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    Dezeen's Pinterest roundup features nine saunas in touch with nature

    Saunas are trending on Pinterest and Dezeen has featured some of the best, including a floating sauna in Stockholm and a three-storey, outdoor sauna in the USA. Follow Dezeen on Pinterest and read on to discover the projects.

    Pinners have been attracted to Dezeen’s sauna board. The most popular saunas are inspired by their natural surroundings and have cosy and relaxing interiors.
    An out-building sauna in Canada, up a slope behind the main cabin, stood out due to its miniature size and unique shape.
    Scroll down to see nine popular projects pinned on Dezeen’s Pinterest and browse our sauna Pinterest board to see more.

    Ambassador Crescent, Canada, by BattersbyHowat Architects

    This detached sauna, built on the property of a mountainside home in Whistler, British Columbia, was designed by Vancouver-based studio BattersbyHowat Architects.
    Clad in standing seam metal, the small sauna mimics the design of the nearby holiday home.
    Find out more about the Ambassador Crescent ›

    The Big Branzino, Stockholm, by Sandellsandberg
    Pine planks clad the exterior of a floating sauna by Swedish studio Sandellsandberg, which they designed to blend in with the surrounding forests.
    For the interior, the studio used red cedar and added a fireplace, meaning that the central space can be heated for overnight trips when not used as a sauna.
    Find out more about The Big Branzino ›

    Bademaschinen, Norway, by ACT! Studio and Borhaven Arkitekter
    ACT! Studio and Borhaven Arkitekter designed a collection of floating red and orange buildings in Oslo harbour to be a playful and relaxing space sauna.
    For the project, the studio covered the floors with red vinyl. Birch plywood was used for the walls, tiered seating and changing rooms.
    Find out more about Bademaschinen ›

    Löyly, Switzerland, by Trolle Rudebeck Haar
    Graduate Trolle Rudebeck Haar designed another floating sauna in Switzerland to fit up to three people. It has a sloped roof, wooden stove, bench, translucent glass windows and an exterior deck.
    Löyly sits on a floating pontoon deck which allows it to be placed on any water with low-wave motion.
    Find out more about Löyly ›

    Saunaravintola Kiulu, Finland, by Studio Puisto
    Simple and traditional materials such as black wood and red epoxy flooring were used by Studio Puisto to create a sombre and crisp atmosphere for this sauna at a lakeside wellness centre in the town of Ähtäri, Finland
    Located in its own independent wooden cabin, the studio added a large window with the aim of connecting with the surrounding environment.
    Find out more about Saunaravintola Kiulu ›

    Sauna Tower, USA, by BarlisWedlick
    This treehouse-style, three-storey outdoor sauna in New York’s Hudson Valley was designed by American studio BarlisWedlick.
    A concrete sauna acts as the base for stacked-timber platforms made from Alaskan yellow cedar, topped with a viewing platform.
    Find out more about the Sauna Tower ›

    The Arctic Sauna Pavillion, Finland, by Toni Yli-Suvanto Architects
    The surrounding natural environment inspired the design of the Arctic Sauna Pavilion by Tony Yli-Suvanto Architects in Lapland, Finland.
    Inside, both bathing and relaxation take place in the same space, in accordance with an ancient arctic tradition. The walls of the building tilt outwards in the local custom to prevent the timber wall construction from getting wet.
    Find out more about The Arctic Sauna Pavillion  ›

    Atmosphere, Australia, by Studio Rain
    Studio Rain created a temporary sauna that is prefabricated and off-grid. Polycarbonate panels clads the walls and ceilings and it is heated by a wood-burning stove.
    Made of reclaimed timber, it can be built, disassembled and reused without the need for any equipment.
    Find out more about Atmosphere  ›

    Dark Spa, UK, by Neil Dusheiko Architects
    This spa was built in the garden of a renovated Victorian semi-detached home by Neil Dusheiko Architects. Inside the spa, the studio added a Japanese soaking tub, sauna, shower, gym and relaxation room with a fold-down bed.
    With walls clad in Sapele timber and black slate flooring, the Dark Spa is intended to be “silent and mysterious”, the studio told Dezeen.
    Find out more about the Dark Spa ›
    Follow Dezeen on Pinterest
    Pinterest is one of Dezeen’s fastest-growing social media networks with over 1.4 million followers and more than ten million monthly views. Follow our Pinterest to see the latest architecture, interiors and design projects – there are more than four hundred boards to browser and pin from.
    Currently, our most popular boards are retail interiors and staircases.

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    One Wall Street skyscraper completes conversion from offices to apartments

    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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    Ten interiors featuring natural materials and timeless accents

    For this special lookbook sponsored by Danish design company D Line, we’ve selected ten interiors that showcase architectural details by the brand including door handles, taps and drawer pulls.

    Door furniture and other pieces of practical hardware provide the finishing touches to interior schemes, and can create physical touchpoints that play a significant role in how people interact with the spaces they inhabit.
    D Line has been designing and manufacturing architectural hardware and sanitary ware since 1971. Collaborators include Danish architects Knud Holscher and Arne Jacobsen and British designer Tom Dixon.
    Here are 10 projects where D Line’s products have been used to add timeless accents to interiors with natural materials, including homes, hotels, restaurants and even a medical facility.
    Photo is by Jonas Bjerre PoulsenSt Catherine’s College, Oxford, by Arne Jacobsen and Knud Holscher

    Jacobsen designed the modernist concrete exterior as well as the interior and furnishings of St Catherine’s College at the University of Oxford, which opened in 1962.
    Details as small as the handles on the interior doors – named AJ lever handles in reference to the designer’s initials – echo the curved, smooth form of the college’s larger design elements.
    Photo is by Jonas Bjerre PoulsenÄng restaurant, Sweden, by Norm Architects
    Danish studio Norm Architects has designed Äng, a restaurant in Sweden with both an above-ground structure resembling a greenhouse and a subterranean wine cellar.
    D line’s distinct L lever handle in a gunmetal finish was used on doors throughout both spaces, where it matches other metal lighting fixtures as well as the building’s structural components.
    Find out more about Äng restaurant ›
    Photo is courtesy of Norm ArchitectsSAS Royal Hotel, Copenhagen, by Arne Jacobsen
    Another project by Jacobsen, who designed all the elements found in the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen – which opened in 1960 – in line with his all-encompassing approach to architecture and interior design.
    Subsequent remodelling means that only Room 606 remains in its original form. Here, steel AJ lever handles were chosen to tie in with the cool duck-egg blue walls and other silver hardware, such as the frame of the blue seats and sofa.
    Find out more about SAS Royal Hotel ›
    Photo is by Jonas Bjerre PoulsenArchipelago House, Sweden, by Norm Architects
    This holiday home by Norm Architects is situated in a coastal area of Sweden and combines Scandinavian design with Japanese aesthetics.
    The L lever handle in charcoal from D line’s Holscher range provides a steady rhythm of graphic contrast in the interior, which primarily uses light wood furnishings and bright neutral finishes.
    Find out more about Archipelago House ›
    Photo is courtesy of Rubow ArchitectsPrivate Summer Residence, Denmark, by Rubow Architects
    Designed by Danish studio Rubow Architects, this holiday home in Denmark aims to blend in with its surroundings by using neutral tones and floor-to-ceiling windows that allow natural light and views of nature into the house.
    The L lever handle provides an unobstructive finish to the house’s doors and helps give the house its indoor-outdoor feel.
    Photo is by Enok HolsegårdBarbara’s atelier, Copenhagen, by Barbara Bendix Becker
    Textile designer Barbara Bendix Becker’s Copenhagen-based antiques and collectibles atelier is full of Nordic ceramics, lighting and furniture by celebrated Scandinavian designers.
    The brass Arne Jacobsen lever handle features alongside these other design classics and has been seamlessly integrated with other warm-toned metal finishes, as well as the atelier’s honey-coloured wooden elements.
    Photo is courtesy of MTJ StudioStockholmsgade bathroom, Copenhagen, by Emil Thorup
    This bathroom scheme created by interior designer Emil Thorup is characterised by its rhythmic herringbone tile floor, muted sage-coloured walls and round-cornered, freestanding bathtub.
    D-line’s Qtoo bathroom hardware collection in a subtle brushed-steel finish was used for part of the bath, sink and shower setup, and creates a nice metallic contrast to the pale green walls and natural materials used in the room.
    Photo is by Jonas Bjerre PoulsenDentology+ clinic, Antwerp, by Norm Architects
    Norm Architects went against the grain with the design of this dental surgery, which avoids overtly clinical interiors in favour of soft neutral finishes that encourage calmness in patients.
    Charcoal-toned L lever handles punctuate the otherwise light and airy interior, alongside unexpected homely details like low-slung sofas and translucent draped curtains.
    Find out more about Dentology+ clinic ›
    Photo is courtesy of &Shufl&Shufl x D Line collaboration
    Danish design company &Shufl provides carpentry and hardware elements that are compatible with IKEA kitchens, bathrooms and wardrobes to give existing schemes a facelift.
    D Line’s bar handles, which have featured in its catalogue for over 50 years, are used for the &Shufl designs, where they come in a curated palette of different colours and finishes.
    Photo is by Luke Arthur WellsLuke Arthur Wells x Fat collection by Knud Holscher
    British interior designer Luke Arthur Wells devised an interior scheme that encourages peacefulness by using rounded furniture, handmade ceramics and soft floor coverings.
    D Line’s FAT lever handle – part of a wider collection by Dixon – is shorter, thicker and more rounded than traditional door furniture and further softens the already gentle interior.
    This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing sociable split-level living spaces, subtly installed lifts, cosy cabins and opulent hotels.
    This lookbook was produced by Dezeen for D line as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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    KOT Architects creates “cosy and inviting” showroom for Dior

    Architecture studio KOT Architects has designed a creamy showroom-cum-office inside a new building in Tel Aviv for French fashion house Dior.

    Situated on the 17th floor of a newly built office block, the showroom, which features a large birch plywood bookcase and neutral colours, was designed to simulate the comforting feeling of a home.
    KOT Architects has designed the interiors of Dior’s showroom”The raw and rugged urban surroundings amplify the contrast between the various materials used and accentuate the cosy and inviting ambience within the space,” KOT Architects founder Kfir Galatia-Azulay said.
    “The approach was to conceptualize the space as a home with distinct zones to create a welcoming and secluded environment, distinct from that of a conventional office or store,” Galatia-Azulay told Dezeen.
    The studio used light woods and a muted colour paletteKOT Architects employed a colour scheme consisting of off-whites and beiges with brass accents to create a warm and cosy atmosphere.

    These work together with white travertine stone, polished white marble, raw concrete and natural birch wood materials to create a clean and sophisticated look, which the studio said embodies the “elegance” associated with the Dior brand.
    Beauty products are displayed on shelves around the spaceThe studio arranged the showroom and the employee rooms – which include a kitchenette and a private office – as a series of multi-functional “versatile spaces” across the L-shaped space.
    A wooden bookcase was used to create a partition in the middle of the floor plan, with one side providing employees with room for events and networking and the other for clients to try on clothes.

    OMA creates “stage for storytelling” for Dior exhibition in Tokyo

    “The challenge was to optimize an L-shaped area with two wings – one for the company’s offices and another added wing for the showroom space,” Galatia-Azulay said.
    “The objective was to establish a versatile space that accommodates various commercial activities while upholding the brand’s values.”
    An open-plan kitchen has been merged with the show spaceElsewhere, KOT Architects added a spherical light fixture into the ceiling above a travertine table, which was custom-made in its Tel Aviv studio.
    Meanwhile, perfume bottles, candles and mannequins sporting Dior garments are displayed on in-built shelving units and on chunky, beige plinths.
    Seating is provided by bleaker-style benches which employees can sit on during presentations, armchairs clad in creamy fabrics and matching plump ottomans.
    The Tel Aviv showroom has plenty of wooden detailsDior is one of the most well-known fashion brands in the world. According to the curator of the V&A museum’s exhibition Dior: Designer of Dreams Oriole Cullen, Dior’s founder “helped to define an era”.
    The fashion house’s most recent runway show at Paris Fashion Week took place beneath a hanging kaleidoscopic installation by artist Joana Vasconcelos, which was decorated with fabrics from the collection.
    The photography is by Amit Geron.

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    Coil + Drift opens lighting studio and showroom in the Catskills

    Lighting studio Coil + Drift has opened an office, showroom and production facility in the Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York that places modern elements in a barn-like building.

    Coil + Drift founder John Sorensen-Jolink, who relocated to the area in 2021, has created a new home for his brand in a barn-like structure surrounded by nature.
    Coil + Drift’s new space in the Catskills showcases the brand’s products”By relocating their queer-owned design business to the countryside, Coil + Drift is sparking a visceral conversation between people in a thriving rural creative community about how what we make defines who we are,” said the studio.
    The building encompasses 3,000 square feet (280 square metres) and boasts tall ceilings, which are painted white along with its plywood-panelled walls.
    The showroom includes an office space, defined by a chocolate-brown rugThe space is divided between a combined office and showroom, and a production facility where an in-house team now creates all of the company’s lighting designs.

    In one corner of the showroom sits a black wood-burning stove, with a flue that extends through the roof, next to a pile of chopped logs used to fuel it.
    Furniture is displayed on stepped plinths, accompanied by lighting aboveChocolate-brown area rugs contrast the pale concrete floors, defining the entrance, the office space and a spot by the fire in lieu of walls or partitions.
    Plinths are used to raise furniture designs, arranged in styled vignettes along with lighting, plants and small accessories.

    Coil + Drift and Cold Picnic style renovated Prospects Heights Townhouse

    More objects are displayed on wooden shelves of varying lengths, held up at different heights on thin golden rods.
    Industrial-looking metal and glass doors mounted on rolling tracks separate the showroom from the workshop, which is located in an adjoining room.
    The showroom features a white ceiling and walls, and a pale concrete floorOn show are several new additions to popular Coil + Drift collections, such as a floor version of the Yama table lamp and a “mobile-like” chandelier that joins the Atlas series.
    Also to coincide with its move and expansion, the company has launched a trade-focused online platform for its products.
    The building also houses a production facility behind industrial-style doorsCoil + Drift’s previous projects have included styling a townhouse in Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights neighbourhood for Hatchet Design.
    Sorensen-Jolink, a former dancer, is one of many creatives that moved from New York City to nearby rural areas, either during or following the Covid-19 pandemic.
    Coil + Drift founder John Sorensen-Jolink relocated to the Catskills in 2021 before opening the new studioUpstate New York, and particularly the Hudson Valley and Catskills area, was already growing in popularity as a destination for artists and designers before the lockdowns, thanks to its reputation for vintage furniture shopping and art institutions.
    Then low property prices and high demand for space and fresh air sparked an exodus to the region, when many bought second homes or relocated permanently.
    The photography is by Zach Hyman.

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    Eight offbeat bakeries and patisseries that provide playful backdrops for baked goods

    A steely space-themed patisserie displaying chunks of meteorite and a green monochrome pastry shop with squiggly furniture feature in this lookbook of unusual and unique bakery interior designs.

    Architects and designers across the world have created bakeries and patisseries with striking interiors that provide a playful setting from which to collect baked goods to take home or enjoy while dining in with a tasty treat.
    From a bakery with an open-plan kitchen that showcases the bread-making process to a cheese tart shop with a Lego display counter, here are eight offbeat bakeries and patisseries that have been featured on Dezeen.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring inviting entrance halls, minimalist Tokyo apartments and bathrooms with colourful sanitary ware.
    Photo is by Jonathan LeijonhufvudBlack Star Pastry, China, by Linehouse

    For Australian chain Black Star Pastry’s first Chinese outpost, design studio Linehouse created a space-themed interior filled with stainless-steel shelves displaying meteorites.
    The shelving extends to the top of the walls and curves to form an arched ceiling. On the white-tiled counter, nine levitating cakes are displayed in glass containers.
    Find out more about Black Star Pastry ›
    Photo is by Mikhail LoskutovBreadway, Ukraine, by Lera Brumina and Artem Trigubchak
    Designers Lera Brumina and Artem Trigubchak finished this cafe and bakery in Ukraine with colourful walls and upholstery.
    Originally a dental clinic, the designers transformed the interior by combining pink and rusty hues with blue and grey tones to “emphasise the warm colour of bread”.
    Find out more about Breadway ›
    Photo is by Imagen SubliminalCasa Mela, Spain, by Casa Antillón
    The Casa Mela pastry shop in Madrid is made up of two rooms that Spanish studio Casa Antillón contrasted by completing one in white and the other in green.
    Customers enter the shop via the all-white room, which features an angular stainless steel counter displaying the sweet treats on offer (pictured top).
    In the green room, metal tables and chairs with wriggly edges provide dining furniture.
    Find out more about Casa Mela ›
    Photo is by Carolina LacazMintchi Croissant, Brazil, by Dezembro Arquitetos
    Architecture studio Dezembro Arquitetos was informed by pastry techniques when designing the Montchi Croissant patisserie in São Paolo.
    The flooring, countertop and bench seating were made from perforated terracotta bricks, which were infilled with concrete piped from an icing nozzle.
    Find out more about Mintchi Croissant ›
    Photo is by Kyung RohCafé Teri, South Korea, by Nameless Architecture
    Located at the base of a mountain in Daejeon, South Korea, the Café Teri bakery and cafe is made up of two buildings with exterior walls that curve towards each other to form an “artificial valley”.
    Designed by Nameless Architecture, the curving walls create a dramatic effect in the bakery interior and slope down to form stepping seating.
    Find out more about Café Teri ›
    Photo is by Volker ConradusSofi, Germany, by Mathias Mentze and Alexander Vedel Ottenstein
    Danish architects Mathias Mentze and Alexander Vedel Ottenstein transformed a former brick factory in Berlin into the Sofi craft bakery with warm tones, wood finishes and red vinyl flooring.
    At the centre of the space is an open-plan kitchen that the architects designed as a “production floor” allowing visitors to watch the bread-making process.
    Find out more about Sofi ›
    Photo is by Takumi OtaBake, Japan, by Yusuke Seki
    A counter made of Lego bricks forms the centrepiece of this cheese tart shop in Kyoto, which was created by Tokyo-based designer Yusuke Seki.
    Bamboo latticework lines the walls on either side of the counter and an open kitchen at the rear reveals the process of baking the cheese tarts.
    Find out more about Bake ›
    Photo is by Jerome GallandLiberté, France, by Emmanuelle Simon
    Interior architecture studio Emmanuelle Simon added arched shelving coves and rounded furniture to the Liberté bakery in Paris, aiming to create a unique space that encourages visitors to stay a little longer than usual while on their bakery trip.
    The rounded shapes were complimented with warm sandy colours and Raku tiles – ceramic tiles that were created by the ancient Japanese firing technique – cover the central island and back walls of the alcoves.
    Find out more about Liberté ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring inviting entrance halls, minimalist Tokyo apartments and bathrooms with colourful sanitary ware.

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    Energy-saving 10K House in Barcelona is a “labyrinth that multiplies perspectives”

    Spanish studio Takk took cues from snugly stacked Russian dolls for the interior renovation of this Barcelona apartment, which features rooms nestled inside each other to maximise insulation.

    Called 10K House, the 50-square-metre apartment was renovated by Takk using a material budget of only 10,000 euros with the aim of updating the home to be as sustainable as possible.
    10K House is a residential interior design projectThe project was informed by concerns about climate change as well as the global energy crisis faced by homeowners and renters.
    Arranged across one open level, rooms were built “inside one another” in a formation that mimics the layers of an onion and places the rooms that require the most heat at the centre of the apartment, according to Takk.
    The bedroom is raised on recycled white table legs”This causes the heat emitted by us, our pets or our appliances to have to go through more walls to reach the outside,” principal architects Mireia Luzárraga and Alejandro Muiño told Dezeen.

    “If we place the spaces that need more heat – for example, the room where we sleep – in the centre of the Matryoshka [a Russian doll] we realise that we need to heat it less because the configuration of the house itself helps to maintain the temperature.”
    “The result is a kind of labyrinth that multiplies perspectives,” explained the architects, who designed the project for a single client.
    MDF was used throughout the apartmentRecycled table legs were used to elevate these constructed rooms to allow the free passage of water pipes and electrical fittings without having to create wall grooves, reducing the overall cost.
    For example, the raised central bedroom is clad in gridded frames of medium-density fibreboard (MDF) that are enveloped by slabs of local sheep’s wool – utilitarian and inexpensive materials that feature throughout the interior.
    “Despite being a small apartment, it is very complex to ensure that you never get bored of the space,” said Luzárraga and Muiño.
    The remnants of previous partitions were left exposedAfter demolishing the apartment’s existing internal layout, Takk chose not to apply costly and carbon-intensive coatings to the floors and walls.
    Rather, the architects scrubbed the space clean and left traces of the previous partitions and dismantled light fixtures visible, giving the apartment a raw appearance and maintaining a reminder of the original floor plan.
    The kitchen features a metallic sink and low-slung cabinetsThe kitchen is located in the most open part of 10K House, which includes timber geometric cabinetry and an exposed metallic sink.
    According to the architects, the open kitchen intends to act as a facility “without associated gender” and address stereotypes typically attached to housework.

    Energy savings from home insulation “vanishing” after four years

    “Traditionally, the kitchen has been understood as a space to be used mainly by women, whether they own the house or do domestic work,” reflected Luzárraga and Muiño.
    “This has meant that [historically] this space has been relegated to secondary areas of the house, poorly lit and poorly ventilated, especially in small homes.”
    “One way to combat this is by placing the kitchen in better and open spaces, so that everyone, regardless of their gender, is challenged to take charge of this type of task,” they added.
    10K House was constructed using CNC-milled componentThe dwelling was constructed using CNC-milled components that were cut prior to arriving on-site and assembled using standard screws.
    Takk chose this method to encourage DIY when building a home, and armed the client with a small instruction manual that allowed them to assemble aspects of the apartment themselves “as if [the apartment] were a piece of furniture”.
    Takk was informed by soaring energy prices when designing the project10K House is based on a previous project by the architecture studio called The Day After House, which features similar “unprejudiced” design principles, according to Luzárraga and Muiño.
    The architects – who are also a couple – created a winter-themed bedroom for their young daughter by inserting a self-contained igloo-like structure within their home in Barcelona.
    The photography is by José Hevia.

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    Demountable electric-blue grid engulfs On-Off store interior in Milan

    Italian architect Francesca Perani has teamed up with design studio Bloomscape to create a reversible fit-out for this clothing store in Milan, which is dominated by a flexible gridded shelving system.

    Perani and Bloomscape installed the grid with its moveable shelves as a way to let the On-Off store effortlessly change its display arrangements.
    A gridded blue framework covers the entire interior of Milan’s On-Off storeIt was also a matter of making the store reversible, meaning that the fit-out could be easily dismantled should the retailer move on to a different site, saving waste and leaving behind a clean slate for the next occupier.
    “Too often, the world of retail is still insensitive to sustainability; its lifecycle, however, is too short to continue being ignored,” explained Bloomscape co-founder Rosario Distaso.
    Concrete chimney blocks form display plinths and benchesThe gridded framework comprises beams of poplar wood surrounded by metal frames that were anodised to produce a vivid electric-blue colour.

    The system runs along the walls and across the store’s ceiling, allowing On-Off to hang wayfinding signage.
    Shelves can be moved around in the framework to create different displaysAll of the shelves can be pulled out or slotted in at different points of the framework.
    A fixed wooden clothes rail runs between two of the columns, allowing the hung garments to appear almost as part of the store’s architecture.

    Fabio Novembre launches first concept store in Milan dedicated to his designs

    As the team was working with a limited budget, just a handful of materials were applied throughout the rest of On-Off.
    The same metal-clad poplar wood was used to create freestanding clothing rails that appear at the edges of the store. Sheets of poplar also form the top of the store’s display plinths and bench seats, which have chimney cement blocks for a base.
    Mirrored panels clad the store’s cash register deskAt the rear of the floor plan is a mirror-clad cash register, set against a wall lined with translucent polycarbonate sheets.
    More panels of polycarbonate were used to enclose On-Off’s changing rooms, with a shiny silver curtain suspended in front of each cubicle for privacy.
    Polycarbonate walls and silver curtains feature in the changing roomsOther striking retail spaces in Milan include the Marni flagship with its very own artists’ studio and IoNoi – a hybrid store and gallery dedicated to the work of Italian designer Fabio Novembre.
    The photography is courtesy of Francesca Perani.

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