announced in virtual ceremony

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      The winners of the AHEAD Middle East and Africa awards will be announced on Monday in a virtual ceremony broadcast on Dezeen.The ceremony will take place from 2:00pm Dubai time, which is 12:00pm South Africa time and 10am UK time, and will be broadcast on Dezeen as well as on our YouTube channel.
      The event will feature exclusive video content from the AHEAD Middle East and Africa (MEA) nominees, as well as from the judges and sponsors of the awards programme.

      You can add the event to your calendar by clicking on this link.
      The ceremony is taking place digitally rather than at a real-world event due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
      Championing standout hospitality projects from around the world, the AHEAD awards focuses on four different regions: MEA, the Americas, Asia and Europe.
      The 2020 AHEAD MEA competition will review projects that have opened, reopened or launched in the region between January 2019 and February of this year.
      In June, Dezeen broadcast a ceremony announcing the winners of the AHEAD Americas awards 2020 as part of Virtual Design Festival.
      See the full shortlist below:
      Bar, Club or Lounge
      Archer Bar & Eatery at Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, South AfricaTwenty Three Rooftop Bar at Grand Plaza Mövenpick Media City, Dubai, UAESiddharta Lounge by Buddha Bar at W Muscat, OmanSt. Trop at Waldorf Astoria Dubai International Financial Centre, UAE
      Guestrooms
      Four Seasons Hotel Doha, QatarLekkerwater Beach Lodge, De Hoop Nature Reserve, South AfricaThe Farmstead at Royal Malewane, Hoedspruit, South AfricaThe Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi, UAE
      Hotel Newbuild
      Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, South AfricaME Dubai at Opus, UAEThe Museum Hotel Antakya, TurkeyThe Social House Nairobi, Kenya
      Landscaping & Outdoor Spaces
      Anantara Sahara Tozeur Resort & Villas, TunisiaLe Palais Ronsard, Marrakech, MoroccoThe Farmstead at Royal Malewane, Hoedspruit, South AfricaThe Oberoi Marrakech, Morocco
      Lobby & Public Spaces
      Le Palais Ronsard, Marrakech, MoroccoMarriott Hotel Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, South AfricaME Dubai at Opus, UAEVida Hotel Emirates Hills, Dubai, UAE
      Lodges, Cabins & Tented Camps
      Abelana River Lodge, Phalaborwa, South AfricaandBeyond Ngala Treehouse, Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South AfricaHabitas NamibiaKing’s Pool, Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, BotswanaLepogo Lodges’ Noka Camp, South AfricaPuku Ridge, South Luangwa National Park, ZambiaZannier Hotels Sonop, Namibia
      Renovation, Restoration & Conversion
      andBeyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge, Namibrand Nature Reserve, NamibiaFour Seasons Hotel Doha, QatarLe Palais Ronsard, Marrakech, MoroccoLong Lee Manor, Shamwari Private Game Reserve, South Africa
      Resort
      Al Wathba, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa, Abu Dhabi, UAEAnantara Sahara Tozeur Resort & Villas, TunisiaThe Oberoi Marrakech, MoroccoW Muscat, Oman
      Restaurant
      Bull & Bear at Waldorf Astoria Dubai International Financial Centre, UAEKeystone at Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, South AfricaMina’s Kitchen at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi, UAENammos Restaurant at Four Seasons Resort Dubai, UAE
      Restaurant
      Bull & Bear at Waldorf Astoria Dubai International Financial Centre, UAEKeystone at Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, South AfricaMina’s Kitchen at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi, UAENammos Restaurant at Four Seasons Resort Dubai, UAE
      Suite
      Anantara Sahara Tozeur Resort & Villas, TunisiaFour Seasons Hotel Doha, QatarLe Palais Ronsard, Marrakech, MoroccoMarriott Hotel Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, South Africa

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      Sara Ruffin Costello fashions quirky interiors for The Chloe hotel in New Orleans

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      Inky blue walls, alligator-print carpet and grand four-poster beds appear inside The Chloe hotel in New Orleans, which has been designed by decorator Sara Ruffin Costello.The Chloe hotel comes as the latest venture from restaurateur Robert LeBlanc and is situated amongst the picturesque streets of New Orleans’s Uptown neighbourhood.
      It occupies a family mansion that was originally designed by American architect Thomas Sully in the 1860s.

      Top image: The Chloe’s entrance lobby. Above: an alligator-print carpet runner features on the stairs

      Sara Ruffin Costello, who is a native of New Orleans, was tasked with devising the interiors of the hotel.
      “Sully’s architecture is grand Southern Victorian – exceptionally tall ceilings, incredible tile work and plaster mouldings and a Byzantine layout,” Costello told Dezeen.
      “I ran with the romance of that era and played around with the notion of New Orleans being a port city, kind of that ‘what news do you bring from the outside?’,” she added.
      “To translate that into a vibe, The Chloe is moody with dark, antique furniture, with an emphasis on Orientalism but updated and made culturally relevant through a very special art collection.”

      Plush furniture decorates the reception lounge
      Guests enter The Chloe via a lobby that features inky-blue walls and dark wood floors. The building’s original ornate staircase is left in place but updated with a quirky, deep-red carpet runner that depicts an alligator creeping down the steps.
      “Last time I went for a kayak in the Bayou, not five minutes into my paddle two giant alligators got into a splash fight right in front of my boat – alligators are a real part of life here!” added Costello.

      Inky blue walls appear throughout the hotel
      Adjacent to this is = a reception room arranged around a large fireplace. Just in front are a couple of plush, claw-footed sofas perched on a blue floral rug, while an oversized cream lamp has been suspended overhead.
      A doorway in the corner of the room looks through to a cosy blush-pink seating nook with trellis-style walls.

      A bird-print mural is the focal point of the hotel’s salon
      The hotel’s restaurant serves signature New Orleans’ dishes with a contemporary twist. Drinks can be enjoyed in the bar and salon, where one wall has been painted to feature Egret birds fluttering amongst spindly tree boughs.
      A burnt-orange leather sofa runs along the lower half of the wall, accompanied by a handful of fringed seating poufs and tiny lamps that dimly illuminate the room.

      Guests can also enjoy dinner and drinks out on the patio
      Guests can alternatively sit with cocktails on the hotel’s porch – the floor here is clad with the tiles that date back to the 1860s.

      Maison De La Luz hotel in New Orleans is “madcap and fun” says Pamela Shamshiri

      Outdoors there’s also a swimming pool shaded by palmetto trees, a herb garden and an alfresco bar.

      Bedrooms come complete with four-poster beds
      A more pared-back design approach is taken in the bedrooms, where walls have been painted eggshell-white.
      Touches of drama are added by the four-poster beds and freestanding soaking tubs that take centre stage in the bathrooms.
      “Since The Chloe is actually a house, it feels like you are getting invited over to a local’s – which is all I ever want to do when I travel,” concluded Costello.

      The en-suite bathrooms also include freestanding tubs
      The Chloe joins a number of charming spots to stay in New Orleans, where tourists continue to flock to experience its rich history, vibrant live music scene and revered Mardi Gras parade.
      Others include The Eliza Jane, which takes over seven historic warehouses, and Maison de la Luz, which is designed as if it’s the home of a well-travelled woman that’s come to acquire several worldly souvenirs.
      Photography is by Paul Costello.

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      Trahan Architects creates curving wooden balconies for Atlanta theatre

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      US firm Trahan Architects has renovated the Coca-Cola Stage at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta, Georgia, using steam-bent timber to form an undulating auditorium.Constructed in 1968, the 650-seat Alliance Theater is part of the Woodruff Arts Center campus in the state capital of Georgia.

      The 1960s theatre was gutted and refurbished
      For the renovation, Trahan Architects stripped the interiors of the lobby, theatre and backstage areas back to the original concrete walls.
      New York-based, steam-bent furniture designer Matthias Pliessnig collaborated on the design of the wooden elements, which were made by fabrication specialists CW Keller Associates.

      Steam-bent timber curves around the seating. Photo by Trahan Architecture

      Pliessnig created a 1:1 scale mock-up of the Coca-Cola Stage at the Alliance Theater and shared his expertise in steam bending wood, a process that involves heating wood to make it pliable and bending it by hand.

      Revolving auditorium is showpiece of Boulevard theatre by SODA

      “The result is a series of beautiful steam-bent millwork guardrails and balconies that merge handcraft with mass production,” said Trahan Architects.
      “The synthesis of acoustic performance, hand-driven artistry, and sophisticated laser positioning are all carefully choreographed to execute the complex steam-bent millwork without the need for wasteful CNC moulds.”

      All of the seating zones are connected in the theatre
      The seating is now 10 feet (three metres) closer to the stage than before, and the seating of the stalls abuts the orchestra pit.
      Seating stacked around and above the stalls in the balconies are defined by curving wooden elements but are not separated.
      The architects said this design decision was a symbolic one to draw on Atlanta’s history. The city was America’s most racially segregated after 1865 when slaved were freed in the US, right up until the 1960s.
      During this period, black people were barred from eating at certain restaurants or attending certain cinemas reserved for white patrons or were forced to sit in separate seating.

      Trahan Architects worked with a sculptor on the wooden design
      “The design team felt a responsibility to remove the separation between balcony and orchestra – challenging historic notions of segregation and discrimination,” said Trahan Architects.
      “All seating zones can be accessed from every entrance within the chamber.”

      Steam-bending timber created less waste than CNC cutting the wood
      Based in New Orleans and New York, Trahan Architects was founded in 1992 by Trey Trahan. Previous work by the practice includes a visitor centre for an 18th-century plantation in Louisiana.
      The Coca-Cola Stage at the Alliance Theater is shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2020 in the civic and cultural interior category, along with a museum in Pittsburgh built in a ligtening-struck library and a museum of architecture models in China.
      Photography is by Leonid Furmansky unless otherwise stated.
      Project credits:
      Architect: Trahan ArchitectsDesign team: Trey Trahan, Leigh Breslau, Brad McWhirter, Robbie Eleazer, James Babin, Scott Melançon, Conway Pedron, Ayesha Husain, Sarah Hussaini, Wenyun Qian, Andrew FuArtist collaboration: Matthias PliessnigMillwork fabrication: CW Keller AssociatesTheatre consultants: Theatre Projects ConsultantsAcoustics: Talaske GroupStructural engineer: Uzun + CaseMEP: DLB Associates Consulting EngineersLighting designer: Fisher Marantz StoneGraphic design: ThirstLife safety: Jensen HughesProject and cost management: Cost+ Plus VerticalTransportation: Lerch Bates

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      Space Popular uses green tones throughout Infinity Wellbeing spa in Bangkok

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      A tropical garden can be seen from within this spa in Sukhumvit, Bangkok, which architecture studio Space Popular has designed with soothing green and white treatment rooms.Infinity Wellbeing is set within a building on one of the side streets, or “sois”, that lead off Sukhumvit’s main road.
      It is entered via a luscious garden planted with dragon trees and lipstick palms, which Space Popular hopes will offset the shops, food vendors and towering skyscrapers that cluster around the spa.

      Above image: the garden that surrounds the spa’s entrance. Top image: one of the spa’s treatment rooms.

      “Designing the arrival and departure sequence is perhaps the most challenging element as the interior ambience is highly contrasting with the bustling street atmosphere in Bangkok,” the studio’s founders, Lara Lesmes and Fredrik Hellberg, told Dezeen.
      “Through the leaves of the garden, the spa is in strong contrast to the street with its often chaotic collage of sounds and sights.”

      The spa’s reception is decked out in calming shades of green and white
      The leafy plants also help obscure views through to the interior of the spa, where the studio has continued the calming ambience by utilising a serene colour palette of off-whites and pastel greens.
      Lesmes and Hellberg were particularly inspired to use the colour after coming across a local green-hued marble.

      Chairs in the spa are part of Space Popular’s latest furniture collection
      At the centre of the reception area is a fluted white service counter. Sheer white curtains have then been hung at the peripheries of the room, serving as a backdrop to customer seating areas.
      The accompanying armchairs, recliners and bar stools are all from Space Popular’s latest range of furniture called The Second Collection. Each piece features a tubular mint-green framework and “petroleum-blue” upholstery.

      Mint-green timber louvres line the spa’s corridors
      Green tube-like bases also feature on the stone-topped side tables dotted throughout the room, which also come as part of The Second Collection.

      Space Popular designs world’s first VR architecture conference as alternative to “boring” Zoom talks

      A contrasting pop of colour is provided by the copper-tone grid that runs across the reception’s backlit ceiling. Stems of the grid extend down and away from the ceiling to form overhead lamps.

      Green-terrazzo vanity units feature in the spa’s treatment rooms
      Corridors lined with mint-coloured timber louvres lead through to Infinity Wellbeing’s white-painted treatment rooms, most of which have been finished with vanity stands and washbasins crafted from green terrazzo.
      The garden-facing massage rooms are slightly moodier in tone – walls are clad in dark teal acoustic panels, while packaging foam is used to create coffered ceilings. Space Popular said it wanted to juxtapose high-end and humble materials like this from the outset of the project.
      “It’s a contrast often seen throughout Bangkok, which despite its abundance of luxury and shine manages to maintain its agility and inventiveness through its market and street food culture,” the studio explained.

      The moody massage rooms have up-close views of the garden
      Only one of the treatment rooms, which boasts sandy-pink walls, diverts from the colour palette seen in the rest of the spa. It also has a dramatic tiered ceiling which staggers upwards into a cone-like shape.
      “[The room] had very particular constraints due to where it was located – it doesn’t face the garden – so we decided to turn it into its own world,” added Space Popular.

      A tiered ceiling is the focal point of another treatment room
      This is the second branch that the studio has designed for the spa company. The first location, which is simply titled Infinity, was completed back in 2017. It’s situated in Bangkok’s Bang Rak district, occupying a pair of traditional Thai shophouses.
      More recently Space Popular has designed the venue for Punto de Inflexión, the first-ever architecture conference to be held in virtual reality.
      Photography is by Wison Tungthunya.

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      Archipelago House by Norm Architects is a minimal family getaway in Sweden

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      Norm Architects has completed Archipelago House, a pine-clad holiday home on the coast of Sweden that’s designed to embody both Scandinavian and Japanese aesthetics.Copenhagen-based practice Norm Architects created Archipelago House, which is located just north of Gothenburg, for a couple and their four children.
      It’s a stone’s throw away from a holiday home that the mother of the family frequented when she was younger.

      Top image: the interior of Archipelago House. Above: the exterior of the home is lined with pine wood

      Archipelago House comprises a quartet of pine-wood volumes that stagger in line with the site’s rocky terrain.
      Each of the volumes features gabled roofs, subtly mimicking the form of the boathouses which appear along the nearby seashore.

      The kitchen features oakwood cabinetry
      “We like to consider the spirit of a place and integrate a new building structure more or less flawlessly into its surroundings,”  partner at Norm Architects Frederik Werner told Dezeen.
      “The building should look natural to the site and put the focus on the beautiful surroundings and the life unfolding in the place rather than the building itself,” he continued.
      “It is important for us that architecture does not feel alien to a site – especially in a place like this where there is a perfectly harmonised small village on the shore with other wooden houses around.”

      At the heart of the floor plan is a double-height lounge
      Inside, the practice has used natural materials to devise a sequence of muted, pared-back living spaces that nod to traditional Scandinavian and Japanese aesthetics.
      Handleless oak cupboards feature in the home’s kitchen, at the centre of which is a jet-black breakfast island with in-built drawers. Stone tiles have then been used to line surfaces in the bathrooms, which have been finished with dark-wood vanity cabinets.

      Furnishings in the lounge were designed by Norm Architects and Karimoku Case Study
      The influence of Japanese design can be observed most clearly in the home’s double-height lounge, which is dressed with furniture that Norm Architects has produced in collaboration with Karimoku Case Study – the sister brand of Japanese manufacturer Karimoku.
      This includes a pebble-grey sofa, stone-topped coffee table and pair of armchairs that boast arching backrests upholstered in creamy fabric.
      Archipelago House is the third project that the brand has worked on since its launch in 2019, joining the Kinuta Terrace apartment block in Tokyo and the Blue Bottle Coffee cafe in Yokohama.

      Japanese lanterns appear throughout the holiday home
      The home’s living area also has a delicate cone-shaped lantern that was created bespoke for the project by Kojima Shouten, a Japanese brand that has been making lanterns for over 230 years.
      Crafted from washi paper, the lantern’s peaked form is meant to act as another reference to the architectural form of Archipelago House.

      Johan Sundberg builds Swedish holiday home that takes cues from Japanese architecture

      More squat lanterns that balance on four-legged stands appear in the home’s tranquil sleeping quarters. Here there are also book-like storage boxes that Norm Architects designed alongside Danish brand August Sandgren, where inhabitants can tuck away their personal trinkets.

      Book-style storage boxes hide the inhabitant’s belongings
      Beyond the home’s dining room lies an expansive outdoor deck where the family can play games or enjoy alfresco dinners with views of the adjacent sea and small, rugged islands.
      “Nature plays an important role in our soft minimalist approach, where we believe that buildings should be a functional backdrop and structure for human engagement,” added Werner.
      “It might be a romantic relationship with nature – but after all, that is why we want to escape the city once in a while and reconnect with nature in our holiday homes.”

      The home includes an outdoor deck
      Norm Architects was established in 2008 by Kasper Rønn Von Lotzbeck and Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen.
      The practice’s Archipelago House joins a number of getaway homes in scenic Sweden – others include Summerhouse Solviken by Johan Sundberg Arkitektur, which is raised up on steel stilts, and Villa Vassdal by Studio Holmberg, which boasts minimal plywood interiors.
      Photography is courtesy of Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen of Norm Architects.

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      Terrazzo and bronze staircase forms focal point of The Sukhothai hotel by Neri&Hu

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      A dramatic staircase connects floors inside this Shanghai hotel, which Neri&Hu has designed with calming, nature-inspired rooms.The staircase can be found in the entrance lobby of The Sukhothai hotel, which is situated in Shanghai’s Jing’an district.

      A huge staircase is the focal point of The Sukhothai’s lobby. Photo is by Pedro Pegenaute
      It features a bronze balustrade and a staggered sequence of slim, grey-terrazzo steps that have been slightly set apart to create the illusion that they’re hovering.
      The entire structure is then enclosed by a gridded timber framework that “envelops” guests as they ascend to the first floor.

      Bronze has been used to make the balustrade, while the steps are grey terrazzo

      In the communal areas that lie beyond the staircase, Neri&Hu has fashioned an aesthetic that subtly celebrates the culture of both Shanghai and Bangkok – where the inaugural branch of The Sukhothai is located.
      “The challenge for Sukhothai in Shanghai was how to remain true to the spirit of the original iconic hotel in Bangkok while bringing in elements that represent the local culture and history,” the studio explained.

      Green hues reference nature and gardens. Photo is by Pedro Pegenaute
      “In the end, our guiding concept was inspired by a universal condition that defines many dense Asian metropolises such as Shanghai and Bangkok — the sense of fragility and congestion and the desire for a reconnection with nature, for room to breathe and rejuvenate,” it continued.
      “We created an urban oasis in the midst of the concrete jungle of the city, so every aspect of the hotel relates to nature.”

      The hotel’s swimming pool is also lined with green tiles. Photo is by Pedro Pegenaute
      Gardens became the main point of reference for the studio. For example, a network of columns has been installed in the restaurant as a nod to the ornate pillars that typically appear in Italian renaissance-style gardens.
      The forest-green leather chairs that surround the dining tables and the emerald-coloured tiles that line the open kitchen are also meant to evoke lush, verdant settings.

      Neri&Hu keeps time-worn details in Parisian restaurant Papi

      A medley of green tiles has also been applied mosaic-style to the hotel’s swimming pool.

      Natural materials are spotlighted in the bedrooms. Photo is by Pedro Pegenaute
      Neri&Hu have continued to use green tones and natural materials upstairs in the 201 guest bedrooms. Walls have been painted a tranquil jade hue, while the floor, headboards and writing desks are lined with wood.
      Pebble-grey Carrara marble has been used to line almost every surface in the bathrooms – including the tubs.

      Grey marble lines surfaces in the bathrooms
      A number of hotels have opened in China this year. Among them is the Intercontinental in Chongqing and Read and Rest Hotel in Beijing, which includes a small library filled with print magazines from across the world.
      For those looking to stay a bit more off the beaten track, Wiki World and Advanced Architecture Lab have also created a collection of 18 mirrored guest cabins on the forested mountainsides of Yichang in China’s Hubei province.
      Photography is by Xia Zhi unless stated otherwise.

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