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    Five “quirky” sleeping pods top Watchet's East Quay arts centre

    UK studios Pearce+ and Fægen have designed the interiors of five sleeping pods that stand on top of the Invisible Studio-designed arts centre on the dockside in Watchet, UK.

    The studios aimed to design the pods, which were created to provide interesting accommodation for people visiting East Quay and the town, to align with the ethos of the arts centre.
    The sleeping pods are located on top of Watchet’s East Quay arts centre”The whole of East Quay is about culture, purpose and imagination – it is a hub of creativity, opportunity, artistry and ideas,” explained Pearce+ founder Owen Pearce.
    “It is also most importantly about community – multiple hands and many eyes,” he told Dezeen.
    “We wanted this to be captured in the pods also, providing inspiring, exciting, different, unusual spaces and involving as many hands as possible in the design, from artists to makers to kids.”

    Two pods are raised on stiltsThe five pods are located in a series of metal-clad boxes on top of the East Quay arts centre, which was designed by Bath-based Invisible Studio with Ellis Williams Architects acting as executive architect for the local social enterprise Onion Collective.
    Two of the pods stand on stilts above the building.

    East Quay arts centre in Watchet takes cues from ad-hoc harbour buildings

    “All the pods are linked to their surroundings by fantastic views of the Bristol Channel, the Quantocks, the marina and the town,” said Pearce.
    “The form of the buildings feels rooted in the area as they jut and protrude as if continuously added to like some of the old houses in the town.”
    The walls of pod two were CNC etchedEach of the five pods is designed by Pearce+ and Fægen to have a different character and involve local artists and the community.
    The first sleeping pod, which was built with reclaimed furniture and materials, was designed as a “living museum” where guests are encouraged to leave an item and take one away.
    Etched illustrations cover the walls of pod two, which is designed by artist Isabelle Mole and aims to tell the story of the town.
    Pod 1 contains a “living museum””Our overarching aim was to provide a connection between guests and the local community,” explained Pearce.
    “This is done, for example, through direct object transfer in pod one as guests donate objects of meaning and take something in return or, in pod two, by visually exploring the stories and myths of the town in CNC etchings on the walls.”
    Pod four contains a cargo netThe third pod aims to evoke the feeling of a 1920s ocean liner, while pod four “is about play” and has semaphore signals painted on the walls. Here there is also a cargo net for sitting, which is reached by a staircase hung from the ceiling.
    Bristol graffiti artist Andy Council worked with local schoolchildren to create the interior of the fifth pod, which will be redecorated each year by an artist chosen by the Onion Collective.
    Bristol graffiti artist Andy Council decorated the fifth podIn line with the ethos of the project, Pearce+ and Fægen moved to Watchet for a year to act as contractor and fabricate the interiors of the pods with the help of a small team.
    Pearce hopes that the pods will provide fun places for visitors to stay and bring income into the community.
    “The brief for the competition was quirky places to stay,” he explained. “The client wanted to have fun with the pods and to provide an opportunity for inventiveness from architects.”
    “The building’s aim is to support a local artistic community and provide opportunities that weren’t available before. A key part of the economic strategy of the building is to attract guests from afar to bring in much-needed income, which in turn supports cultural and education work,” he continued. “The designs are then targeted to create a cool place to visit in order to do that.”
    Pearce+ previously collaborated with UK studio Hugh Broughton Architects and artists Ella Good and Nicki Kent to create the inflatable Martian House, which is currently installed in Bristol.
    The photography is by Joseph Horton.

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    Caged wooden galleries feature in Puzzle Link apartment by Gheorghe

    Architecture and research studio Gheorghe has inserted two triangular cross-laminated timber structures into a loft in Vienna as part of its renovation of the apartment.

    Set within a historic building in Vienna’s 13th district, the top level of the apartment was designed to encourage interaction between a couple and their children.
    Two cross-laminated timber (CLT) structures, which dominate each end of the space, were designed to provide the occupants with places to work, play and look down onto the open-plan living and dining area below.
    Made up of 698 planks the structures incorporate shelves, storage space, seating areas and tables. They are both be accessed by a set of timber stairs.
    Puzzle Link is a loft apartment in a historic building in Vienna”Through the wooden structure the built-in attic becomes a place of approach by enabling visual relationships, warmth through used materials and a hybrid zone between different spatial functions,” said Gheorghe co-founder Andrei Gheorghe.

    “We wanted to create an aesthetic and practical connection, to gain additional spatial functions and to make the spacious intermediate space multifunctional and to make it a meeting place,” Gheorghe told Dezeen.
    Two wooden galleries dominate each end of the spaceThe Vienna-based studio redesigned the attic floor for the family who required a “sustainable, unique and functional” space to live. According to Gheorghe, the warm-toned timber was used for its ability to be reused if needed.
    “The inspiration for the design was marked by the fact that it needed to be sustainable, unique and functional,” Gheorghe explained.
    “This is the perfect material for us, on one hand offering the necessary structural strength and dimensions but also the possibility of being reused,” he added.
    “This is a sustainable material because all the leftovers after the milling process could be further processed towards wood pellets.”
    They are made from 698 planks of cross-laminated timberEach two-by-five plank was CNC-milled by a local carpentry company. The planks were then constructed using 3D-modelling techniques and scripting technology to give the structures their unusual, jigsaw-like shape.
    This is also what led the studio to name the project Puzzle Link.

    IFUB installs bespoke black steel fittings in 1930s Art Deco apartment renovation

    While transforming the space, the studio also looked to maintain its original historical features.
    The Viennese tiles that lined the building’s original staircase, which had been saved and stored by the client, were cleaned and reused for the floor of the raised platform that runs inside alongside the terrace.
    Although the apartment has been sparsely decorated, a few key pieces of furniture that the family collected while travelling abroad are placed around the space.
    The apartment is sparsely furnishedA minimalist Shaker hearth by German fireplace manufacturer Skantherm sits underneath the timber stairs while a floor-to-ceiling bookcase can be found inside one of the timber structures.
    A black storage unit made from coated MDF, paper and acrylic resin in the open plan area provides contrast to the otherwise whitewashed wooden furnishings.
    Elsewhere, a skylight punctuates the slanted roof and along with several smaller windows, floods the space with natural light.
    Other Viennese apartments include Beletage Apartment by British architect Alex Graef, an apartment with restored oak flooring and clean white walls.
    Meanwhile, Slovenian architecture studio Kombinat renovated an apartment in the Austrian capital into a hybrid living space with room for both cooking and working.
    The photography is by Frame9.

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    Dezeen Agenda newsletter features Brad Pitt's foundation defective homes settlement

    The latest edition of our weekly Dezeen Agenda newsletter features the $20.5 million settlement that Brad Pitt’s foundation has agreed with the owners of defective New Orleans homes. Subscribe to Dezeen Agenda now!

    This week, actor Pitt reportedly agreed to a settlement of $20.5 million for the owners of homes built by his Make It Right Foundation housing charity.
    Homeowners brought legal action after numerous defects to their homes – such as water leaks, black mould and foundation issues – were discovered, according to a report by NOLA.com.
    “Hopefully this agreement will allow everyone to look ahead to other opportunities to continue to strengthen this proud community in the future,” Pitt said in a statement.
    Aerial render of planned Angels Landing skyscraper in Los Angeles by Handel ArchitectsOther stories in the latest newsletter include the Architectural Workers United organizer Andrew Daley writing about how “Architects must reject the ‘follow your passion’ narrative and see themselves as workers”, news broke that Adam Neumann is launching his “first venture since WeWork”, a housing startup called Flow and US studio Handel Architects revealed designs for the Angels Landing skyscraper in Los Angeles.

    Dezeen Agenda
    Dezeen Agenda is a curated newsletter sent every Tuesday containing the most important news highlights from Dezeen. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Agenda or subscribe here.
    You can also subscribe to Dezeen Debate, which is sent every Thursday and contains a curated selection of highlights from the week, as well as Dezeen Daily, our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours on Dezeen.

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    Get your event listed in Dezeen's London guide for London Design Festival 2022

    If you’re exhibiting during London Design Festival, there’s still time to get your event listed in our digital guide to the festival on Dezeen Events Guide.

    Our London guide will list the key events taking place during the week-long festival, which runs from 17 to 25 September 2022.
    London Design Festival hosts hundreds of events across its 12 districts, including the trade fair Design London and exhibitions, installations, talks and open studios.
    Dezeen will publish its London guide one week before the festival, which will include listings for all the key events.
    The digital guide will benefit from Dezeen’s high-ranking SEO and will sit on Dezeen Events Guide, which has received over 700,000 views since it launched in 2020.

    The London guide follows the success of our Milan design week 2022 guide, which received over 40,000 page views.
    If you want to be considered for the guide, please contact [email protected]. The Dezeen team will review the events to ensure the best are featured.
    Get listed in Dezeen’s digital London guide
    For only £100, you can feature your event in the guide, which includes up to 75 words of text, the date, location, a link to your website and an image.
    For more information about partnering with us to help amplify your event, contact the team at [email protected].
    About Dezeen Events Guide
    Dezeen Events Guide lists events across the globe, which can be filtered by location and type.
    Events taking place later in the year include Helsinki Design Week 2022, France Design Week 2022 and Copenhagen Architecture Festival 2022.
    The illustration is by Rima Sabina Aouf.

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    Hotel Rosalie encourages nature to “reclaim its rightful place in the urban landscape”

    French interior designer Marion Mailaender has worked with hotelier Joris Bruneel to create a hotel in Paris informed by overgrown and abandoned buildings.

    Conceived as a hidden oasis in the city, Hotel Rosalie is set in a courtyard behind a tall iron gate on a tree-lined street in the 13th arrondissement.
    Marion Mailaender has designed nature-informed interiors for Hotel RosalieGreenery is incorporated into every aspect of Mailaender’s design for the 60-room hotel, including a plant-filled terrace and a hidden roof garden.
    Parisian urban gardening collective Merci Raymond was brought on board by Bruneel to make the hotel’s outdoor spaces seem “overgrown” and help nature “reclaim its rightful place in the urban landscape”.
    The hotel’s terrace features outdoor furniture by the Bouroullec brothersBruneel was particularly influenced by Urbex, a series of images by French photographer Romain Chancel that is displayed in the hotel’s guest rooms and depicts abandoned urban buildings that have slowly been reclaimed by plants.

    In a nod to this work, Merci Raymond encouraged lichen and moss to grow and seeds to germinate in the hotel’s nooks and crannies. Meanwhile, Mailaender incorporated urban design elements into the scheme ranging from “Roman-style statues” to an old Peugeot 205 car that is seemingly left abandoned on the rooftop.
    Mirrored yellow columns traverse the lobbyOn the ground floor, the hotel’s Open Garden is accessible to the local community and features steel outdoor furniture by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec set across a two-level terrace linked by a little staircase.
    A towering six-metre hop plant provides shade while its flowers will be used by a microbrewery in the 11th arrondissement to make beer.
    A Gae Aulenti sofa in the lobby is upholstered in clover-patterned fabricThe hotel’s Secret Garden lies behind a hidden door on the third floor. This is furnished with deck chairs, wooden benches and planters, offering a space where guests can read, relax in the sun, do yoga classes or participate in workshops organised by the hotel.
    Inside, Mailaender has included plenty of nature-inspired elements. In the lobby, a giant coconut-fibre rug leads guests inside while armchairs and couches by Italian architect Gae Aulenti are upholstered in clover-patterned pop art fabric.

    Luke Edward Hall stirs print and colour inside Hotel Les Deux Gares in Paris

    Meanwhile, guest rooms feature galvanised steel furniture, which is typically used outdoors, and floral William Morris carpet that extends up from the floor and across the headboards.
    The interior blends new and reclaimed pieces in an approach that Mailaender describes as “intentional ambivalence”.
    In the bathrooms, for instance, traditional baths are paired with counters made from terrazzo-style recycled plastic.
    Floral William Morris carpet covers floors and headboards in the guest roomsAll materials were chosen for their aesthetic as well as their environmental impact, according to Mailaender.
    For example, the carpet in the guest rooms is made from recycled fishing nets and wood offcuts were used to make a marquetry tabletop in the lobby.
    Bathrooms feature counters made from recycled plasticCork clads the restaurant’s floor and the walls of the elevator, and many of the chairs are pre-owned pieces that were carefully restored.
    “I believe that we can mix furniture designed by the Bouroullec brothers with random pieces from a gardening catalogue,” explained Mailaender. “Embracing current concerns means selecting sustainable materials alongside aesthetically pleasing design pieces.”
    Planting surrounds an old Peugeot 205 in the hotel’s rooftop gardenThe hotel has its own coffee shop The Common, finished in a distinctive blue hue that nods to 90s air hostess uniforms.
    This colour is echoed on a glossy pillar in the bar, a trellis in the secret garden and on the guest room doors, where it offsets the grass-green carpet that winds through the hotel corridors.
    Dezeen recently rounded up ten verdant hotel interiors from our archive that show how adding greenery to public spaces can help give them a friendlier, more organic feel.
    The photography is by Christophe Coenon unless stated otherwise.

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    Charlie Luxton Design reworks Oxfordshire farmhouse to create Studio Richter Mahr

    Composer Max Richter and visual artist Yulia Mahr have set up a multimedia production studio inside a former farmhouse in Oxfordshire, which Charlie Luxton Design has updated with more sustainable features.

    Bordered by 31 acres of forested woodland, Studio Richter Mahr will serve as a space where both emerging and established creatives can come to develop their work.
    Studio Richter Mahr is a multimedia production studio in a former farmhouseRichter and Mahr – who are collaborators as well as a couple – first had the idea for the site some 20 years ago.
    “Studio Richter Mahr is about dreaming the future into existence, a better way to live and work,” said Mahr. “It’s about forward motion and borderless creativity. It’s about offering time and opportunities for people to really experiment.”
    The studio occupies a farm building that had already been modernised to a decent standard but needed adjusting to reduce the operational carbon footprint of the new amenities on site. Local practice Charlie Luxton Design was assigned to the task.

    New skylights allow natural light to flood the facility’s interiorThe building’s roof now accommodates solar panels that provide electricity to the site and several skylights to reduce the need for artificial lighting.
    To keep the building warm, air-source heat pumps were installed alongside a ventilation system powered using recovered heat.
    A large picture window features in the orchestral recording studioCharlie Luxton Design preserved the building’s original steel framework to conserve its embodied carbon and celebrate the site’s agricultural past.
    The existing concrete floor slab was also retained and strengthened in some areas.
    Inside, the studio houses a series of state-of-the-art creative spaces devised with the help of sound specialists Level Acoustics and Studio Creations. This includes a video editing suite, programming room, art studios and a Dolby Atmos sound mixing room alongside an exhibition area and a cafe that creates dishes from produce grown on-site.

    Studio Bua transforms derelict Icelandic farm building into artist’s studio

    The plan culminates in a spacious orchestral recording room fronted by a huge picture window that offers uninterrupted views across the rural landscape.
    Charlie Luxton Design applied a restrained material palette throughout the interior.
    Most of the walls were washed with textured lime plaster or overlaid with Dinesen oak boards while the building’s exterior was clad with simple black metal to contrast the surrounding greenery.
    “The brief was always to be very simple, using quality materials,” founder Charlie Luxton told Dezeen.
    Many of the studio’s rooms are clad with timberGoing forward, Richter and Mahr plan to add more amenities including an on-site creche with the aim of hosting artist residencies and composer labs.
    This isn’t the first time a farm building has been repurposed for creative pursuits. Last year, Studio Bua converted a derelict Icelandic barn into an artist’s studio and holiday home.
    The workspace sits inside a double-height gabled volume that was erected within the site’s existing time-worn walls.
    The photography is by Lorenzo Zandri.

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

    Hospitality company Artchimboldi and Spanish architect Emma Martí have teamed up to transform a forgotten girls’ school in Menorca into a bright and contemporary retreat for professionals.

    Established by Anna Truyol in 2007, Artchimboldi provides design-focused spaces where businesses can host meetings or team-building sessions.
    Artchimboldi Menorca’s ground floor has a living and dining spaceThe company already has two locations – a pair of modernist apartments in Barcelona – but has now opened a third, larger site in Menorca that can be used for corporate retreats.
    “In designing Artchimboldi Menorca, I wanted to transfer everything I have been able to observe and witness from my experience of welcoming all kinds of companies to the spaces in Barcelona,” explained Truyol.
    “Menorca retains its authenticity, has a very close and accessible nature, and brings a very different rhythm than the city.”

    The central table can be rearranged to suit different work and dining set-upsArtchimboldi Menora occupies an old girls’ school in Sant Lluís, a quaint village in the southeast of the island.
    The school was constructed in 1900 but was eventually abandoned, leaving the interior in less-than-ideal condition. Truyol brought in Martí, a local architect, to carry out a revamp.
    Guests can write down ideas on a four-by-four metre slate boardAlthough the building’s roof had to be completely rebuilt, insulated and waterproofed, Truyol and Marti took a light touch with the rest of the renovation works in order to highlight “the history, experiences and soul of the space”.
    The building’s original marés stone walls were preserved and freshened up with a coat of white paint, and many of its timber ceiling beams were left in place.
    Seating poufs and a wood burner appear in the lounge areaAn airy living and dining area occupies the first floor. At its heart is a custom-made table made of lacquered wood, which can be easily reconfigured into different formats for group meals, meetings or workshops.
    Beyond the table is a cosy lounge that features amorphous grey seating poufs and a wood burner with a four-metre-high flue that accentuates the height of the room.

    The Olive Houses are off-grid retreats hidden in Mallorca’s mountains

    In a nod to the building’s past, Tyrol and Marti have also included a large antique bookcase and a schoolroom-style slate board, where guests can scribble down any thoughts and ideas.
    At the rear of the room, timber-framed doors lead out onto a gravel patio with a micro cement pool.
    The patio features a micro cement poolGuests can catch some rest on the building’s first level, which much like the ground floor has white-painted stone walls. But here, polished concrete flooring is replaced with bold chequerboard tiles.
    Pre-existing partition walls were knocked through to make way for a sequence of boxy Flanders-pine sleeping pods.
    Each one is fronted by a linen curtain that, when drawn back, reveals a comfy woollen futon.
    Flanders-pine sleeping pods were incorporated on the building’s first floorSlender black ladders grant access to the top of the pods, where guests can relax during the day. Alternatively, there is a small seating area dressed with a grey sofa and woven rugs.
    Personal belongings can be stored underneath the pods or in the bespoke sage-coloured shelving unit that sits at the room’s periphery.
    Additional sleeping pods can be found in the building’s loft.
    Ladders allow guests to sit and relax on top of the podsOther retreats on Spain’s picturesque Balearic islands include The Olive Houses, a pair of off-grid dwellings in Mallorca where architects, writers and artists can work uninterrupted.
    The two buildings are minimally finished and rendered with stucco that complements the surrounding olive trees.
    The photography is by Pol Viladoms.
    Project credits:
    Design: Anna Truyol and Emma Martí ArquitecturaTechnical architecture: Manel Alzina SintesDeveloper: ArtchimboldiConstruction company: Construcciones Virfin SLCarpentry: Biniarroca SLCollaborators: Cristina Pons (North Agent)

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    AMO recreates “Provence atmosphere” with clay Jacquemus shop-in-shop

    Dutch studio AMO has created a terracruda-clad shop-in-shop with curving tiered shelving for French-fashion brand Jacquemus at luxury department store Selfridges.

    The boutique was installed as a permanent retail space located on the ground floor of London department store Selfridges and is host to Jacquemus bags and accessories.
    The permanent Jacquemus shop-in-shop was designed by AMODesigned by AMO, the research and design arm of architecture firm OMA, it incorporates curving, floor-to-ceiling display shelving clad in a clay-based material that is said to echo materials local to Provence.
    Between rows of curving and tiered display shelving, plinths, totems, tables and chairs decorate the retail space’s interior and display the brand’s latest bags and accessories.
    Terracruda clay was used across the interiorHidden compartments and cabinets were fitted within display units to create a sense of discovery while also tying the space to the trio of surrealist Jacquemus pop-up installations that ran through May in and around Selfridges and Oxford Street.

    The permanent retail space follows as a result of the success of the Le Bleu surrealist pop-up installations that were created by Dutch experience design firm Random Studio and invited customers to explore and discover the brand’s products.

    Jacquemus creates surrealist interpretation of his own bathroom for Selfridges pop-up

    Terracruda clay was applied by hand across the interior of the store to create an uneven surface and natural look. The earthiness of the clay visually juxtaposes against the rigid and solid forms that are populated by colourful bags and accessories.
    Seating areas set within the curving displays are framed by views out to Duke Street and the nearby David Chipperfield-designed entrance that was added to the store in 2018.
    Terracruda clay was used to reference the South of France”The inspiration for the design of the Jacquemus space owes to the brand’s origins in the south of France,” said OMA partner Ellen van Loon.
    “We wanted to capture the atmosphere of Provence through the materiality of the space, which led us to approach the design in a different way altogether,” she continued.
    “Instead of working with form and deciding on the materials afterwards, we chose the materials at the outset and let them guide the shape of the space.”
    Seating areas decorate the boutiqueSwedish streetwear label, Axel Arigato recently unveiled its “upside-down” pop-up sneaker store in the luxury department store that features an office-themed interior.
    In Paris, Acne Studios opened a monolithic store on Rue Saint Honoré that is clad in Parisian limestone and references a Stockholm skatepark.
    The photography is by Lewis Ronald.

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