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      Hollie Bowden converts London pub into pared-back jewellery showroom

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      Lime-washed walls meet aluminium display fixtures in this minimalist studio and showroom that designer Hollie Bowden has devised for London brand Completedworks.

      Set over two floors of a former pub in Marylebone, it provides space for Completedworks to design and display its jewellery and ceramics, as well as to host an array of craft-focused classes.
      Hollie Bowden has designed a studio and showroom for CompletedworksThe brand was established in 2013 and up until now, has largely been sold via high-end department stores such as Dover Street Market and Liberty. But founder Anna Jewsbury felt it was time for Completedworks to have its own brick-and-mortar space.
      “We increasingly had clients asking to come and see our pieces in person but felt that we didn’t have a space that felt considered and reflected our vision,” she said. “We wanted people to be able to enter our world and get to know us, and for us to get to know them.”
      Display shelving was crafted from lustrous aluminiumFor the design of the showroom, Jewsbury worked with London-based designer Hollie Bowden, who naturally looked to the brand’s jewellery for inspiration.

      This can be seen for example in the hammered-metal door handles that appear throughout the studio and directly reference the creased design of the gold Cohesion earrings.
      A modular display system in the showroom is clad in lilac linen”[Completedworks] is known for the beauty of the textural surfaces and flowing almost baroque forms,” Bowden explained. “We developed a display language that played off that, with minimal details and strict lines.”
      Almost every surface throughout the studio is washed in beige-toned lime paint, with only a few slivers of the original brick walls and a worn metal column left exposed near the central staircase.

      Hollie Bowden channels the ambience of dimly lit gentlemen’s clubs for London office

      Bowden used brushed aluminium to create a range of display fixtures, including chunky plinths and super-slender shelving units supported by floor-to-ceiling poles.
      The space also houses a couple of angular aluminium counters for packing orders that include discrete storage for boxes and subtle openings, through which tissue paper or bubble wrap can be pulled.
      Shoji-style storage cabinets can be seen in the officeA slightly more playful selection of colours and materials was used for the studio’s custom furnishings.
      In the main showroom, there’s a modular display island sheathed in lilac linen. Meanwhile in the office, designer Byron Pritchard – who is also Bowden’s partner – created a gridded wooden cabinet inlaid with translucent sheets of paper, intended to resemble a traditional Japanese shoji screen.
      Hammered-metal door handles in the studio resemble Completedworks’ earringsThis isn’t Bowden’s first project in London’s affluent Marylebone neighbourhood.
      Previously, the designer created an office for real estate company Schönhaus, decking the space out with dark-stained oak and aged leather to emulate the feel of a gentleman’s club.
      The photography is by Genevieve Lutkin.

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      Emma Martí celebrates Menorca's architectural heritage in Hevresac Hotel

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      Spanish architect Emma Martí has converted an 18th-century townhouse on the Balearic island of Menorca into the intimate eight-bedroom Hevresac Hotel, taking over all of its five floors from basement to attic.

      The building, which originally belonged to a local merchant and privateer, is set in the historic centre of Mahón – a former trade hub that still bears traces of French and English culture after spending many years under colonial rule.
      Emma Martí has converted a five-storey townhouse into the Hevresac HotelHevresac owners Ignasi Truyol and Stephanie Mahé brought Martí on board for the renovation in part because she was an old friend, who they thought could be trusted to conserve and enhance the spirit and character of the building.
      Martí’s aim for the project was to fill the building with light and life while preserving its wealth of existing architectural elements, from wooden beams and mosaic flooring to stucco walls and staircases.
      “The aim of the project was to create a fresh and inspiring hotel that values the beauty of the existing architecture,” said the hotel’s owners.

      Original details such as parquet floors were retained throughoutHevresac’s original floors, covered variously in wooden parquet and encaustic cement tiles, were carefully preserved.
      In areas where it was not possible to retain the original elements, Martí chose a new design language using modern equivalents of these original materials, including micro-cement.
      Hevresac Hotel has only eight guest roomsThe renovation process revealed both the stucco on the walls and the original paintwork on the beams, uncovering part of the building’s hidden history.
      The original wrought iron columns in the living room are now a celebrated feature. Less noticeable but equally interesting is the Masonic symbolism on the wrought-iron railing of the marble staircase at the entrance.
      Solid timber was used to frame private bathrooms in each of the bedroomsMartí also wanted to preserve the original room structure of the townhouse.
      To allow for this, she added private bathrooms within each of the existing bedrooms using a lightweight timber framing system made of solid Flanders pine, while three-ply spruce boards form partitions, headboards and wardrobes in each bedroom.
      “Martí’s intention is for the new materials to coexist and harmonise with the originals, providing a new language, lightness and contemporaneity,” the owners said.

      Artchimboldi Menorca is a work retreat inside an abandoned girls’ school

      A new staircase – also utilising spruce ply – now coexists with the original staircase, providing an alternative route through the Hevresac Hotel.
      The material is key to the contemporary language of the new insertions, which sit clearly differentiated alongside layers of the building’s past.
      “I like to work with an honest and frank attitude towards the island’s architectural heritage,” Martí told Dezeen. “I wanted it to be clear what our intervention was, not to highlight it but to highlight the value of what existed in the building.”
      Three-ply spruce boards form partitions and wardrobes in each of the bedroomsTo fill the spaces with natural light, several skylights were added on the upper floor, with one above the main stairwell as well as three new openings in the facade.
      In the basement, the vaulted ceiling made of local marés stone required an intervention to lighten the space.
      Martí’s response was to remove a bay of the existing vault and install a new, more comfortable staircase to link the ground floor with the basement and flood the space with light.
      Martí also added a new spruce ply staircaseHevresac’s choice of furnishings reflects Mahón’s cosmopolitan history, including an eclectic assembly of antique, vintage and contemporary pieces from all over Europe.
      Among them are Nanimarquina rugs, Achille Castiglioni lights and some of Marcel Breuer’s Cesca chairs, as well as items from Menorcan antique dealers including Alcolea & Kraus and Antics Antigüedades.
      “It’s a kind of synergy,” the owners said. “Together, the components project a warm, creative and personal composition, which is more than the algebraical sum of those individual pieces.”
      The hotel has a small terraceMartí, who founded her self-titled studio Emma Martí Arquitectura in Menorca in 2013, has since completed a number of projects on the island.
      Among them is a work retreat inside an abandoned girls’ school, with design-driven spaces where businesses can host meetings or team-building sessions.
      The photography is by Pol Viladoms

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      Studio Giancarlo Valle transforms historic Stockholm cinema into tactile rug showroom

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      Interior design firm Studio Giancarlo Valle has turned an early 20th-century cinema in Stockholm into a showroom for rug company Nordic Knots, restoring its original stone details and adding warm wood and brushed steel.

      Mottled green marble covers the walls of the 150-square-metre showroom, which is located in the central Östermalm area of Stockholm.
      As part of the revamp Studio Giancarlo Valle restored the existing marble – a traditional Swedish type of stone called Kolmårdsmarmor – as well as the building’s grand central staircase.
      The showroom is located in a former cinema in ÖstermalmThe studio also added more contemporary touches, such as brushed stainless-steel details and walnut and oak furniture.
      “The interior is historic and we wanted to preserve the architectural details, so we restored the terrazzo and plaster,” studio founder Giancarlo Valle told Dezeen.

      “The building is a 20th-century former movie theatre and it was critical to maintain a sense of grandness when entering the space,” he added.
      Green marble from Sweden clads the wallsNordic Knots’ co-founder Liza Laserow wanted the interior to feature as many of the original details in the 1918 building as possible.
      “During the demolition of some old closets, we discovered the original floor to the building from the early 1900s – a muted green terrazzo with a red and white checkerboard,” Laserow told Dezeen.
      “Discovering the original flooring made us realise that we wanted to use terrazzo throughout, as the green colour in the original terrazzo matched the green marble on the walls perfectly.”
      The brand managed to find a Swedish company that could replicate the original terrazzo to cover the entire floor area.
      Rugs designed by Giancarlo Valle decorate the spaceThe stone floors and walls are complemented by a variety of natural materials.
      “To balance out the existing stone and terrazzo, we brought in warmer, more tactile materials like pine, oak, and walnut,” Valle said.
      Oak and walnut shelves decorate the walls of the Sample Bar, a room where customers can see samples of different Nordic Knots rugs, and where Studio Giancarlo Valle introduced custom-made oak lounge chairs.
      The Sample Bar features wooden shelving and steel furnitureValle also added brushed-steel touches to the Nordic Knots showroom, including on its custom-made steel and walnut coffee bar in the main gallery area and a table in the Sample Bar.
      The furniture throughout is designed in reference to the building, such as the curved front of the coffee bar that reflects the shape of its doorposts.

      Luca Nichetto transforms Swedish villa into his own studio and showroom

      Laserow and co-founder Fabian Berglund had previously worked with Valle on a series of rugs for the company, which resulted in four designs, including an all-beige rug with a pattern of open hands and a red rug with flower buds on it.
      These are used to decorate the walls and floors of the showroom.
      Meeting rooms are located in the back of the buildingAt the back of the building sit the company’s meeting rooms and office spaces, which feature wooden furniture and a colour palette of saturated blues and mustard yellows.
      “The new interiors very much honour the building’s history,” Valle said.
      “We were careful to preserve the historic architectural details, along with the feeling of entering a grand theatre, when designing the space.”
      The original terrazzo floor is replicated throughout the spaceThe showroom opened during this year’s edition of Stockholm Design Week, which also featured an exhibition of “functional art” by Danish studio Tableau and a virtual apartment.
      Studio Giancarlo Valle’s designs have previously been used for projects including a showroom in a Brooklyn warehouse and a co-working company founded by Yves Béhar.
      The photography is courtesy of Nordic Knots.

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      One Wall Street skyscraper completes conversion from offices to apartments

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      Work to convert an art deco skyscraper from offices to residential use has completed, becoming the largest building in New York City to undergo this type of adaptive reuse.

      A total of 566 homes now occupy One Wall Street, designed by Ralph Walker and completed in 1931, in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District.
      The completion of One Wall Street’s conversion was marked by the reveal of a new model apartmentDeveloper Harry Macklowe of Macklowe Properties is behind the transformation, which encompasses one million square feet (92,900 square metres) of residential and 250,000 square feet (23,200 square metres) of commercial amenities.
      “In the heart of the iconic financial district, One Wall Street, one of New York City’s most significant buildings, both in history and sheer size, has set the standard for residential conversions, marking yet another historic success,” said Macklowe.
      The apartment was designed by Guillaume Coutheillas of FrenchCalifornia”The goal was to incarnate empty spaces into thoughtfully redesigned residences that will stand the test of time and continue to answer future demands of modern living.”

      The building’s opening was marked by the reveal of a new model residence, designed by Guillaume Coutheillas of FrenchCalifornia.
      Residence 3404 features three bedroom and multi-aspect viewsResidence 3404, one of the building’s largest, includes three bedrooms and multi-aspect views of New York harbour.
      Coutheillas envisioned the interiors as if Macklowe himself were to live there, blending European influences using warm neutral colours.
      Amenities in the tower include a “sky pool” with a glass ceilingMany of the furniture and decor items were sourced from Mexico City studio Atra and are debuting in the space.
      Other model residences completed last year were designed by Elizabeth Graziolo of Yellow House Architects and French architect and designer Cyril Vergniol.

      Residential skyscrapers on the rise in Manhattan’s Financial District

      A 6,500-square-foot (600-square-metre) co-working space available exclusively to residents and their guests was outfitted in partnership with architect Deborah Berke.
      More amenity spaces cover the 38th and 39th floors, including a 75-foot (23-metre), glass-enclosed Sky Pool with a wraparound terrace, and a private restaurant, bar and dining room for residents.
      One Wall Street was designed by Ralph Walker and completed in 1931The Financial District, known locally as FiDi, is named for being home to the New York Stock Exchange and many global banking headquarters.
      However, the area has gradually seen a rise in residential developments over the past decade.
      The skyscraper is the largest office building to be converted for residential use in New York City’s historyMany of Manhattan’s office buildings are still struggling with low occupancy rates following the Covid-19 pandemic, so this type of office-to-residential conversion may become more common in the near future.
      The photography is by Colin Miller.

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      Hollywood puppet theatre becomes Chief LA members' club

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      A clubhouse for women in business now occupies a 1940s theatre in Los Angeles, following renovation work by JM|A+D and TAP Studio, with interiors by AvroKO.

      The three studios collaborated to rehabilitate the former Hollywood puppet theatre to create the Los Angeles flagship for Chief, which offers memberships to women in leadership roles.
      Like Chief’s other locations, the LA flagship clubhouse is designed to have a residential feel”Designed as a space for the most powerful women in business to connect and find community, we re-conceptualized the historic structure as a modern pied-a-terre, reinterpreting the best elements of traditional member’s club environments with a bold, lush palette,” said the team in a joint statement.
      JM|A+D and TAP Studio – both based in California – worked on restoring the theatre building while updating the spaces for their new purposes.
      The former theatre was converted to include two bars, five conference rooms and multiple lounges”From scattered wet bars and mothers’ rooms to carefully scaled seating and meeting areas, our goal was to develop a female-focused environment that brings the membership network’s mission to life,” the team said.

      “We dovetailed original building elements with new millwork, pathways, and technology to create an enfilade of communal and enclosed zones designed to host large events, lingering, chance encounters and focused work.”
      Conference rooms are each identified by a different colourThe interiors incorporate some of the design elements in Chief’s New York and Chicago locations, the latter of which was also designed by AvroKO and was named Large Workspace of the Year at the Dezeen Awards 2021.
      The visual threads between the different outposts include the use of rich colours and mix of furniture styles to create a residential feel, and incorporating many pieces by female artists and designers among custom millwork and vintage finds.
      Nods to the building’s former use include framed signatures of those who performed thereThe 14,000-square-foot (1,300-square-metre) LA clubhouse is split over two levels and includes two bars, five conference rooms, multiple lounge areas, and smaller private rooms for meetings or focused work.
      An outdoor patio is also available for members to sit among the trees or around a fire pit.

      AvroKO creates residential feel inside Chief members club in Chicago

      Inside, another fireplace is clad in narrow, glossy ceramic tiles and forms a focal point at the end of the bar.
      Each of the conference rooms is identified by a different colour, such as a large room with a sienna-hued ceiling and another that’s painted dark blue.
      A mix of furniture styles includes custom pieces, vintage finds and many designs by womenOchre yellow, dusty rose and various shades of green can also be found in upholstery, rugs, artwork and styled accessories.
      Nods to the building’s previous use are also scattered throughout. “We integrated a wall with celebrity signatures from roasts hosted at the theatre into the design,” said the team.
      Chief LA also has an outdoor patio for members to enjoyJM|A+D was founded by architect Jeffrey Miller and also has an office in Oregon. The studio has previously collaborated with TAP principal Tanya Paz on several residential projects.
      AvroKO is best known for hospitality projects and also designed the Mortimer House members’ club in London.
      The photography is by Aubrie Pick.
      Project credits:
      Architecture: JM|A+D and TAPInterior design: AvroKOCivil engineer: KPFFMEP consultant: Interface EngineeringAudiovisual consultant: VanWert Technology DesignLighting consultant: Focus LightingFood and beverage consultant: Sam Tell

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      Luca Nichetto transforms Swedish villa into his own studio and showroom

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      Luca Nichetto has converted a 1940s villa in Stockholm into a studio to display his designs in a domestic setting and provide a comfortable working environment for his team.

      The Italian designer’s studio was previously based out of an apartment in the city’s Midsommarkransen neighbourhood. But when the landlord wanted to raise the rent, Nichetto decided to relocate to a larger property in a nearby suburb.
      Luca Nichetto has turned a 1940s villa into his own studio”I didn’t really need to look for another space in the city centre because it’s not that important for us as we work globally,” Nichetto explained.
      “A week after beginning to search, I saw on the real estate market what is now the Pink Villa. It was simply perfect and I made the offer.”
      A blush-pink staircase leads up to the first floorThe Pink Villa is a typical 1940s wooden house with a gabled roof and a large garden. Nichetto bought the property in 2021 and began adapting the interior to make it suitable for use as a studio.

      “I didn’t want a conventional studio space but rather a space that could be a studio, a showroom and a domestic property to be used on the weekends by my family and during the week by my team,” the designer told Dezeen.
      Nichetto’s Banah sofa for Arflex sits in the living areaThe villa takes its name from its distinctive pink exterior, which was given a fresh coat of bubblegum-pink paint to maintain its characterful presence on the street.
      The property’s existing three bedrooms were transformed into a private office for Nichetto on the first floor and a meeting room and tailor’s workshop on the ground floor, which his wife uses on the weekends.
      La Manufacture’s Soufflé mirror helps to bring character to the spaceA corridor leads from the entrance to a bright living room that looks onto the garden. An opening beyond the stairs up to the first floor connects with the simple custom-built kitchen.
      Along with Nichetto’s office, the upper floor contains a second bathroom and a large open workspace that facilitates flexible use rather than incorporating dedicated workstations.
      Bright and bold colours were used throughout the interiorThe interior features a pared-back palette of materials and colours that provide a neutral backdrop for a selection of products and furniture designed by Nichetto for brands including Offecct, Cassina, Arflex and Bernhardt Design.
      “I wanted to give a touch of warmth and I did that using colour and volumes,” the designer said. “I particularly chose materials culturally connected with the south of Europe and very deliberately mixed them with Scandinavian features.”

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      In the living area, pale-pink walls and white-painted floors contribute to the light and airy feel. Nichetto’s Banah sofa for Arflex and Soufflé mirror for La Manufacture are among the playful designs that bring character to this space.
      Upstairs, the main office spaces feature furniture such as Nichetto’s Torei low table for Cassina and Nico armchair for Bernhardt Design. His office contains the Railway table for De Padova and Robo chairs by Offecct.
      Walls in the living area were painted a light pinkOne of the key qualities that attracted Nichetto to the property is the spacious garden, which includes a terrace furnished with his Esedra table and Pluvia chairs for Ethimo.
      The basement garage was converted into a self-contained guest suite called the Chalet, which includes a living room, bedroom and bathroom with a Swedish sauna.
      The house also has a self-contained guest suiteSince the renovation was completed in April 2022, the Chalet has hosted international visitors including art directors, photographers and designers.
      The property’s location close to a park and to the water was another reason it appealed to Nichetto, who said he enjoys the proximity to nature and the good relationship he has established with his neighbours.
      Ceramic tiles provide a pop of colourA housekeeper was hired to look after the studio and to prepare meals for the team, adding to the sense of it hybrid space that is both domestic and designed for work.
      “It’s like being in a family: we all have lunch together and there are no fixed workstations to work,” he explained. “Moreover, whoever comes to visit us, if he wants, can stay and sleep. The idea is to create a sense of community.”
      Ethimo’s Esedra table and Pluvia chairs decorate the terraceLuca Nichetto established his multidisciplinary practice in Venice, Italy, in 2006 and continues to run a studio there alongside his main office in Stockholm. Nichetto Studio specialises in industrial and product design as well as art direction for design brands.
      Nichetto’s recent work includes a series of home fragrances for Ginori 1735 and his first foray into fashion accessories in the form of the apple-leather Malala handbag.
      The photography is by Max Rommel.

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      GSL Gallery takes over disused Parisian factory with “punk” interiors

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      Weathered walls and concrete floors feature in this design gallery that creative collective The Guild of Saint Luke and architecture firm Studio ECOA have set up inside a former factory in Paris.

      Spread across one storey and two mezzanines, GSL Gallery provides a mixture of studio and exhibition space for the group of architects, artists and artisans that make up The Guild of Saint Luke.
      GSL Gallery sits inside an old factoryThe gallery occupies a disused factory in Pantin, a neighbourhood in northeastern Paris with a growing arts and culture scene.
      In recent years, the building operated as a classic car garage but was purchased by art dealer and gallerist Hadrien de Montferrand during the pandemic with the aim of transforming the site into a gallery.
      The building’s concrete floors were retainedDe Montferrand enlisted locally based Studio ECOA to carry out all the necessary architectural changes and asked The Guild of Saint Luke (GSL) to steer the building’s design and become its first tenant.

      “We were charmed by the space and found the patina and raw walls to be punk and accidentally on-point,” GSL’s creative director John Whelan told Dezeen.
      Clean white panelling was added to give the space the look of a typical gallery”Working in close collaboration with Studio ECOA, we proposed a project that retained all of the rawness of the spaces with very minimal design interventions,” he continued.
      “We felt that it would be criminal to interfere with the existing mood, which is melancholic and eerily beautiful.”
      Studio ECOA restored the building’s facade and aluminium roof, as well as preserving its original concrete flooring.
      A live-work space can be found on GSL Gallery’s first mezzanineBoxy storage units were built on either side of the front door to form a corridor-like entrance to the ground floor, where white panelling was added across the lower half of the patchy, time-worn walls to emulate the look of a typical gallery.
      This ground-floor space will be used to display a changing roster of avant-garde installations, which GSL hopes to finance by using the gallery’s workspaces to produce more commercial projects for design brands.

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      “Commercial endeavours will help to fund more proactive ‘passion projects’, where we will exhibit GSL’s own designs along with designers and artists that we admire,” Whelan said.
      “Our chief motivation is creative freedom, as we hope to produce installations that do not necessarily adhere to a commercial brief.”
      Bathroom facilities are contained in a mirrored volumeThe building’s two existing mezzanines were cut back to create a central atrium, which draws natural light into the gallery’s interior.
      The lower mezzanine now houses a hybrid live-work space where GSL members or visiting artists can stay the night.
      This space is centred by a large Donald Judd-style wooden table and also accommodates a bed, kitchenette and a bathroom concealed within a mirrored volume.
      Metal sanitary ware reflects the light in the bathroomExtra exhibition space is provided on the secondary mezzanine that sits beneath the building’s roof, directly under a series of expansive skylights.
      Prior to now, GSL has largely specialised in hospitality interiors – restoring historic brasseries across Paris and devising opulent restaurants such as Nolinski near the Musée du Louvre and Maison Francois in London.
      The lower mezzanine also houses a bed and a large table”We hope that the gallery will be an extension of the aesthetic that we are trying to develop, embracing new ideas but never abandoning the pursuit of beauty,” Whelan explained.
      “It feels like a good time to do so, as Covid has cleared and a mood of optimism in design has emerged. This bracing, minimal space feels almost like a clean slate and invites a multitude of possibilities.”
      The second mezzanine sits directly underneath the building’s skylightsOther recent additions to Paris’s cultural landscape include a major extension of the Musée Albert Kahn by Kengo Kuma and Associates, which made room for a historic collection of 72,000 photographs.
      Elsewhere in the French capital, Bruno Gaudin Architectes just completed a 15-year renovation of the National Library of France, incorporating a number of new circulation routes and public spaces.
      The photography is by Oskar Proctor. 

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      Julia van Beuningen adds spiral stair in Dutch barn conversion

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      A spiral staircase made from plywood is the showpiece of this thatched barn in Gelderland, the Netherlands, which architectural designer Julia van Beuningen has converted into a residence.

      Van Beuningen has overseen a complete transformation of the late 19th-century building, named Barn at the Ahof, turning it into a rental home with four bedrooms and a large open-plan living space.
      The plywood staircase was produced by manufacturer EeStairsThe plywood staircase, produced by manufacturer EeStairs, sits at the heart of the floor plan. With its precise curved geometry and slender components, it offers a playful contrast with the barn’s rustic wooden columns and beams.
      “We thought, if we’re going to do something, we have to do it properly,” Van Beuningen told Dezeen.
      The staircase leads up to a new first floor within the converted barn”This is very different and very unusual in a barn like this,” Van Beuningen added. “It’s something you either love or hate, but it’s definitely a statement.”

      Barn at the Ahof is one of several buildings on an ancient farming estate named Landgoed Appel that Van Beuningen inherited from her family.
      She is planning to overhaul the entire site through a mix of rebuilds and refurbishments and create a series of low-energy houses that can be used for either long-term or holiday rentals.
      An open-plan living space occupies the ground floorAs the barn had been previously renovated approximately 10 years ago, it didn’t require as much work as some of the other properties on the estate.
      Van Beuningen is not a qualified architect – she is primarily a cellist and works in architecture part-time – so she enlisted local studio Flip Wentink Architecten to oversee the planning stages.
      However, she decided to manage the detailed-design phase herself, adding in extra details like the spiral staircase and some built-in joinery elements.
      The first floor provides two bedrooms and bathroomsOn the ground floor, the staircase creates a divide between a dining area and a lounge with a wood-burning stove. A minimal steel kitchen island runs along the side of this space.
      Also on this storey is an accessible bedroom and bathroom suite.
      The newly added first floor, which is much smaller in size, accommodates two additional bedrooms and bathrooms.
      Bespoke joinery provides in-built storageVan Beuningen tried to use simple natural materials wherever possible.
      As well as the plywood staircase and joinery, the renovated barn features walls of flax and lime plaster.

      Alibi Studio cuts slice through disused barn to frame sky views

      “It’s quite a proud building,” said the designer, “and it’s quite strong and industrial.”
      “I wanted to respect this industrial nature, which is not easy when adding in a new floor that is quite a heavy element. So I thought we should be quite humble in terms of materials.”
      Glazing skirts the edge of the first-floor bedroomsClever glazing details help to elevate the design.
      Highlights include large glass doors that can be concealed behind stable-style shutters, tall and slender skylights, and a narrow strip of glazing that skirts the edge of the first floor.
      A third bedroom is located on the ground floorExternally, the building has a more traditional appearance thanks to its thatched roof and red brick walls.
      Barn at the Ahof is the second completed building at the Landgoed Appel estate, following the refurbishment of the former bakehouse. Still to come is the overhauled farmhouse, revamped sheep shed and a new-build barn.
      Large glass doors are fronted by stable-style shuttersEnvironmental sustainability is a key concern for Van Beuningen, so all of the buildings are being designed to incorporate solar panels and ground-source heat pumps.
      Some sections of the estate have been rewilded, while ancient wetlands have been reinstated.
      Skylights puncture the traditional thatch roofVan Beuningen hopes the project can pave the way for more sustainable tourism in Dutch rural communities. At a time when the government is restricting the farming industry, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, she hopes to show farmers can explore other revenue streams.
      “It’s really a long-term project in that sense,” she added.
      Other recent barn conversions featured on Dezeen include the stone Woodthorpe Stables in Surrey by Delve Architects and North River Architecture’s extension of an 18th-century farm building in New York.
      The photography is by Alex Baxter.
      Project credits
      Client: Landgoed AppelArchitect: Flip Wentink ArchitectenInterior architect: Julia van BeuningenStructural engineer: Peter Rommers/Luuk van Doeveren ArchitektuurM&E consultant: Peter RommersQuantity surveyor: Peter RommersLighting consultant: Julia van BeuningenStaircase engineering/fabrication: EeStairs

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