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    Neri Oxman launches New York practice in Foster + Partners-designed studio

    Designer Neri Oxman has unveiled a studio in Midtown Manhattan designed with architecture studio Foster + Partners that houses a production workshop and wet lab.

    Oxman unveiled the lab for her studio, Oxman, in a building originally designed by American architect Albert Kahn as a car manufacturing plant and renovated by Rafael Viñoly Architects to house shops and offices.
    Neri Oxman has unveiled a studio designed with British architecture studio Foster + PartnersOxman’s team worked with Foster + Partners to design a two-storey studio on the 9th and 10th floors of the building.
    The 36,000-square-foot space (3,345 square metres) is characterised by white-painted walls and columns, and is largely open – most of the dividing walls are glass. The lower floor features design offices, a library, kitchen and lounge, while the upper floor holds the wet lab and production studio.
    “Every detail of this project has been developed in conjunction with Neri and her team, reflecting Oxman’s holistic approach that spans scales and disciplines,” said Foster + Partners founder Norman Foster.

    “Both levels of the new studio have their own distinctive characters and contain a range of highly adaptable workspaces and labs, which enhance creativity and will become an epicenter of world-leading research.”
    The studio is located in a building designed by Louis Kahn and renovated by Rafael Viñoly ArchitectsOxman said that the design of the studio was meant to be open, flexible and technical to enable collaboration between the designers, scientists, architects and other employees who work there.
    She said that the space was meant to facilitate the actualisation of her The Krebs Cycle of Creativity – a rendition of German-British scientist Hans Krebs’ diagram depicting stages of energy generation in organisms.
    It is two storeys and contains a wet lab and central glass staircase”The dream for this building, this lab was to embody the diagram,” said Oxman.
    “The lab looks clean and nice on the inside, but inside, packed in the ceiling and in the ground, are conduits that are embedded for insert allowing access to data, to power, to gasses that feed the workstations – there’s 70 miles worth of Ethernet and an optical cable for cloud computing.”
    It is characterised by white-painted walls, glass dividers and wooden furnitureThe entrance space for the studio is a central atrium lit from above by panel lights in the ceiling that conceal the complex mechanical systems, including over 100 miles of colour-coded cabling to enable high-speed data.
    One side of the first floor holds the design studio where rows of custom-produced wooden desks run perpendicular to the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that overlook the high-rises of Hell’s Kitchen. A garden terrace with walkways and plants runs outside the windows.
    Conduits in the walls allow for access to data, power and gasses according to OxmanOpposite the windows run a series of private offices, completely lined in glass, with vitrines featuring samples of Oxman’s work, serving as visible dividers between each wood-backed space.
    On the other side of the first level, past a central stair, is a long conference table used for displaying work and models, and behind that a series of enclosed spaces for respite.
    It is meant to foster collaboration between employeesThe floating staircase was custom-designed for the space and has a single stringer at the top of the space and interlocking glass panels.
    The second storey holds a production workshop with robotic arms and 3D printers to fabricate shoes made from polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) – plastic-like molecules derived from bacteria.
    The interior is largely openAcross an atrium is a wet lab with custom Krion benches. Opposite the windows are a series of “capsules” that are heavily mechanized and can be used to simulate natural environments.
    According to Oxman, the studio is currently working on three primary areas: urban design and architecture, product design and molecular biology.
    The space was meant to facilitate the actualisation of The Krebs Cycle of CreativityOne of the biology products is a device called ALEF, which uses sensors to monitor biodiversity by training it to intake biogenic volatile organic compounds – described as “smells” – to provide data about environments.
    “From a biodiversity chamber designed to study and heal a struggling ecosystem to a ‘scent computer’ designed to concoct a functionalized fragrance with no harm to the environment, we seek to advance our understanding of the natural world while offering alternatives to methods of designing molecular goods that rely on monocropping,” said Oxman.
    “In fact, one of the most ecologically biodiverse environments in New York City currently thrives in our lab.”

    Neri Oxman and Bill Ackman told to alter Norman Foster design for their New York penthouse

    The opening of the studio corresponds with the announcement of this endeavor, as well as the bioplastic shoes and a series of modelling systems for urban design based on what Oxman calls “ecological programming” – AI-driven modelling programs used to make planning decisions to optimise for nonhuman, as well as human, life.
    “The Lab’s organizational ‘parti sketch’ perfectly mirrors the organizational and operational logic of the company, enabling tight physical and visual connectivity across zones dedicated to hardware, software, and wetware design,” said Oxman. “In other words, one can design, build, and deploy a bioreactor in a matter of hours.”
    “We are a design and innovation company,” she said. “We operate across scales, across disciplines and application domains, to target and to heal three broken industries.”
    The opening corresponds with a biology product called ALEFOxman, who is a former tenured professor at MIT and led The Mediated Matter Research Group, is known for her experiments in novel materials for construction such as melanin and silk.
    Earlier this year Oxman was caught up in an academic plagiarism row with Business Insider reporting that her dissertation was “marred by plagiarism”. She responded to allegations in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying she “omitted quotation marks for certain work that I used”.
    The photography is by Nicholas Calcott
    Project credits: 
    Collaborators: Foster + Partners, Adamson Associates Architects, Sciame HomesConsultants: Benchmark Woodworking, Cosentini Associates, Front Inc., Hollander Design, Jacobs Associates, Pentagram, Percival Scientific, Inc., Persak & Wurmfeld, Shen Milsom & Wilke, LLC, Silman, Spiralis, Syzygy 3, Inc., Tillotson & Associates, TKO Project Management

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    Futurestudio designs New York bathhouse to be both transportive and grounding

    Canada’s Futurestudio has designed the interiors for wellness space Othership’s first location in New York City, employing a deep, earthy palette and atmospheric lighting to heighten the experience for guests.

    The 9,550-square-foot (887 square metres) sauna and ice bath experience in Manhattan’s Flatiron District is Othership’s third outpost, following those in Toronto’s Adelaide and Yorkville areas.
    At the entrance to Othership, a patchwork curtain blocks views from the streetAt Flatiron, “journeyers” have access to a spacious 640-square-foot (59-square-metre) performance sauna and ice baths for up to 16 people in a private cold sanctuary room.
    There’s also an amphitheatre-style tea lounge, where guests can gather around a central fireplace to socialise.
    Cedar panelling along the corridors visually extends the sauna experience into public areasFuturestudio, led by founding principal Ali McQuaid Mitchell, designed the interiors to feel equally transportive and grounding.

    In the reception area, a curtain of custom-designed patchwork textile softens the entry and blocks views from the street.
    Atmospheric lighting is used throughout, including around the plunge poolsCedar panelling behind the counter and along the corridors visually extends the sauna experience into public areas.
    Narrow ceramic tiles stacked in a variety of bonds and pebbled river-stone flooring installed in the wet zones both add pattern and texture.
    River stones are used for flooring in the wet areasThe saunas are designed to provide heat up to 190 degrees Fahrenheit (88 degrees Celsius), with aromatic snowballs providing humidity that feels like 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93 degrees Celsius). The custom-designed ice baths are kept as low as 32 degrees Fahrenheit (zero degrees Celsius).
    Between sessions, guests are encouraged to relax and converse in the 700-square-foot (65-square-metre) tea lounge on bleacher-style seating around a full-height central fireplace.
    Performance saunas are designed to reach up to 190 degrees Fahrenheit (88 degrees Celsius)A halo-shaped light, custom-designed by Futurestudio and Anony, circles the stack and shifts colours to mimic sunrise, sunset and moonlight.
    “At Othership, every element harmonises to support the founders’ vision of redefining wellness through immersive and connecting experiences,” said McQuaid Mitchell.

    Bathhouse spa with sensory deprivation tank opens in old Williamsburg soda factory

    The tradition of hot and cold bathing dates back to the Roman period, and is said to bring about an array of health benefits.
    “As a society, we’re starting to think much more about how much our emotional state impacts not only our physical health, but day-to-day life,” said Robert Bent, co-founder and CEO of Othership. “Othership’s unique take on hot and cold therapy has helped over 200,000 people de-stress and transform their relationships.”
    Guests can relax and socialise around a fireplace illuminated by a custom light fixtureSpa and bathing experiences are gaining popular as social spaces in New York City, offering an alternative to bars and restaurants.
    “People are tired of going to a bar or restaurant in order to have a social night out; there needs to be a better way,” said Amanda Laine, Othership co-founder and lead facilitator. “People want to reconnect with themselves, relax, drop their guard, and feel safe.”
    Lighting plays an important role in setting the mood throughout the bathhouseAnother brand, Bathhouse, recently opened a second location – also in the Flatiron District – following its Brooklyn venue in a converted soda factory that was shortlisted for leisure and wellness interior of the year at Dezeen Awards 2020.
    In other parts of the world, bathhouses with notable interiors include a space in Tokyo designed as a contemporary take on a traditional sento, and a white marble mikveh used by Mexico City’s Orthodox Jewish community.
    The photography is by Ian Patterson.

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    Eight interiors that show the versatility of futons and daybeds

    Our latest lookbook explores how futons and daybeds can offer a tempting spot for relaxation in different residential interior settings.

    By providing a place to sit, lie down or take a nap with a compact footprint, the humble futon, and its more sophisticated cousin the daybed, can be a useful tool for interior designers.
    Our selection of projects below includes various ideas for how they can be deployed, from corridors and cosy reading nooks to living-room centrepieces.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring sculptural coffee tables, statement rugs and oversized sofas.
    Photography by Shantanu StarickLonghouse, Australia, by Partners Hill

    A plushy daybed next to a woodburning stove provides a warm spot to rest in the living room of this sprawling home and restaurant in the Victorian bush, designed by architecture studio Partners Hill.
    The base is made from Australian cypress pine, while the cushion’s pale blue is intended to invoke summery blue skies even in the depths of winter.
    Find out more about Longhouse ›
    Photo by Jill TateNorth Bank, UK, by Elliot Architects
    A futon languidly festooned with sheepskin rugs, throws and cushions occupies a corner of the double-height living, dining and kitchen area of this barn-like house in north-east England’s Tyne Valley designed by Elliot Architects.
    It is nestled in the crook of a large square window, providing views of the surrounding countryside and ample natural light for reading.
    Find out more about North Bank ›
    Photo by Bryan W FerryDaunt’s Albatross, USA, by Home Studios
    In the Koda Suite of the Daunt’s Albatross boutique hotel in Montauk, New York, a chunky daybed hides behind a linen curtain.
    It forms part of Brooklyn-based Home Studios’s attempt to create the feeling of a “remote family home” through its overhaul of the former motel.
    Find out more about Daunt’s Albatross ›
    Photo by Tom BirdPoirot’s Bijou Apartment, UK, by Intervention Architecture
    Poirot’s Bijou Apartment – named because it occupies a space in the London building in which Agatha Christie’s fictional moustachioed detective lived – demonstrates how the daybed can be a space-saving device.
    Intervention Architecture created a bespoke plywood piece that can double up as a sofa, store flatpack stools and even wheel forwards to support the bottom end of a fold-down double bed.
    Find out more about Poirot’s Bijou Apartment ›
    Photo by Piet-Albert GoethalsApartment A, Belgium, by Atelier Dialect
    Designed by Belgian studio Atelier Dialect, this ultra-luxe Antwerp apartment features two daybeds. In the living room, a black leather De Sede DS-80 contrasts with the room’s cool, hard, cement-washed surfaces.
    Another huge, grooved daybed upholstered in brown velvet, designed by Jonas Van Put, occupies a raised platform behind a gauzy white curtain in the snug.
    Find out more about Apartment A ›
    Photo by Eric PetschekMount Tobias holiday home, USA, by IDSR Architecture
    ISDR Architecture founders Todd Rouhe and Maria Ibañez de Sendadiano designed their own custom daybeds for their holiday home in the Catskills.
    The daybeds occupy a brightly lit mezzanine loft space and are dressed with cushions and rugs from Danish brand Vipp.
    Find out more about this Mount Tobias holiday home ›
    Photo by Keith IsaacsNova Residence, USA, by Harding Huebner
    Nova Residence, a hillside house in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains designed by local architecture studio Harding Huebner, contains possibly the most famous daybed of all time.
    Set among several other modernist and mid-century furniture pieces in the open-plan living area is a Mies van der Rohe Barcelona daybed, whose tan colour contributes to a palette intended to mirror the terrain outside.
    Find out more about Nova Residence ›
    Photo by Michael SinclairTelevision Centre Penthouse, UK, by Waldo Works
    Design studio Waldo Works pursued a retro aesthetic with the interiors for this penthouse apartment in London’s 1960s Television Centre.
    In one section of the corridor, a tall shelving unit carrying leafy plants screens two pixel-print daybeds, forming an unexpected reading nook or children’s play area.
    Find out more about Television Centre Penthouse ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring sculptural coffee tables, statement rugs and oversized sofas.

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    Studio Tarea creates “90s fever dream” inside pink Richmond eatery

    Pink walls, carpet and upholstery define this intimate restaurant and cocktail bar in Richmond, Virginia, designed by locally based Studio Tarea.

    Pink Room was created in a former studio apartment, transformed into what Studio Tarea describes as “a 90s fever dream where you can have a cocktail made from concrete”.
    A studio apartment was transformed to create the compact Pink RoomThe team renovated the space for chef Brittanny Anderson, creating an 18-seat restaurant in which she can cook a weekly updated menu while conversing with her guests.
    “Between the short timeline, the tiny footprint, and the client’s vision of bright colors and funky textures, it was a test for us,” said studio co-founder Nolan Beck Rivera.
    The restaurant’s large windows are veiled with silver-bead curtainsWith partner Cameron Billinghurst, the studio looked to girls’ bedrooms in the 1990s that featured Spice Girls posters and fluffy bedding as primary references.

    The aim was to elevate this nostalgic aesthetic with materials including glass and polished metal to offset the bright colours and plush textures. “We found a nice balance between our modernist tastes and Brittanny’s maximalist vision,” Rivera said.
    Glass and metal tables were chosen to offset the all-pink paletteThick-piled carpet with colour-blocked patterning forms a soft covering across the floor, helping to dampen acoustic echoes
    Across the ceiling, a collage created by artist Monsieur Zohore depicts women in pop culture with food.
    Food is plated and served from a small open kitchen, from which the chef can converse with her guestsFrom the compact kitchen, food is plated and passed to a peninsula with bar seats for four, or served to the five glass and metal tables.
    Two four-tops are positioned in the centre of the room, while three two-tops share a cushioned and upholstered banquette along the wall.
    Several pop-culture references are sprinkled throughout the interiorLarge windows are veiled in silver-bead curtains that partially conceal the view from the street.
    Smoked polycarbonate sliding doors disguise the powder room, in the apartment’s former bathroom past the kitchen, where a vintage mirror hangs above basin.

    Akin Atelier designs JAM Record Bar to feel like being “inside a giant speaker”

    A trio of polished nickel sconces are mounted on the dining room wall, while three glossy ceramic pendants hang above the peninsula.
    Additional cove and under-shelf lighting glow orange and pink as the evening service draws later, adding to the experience.
    The mood is set by lighting that includes nickel-plated sconces”Part of the experience of eating there is looking around at the unique light fixtures, trying to find the hidden Miss Piggies, spotting pop-culture references,” said Rivera.
    “Obviously Brittanny’s food is the centrepiece, but the interiors really complement it.”
    The apartment bathroom was upgraded to a powder room, which includes a vintage mirrorPink in its many shades is a popular choice for restaurant decor, from Ken Fulk’s pastel-hued Swan in Miami to the bold monochrome JAM Record Bar in Sydney by Akin Atelier.
    Meanwhile, other eateries that have taken a different monochromatic approach include the all-blue Only Love Strangers in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and the buttery yellow San Sabino the West Village.
    The photography is by Nolan Beck Rivera.

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    Seven bathrooms elevated by stylish shower curtains

    Our latest lookbook showcases the myriad of ways shower curtains can create visual impact in bathrooms, from bold pops of colour and pattern to elegant, long drapes that add a sense of serenity.

    Practically, shower curtains provide privacy and prevent water from splashing outside showers and bathtubs, but they are also an opportunity to add decoration to a bathroom interior.
    The examples below showcase how curtains can introduce material variety to the hard, sterile surfaces usually found in bathrooms.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring homes with conversation pits, kitchens with metal details and kitchens with brick floors.
    Photo by Lorenzo ZandriNelson Terrace, UK, by Paolo Cossu Architects

    Neutral-toned curtains were suspended from an elliptical rail over the freestanding bathtub at Nelson Terrace, a Georgian home in north London that local studio Paolo Cossu Architects overhauled.
    The curtains add texture to the muted colour palette in the bathroom and provide an enclosure when using the ceiling-mounted shower head.
    Find out more about Nelson Terrace ›
    Photo by Christoph RokittaBerlin Mitte apartment, Germany, by Atheorem
    Local architect Atheorem updated an apartment in Berlin, creating a wet room with a serene and ethereal quality by adding all-white finishes and minimal fittings.
    A pair of floor-to-ceiling curtains close off the shower area, adding texture to the white material palette and filtering in soft natural light.
    Find out more about Berlin Mitte apartment ›
    Photo by Kensington LeverneEmber Locke, UK, by Atelier Ochre and House of Dré
    Striped shower curtains were chosen to jazz up the bathrooms of the Locke Hotels’ outpost in west London, designed by local studios Atelier Ochre and House of Dré.
    The simple yet striking pattern adds visual interest to the hotel room interiors, which were decorated in a mix of rich, warm tones.
    Find out more about Ember Locke ›
    Photo by JC de MarcosMinimal Fantasy, Spain, by Patricia Bustos Studio
    An iridescent pink shower curtain hangs in the monochromatic Minimal Fantasy apartment in Madrid, which was designed by local interior design practice Patricia Bustos Studio.
    The practice applied 12 shades of pink across the home’s interior, including on the bathroom tiles and sanitary ware.
    Find out more about Minimal Fantasy ›
    Photo by Mariell Lind HansenCanyon House, UK, by Studio Hagen Hall
    For this London home renovation, architecture office Studio Hagen Hall added muted purple curtains against a shower screen in the cork-tiled bathroom.
    The curtains add a sense of privacy and separation between the bathroom and the adjacent bedroom, which was decorated in a complementary dusty pink colour palette.
    Find out more about Canyon House ›
    Photo by Federico CairoliHouse in Cunha, Brazil, by Arquipélago Arquitetos
    Copper piping outlines the shower area and hangs the curtain in this wet room, located in a countryside house in Brazil that was designed by São Paulo studio Arquipélago Arquitetos.
    The metal details complement the home’s earthy material palette, which features straw-coloured bricks from a local pottery studio.
    Find out more about House in Cunha ›
    Photo by French + TyeMo-tel House, UK, by Office S&M
    Local studio Office S&M overhauled a Georgian townhouse in London with bold colours, including a bathroom with bright yellow accents.
    The studio matched the bathroom’s shower curtain to the yellow-painted window frame and colourful grout between the white square tiles.
    Find out more about Mo-tel House ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring homes with conversation pits, kitchens with metal details and kitchens with brick floors.

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    White-washed Mondrian Ibiza hotel perches above Cala Llonga bay

    Spanish studios Beades Architects and Cuarto Interior have revived a 1970s hotel property overlooking a bay in Ibiza, using local materials and mid-century furniture to transform its interiors.

    The Mondrian Ibiza is perched on a steep hillside above the beach and turquoise waters of Cala Llonga, on the Balearic Island’s east coast.
    Sculptural furniture forms lounge areas in the Mondrian Ibiza lobby”The building was initially constructed as the first purpose-built hotel in the region in response to the growing number of bohemian tourists on the island,” said the hotel team.
    “Despite the launch of super clubs in many central hotspots, Cala Llonga, with its lush greenery, remained an oasis of slow living and authentic island life.”
    Tonal decor is used throughout the hotel’s communal areasFirst built in 1972, the whitewashed structure steps back as it rises, creating spacious balconies for the front south-facing rooms.

    The Mondrian group collaborated with Beades Architects and Cuarto Interior to reimagine the 154-room resort, which has an unusual layout that operators Ennismore had to rethink.
    In the guest rooms, textured plaster walls provide a backdrop for woven leather headboards”Opposite to most guest journeys that are about getting you up to the roof, for this property you arrive on the higher level and gradually make your way down through the spaces to end up four floors lower on the beach,” Ennismore’s global VP of design Mark Eacott told Dezeen.
    Arrival at the hotel brings guests into a whitewashed reception area on the fourth floor that’s “inspired by the area’s natural caves”.
    Mid-century-style furniture is used in the bedroomsA gallery of contemporary art pieces and ceramics gently slopes down to a niche enveloped in indigo blue, which forms the check-in area.
    A variety of mid-century-style furniture pieces forms lounge areas, while a giant patterned rug leads to the main Sun & Moon bar framed by four chunky rounded columns.
    Sliding windows are angled to face the best viewsApproachable from all sides, the bar counter front is carved with reliefs and inset with circular lights designed to emulate the silver bracelets sold at the island’s markets.
    Guest rooms on the upper levels are arranged either side of a long corridor, and oriented at an angle so that their sliding windows face the best views and balconies don’t overlook the neighbours.
    Guest room balconies offer private spaces to relax outdoorsIn the guest rooms, the decor continues the Mondrian’s neutral scheme while incorporating accents like woven leather headboards and textured linen curtains.
    Slatted wood cabinets are designed to evoke the fisherman’s dry docks found on the coves and beaches across the island.
    The white-washed building stands in contrast to the verdant surrounding hillsMondrian Ibiza is connected to a sister property, Hyde Ibiza, and shares several common facilities across the lower terraces.
    These include a swimming pool, bar and lounge area, while another pool is reserved for Mondrian guests – both surrounded by cabana beds.

    The Standard designs island hotel to reference “golden age of Ibiza”

    Between the two hotels, guests have access to seven restaurants and bars, including Mexican eatery Cuyo on the Hyde’s upper terrace, and a Japanese dining experience called Nico on the Mondrian’s third floor.
    For casual fare during the day, the poolside Bungalow bar and grill offers bites and cocktails in a tropical-themed space that spills outdoors.
    Mondrian Ibiza shares a main pool area with sister property Hyde IbizaArt placed throughout the hotel is curated by London-based collective Gone Rogue, and includes resin sculptures by Corine van Voorbergen in the lobby.
    “The hotel bears all the aesthetic hallmarks of a Mondrian, yet there is a softness, and an element of movement conveyed through structural curves, organic shapes and sculptural fluidity that speaks to the island,” Eacott said.
    The hotel occupies a renovated 1970s property that was one of the first in the areaIbiza offers a wealth of options for tourists looking for a relaxing getaway, as well as those arriving to enjoy the famed nightlife.
    In Ibiza town, the Montesol Experimental and The Standard hotels cater to a younger crowd, while countryside retreats like Aguamadera and Campo Atelier provide guests with a slower pace.

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    Patricia Urquiola and Keiji Ashizawa among judges to decide Dezeen Awards 2024 winners

    Eighteen leading architects and designers met this week to decide the winners of Dezeen Awards 2024, which will be revealed at the Dezeen Awards 2024 party in November.

    The Dezeen Awards master jury took place at the One Hundred Shoreditch hotel in London and included architect Keiji Ashizawa and designers Patricia Urquiola and Lee Broom.
    Designers Peter Mabeo and Pilar Zeta, as well as interior designer Claudia Afshar and architect Alexandra Hagen also joined to finalise the 46 award winners.
    A dedicated panel of industry experts including Mina Hasman and Pooran Desai met to determine the winner of the Bentley Lighthouse Award, a special award supported by Bentley that rewards an individual whose work has had an overwhelmingly beneficial impact on social and environmental sustainability.
    Winners will be announced in November 

    Winners will be announced at the end of November at the Dezeen Awards 2024 party in London with shortlist announcements made in October. Guests at the party will be the first to find out who has won the prestigious project of the year awards across architecture, interiors, design and sustainability.
    Also unveiled at the ceremony will be this year’s Designers of the Year, where we asked readers to put forward designers for consideration who have been finally shortlisted and selected by Dezeen’s editorial team.
    White Arkitekter CEO Alexandra Hagen was on the architecture master jury panelThe master jury discussed 225 shortlisted entries selected from 4,000 projects from just under 100 countries around the globe.
    Joining Ashizawa and Hagen on the architecture master jury panel were Saudi-based architect Sumaya Dabbagh, Spacon & X co-founder Nikoline Dyrup Carlsen and Reddymade founder Suchi Reddy.
    Hagen was joined by Japanese architect Keiji Ashizawa”Design is a powerful tool to achieve change and it’s clear much of the creativity in architecture today is directed towards building more sustainable societies,” said Hagen.
    “It gives me hope for the future.”
    Patricia Urquiola was one of the master jury judgesUrquiola and Afshar were joined by Carolina Maluhy + Partners founder Carolina Maluhy, and Bentley head of design collaborations Chris Cooke.
    On judging the interiors winners, Urquiola remarked “we were all connected to interior design but with very different perspectives”.
    “Yet, in the end, there was a shared sensitivity”, she continued, “it confirmed that we are a community with diverse ways of exploring, driven by a shared vision, even where our approaches differ.”
    Lee Broom discussing a design project with Pilar ZetaBritish industrial designer Tej Chauhan, who was part of the panel to decide the winners of the design categories, concurred.
    “Evaluating the unique sensitivities of each was incredibly interesting,” he said. “While our perspectives differed at times, we all came to a joint decision on very deserving winners.”
    “A really enjoyable day of judging”
    Chauhan continued, “we had to wrap our minds around some exceptional projects across a wide range of sectors. It was a really enjoyable day of judging projects that ultimately left us feeling nourished and inspired.”
    Deliberating alongside Chauhan to decide the winners of the design categories were Broom, Mabeo and Zeta and Parisian designer Inga Sempé.
    Botswana-based designer Peter Mabeo joined the design master jury panelHenrik Taudorf Lorensen, founder and CEO of Copenhagen-based furniture design studio Takt, and Malin Orebäck, design strategist and senior advisor at the Research Institutes of Sweden’s (RISE) Circular Business Lab, were on the sustainability panel alongside Hasman and Desai.
    “The imagination this year’s entries embody is truly an inspiration,” said Desai.
    “It is exactly what we need to put our society back on a track to build a better world for us all.”
    Dezeen Awards judge Alessio Nardi and Human Nature chief impact officer Joanna Yarrow, joined for dinnerFollowing the day of judging, an exclusive drinks reception and dinner took place on the night of the master jury day in the One Hundred Room at One Hundred Shoreditch, where the master jury was joined by the Dezeen Awards community including judges past and present.
    These included product designer Jasper Morrison, Design, Bitches co-founder Rebecca Rudolph and multidisciplinary designer Bethan Laura Wood.
    Dezeen Awards winners’ party tickets on sale
    Following the shortlist announcements in October, the next big date in the Dezeen Awards calendar is the pinnacle of this year’s programme – the Dezeen Awards winners’ party, which will take place on Tuesday 26 November at Hackney Church in London.
    The event will be a chance for everyone who entered this year’s Dezeen Awards to celebrate their achievements alongside fellow nominees, winners and our esteemed Dezeen Awards judges. We also invite the wider architecture and design community to join us for this special occasion.
    Guests will be treated to a night of drinks, food, live entertainment and music, and Dezeen Awards winners will be able to collect their trophies and certificates on stage.
    Tickets are available at a 20 per cent discounted rate of £216 for all studios that entered this year’s Dezeen Awards, and £270 for everyone else. Plus, save an additional 10 per cent on the standard ticket price when you book a package of five or more tickets. Subscribe to the Dezeen Awards newsletter to keep up to date with the latest announcements on the party.
    The photography is by Mark Cocksedge.
    Dezeen Awards 2024 in partnership with Bentley
    Dezeen Awards is the ultimate accolade for architects and designers across the globe. The seventh edition of the annual awards programme is in partnership with Bentley as part of a wider collaboration to inspire, support and champion design excellence and showcase innovation that creates a better and more sustainable world. This ambition complements Bentley’s architecture and design business initiatives, including the Bentley Home range of furnishings and real estate projects around the world. More

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    Schemata Architects transforms 145-year-old townhouse into Le Labo flagship

    Tokyo studio Schemata Architects has combined Japanese and Western designs inside a traditional wooden townhouse in Kyoto to create a store for perfumery brand Le Labo.

    The building, otherwise known as a machiya, is located in the Kiyamachi area and has been revamped to incorporate Le Labo’s typical finishes while respecting its 145-year-old architecture.
    The flagship store is located in an old Kyoto townhouse”How can a brand born and loved in the USA, a country with a culture of shoes-on, be in step with the values of traditional Japanese architecture, a culture of shoes-off, and blend in with Japanese culture?” Schemata Architects founder Jo Nagasaka told Dezeen.
    “The project was a struggle between the two.”
    Schemata Architects’ design respects the original interiorLe Labo stores are normally located in pared-back modern concrete buildings, but here, Schemata Architects kept the feel of the old townhouse, while making concessions for Western customs.

    “We were discussing all the time how much of the existing weathered textures should be retained,” Nagasaka said.
    A craftsman room is located on the second floorThe first floor, which showcases the brand’s products, feels more like other Le Labo stores, while the second, which houses offices, a craftsman room and a “fragrance organ”, has a more traditional feel.
    “The first floor was furnished as a place to spend time standing up with shoes on, and products were displayed,” Nagasaka said.
    “The second floor, on the other hand, was designed as a place to go up without shoes due to the height of the floor and the structure of the floor, so it consists mainly of low furniture.”
    Antique and vintage furniture is used throughoutAs the store is located in an ancient city – Kyoto has been a city since 794 – Schemata Architects wanted the interior fittings to adhere to the traditional style of a machiya.
    “The countertops, wall shelves, staircase, and other architectural elements are composed using the language of the machiya, and the paint scheme is consistent with the existing one, using antique colours of bengara, red earth pigment, and shown, pine soot,” the studio said.
    Schemata Architects designed a pine staircase for the interiorThe studio has used mostly antique Japanese furniture pieces for the display cases and vintage Western metal lamps for the lighting design.
    Schemata Architects also designed a staircase and shelving in pine wood for the interior, dying them to match the building’s existing structures.

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    “We wanted the staircase and shelves to be as close to the existing structure as possible, so we applied an ‘old colour paint’ over the common type of wood, the same as is applied to the existing structure,” Nagasaka said.
    “Old colour paint is a colour-controlled mixture of persimmon tannin and soot of burnt pine.”
    Walls are left bare with products displayed on pine shelvesThe store, which also has a cafe in an adjacent building across a small courtyard, now embodies the “spirit of Le Labo,” according to Schemata Architects.
    “By carefully connecting and blending the machiya building with new fixtures, furniture, and products, it embodies the spirit of Le Labo, which treats time, age, craftsmanship, handiwork, and textures with great care,” the studio concluded.
    Other recent projects by Schemata Architects include a concrete-and-brick gallery in Seoul and a public bathhouse clad in turquoise tiles.
    The photography is courtesy of Le Labo.

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