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      Florence Knoll Bassett “led an office revolution”

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      As part of our mid-century modern series, we portray Florence Knoll Bassett, who transformed how we think of office design with her streamlined furniture and leadership of design brand Knoll.

      Under Knoll, Florence Knoll, as she was then called, brought modern lines and a human-centric design ethos to the American office environment. As well as leading the company’s interior design arm, the Planning Unit, she designed furniture for its collections and developed its aesthetic identity.
      She was also known for professionalising the mid-century interior design industry, combining her extensive architectural training with an eye for form and combatting the notion that interior design was the same as decorating.
      Florence Knoll (left) worked with designers and architects including Eero Saarinen. Photo courtesy of KnollIn a 1964 New York Times article about her, titled “Woman Who Led an Office Revolution Rules an Empire of Modern Design; Florence Knoll Gave Business ‘Living’ a New Look”, she said that offices had changed from being ‘decorated’ to being designed.
      “I am not a decorator,” she said in the article. “The only place I decorate is my own house.”

      Knoll was founded by Florence Knoll’s husband Hans Knoll, who was in the process of developing the company in New York City when the pair met in 1941.
      In 1943, Florence Knoll joined the burgeoning company as a designer and soon after became a full business partner upon the couple’s marriage in 1944.

      Office design pioneer Florence Knoll Bassett dies aged 101

      Today, Knoll is known for its portfolio of office furniture, including notable designs such as the Barcelona Chair by Mies van der Rohe, the Wassily Lounge Chair by Marcel Breuer, and the Womb Chair by Eero Saarinen – three pieces Florence Knoll commissioned herself through her many long-standing connections in the architecture world.
      She also created seating, tables, and storage systems for office interiors that were meant as “fill-in” pieces – uncomplicated designs that complemented the more flashy products by her peers.
      “People ask me if I am a furniture designer,” she said. “I am not. I never really sat down and designed furniture. I designed the fill-in pieces that no one else was doing. I designed sofas because no one was designing sofas.”
      Among her best-known pieces are the T Angle series of tables, which were constructed from a steel base and have laminate tops. These include a dining table, coffee tables and numerous other versions.
      Her Executive Desk, part of her Executive series and also known as the Partner’s Desk, with its rosewood top and splayed chrome-plated steel base, still looks modern today and is still produced by Knoll.
      Planning Unit specialised in corporate office interiors
      Her Lounge Collection, created in 1954, also epitomizes her approach. It encompassed a tufted lounge chair, sofa, settee, and bench that sat upon geometric, metal frames.
      Today, these pieces are treasured additions to household or corporate spaces, but Florence Knoll originally created them as a backdrop for the office interiors she designed while she led the Knoll Planning Unit.
      Founded by Florence Knoll in 1946, the Planning Unit consisted of a small group of Knoll designers that created corporate office interiors for prominent companies such as the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Cowles Publications and CBS.
      Led by Florence Knoll’s exacting eye, the small team was tasked with designing furniture, textiles and objects for a space.
      Florence Knoll designed the interiors for the CBS building in New YorkIn the 1960s, Florence Knoll designed the interiors of a new CBS headquarters in New York City, housed in a black-clad skyscraper by friend Eero Saarinen.
      “Her job embraces everything from the choice of wall coverings – sometimes felt or tweed for the sake of acoustics – to ashtrays, pictures and door handles,” the New York Times said of her involvement in the project.
      “She has led people to see that texture in fabrics can be as interesting as a print (she dislikes prints) and that steel legs on tables, chairs and sofas can have grace and elegance.”
      Bespoke pieces usually custom-made for interior projects
      The bespoke furniture that Florence Knoll designed for projects such as the CBS headquarters would then be folded into the Knoll catalogue.
      “The spaces suggest the furniture, and sometimes that furniture was not in our catalog,” Vincent Cafiero, an early member of the Planning Unit, said.
      During this period, Florence Knoll also started a textile program at the company, which would become Knoll Textiles. This saw her develop a “tagged sample and display system”, a technique used industry-wide today.
      As Knoll grew, Florence Knoll would also shape much of the company’s identity and practices.
      She worked with designer Herbert Matter to create branding for Knoll, including its advertisements, stationary and logo, imbuing its branding with the same straightforward style as her personal work.
      Florence Knoll also filled the company’s catalogue with commissions from her many connections, gathered during her architectural training at schools including he Cranbrook Academy of Art, Columbia University, Architectural Association and Illinois Institute of Technology.
      Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair is among the pieces commissioned by Florence Knoll. Photo by Adrià GoulaBorn and raised in Michigan, her training began in earnest at age 12, when Florence was orphaned after the death of her father at age 5 and mother at 12.
      Her guardian encouraged her to choose a boarding school, where the young Florence chose the Kingswood School for Girls, a school on the same grounds as Cranbrook Academy of Art.
      Eilel Saarinen, Cranbrook’s then headmaster and designer of both schools, noticed Florence’s interest in architecture and eventually “virtually adopted” Florence into the Saarinen family, according to Knoll.
      Mies van der Rohe was “teacher and friend”
      She would go on to befriend his son, Eero, and other prominent designers during her studies and beyond including Charles Eames, Harry Bertoia, Isamu Noguchi and George Nakashima.
      Florence was also mentored by architects Alvar Aalto, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer.
      Designer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who she studied under at the Illinois Institute of Technology, had perhaps the most lasting influence on her style, as seen in her methodical, detail-oriented approach.
      “Like her teacher and friend Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Ms Knoll Bassett’s attention to detail was all-encompassing, relentless, and, over time, the stuff of legend,” said Knoll.

      The organic designs of Eero Saarinen went “beyond the measly ABC” of modernism

      Her colleagues held her “unerring” taste in high regard.
      “Each time I go East I see something you have done,” wrote Charles Eames in a 1957 letter to Florence Knoll. “It is always good, and I feel grateful to you for doing such work in a world where mediocrity is the norm.”
      Upon Hans Knoll’s sudden death in 1955, Florence Knoll took over leadership of the company as president until 1960, when she switched back into a design and development role and moved to Florida with her second husband Henry Hood Bassett.
      She officially retired from the company in 1965 at age 48.
      Under her five years as president Knoll doubled in size, cementing its status as a leader in the design industry.
      “[Florence Knoll] probably did more than any other single figure to create the modern, sleek, postwar American office, introducing contemporary furniture and a sense of open planning into the work environment,” wrote The Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger in 1984.
      In 1961, Florence Knoll became the first woman to receive the Gold Medal for Industrial Design from the American Institute of Architects, and in 2003 she was presented with the National Medal of Arts.
      “We have lost one of the great design forces of the 20th century,” Goldberger said when Florence Knoll died in 2019. “Florence Knoll Bassett may have done more than anyone else to create what we think of as the ‘Mad Men’ design of the midcentury modern workspace.”
      Illustration by Jack BedfordMid-century modern
      This article is part of Dezeen’s mid-century modern design series, which looks at the enduring presence of mid-century modern design, profiles its most iconic architects and designers, and explores how the style is developing in the 21st century.
      This series was created in partnership with Made – a UK furniture retailer that aims to bring aspirational design at affordable prices, with a goal to make every home as original as the people inside it. Elevate the everyday with collections that are made to last, available to shop now at made.com.

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      “I love mid-century modern but it makes me sad”

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      Mid-century modern design may meet our needs even more now than when it first appeared, but that doesn’t mean we should idolise the style, writes John Jervis.

      I love mid-century modern, but it makes me sad. In its beauty and simplicity, it speaks of postwar optimism, and a belief in a better world – one of prosperity and peace, with large homes and larger pay packets. It’s not the fault of a bunch of attractive designs that this proved to be a mirage, even a fraud. But mid-century modern was wrapped up in that delusion, even contributed to it. And the design industry enjoyed, and continues to enjoy, the ride just a little too much.
      In the 1950s, mid-century modern design promised a lifestyle free from markers of wealth and privilege, free of decorative excess, of clutter and dirt, free from the past. In reality, there were few progressive ideals involved. Before the war, modernist designers had struggled to bring their ideas to mass production, but still sought to raise living standards in cities, designing ‘minimum dwellings’ with floorplans, kitchens and furnishings calculated to maximize space and improve lives.
      Their postwar successors – all those heroic, big-name designers we celebrate as prophets of a modern, democratic future – turned out to be less public-spirited. When mass production of modernist designs became a reality, they chose lucrative careers working, almost exclusively, for high-end manufacturers.
      Then, as now, class was deeply embedded in design’s power
      And those manufacturers rarely considered, pursued or achieved affordability or accessibility, and still don’t. There may well be perfectly justifiable arguments – and realities – around balancing profitability, quality and investment, and achieving sustainability. Yet it is fair to say that most such companies have never sought a mass consumer market – the sort of market that would erode the cachet and returns of their intellectual property. Then, as now, class was deeply embedded in design’s power, even as its pioneers proclaimed the advent of a classless era.

      To be fair, that worked both ways. The golden age of mid-century modern design barely stretches a couple of decades, partly because it was never that popular. Even when incomes grew, and aspirational furnishings became just about affordable, most consumers turned not to sanctioned ‘good design’, but to products with other, perhaps more important, meanings – nostalgia, craft, ornament, community, warmth.
      To the despair of critics, heavy ‘baroque’ furniture remained the preferred choice of consumers during the German economic miracle, while Americans showed a similar predilection for colonial styles. In the heyday of the Italian furniture industry, many manufacturers stuck to an aesthetic decried by Domus editor Ernesto Rogers as ‘Cantu Chippendale’.

      “There was a profound belief in the power of the polymath during the mid-century period”

      Just as tellingly, when the wider population of mid-century modern poster child Finland was finally able to afford the country’s furniture, the new ‘Tower’ suite was the immediate bestseller. Released in 1971, this three-piece sofa-armchair combo – a typology anathema in design circles – adopted a traditional ‘English style’, with comfortable upholstery and oak veneer over foam and chipboard. It turned out that imported British TV shows were more influential than lecturing from design’s great and good about a modernist canon.
      In the postwar era, that great and good – a pale, male and privileged elite – secured its status rapidly, with a raft of government- and industry-backed organizations such as Britain’s Council of Industrial Design and the Industrial Designers Society of America, all dedicated to imposing universal standards of ‘good design’.
      Soon, even receptive audiences – including many young designers – began to find both the discourse and the results tedious, turning to Victoriana, pop and eventually postmodernism as the 1960s progressed. Some rejected ‘design’ in its entirety, looking to alternative culture instead, epitomised by the success of the Whole Earth Catalog.
      Why has mid-century modern now become the default style for contemporary interiors?
      The reasons behind changes in taste are always hard to pinpoint, but in this instance, it seems many were looking for a richness, diversity, vibrancy and meaning in their lives that mid-century modern was failing to provide – an opportunity to express their personality and creativity through their home decor. So why has mid-century modern now become the default style for contemporary interiors? As with Victorian design’s comeback in the 1960s, or art deco in the 1980s and brutalism in the 2000s, such revivals are far from unusual, but it’s still curious that mid-century modern meets our needs more than during its heyday.
      Some of that may be practical. As more and more of us are crammed into ever smaller homes, squeezing a spindly faux-mid-century modern desk into a bedroom is more realistic than some glorious art deco behemoth. And, as we constantly move from space to space, its lightness and modularity make perfect sense. Other reasons are less tangible, less knowable – perhaps mid-century modern offers a clarity, calm and sense of control that is hard to find in the rest of our lives.

      Mid-century modern design “embraced a more human aesthetic while remaining aggressively forward-looking”

      The financial equation hasn’t changed over the decades, though. Manufacturers still have a tight grip on their ‘originals’, leaving the vast majority of us buying knock-offs, or flat-packed imitations, as we attempt to Marie Kondo our existence.
      But how long will everyone want to live in these ranks of pristine waiting rooms? My aspirations for a mid-century modern bachelor pad – a Julius Shulman photo on the cheap – have long since fallen away. Leaving behind that quest for a lifestyle that never existed in the first place has improved my lot considerably. It is the (slightly mannered) accumulation of battered paperbacks in the Penguin donkey and the coffee stain on the Aalto stool that give them their charm. And their submersion in the general detritus of life gives them context and meaning.
      Maybe we just don’t need another generation of Eames loungers
      And there is another thing that might speed up a mid-century modern rethink. In promotional literature, its timelessness and durability have long been trumpeted as the route to a sustainable future. Perhaps this claim is no longer quite so convincing. Regenerative and circular design requires us to instead embrace age, imperfection, decay, decomposition, even odour – to view products as a passing moment in the life of a material, with longevity as a potential drawback. So maybe we just don’t need another generation of Eames loungers.
      In this context, mid-century modern’s ‘timeless perfection’ can seem a cold quality, one throwing a harsh light on our own imperfections and frailties – our human nature – while overlooking our concern with and capacity for joy. The obsessive repetition of this mantra, and of outdated concepts of ‘good design’, invites the backlash that brought mid-century modern design to a shuddering halt last time round, viewed as sterile, inflexible, lifeless.
      Certainly, like so many others, I will always find mid-century modern beautiful, even sublime, and I’ve got my eyes on a few more alluring examples. But I wouldn’t want too much of it in my life.
      Main photography by Joe Fletcher.
      John Jervis is a writer, editor, project manager and ghost writer across a range of media, including Icon, Frame, RIBA Journal, Apollo, ArtAsiaPacific, Thames & Hudson, ACC, WePresent, Laurence King and others. He has just published his first book, 50 Design Ideas You Really Need to Know, with Greenfinch Books.
      Illustration by Jack BedfordMid-century modern
      This article is part of Dezeen’s mid-century modern design series, which looks at the enduring presence of mid-century modern design, profiles its most iconic architects and designers, and explores how the style is developing in the 21st century.
      This series was created in partnership with Made – a UK furniture retailer that aims to bring aspirational design at affordable prices, with a goal to make every home as original as the people inside it. Elevate the everyday with collections that are made to last, available to shop now at made.com.

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      Neri&Hu creates “urban oasis” for Artyzen New Bund 31 hotel in Shanghai

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      Chinese studio Neri&Hu has completed a hotel in Shanghai alongside the New Bund Performing Arts Centre, which was also designed by the studio.

      Located in Pudong District, Artyzen New Bund 31 hotel forms part of a larger development called Qiantan, which includes an office tower and a shopping centre.
      The scalloped details on the entrance facade is to resonate with the arches used in the adjacent performing arts centreThe hotel, which is connected directly to the New Bund Performing Arts Centre, contains a total of 202 guest rooms is a tower above a podium.
      Alongside the entrance of the hotel on the ground floor, Neri&Hu created a scallop-shaped concrete facade to recall the arches of the performing arts centre.
      A large circular opening allows natural light into the ground floor lobbyGuests can go to the hotel reception on the fifth floor either directly from this gound ground floor entrance or via a lounge on the third floor that connects to performing arts centre.

      According to the Shanghai-based Neri&Hu, the hotel was conceived as having been carved from a single monolithic mass.
      The ground floor lobby features a large circular opening punctuating the ceiling, inviting natural light flooding into the otherwise enclosed space.
      The hotel is designed to be an “urban oasis”The firth floor, which is the top of the podium block, contains all the shared amenities including reception, lounges, restaurants, event spaces, and outdoor gardens.
      The facilities were placed in pavilions, which were arranged in a stone landscape that acts as a garden-like experience for guests.

      Neri&Hu captures “spirit of traditional alleyways” at Shanghai arts centre

      “The hotel is envisioned as an urban oasis that takes its guests on a journey of surprise and discovery,” said Neri&Hu.
      “With an abundance of outdoor landscape spaces, Artyzen Qiantan offers a rare experience in an urban hotel, a sense of respite and escape from the bustling city of Shanghai,” it continued.
      A series of pavilions containing facilities are located on the fifth floor. Photo by Branston Partnership IncThe colour palette for the guest rooms was informed by traditional Chinese gardens, mindful of the nature theme that is consistent throughout the hotel.
      Grey stone wraps the entry and bathroom of each room, while wooden bed frames bring a sense of warmth, with bronze metal details adding a touch of luxury. Custom furniture pieces by Neri&Hu create a sense of home and casualness for the guests.
      Guest rooms were designed to create a home-like experienceNeri&Hu was founded by architects Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu in Shanghai in 2006. Along with the New Bund Performing Arts Centre, the studio recently completed a residential block in Taiwan.
      The photography is by Pedro Pegenaute unless otherwise stated.
      Project credits:
      Partners-in-charge: Lyndon Neri, Rossana HuAssociate-in-charge: Akrawit Yanpaisan, Scott HsuDesign team: Aleksandra Duka, Peng Guo, Danyan Jin, Andy Chen, Qiucheng Li, Elan Tao Tessie Wan, Paz Ma, Echo Li, Dania Angela Flores, Ambesh Suthar, Kathy Hu, Bella Lin, Greg Wu, Becky Zhang, Nicolas Fardet, Yin Sheng, Lili Cheng, Junho Jeon, Luna Hong, Lyuqitiao Wang, Haiou Xin, July Huang, Yuqi ZhongConsultants:Architect: Palmer & Turner ConsultantsCurtain wall consultant: Shanghai Zhulian Construction Engineering Co.Structural consultant: ArupMEP consultant: China Team Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd. Shanghai BranchLandscape consultant: East China Architectural Design & Research InstituteConstruction PM: AECOMLDI: Shanghai Tianhua Architecture Planning & EngineeringAcoustic consultant: SMW (Shanghai) Business Consulting Co.Art consultant: Art Front Gallery (Shanghai) Co.Interior LDI: Shanghai Modern Architectural Decoration Environmental Design Research Institute Co.Interior lighting: Branston Partnership Inc.Kitchen consultant: CKP Kitchen Design Consultant Co.Signage consultant: Shanghai Saichi Logo Design Engineering Co.QS: ArcadisContractors:Contractor (GC): Shanghai Construction No.4(Group) Co.Curtain wall: Wuxi Hengshang Decoration Engineering Co.Hotel public area interior: Shanghai Construction Decoration (Group) Co.Hotel guest room interior: Shanghai Haihua Construction & Decoration Engineering Co.

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      Emil Eve Architects uses mid-century colours in homey office for Drama Republic

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      Distinct shades of green, orange and blue give character to this workplace, designed by Emil Eve Architects for the production company behind TV shows including the BBC’s Doctor Foster and Netflix’s One Day.

      Drama Republic gave Emil Eve the task of refurbishing its office in London’s Holborn.
      The redesign gives the company a more homey workspace, combining a mid-century-inspired colour palette with textural materials including oak and fluted glass.
      The colour palette includes mid-century-inspired shades of blue, green and orange”This is a working office, but also needs to be pleasant for clients to visit,” said Emma Perkin, Emil Eve co-founder.
      “We had to create a design that was practical but also welcoming and comfy,” she told Dezeen.

      “Often workplaces have a very limited palette; we consciously introduced a mid-century mix of greens, blues and oranges against warm white walls and natural wood. The slightly muted shades mean it’s bright but still calm.”
      Existing glass partitions were moved in line with the new floor planDrama Republic’s brief called for a mix of flexible work areas, including large desks for collaborative working, meeting rooms that support video conferencing, and lounge areas where staff can take calls or read through scripts.
      Emil Eve replanned the office layout to improve the flow between these different spaces.
      A new lobby features partitions crafted from hardwood and fluted glassThe architects were keen to reuse existing materials and furniture where possible, so glass partitions that surrounded the previous meeting rooms were simply moved in line with the new floor plan.
      A lobby was created, with new partitions designed to match the proportions of the existing ones. These were crafted from Sapele, an African hardwood with a warm reddish-brown tone.
      The custom-made desks integrate pinboard screensStorage was also installed, in custom-made wall units that provide bookshelves and hidden cupboards.
      “The office has really good natural light but had never been properly organised, so it felt cramped and ad-hoc,” said Perkin.

      Archmongers uses eco-friendly materials in colourful Bakken & Bæck office

      “Drama Republic didn’t want it to feel corporate, so we used our experience from residential projects to design well-considered joinery which maximised storage,” she explained.
      “There were lots of cables and lights, plus big office equipment like printers; we had to find a way to tidy things away but still have them accessible.”
      Meeting rooms are designed to support video conferencingCustom-made work surfaces include desks with bespoke pinboard screens, as well as meeting and coffee tables.
      All the chairs from before were reused, with the exception of the lobby sofa and the meeting room armchairs.
      Wall units provide both open shelves and concealed storageThe flooring is oak in a herringbone pattern, while lighting is provided by coloured glass ceiling lights and curvy pendants.
      “These are unusual specifications for an office but they work just as well and feel automatically more homey,” added Perkin.
      Poster and photos from Drama Republic productions decorate the wallsThe space is completed by framed photos and posters from Drama Republic productions, including Black Earth Rising, The Honourable Woman, Wanderlust and The Irregulars.
      Perkin and her partner and Emil Eve co-founder, Ross Perkin, established their studio in 2009. Their own office is a retrofit of a brutalist building in Hackney. Last year, one of its projects won London’s Don’t Move, Improve! competition.
      The photography is by Rachael Smith.
      Project credits
      Architect: Emil Eve ArchitectsContractor: Harbour Joinery WorkshopJoinery: Harbour Joinery Workshop, Thomas Collier StudioPaint: Edward Bulmer, Paint and Paper LibraryTiles: Mosaic FactorySofa and armchairs: Loaf

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      Raúl Sánchez Architects adds colourful details and “kitchen cube” to Spanish home

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      Spanish studio Raúl Sánchez Architects has renovated the PSM21 house outside of Barcelona, adding an interior staircase to turn two separate apartments into one home with colourful details.

      The studio aimed to turn the properties, in the coastal town of Castelldefels, into a single 250-square-metre house that takes advantage of its sea views.
      “The connection with the views, which are striking, are paramount in the project, so the layout tries to connect all the spaces with the exterior, but without simplifying the space, creating, at the same time, a complex indoors living,” Raúl Sánchez Architects founder told Raúl Sánchez told Dezeen.
      The Spanish home was previously two separate apartmentsThe studio initially renovated the upper apartment and will begin working on the lower floor next year. To connect the two floors of the building, which previously had separate entrances, the studio added an internal staircase.
      “The new requirements of the new family did not match the existing layout,” Sánchez said.

      “The two main storeys of the house were split and had no connection, and now the new house will be one only house, with a new connection staircase.”
      A yellow entrance hall welcomes visitorsOn the upper floor, a yellow entrance hall welcomes visitors to the house and leads into an open-plan kitchen and living room.
      Here, a blue-painted volume, which the architect calls the “kitchen cube”, holds the kitchen as well as a small storage room and the internal staircase.
      The kitchen features a blue “cube”On its other side, doors lead to the floor’s three bedrooms, each of which is connected to one of the home’s two bathrooms. The bedrooms are separated from the living spaces by a hallway lined with cabinets.
      To create interest in the space, the architect worked with a number of different textures and bright colours.

      Gold-leaf wall divides renovated Barcelona apartment by Raúl Sánchez Architects

      “Most of the ambience is whitish, but there are different materials giving that whitish, from paint, to white wood, white tiles or white microcement, so the texture is always adding a different character,” Sánchez explained.
      “And then, some colour spots, highlighting, for example, the kitchen cube – which also conceals a wardrobe and the staircase, to be done in the next second stage – that organizes the circulation around it; or in the bedrooms, with a very characteristic tinted wood in unfamiliar colours for the wood, which is something I really enjoy, to use unfamiliar colours with familiar materials.”
      Colourful details decorate the homeDifferent types of metals and stones add more tactile details.
      “There are also metals, as in the doors, mixing brass and stainless steel, or stones, like the red onyx and the granite in the kitchen and island,” Sánchez said.
      “The materiality is rich in textures and colour, so the experience of the house, now from a more tactile approach, is really rich and complex.”
      Architect Raúl Sánchez worked with colourful wood in the bedroomsRaúl Sánchez Architects also aimed for the house to be energy-efficient, using heat pumps to control its tempertaure.
      “All facade walls have been treated to improve their insulation and energy performance, both in solid sections and in the new windows, while a new aerothermal system meets the climatization needs in a highly efficient manner,” Sánchez said.
      “Most of the materials come from local suppliers, reducing the carbon footprint of the construction.”
      A “sauna pavilion” overlooks the gardenWhen complete, the lower floor will contain a study space, additional leisure areas and guest accommodation.
      Outside the home, stone-clad steps lead down to a garden and pool area, while a former warehouse at the bottom of the building was turned into a “sauna pavilion”.
      Each bedroom is connected to a bathroomThe studio was named Emerging interior design studio of the year at Dezeen Awards 2022. Recently completed projects by the studio include the renovation of a Barcelona apartment with a gold-leaf wall and a townhouse with a four-storey spiral staircase.
      The photography is by José Hevia.
      Project credits:
      Architecture: Paolo Burattini, Flavia Thalisa Gütermann, Dimitris LouizosEngineering: Marés ingenierosCarpentry: Vallés carpinteríaMetal works: MetalwareAlluminium and glass works: Jaume Costa

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      Bude Architects uncovers historic clay bricks for Kyiv cosmetics showroom

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      Ukrainian studio Bude Architects has designed a minimalist showroom and salon for cosmetic company Pleka in Kyiv.

      As the first step in a brand transformation for Pleka, the studio designed the showroom in an early 20th-century building to showcase natural materials with a neutral and inviting colour palette.
      Bude Architects has taken a minimalist approach to the showroom interiorHistoric yellow bricks made from local clay, which are characteristic of architecture in Kyiv during the 19th and early 20th century, were exposed throughout the interior.
      The studio showcased the material as it was keen to create a space that resonated with the architecture of the building, with other materials selected to complement this brickwork.
      Exposed yellow brick has been incorporated as a key feature throughout the interior”The choice of materials was influenced by the space background,” Bude Architects co-founder Julia Shataliuk told Dezeen.

      “We wanted to showcase the historic yellow brick, so we were looking for good companions for it.”
      The multifunctional showroom incorporates a retail space and a beauty salonThe studio combined the brickwork with natural woods, travertine and an earthy shade of decorative plaster, with the aim of creating a warm environment to reflect Pleka’s brand identity.
      “The brand’s core value is a careful and attentive attitude towards its customers,” Julia Shataliuk explained. “They manifest the importance of each person taking care of themselves.”
      “It was important for us to create a space that would convey the brand’s openness, create a special atmosphere, and improve the customer experience,” she continued. “This is reflected in the spatial solutions and materials.”
      Pared back, neutral tones have been used throughout the space to create a calming environmentBude Architects designed the space to encourage customers to interact with staff and test the products as well as utilising the beauty services on offer.
      “Pleka had a request to give customers more attention and an individual approach,” said Julia Shataliuk. “The result of the cooperation is a hybrid space where they comfortably unite a store and an express beauty salon in a small area.”
      Designated seating areas were incorporated into the scheme to create a comfortable customer experienceSet in a sunken ground floor, the showroom’s entrance space has a large reception desk, a client meeting area and a large, feature shelving unit. The studio designed the space to draw people in from the busy street.
      “It was crucial for us to use the shape of the room and its content to attract the attention of passers-by from the street through the windows,” explained co-founder Denys Shataliuk.
      A large dining table adds a homely element to the interiorThe shelving unit on the far wall functions as a focal point within the space to highlight the retail products – made from aluminium and mounted onto a mirrored surface, the unit was intended to contrast with the earthy tones of the interior.
      This section also contains a large meeting table, which acts as a designated area for clients to meet with staff and emphasises Pleka’s aim of building lasting customer relationships.

      Glass bricks divide spaces in Suprematism apartment in Kyiv

      “When we researched the brand to reflect its identity in the interior, we learned that the company establishes warm and long-term relationships with its customers,” said Denys Shataliuk.
      “It was important to express this friendliness through the space by creating an atmosphere of trust and comfort.”
      The large shelving unit acts as a focal point to showcase Pleka’s cosmetic productsAt the rear of the showroom, the second room has a more private atmosphere, with “a functional double-sided island with a built-in-sink” utilised for product testing and Pleka’s beauty salon services.
      Small hearts have also been incorporated throughout the interior scheme to reflect the brand identity, featured on custom clothing hooks and metal inlays in the worktops.
      The double-sided island is used for product testing and beauty salon servicesBude Architects was founded by Ukrainian couple, Denys and Julia Shataliuk. Originally from Kharkiv, the architects were forced to relocate to Kyiv due to the ongoing conflict. Other recently completed projects in Kyiv include a Nastia Mirzoyan’s renovation of a Stalinist-era flat and a colourful industrial-style interior created by design studio Dihome.

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      Studio Empathy and Praxes design library at Korean Cultural Center New York

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      Traditional Korean architecture influenced the layout and shelving design in the library at the Korean Cultural Center New York, designed by Studio Empathy and Praxes.

      Changhaak Choi of Studio Empathy and Jiyoung Kim from Praxes worked together to complete the 1,600-square-foot (149-square-metre) library, located on the third floor of the Korean Cultural Center New York’s new venue in Midtown Manhattan.
      The library is arranged to from a central courtyard formed by bookshelvesThe space houses a collection of over 10,000 books, periodicals, government publications, and multimedia resources in both Korean and English.
      It acts as a resource for research on Korea, introduces Korean writers to the New York audience, and provides educational materials for young Korean-Americans and those interested in Korean culture.
      The shelves are fabricated from plywood elements and joined to resemble traditional Korean architectural details”This new library aspires to be a cultural hub, promoting information exchange and enhancing mutual understanding of Korea among the Korean-American community and the broader New York population,” said Choi.

      “The design seamlessly blends archaic forms with a minimalistic and contemporary aesthetic, which incites a biophilic space.”
      The central space is populated with cube-shaped stools for visitors to sit and readTo enable easy circulation, the bookshelves were arranged in a rectangular plan with a pathway around the perimeter and a courtyard in the centre, with openings to allow movement between the two.
      The layout is akin to a traditional Korean han-ok house, which is similarly organised in a loop around a central space.
      The shelves sit away from the building’s glass walls so that visitors can circulate around the perimeterHere, the “courtyard” serves as the reading area and includes cube-shaped wooden stools upon which visitors can sit.
      “This design enables visitors to continuously explore the diverse scenery of book stacks and enjoy views of the rooftop garden through glass walls, seamlessly integrating indoor and outdoor elements,” Choi said.
      The library’s children’s section is housed within a lower storage moduleThe bookshelves were also modelled on the typical post-and-lintel assembly and joining techniques found in han-ok homes.
      They were fabricated as modular units using thin plywood panels, slats and metal components to be efficient and cost-effective.

      Studio Hinge creates library spaces beneath tree-like wooden columns

      Along the tops and sides of the storage modules, a wooden lattice is coloured in five bold hues to enliven the design.
      “This design resonates with the vibrant book spines, creating a dynamic visual contrast with the monochromatic, bright wood shelves, and light grey stone floor,” said Choi.
      Wooden latticework is also installed across the ceiling and behind the reception deskThe aim is for the library to become a community hub for Korean-Americans and others New Yorkers, and host events like book launches and other group activities.
      “This project showcases how cultural heritage can be preserved and celebrated through thoughtful and contemporary design, creating a unique and enriching environment for all visitors,” said Choi.
      The tops and sides of the shelves are coloured in five bold huesPlayful shelving solutions have become a hallmark of contemporary library designs around the world.
      At a space in São Paulo, MAB3 and Zénite created forest of books where shelves encircle tree-like columns, while Studio Hinge took an arboreally informed approach to storage at a library in Mumbai.
      The photography is by Michael Moran and Changhaak Choi.

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      in Rooms

      Seven transparent bathrooms for households who share everything

      by

      In this lookbook we collect bathrooms with see-through walls, best suited to those who take a more relaxed attitude to privacy in the home.

      In most homes the bathroom is designed as a private space. But as the interiors listed below demonstrate, deciding against encasing the washroom in opaque walls can bring in natural light, act as a space-saving device or even create an unusual focal point in the home.
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring bathrooms with sunken baths, subway tiles and double sinks.
      Photo by Yosuke OhtakeHouse in Kyoto, Japan, by 07Beach
      The bathroom inside this house in Kyoto, designed by architecture studio 07Beach, sits alongside a skylit central courtyard-like living space to give the residents the feeling of “open-air bathing”.

      “The house was designed as one big space, placing the double height living room at the centre so they can see who does what,” said the studio. “Although a curtain rail was set up in the bathroom just in case, it seems the family got used to the exposed bathroom, and still use it without a curtain.”
      Find out more about House in Kyoto ›
      Photo by Miguel de GuzmánBathyard Home, Spain, by Husos
      Madrid architecture studio Husos went further than merely making the bathroom visible in this apartment, instead removing partition walls to make it the main communal area of the home.
      “The bathyard is a space whose character can be negotiated and altered by the users by sliding transparent partitions and opening out a folding bench,” the studio said.
      Find out more about Bathyard Home ›
      Photo by Hey! CheeseCats’ Pink House, Taiwan, by KC Design Studio
      This holiday home in Taiwan was designed by KC Design Studio as a place for the owner to have fun with her three cats.
      The bathroom adjoins the cats’ playroom via a wall composed of a terrazzo plinth topped with pink glass, affording a view of what’s going on next door. For moments when additional privacy is desirable, the glass can be dimmed.
      Find out more about Cats’ Pink House ›
      Photo courtesy of Suppose Design Office (also top)House in Nagoya, Japan, by Suppose Design Office
      This house was completed by Japanese architecture studio Suppose Design Office all the way back in 2009 but is too good an example of a transparent bathroom not to be included on our list.
      The main living space looks straight through glass walls to the bathroom via a landscaped area filled with rocks and plants.
      Find out more about House in Nagoya ›
      Photo by Tomooki KengakuThe Life, Japan, by I IN
      Tokyo studio I IN overhauled an apartment for Japanese developer Smarg in an attempt to change perceptions of renovation projects.
      The flat has an open-plan layout and a restful ambience. Reeded glass partition walls allow light to penetrate into the windowless bathroom, as well as distorted view of the other side.
      Find out more about The Life ›
      Photo courtesy of Blueberry NightsBlueberry Nights, Georgia, by Sandro Takaishvili
      Georgian architect Sandro Takaishvili wanted this hotel in Tbilisi to make guests feel like they’re inside a movie.
      In the bedrooms, designed to evoke David Lynch’s visual style, the bathrooms are only separated by a slight change in level and the introduction of white tiles.
      Find out more about Blueberry Nights ›
      Photo by Torben EskerodVibo Tværveh, Denmark, by Valbæk Brørup Architects
      The bathroom at this summer cabin designed by Copenhagen studio Valbæk Brørup Architects takes the form of a tiled wet room that can be opened up to the elements.
      Located at one end of the long building, it opens through glass sliding doors onto an outdoor bathing area – which is fenced to avoid giving any passers-by a nasty shock.
      Find out more about Vibo Tværveh ›
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring bathrooms with sunken baths, subway tiles and double sinks.

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