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      Copenhagen Architecture Festival exhibition responds to “ridiculous” big-budget building projects

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      An exhibition in Copenhagen showcases work by students who were instructed to develop projects for extreme environments in order to come up with original design solutions not influenced by “castle in the sky” builds and architecture blogs.

      Named New Methods for Big Challenges: Architecture and Extreme Environments, the exhibition was commissioned for this year’s ongoing Copenhagen Architecture Festival (CAFx).
      It was curated by David Garcia, founder of local studio MAP Architects and an associate professor at the Royal Danish Academy’s architecture and technology institute, where he teaches a masters course titled Architecture and Extreme Environments.
      The exhibition is being held at Halmtorvet 27 in Copenhagen’s Meatpacking DistrictThe exhibition showcases the result of students’ work on the programme, which sees them live and work for weeks in harsh locations such as Alaska and the Gobi Desert.
      There they must seek to build and test design prototypes that benefit the communities living in these challenging environments by harnessing the resources available and collaborating with local people.

      Garcia said the aim of the course, as well as responding to climate change, is to give the students no choice but to produce original architecture – without the temptation to copy what they see online.
      “I wanted to make my students start in a very difficult place where there is no precedent, pushing them to an extreme context so they have to think anew,” he told Dezeen.
      “It’s partly based on the idea that it’s hard for students to separate themselves from the images they see on the architecture blogs. These websites have an enormous impact on students, who crave inspiration, but it can be overwhelming as there is so much readily available.”
      Garcia said the idea for the masters course was based on his time making “ridiculous” projects at a large British architecture firmHe added that his own experience working on big-budget projects for rich clients while at major British architecture firm Foster + Partners was behind the conception of the course.
      “I spent many years designing castles in the sky and that was pivotal in coming up with this programme,” he said.
      “I realised that from a resource perspective, and from the point of view of solving the world’s problems it was ridiculous. I’m extremely critical of those types of projects despite having worked on them myself in the past.”

      Boudewijn Buitenhek builds solar coffee-making tools for life without mains power

      The exhibition starts with blown-up versions of pamphlets produced by MAP Architects exploring concepts for architecture in places like Antarctica, Chernobyl, or the Earth’s orbit.
      For instance, one pamphlet suggests that Antarctica’s constant extreme cold be used to cool seeds in a World Seed Bank, as an alternative to the centre in the Arctic’s Svalbard where air conditioning is sometimes required due to temperature fluctuation.
      Among the projects featured in the main exhibition is a desalination device produced by a student placed with an Inuit community in the Bering Strait, where only saltwater is readily accessible.
      Projects were developed in locations like Alaska, the Gobi Desert and the Atacama DesertThe student’s research uncovered that thawing saltwater ice initially produces drinkable water, as this melts faster than saline.
      Via a series of tubes and chambers, the device takes a block of saltwater ice and transforms it into a glass of fresh water overnight that can be drunk in the morning.
      Meanwhile, the orange Inxect suit by Pavel Liepins aims to tackle issues of plastic pollution and food security in the Faroe Islands.
      It channels body heat and humidity generated by movement into an attached habitat for plastic-eating mealworms, which are non-toxic to humans and rich in protein.
      Students were encouraged to think originally about ways they could respond to the challenges of harsh environmentsSome exhibits play with materials, such as an insulation product made out of pine needles by a student placed in Alaska and a method for creating bricks from sand by a student sent to China’s Gobi Desert by Gabriele Jerosine.
      Not all the projects worked successfully, including a device intended to wrap around the stilts of houses in flood-prone Manaus, Brazil, to produce tidal energy, which proved to be overcomplicated and too fragile to function.
      “Personally I don’t care whether their experiments work or not, and I don’t have a specific aesthetic that I look for; that’s not as relevant to me, I’d like the students to explore their own aesthetics,” explained Garcia.

      Dezeen and The Mindcraft Project showcase experimental work by Danish designers

      “What I care about is that the students are working with the goal of improving the environment in mind, and doing so in a way that is unique to them,” he added.
      Garcia’s own work also features, in the form of a passive heating tent developed for the Atacama Desert in Chile where temperatures get very high during the day but drop dramatically at night.
      The tent uses a self-activating piston to expose a stick of soapstone, an efficient thermal accumulation material, to the sun to be heated during the day before being withdrawn into the tent at night where it gradually radiates heat to provide warmth.
      The exhibition runs until 20 NovemberSome projects produced by students on the course – which has an intake of between 20 and 25 each year – have worked so well that they have been left for use by the community.
      One such example is a project that used urine’s electrolyte properties to power a toilet light in rural Zanzibar, to enable women to feel safe using it at night.
      New Methods for Big Challenges: Architecture and Extreme Environments is being held in CAFx’s space at Halmtorvet 27 in Copenhagen’s Meatpacking District and runs until 20 November.
      Copenhagen Architecture Festival is running a series of events across Copenhagen and Aarhus, mainly between 6 and 16 October 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
      The photography is by Francesco Martello.

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      Atelier Tao+C creates serene timber and travertine reading room

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      Two vacant ground-floor rooms and an adjoining greenhouse were knocked together and lined with bookshelves to form this private library, designed by Atelier Tao+C for a venture capital firm in Shanghai.

      Set in a converted 1980s house, which is home to the offices of VC fund Whales Capital, the reading room can accommodate up to 12 people and is shared between the company’s employees and the owner’s friends.
      Atelier Tao+C has created a reading room for Whales CapitalAll of the rooms are enclosed by immovable, load-bearing walls, which local practice Atelier Tao+C had to integrate into the design while creating the impression of being in one continuous 76-square-metre space.
      To this effect, the original doors and windows were removed and three openings – measuring between two and three metres wide – were created to connect the rooms.
      The space is lined with wooden bookshelvesThe remaining wall sections are hidden from view by new architectural elements including a set of semi-circular wooden bookshelves, which run through the two ground-floor rooms to form a pair of small, quiet reading nooks.

      The structural walls connecting these rooms to the old glasshouse were wrapped in creamy white travertine to create a kind of “sculptural volume”, Atelier Tao+C explained.
      Skylights funnel natural light into the interiorAs a result, the studio says the walls and structural columns are “dissolved” into the space to create the feeling of a more open-plan interior.
      In the old greenhouse, a timber structure was inserted into the building’s glass shell, with bookshelves integrated into its wooden beams and columns to create a seamless design.

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      This structure also forms a wooden ceiling inside the glasshouse, with strategically placed round and square skylights to temper the bright daylight from outside and create a more pleasant reading environment.
      Spread across the interior are four different seating areas: a small study table for solo work, a shared meeting table, a reading booth for one person and a sofa seat where multiple people can talk and relax.
      White travertine was used to obscure the building’s original brick wallsA Private Reading Room has been shortlisted in the small interiors category of the 2022 Dezeen Awards.
      Atelier Tao+C, which is run by designers Chunyan Cai and Tao Liu, is also shortlisted for emerging interior design studio this year, alongside Sydney firm Alexander & Co, Barcelona-based Raúl Sánchez Architects and London practice House of Grey.
      The photography is by Wen Studio.

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      Offhand Practice designs second-hand bookshop in Shanghai to mimic greengrocer

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      Used books are displayed in supermarket-style crates at the Deja Vu Recycle Store in Shanghai, which local studio Offhand Practice has designed to counter the “shabby” image associated with second-hand shops.

      The store, which also carries pre-owned fashion, is located on the first and second floor of a three-storey building on Shanghai’s buzzy Anfu Road.
      The Deja Vu Recycle Store is located in Shanghai’s Anfu RoadOn the interior, Chinese architecture studio Offhand Practice hoped to create a relaxed shopping environment despite the large number of goods on offer, which includes more than 2,000 pieces of clothing.
      With this aim, the studio set out to mimic the experience of going to a greengrocer by displaying clothes and books on shelves typically used to hold fruits and vegetables, while giving all products equal prominence regardless of price.
      A long gallery-like corridor leads to the staircase for the first floor”Picking up books in the way of picking up vegetables and fruits gives a feeling of enriching the spiritual basket,” Offhand Practice explained.

      On the ground floor, the studio recessed the building’s entrance and framed it in cream-coloured mosaic tiles to create a small shelter while making the towering facade feel more welcoming.
      Second-hand books are displayed in supermarket-style cratesOne of the main challenges for the studio was to encourage passersby to walk through the building’s ground floor – consisting of a long corridor bookended with space for mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) equipment– and climb the stairs to reach the Deja Vu Recycle Store.
      This was achieved by turning the corridor into a kind of gallery, showcasing the process of refurbishing second-hand goods.
      “Taking advantage of the narrowness, we identified spatial depth through layers of opening,” the studio explained.

      AMO cocoons Jacquemus store in pillows to create “bedroom-like” interior

      Books are displayed on the building’s first floor and clothing on the second. Both levels have an open-plan layout with circulation routes defined by shelving and clothes rails.
      Mosaic tiles made from stone off-cuts were used to form decorative wainscoting in the same creamy beige colour as the facade, which channels 1970s Shanghai interiors.
      Contrasting green tiles were used to frame the generous window openings revealed during the building’s renovation, and to form integrated window seats.
      Green mosaic tiles were used to frame the building’s windowsNatural pine was used to form the cashier counter, shelves and book crates to add a sense of warmth to the interior.
      Offhand Practice said it designed the store to break with negative preconceptions around second-hand stores being “dull, disorganised and piled with shabby objects”.
      “Deja Vu Recycle Store breaks the stereotypical image of a second-hand store and erases the ritualistic impression of a traditional bookstore full of full-height bookshelves,” the studio said.
      The tiles were also used to emphasise arches and other architectural detailsThe store was recently been shortlisted for large retail interior of the year at the 2022 Dezeen Awards.
      Other projects in the running include a surrealist pop-up shop designed by Random Studio for fashion brand Jacquemus and a concept store that Schemata Architects has created for an outdoor brand in South Korea.
      The photography is by Hu Yanyun.

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      Kate Byron designs modernist Don't Worry Darling set as “a playful and debaucherous take on the 1950s”

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      Production designer Kate Byron used vintage “treasures” and referenced key modernist architecture to create the set of psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling, which was shot in California’s Palm Springs.

      Byron drew on the architecture and interior style of the many modernist buildings that dominate the landscape in the desert city to create Victory – a fictional, utopian 1950s-style society where the film takes place.
      Katie Byron referenced modernist architecture for the film”We wanted to build a playful and debaucherous take on the 1950s, when there was this illustrious progressive, mid-century modern movement happening,” Byron told Dezeen.
      “The world of Victory is supposed to be alluring, it’s supposed to be beautiful and sultry and sumptuous and opulent.”
      It was shot in Palm Springs, a Californian city famous for its modernist architectureDirected by actor and director Olivia Wilde, Don’t Worry Darling follows fiery couple Alice and Jack – played by British actor Florence Pugh and musician and actor Harry Styles – as they go from living in an idealistic paradise to a troubled world fraught with secrets, control and manipulation.

      The characters move across a quintessential Palm Springs backdrop of low-slung buildings with clean lines by architects including Richard Neutra, Harold Bissner Junior and Albert Frey.
      Kaufmann House was one of the filming locationsSeveral scenes, such as a cocktail party hosted by the leader of Victory which took place in Neutra’s Kaufmann House, were shot in real modernist buildings, while the home of protagonists Alice and Jack was built in a Los Angeles studio.
      “We’re really lucky in California to have access to this architecture and in my history of being an architecture student and a production designer, I’ve gotten to visit a lot of these houses in person,” Byron said.
      “I was interested in Neutra, but also Frey was a huge inspiration for us because of that playful wholesomeness that he embodied,” she said.
      Alice and Jack’s house is filled with locally sourced propsByron, who studied architecture at University of California, Berkeley, threaded more subtle modernist details into the interiors of Don’t Worry Darling through devices such as colour.
      “A colour we used quite a bit was Frey’s favourite colour – this Frey blue – which is like a robin’s-egg blue that he puts in all of his buildings,” explained Byron.
      “There’s also a colour that Kaufman House has quite a bit of; Neutra put this really, really, really dark brown that almost feels black, but it has this warmth to it,” she continued. “We weaved that throughout the film as well.”
      Byron used lots of glass and mirrors throughout the setByron sourced vintage products from shops and prop houses in LA for Alice and Jack’s home, which recalls “cookie-cutter” houses – rows of identical homes found in idyllic depictions of 1950s suburbia.
      Much of the furniture seen was built from scratch, in part because the film was shot during the autumn of 2020 when many vendors were unavailable or had long lead times as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

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      “When you’re in Palm Springs, they just have these antique stores and even in thrift stores and Facebook marketplace you can find really special things,” the designer recalled.
      “That’s also one of the most amazing things about Los Angeles – there are infinite prop houses here so we shopped quite a bit at all the local prop houses,” she continued.
      “The television in Alice and Jack’s house is from this vendor called RC Vintage, which is just like a treasure trove place of antique electronics.”
      Much of the furniture was made from scratchOther smaller references were embedded into Byron’s material choices, primarily glass, stone and brick.
      Meanwhile, the designer paid homage to Neutra’s storage cabinets, which the production team filled with items such as business cards, cleaning supplies and photographs of Alice and Jack to make the set feel more real for the actors.
      “Keeping with Neutra as our design inspiration, the house is designed with a lot of storage in mind – we wanted all of this stuff to be cleanly kept behind doors,” Byron said.
      The desert setting is designed to look like a utopiaByron hoped that by incorporating playful elements throughout the set she could “subvert” the sense of normalcy in Victory and play with the audience’s expectations of a thriller.
      “The thriller follows a formula often, and I thought it could be really great to just subvert that,” she said.

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      “I think the level of play helps viewers feel like they want to be there and if it wasn’t for the playful aesthetic, I think we would be expecting something to go wrong,” she added.
      Don’t Worry Darling is not the only film that draws on a key architectural movement to inform its set. Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs film sets were heavily informed by metabolist architecture, while Black Panther’s “voluptuous” sets recalled works by architect Zaha Hadid.
      The photography is courtesy of Warner Bros.

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      Ten homes that don't relegate tiles to the bathroom

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      Our latest lookbook rounds up 10 living spaces that take tiling from practical to decorative, applying it to everything from bars and fireplaces to entire statement walls.

      Tiles in the modern home are often consigned to the bathroom or kitchen, where their durable finish can protect walls from water damage.
      But a growing cohort of designers are using the surfacing much like they would rugs or wallpapers, as a means of bringing colours and patterns into living spaces.
      Whether made from ceramic, stone or concrete, this can help to imbue an otherwise cosy interior with a much-needed sense of depth and dimension.
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring maximalist interiors, kitchens with polished granite surfaces and brutalist interiors with a surprisingly welcoming feel.

      Photo is by Prue RuscoeDream Weaver penthouse, Australia, by YSG
      Spanish tapas bars informed the design of this penthouse in Sydney, which belongs to a couple of empty nesters.
      In the open-plan living space, this reference was translated into an entire wall of glossy off-white tiles, providing the backdrop for a custom bar trolley made from white ash and blue granite.
      Find out more about Dream Weaver penthouse ›
      Photo is by German SáizConde Duque apartment, Spain, by Sierra + De La Higuera
      Vibrantly glazed tiles help to define the different zones in this apartment in Madrid, with green used in the kitchen, red and blue in the bathrooms and yellow in the living areas.
      The traditional Moroccan zellige tiles are characterised by their tonal and textural variations, with imperfect surfaces that are moulded by hand.
      Find out more about Conde Duque ›
      Photo is by Pion StudioPuro Hotel Kraków, Poland, by Paradowski Studio
      Polish practice Paradowski Studio mixed and matched different kinds of tiling throughout this lounge, covering everything from the floor to the columns to an entire wall, designed by artist Tomasz Opaliński based on the modernist mosaics of the 1970s.
      To soften up these hard, glossy surfaces and add a sense of warmth, the studio added plenty of textiles plus a stained oak bas-relief, which a couple of doors.
      Find out more about Puro Hotel Kraków ›
      Photo is by Joana FrançaSão Paulo apartment, Brazil, by Casulo
      A bar clad in glossy green tiles forms the centrepiece of this living room, contrasted against the matt black slate on the floor.
      Brazilian studio Casulo repeated this same material palette in the bathroom and kitchen of the São Paulo apartment, which the owners bought at a closed-door auction without seeing its interior.
      Find out more about São Paulo apartment ›
      Photo is by José HeviaYurikago House, Spain, by Mas-aqui
      Hydraulic tiling helps to create a sense of continuity across the various different floors and half-levels of this apartment, designed by architecture studio Mas-aqui.
      The natural tonal variations of the reddish-brown ceramics help to create a sense of depth and texture despite using only one material.
      Find out more about Yurikago House ›
      Photo is by Benoit LineroHotel Les Deux Gares, France, by Luke Edward Hall
      Chevron marble floors, striped pink-satin armchairs and chintzy duck-egg blue wallpaper create a riotous clash of patterns and colours in this lounge by British designer Luke Edward Hall.
      “I really wanted this space to feel above all joyful and welcoming and alive, classic but a little bonkers at the same time,” he explained.
      Find out more about Hotel Les Deux Gares ›
      Photo is by José HeviaReforma de una Vivienda en Ensanche, Spain, by Arquitectura-G
      Barcelona practice Arquitectura-G removed a series of dividing walls from this apartment to let more light into the plan and relied on changing levels and flooring to denote different areas.
      Here, the transition from the hallway to the lounge is signified by a zig-zagging junction between the gridded grey tiling and the neutral-toned carpet, which is made from coarse sisal plant fibres.
      Find out more about Reforma de una Vivienda en Ensanche ›
      Photo is by Adrià GoulaPasseig de Grácia 97, Spain, by Jeanne Schultz
      A pink stone fireplace with chequered tiling served as the starting point for the renovation of this old Barcelona apartment, with doors, window frames and ceiling mouldings throughout the home painted in a matching shade of green.
      Designer Jeanne Schultz also introduced minimal yet characterful modern furnishings to keep the focus on the building’s period features, which also include traditional Catalan vault ceilings and wooden parquet flooring.
      Find out more about Passeig de Grácia 97 ›
      Photo is by Yiannis HadjiaslanisIlioupoli apartment, Greece, by Point Supreme
      Originally popular in the 1970s, when they were used to cover verandas and porticos in holiday homes throughout Greece, these glazed terracotta tiles were salvaged from storage so they could be used to cover the floor of a one-bedroom home in Athens.
      Formerly a semi-basement storage space, the apartment is located at the bottom of a typical Athenian polykatoikia – a concrete residential block with tiered balconies.
      Find out more about Ilioupoli apartment ›
      Photo is by Eugeni PonsCasa AB, Spain, by Built Architecture
      When Built Architecture renovated this 19th-century Barcelona apartment, the Spanish practice retained the traditional mosaic flooring laid throughout most of its rooms, including the hallway, bedroom, living and dining room.
      The spaces between the tiling were filled with oak floorboards to match the custom oak cabinetry the studio installed to run longways through the apartment like a spine, dividing up the private and communal areas.
      Find out more about Casa AB ›
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring maximalist interiors, kitchens with polished granite surfaces and surprisingly welcoming brutalist interiors.

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      Margate's Fort Road Hotel celebrates British art and seaside history

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      Frieze co-founder Matthew Slotover, developer Gabriel Chipperfield and artist Tom Gidley have teamed up with Fleet Architects to turn a partially collapsed building in Kent, England, into a 14-room hotel.

      Located on the Margate seafront, Fort Road Hotel features vintage furniture, nature-informed materials and artworks by the likes of Tracey Emin, Hannah Lees and sculptor Lindsey Mendick.
      A ground-floor restaurant forms the reception of the Fort Road HotelThe building has had the same name since 1820 when it first opened as a boarding house. But it was on the verge of ruin when Slotover, Chipperfield and Gidley bought it at auction four years ago.
      London-based Fleet Architects helped the trio replan the interior, which now contains a ground-floor restaurant, a two-storey basement bar and a roof terrace offering 360-degree views of the town and coastline.
      It features artworks by Tracey Emin and Sophie von HellermannThe owners oversaw the interior design themselves. The ambition, according to Gidley, was to pay tribute to the building’s history while offering a sense of homeliness.

      “We wanted to make it feel somewhere between a house and a hotel,” he told Dezeen.
      The green tiles offer a striking contrast with the terracotta-toned floor tilesGuest rooms can be found on the building’s reconstructed first and second floors, as well as on the newly added third floor.
      The focal point of each room, aside from the bed, is a bespoke gridded vanity unit crafted from wood and inlaid with marble.
      Bedrooms are characterised by custom vanity units in wood and marbleThe aesthetic is softened by the addition of period furniture pieces, curtains in linen or felt, and a selection of vintage artworks.
      “Early on, I proposed the idea that I would simply buy pictures that I liked the look of, in the way that boarding house and small hotel owners have always done,” said Gidley.

      Coral and blue surfaces merge in seaside spa Haeckels House

      This concept extends to the hallways, which are decorated with seaside memorabilia, vintage photographs, old postcards and antique maps.
      The scene changes in the downstairs spaces. Here, Gidley and Slotover have used their art-world connections to secure pieces by a range of celebrated contemporary artists.
      Bedrooms overlook the seafront and the neighbouring Turner Contemporary galleryIn the joint restaurant and reception – characterised by a herringbone-pattern floor and a bright green tiled bar – small-scale paintings by various artists hang on soft-green panelled walls.
      A corridor leading down to the basement is brought to life with a mural by London-based painter Sophie Von Hellermann, while a neon piece by Tracey Emin is one of several artworks on show in the two-level basement bar.
      “Everybody has loaned works for a variety of lengths of time, so now and again something will change,” said Gidley.
      Red tiles from Mexico feature in the bathroomsFort Road Hotel is the latest of several buildings to put Margate on the map as a hotspot for contemporary art.
      Since the 2011 opening of the Turner Contemporary gallery – designed by Gabriel Chipperfield’s father David Chipperfield – London-based artists including Emin have increasingly been relocating to the area in search of more affordable studio space.
      Ford Road Hotel’s two-storey basement bar can be accessed from the streetGidley hopes the trio’s sensitive approach to the building’s history means the hotel will be just as valued by locals as by art lovers.
      “I think we’ve created something very attractive that adds to the appeal of the town and reflects its history,” he added.
      The photography is by Ed Reeve.

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      Chloé Mason Gray utilises “masculine” elements for Mexico City renovation

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      Mexico City interiors studio Chloé Mason Gray has renovated a house in Colonia Condesa, embracing its lack of natural light to create a space for a bachelor.

      Built in the mid-20th century with a pared-back art deco style, the two-storey house is currently rented long-term by an American tech worker, who hired studio founder Gray to improve the interiors with the owners’ permission.
      The home’s lack of natural light led to the embrace of dark colours and materials, such as brown plaster in the bedroomCombining antique Mexican design pieces with those by contemporary Mexican artists and designers, the aim was to create a home that felt rooted in its place.
      “It is a place where playfulness and restraint in design happily coexist, and a source of relaxation and inner peace for the inhabitant,” said Gray.
      Dark green was chosen for the upper-floor libraryThe 154-square-metre property is shaded by large trees on the avenue outside, preventing much natural light from entering some of the rooms.

      Embracing the dark and moody atmosphere, the designer chose colours and textures that would make the spaces feel “masculine, rich, and interesting”.
      Furniture made from red cedar complements the earthy palette”I wanted to create a space that was functional, comfortable, masculine and dynamic,” Gray said. “It had to feel both a bit unexpected, and approachable. I strove to reflect quiet luxury and a sense of richness through the colors and materials.”
      Dark green walls and ceiling envelop the upper-floor library, where the fabric of a Bastiano two-seater sofa by Tobia Scarpa and plants add variations on the hue.
      Gray custom-built a dining table using a quartzite slabMeanwhile, the primary bedroom was covered in brown textured plasterwork, complemented by a leather headboard, and green linen bedding and curtains.
      In other spaces, a variety of off-white plaster finishes sit in contrast to dark furniture – much of which is made from warm-toned red cedar.
      A mix of Mexican vintage and contemporary furniture roots the space in its context”I think red cedar pairs beautifully with the green tones in the house,” said Gray. “In Mexican spaces, you tend to see a lot of either very pale wood, tzalam or walnut, and I liked the idea of using a medium red-toned wood instead.”
      One of the most dramatic interventions involved coating the original sculptural staircase in indigo-pigmented concrete.

      Ambrosi Etchegaray inserts four homes and three courtyards behind an old Mexico City facade

      A custom dining table was built from a quartzite slab, which is flecked and veined with colours found across the home.
      Upstairs, an office is outfitted with a restored vintage desk by Clara Porset for DM Nacional, and a Brno chair by Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich.
      The original staircase was coated in an indigo-pigmented concreteEuropean oak floors were laid throughout the interior, while furniture by Roberto Michelsen was placed on the roof deck.
      A variety of artwork and smaller accessories bring the design together, but adding these touches turned out to be the designer’s biggest challenge.
      A vintage desk and a Brno chair furnish the office”It’s a very oddly-shaped house,” said Gray. “I don’t think there is a single straight wall in the whole house.”
      “Every wall and room is at an angle, so at times positioning furniture and art in a way that felt natural and correct was challenging,” she added.
      The home also has a roof terrace, populated with furniture by Roberto MichelsenMexico City’s historic Colonia Condesa is a popular place to live for locals and long-term visitors alike, thanks in part to its rich architecture.
      Examples of projects completed in the central neighbourhood include four new homes built behind a historic facade and an apartment block covered in small wooden squares.
      The photography is by Fabian Martinez.
      Project credits:
      Interior design: Chloé Mason GrayInterior finishings application: Marco Villa Mateos

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      Ten homes that feature decorative ceilings and ornate plasterwork

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      A home in Williamsburg with a bathroom that saw its original tin-panelled ceiling restored and intricate 19th-century plasterwork set within a modern apartment feature in this lookbook, which showcases decorative and ornate ceilings.

      Mouldings are decorative architectural elements that are used as focal elements in interior spaces, contouring the corners of ceilings and light fixtures in the form of ceiling roses, cornices, architraves and coving.
      These elements typically have a highly decorative and ornate finish incorporating seamless patterns, created through reliefs and recesses across their surfaces.
      Mouldings and ornate plasterworks are typically associated with the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian eras and were drawn from classicism and ancient Greek and Egyptian architecture.
      The architectural elements were often constructed from plaster and timber, however the 20th century saw people look to alternative materials to obtain more durable and cost-effective finishes.

      This is the latest in our lookbook series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring deliberately unfinished interiors, maximalist interiors and homes with walk-in wardrobes.

      Stockholm Apartment, Sweden, by Note Design Studio
      Swedish design firm Note Design Studio transformed this Stockholm office into a home adding shades of yellow, green and pink across its walls and mouldings and window frames.
      Rooms of the home were painted entirely in single colours adding pastel hues to its 19th-century features.
      Find out more about Stockholm Apartment ›
      Photo is by White ArrowHistoric Schoolhouse, US, by White Arrow
      Brooklyn-based interior design studio White Arrow’s founders, Keren and Thomas Richter transformed this landmarked building in Williamsburg into a bright and airy home while restoring some of its original features.
      In one of the home’s bathrooms, the interior design duo tracked down its original decorative tin ceiling tiles and reinstated them across the vanity area. Tin ceiling tiles are an American innovation and were created as a low-cost and more durable alternative to ornate plasterwork.
      Find out more about Historic Schoolhouse ›

      Bakers House, Sweden, by Färg & Blanche
      This residence, which has belonged to the family of Färg & Blanche co-founder Emma Marga Blanche for four generations, features a traditional and extravagantly ornate interior. The home formerly contained a traditional Swedish crispbread bakery at the rear of the building and is now mainly used to host events.
      Intricately detailed furniture, such as carved-wood trimmed sofas and gilded photo frames complement the home’s decorative ceiling mouldings and ornamentation. In each room, the ceiling details are painted bold colours and incorporate frescoes-like paintings.
      Find out more about Bakers House ›
      Photography is by Norbert TukajYoung family house, Lithuania, by ŠA Atelier
      Lithuanian architecture studio ŠA Atelier renovated the interior of this formerly dilapidated 19th-century apartment in Vilnius, Lithuania. Set within a townhouse built in 1862, the apartment has a minimal finish with some of its remaining original features restored as focal points throughout.
      Expanses of plasterwork mouldings and ceiling roses stretch across the ceilings in the home while parquet wood flooring boasts a neutral, light tone.
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      Photo is by Adrià GoulaPasseig de Grácia, Spain, by Jeanne Schultz Design Studio
      Ornamental details and finishes were added to the renovation of this apartment on Barcelona’s Passeig de Grácia.
      US design firm Jeanne Schultz Design Studio incorporated and re-energised the home’s period and original features. In the main living space, it painted the ceiling’s stepped coving, that runs through the interior of the home, a shade of green which was also applied to the doors, window frames and skirting of the room.
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      Photo is by David FoesselNapoléon apartment, France, Freaks
      French studio Freaks renovated this apartment in Paris. It retained period mouldings and architectural features throughout but added modern touches including fluorescent lighting and freestanding angular volumes.
      “One of the main interventions consisted of opening the new kitchen towards the dining room, while taking charge to use a contemporary architectural language,” said the studio.
      Photography is by Salem MostefaouiWood Ribbon apartment, France, by Toledano + Architects
      Set above a ribbon-like plywood wall and contrasting against the apartment’s contemporary decor, ornate plasterwork, which has largely remained untouched since the 19th century, subtly defines and zones this apartment.
      Where French architecture studio Toledano + Architects wanted the home to feel more contemporary, it installed a false, polycarbonate ceiling over its original decorative ceilings.
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      Photo is by Alex LesageMontreal Home, Canada, by Vives St-Laurent
      Canadian interior design studio Vives St-Laurent renovated and remodelled a family home in Montreal to better highlight its existing architectural elements. The studio looked to incorporate as much of the home’s original 20th-century characteristics including its plaster mouldings.
      In the home’s open-plan kitchen and diner, coving informally zones the dining room from the kitchen while a ceiling rose anchors a pendant light above a light wood dining table and four Marcel Breuer Cesca chairs.
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      Carrer Avinyo 34, Spain, by David Kohn Architects
      British architecture studio David Kohn Architects renovated this Barcelona apartment to better reveal and highlight its large windows, high ceilings and ornate mouldings.
      Above the dining space, cornices bound the edges of the room while coffered ceilings stretch across the living areas. Ceiling roses throughout the home became focal points across the ceilings without light fixtures fitted to them.
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      Photo is by Mariela ApollonioCasa Cas 8, Spain, by DG Arquitecto
      Panel moulding and corbels protrude from the ceilings at Casa Cas 8 in Valencia, Spain, which was created by Valencia-based architecture studio DG Arquitecto. The 1920s penthouse aims to celebrate its original features including its mosaic floors, mouldings and arched doorways.
      “Small changes in the distribution, very limited by the initial idea of ​​completely maintaining the original floor of the house and the ceilings with mouldings, helped us to transform the existing spaces,” said DG Arquitecto.
      Find out more about Casa Cas 8 ›
      Find out more about Napoléon apartment ›
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring deliberately unfinished interiors, maximalist interiors and homes with walk-in wardrobes.

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