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    Casa Antillón pairs foam and steel in design of Madrid's Mood hair salon

    Spanish studio Casa Antillón has incorporated galvanised steel elements throughout this hair salon in Madrid, which features bold mint-green ceilings sprayed with insulation foam.

    Prior to becoming the Mood hair salon, the five-by-ten-metre unit was an empty shell with barely finished walls and floors.
    Mood’s interior incorporates galvanised steel panelsCasa Antillón was tasked with finding a simple yet effective way to make this blank space more visually impactful.
    The studio, which is led by Marta Ochoa, Ismael López, Emmanuel Álvarez and Yosi Negrín, responded by completely covering the facade of the salon and large swathes of its interior with sheets of galvanised steel.
    Styling is done in front of large arched mirrors”It was the client’s proposal to work with an old friend of their family who is a construction expert in metallic solutions,” Casa Antillón told Dezeen.

    “The project aims for a maximum exploitation of the resources to build an iconic and quality space.”
    Insulation foam was sprayed onto the ceiling to create a bumpy finishSteel was used to line the salon’s street-facing wall and a deep-set box seat that was constructed around the front window.
    Metal panels also cover the rear wall, camouflaging a pair of silver-coloured doors that lead to the staff office and customer toilet.

    Danielle Brustman creates yellow highlights in sunny Melbourne hair salon

    Most of Mood’s remaining surfaces are finished in a complementary shade of light grey, while the ceiling was sprayed with insulation foam to create a bumpy texture and painted mint green.
    Casa Antillón applied the same colour to the salon’s support columns and the thick ceiling beam that runs along the length of the interior in order to “accentuate its longitudinal axis”.
    Silver doors blend into the salon’s rear wallSectioned off from the rest of the floor plan by curved steel screens, one side of the salon is given over to a dye lab where staff can mix up unique hair colours.
    The other side of the room houses a trio of arched backlit mirrors, each accompanied by a black styling chair.
    The street-facing wall and window seat are also lined with steel panelsJust behind are a couple of hair washing stations and a slim steel shelf that holds shampoos and conditioners.
    Towards the front of the salon there’s also a small waiting area, dressed with shapely black armchairs and a metal-framed coffee table.
    Black armchairs feature in the waiting areaOther striking hair salons include Qali in Vancouver, which was designed by Studio Roslyn to evoke the mood of 1980s Miami, and Mitch Studio in Melbourne, which designer Danielle Brustman outfitted with sunny yellow interiors.
    The photography is by Imagen Subliminal.

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    Studio Okami Architecten exposes brutalist skeleton of Antwerp apartment

    Belgian studio Studio Okami Architecten has renovated a duplex apartment in the brutalist Riverside Tower in Antwerp, allowing its original concrete structure to take centre stage.

    The project was led by and designed for Bram Van Cauter, founding partner of Studio Okami Architecten, who lives there with his partner, art collector Doris Vanistendael.
    Studio Okami Architecten has renovated a duplex apartment in AntwerpRiverside Tower is a 20-storey apartment building positioned in the bend of the river Scheldt, completed by architects Leon Stynen & Paul De Meyer in the 1970s.
    The 230-square-metre apartment is on the thirteenth and fourteenth floors of the building, three storeys above the Studio Okami Architecten office. The couple also owns a duplex in the same building, which contains a guest suite and Vanistendael’s art gallery named Soon.
    The apartment is located in the brutalist Riverside TowerStudio Okami Architecten’s first step of the renovation was to tear down the walls of the apartment and strip away all the surface coverings.

    While revealing the concrete structure of the apartment, this transformed its layout from a five-bedroom dwelling to a lofty open-plan space with a single bedroom.
    All of its concrete surfaces were exposed”With the Riverside Tower being a brutalist building, it seemed logical to strip the apartment to the bare concrete, showing the space in its most honest and raw form,” Van Cauter told Dezeen.
    “Removing the walls allows for unobstructed views over the city,” the architect added. “Being childfree, an open-plan space was a logical choice.”
    A sculptural kitchen island was added. Photo is by Matthijs van der BurgtA few brick walls in the dwelling were retained but covered with cement mixed with small stones, creating a finish that matches the original concrete structure.
    To counterbalance the rough concrete surfaces, a peach-hued resin floor has been added alongside plants and artworks hung from existing holes in the concrete.
    A pastel blue staircase links the two floors of the duplex”The aim was to balance out the rough concrete by adding colourful elements to the space,” Van Cauter explained. “The artworks, furniture and plants all combine to create a homey atmosphere.”
    Double-height pivoting windows also brighten the space by providing natural light and views out over the river and a neighbouring forest.
    Pops of colour contrast with the concreteOn the lower floor of the apartment is an open-plan kitchen and dining area. Above it is the living room, bedroom and home office.
    The apartment’s upper level, which is intended to feel more secluded than the floor below, is arranged around a technical block containing the bathroom, storage and utility facilities.
    The upper level contains more private spaces”The duplex setup creates a special division between the downstairs entertainment area and the more private upstairs functions like a home office, living and bedroom,” Van Cauter explained.
    Linking the two levels is a pastel blue spiral staircase, chosen to stand out against the concrete. It was welded and painted in place due to the limited size of the tower’s circulation areas.

    Studio Goss exposes concrete shell of converted Melbourne apartment

    The pastel colour palette continues in the bathroom, which is lined with smooth peach pink surfaces.
    These surfaces ensure the bathroom is watertight, but they also create a sharp contrast with the rough concrete beams overhead.
    Rietveld Crate Chairs are among the furnishingsStudio Okami Architecten chose a mixture of contemporary vintage furnishings to complete the apartment. Among the classic furniture are the patchwork De Sede DS88 sofa and Rietveld Crate Chairs, while contemporary pieces include a Long Table by Muller Van Severen and a red Bold chair by Big-Game.
    There are also a series of bespoke elements, including the kitchen island, designed by Studio Okami Architecten to resemble “a sculpture in the room when out of use”. This is teamed with cabinetry that references the work of American artist Donald Judd.
    A pastel pink bathroom features upstairsOther apartment renovations featured on Dezeen that are located in brutalist buildings include a New York residence by General Assembly in a 1970s tower block and a flat at the Barbican estate in London that Takero Shimazaki Architects infused with Japanese details.
    Alongside the Riverside Tower apartment renovation, Studio Okami Architecten also recently completed a brick and concrete home that is embedded into a sloping hillside in Belgium.
    The photography is by Olmo Peeters unless stated.

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    Lore Group creates seafood restaurant with “playful sense of nostalgia” within One Hundred Shoreditch hotel

    Hospitality chain Lore Group has opened the Goddard & Gibbs seafood restaurant within the One Hundred Shoreditch hotel, which occupies the former Ace Hotel London Shoreditch building.

    Lore Group’s creative director Jacu Strauss designed the restaurant within the recently opened hotel on Shoreditch High Street, London, to evoke the seaside to be in keeping with its seafood menu.
    A yellow rock sculpture and sandy artworks give the restaurant a beachy feelA gigantic yellow sculpture, created from a sketch drawn by Strauss, stands on a table at the centre of the restaurant.
    “The sculpture is based on my memories of trips to the seaside as a child and making towers from piles of rocks on the beach,” Strauss said.
    “I wanted the space to have a playful sense of nostalgia to which our guests could relate.”

    The central sculpture is based on the designer’s childhood trips to the seasideContinuing the theme, wood-panelled walls of the restaurant were adorned with “sandscape” artworks made from sand that have been painted yellow and framed.
    Parasol-like pendant lights from Herman Miller hang from the ceiling, alongside pearly spherical bulbs.
    Angled mirrors run the perimeter of the restaurantAngled mirrors around the top of the wall panelling direct attention back onto the central sculpture.
    Another bright yellow boulder is stationed in the corner of the room, while seaweed-green banquettes are interspersed among the seating.
    The walls are clad in a strip-textured wood panellingThe tabletops are fashioned from black and white aggregate terrazzo, with hexagonal tiles making up the floor.
    At the entrance to the restaurant from the street, what was formerly a flower shop has been converted into a wine bar characterised by terracotta tiles.
    A wine bar area has been set up in the street entranceThe restaurant’s dishes are intended to reference the fishing villages and seaside towns of the British coastline, with a focus on ethically sourced ingredients.
    Goddard & Gibbs opened last week as part of the One Hundred Shoreditch hotel.
    Terrazzo table tops are used throughout the restaurantOne Hundred Shoreditch occupies the same building as Ace Hotel’s London outpost, which closed in 2020 having been initially shuttered as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
    Lore Group also operates Sea Containers, a hotel on London’s Southbank with interiors designed by Tom Dixon, as well as the Pulitzer in Amsterdam and the Riggs and Lyle hotels, both in Washington DC.
    With One Hundred Shoreditch it hopes to mirror Shoreditch’s “new, grown-up feel while retaining the buzz and vibrance synonymous with the area”.
    Lore Group has opened the restaurant as part of its new One Hundred Shoreditch hotelOther recently opened hotels in London include Buckle Street Studios, designed by Grzywinksi+Pons and a Room2 outpost in Chiswick designed by Project Orange, which is claimed to be the world’s first whole-life net-zero hotel.
    The images are courtesy of One Hundred Shoreditch.

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    Masquespacio puts colourful spin on traditional Italian restaurant concept

    Colourful marble accents and looming arches characterise this restaurant by Spanish studio Masquespacio, which takes cues from traditional Italian eateries.

    Called Piada, the restaurant sells Italian flatbreads and is the second of its kind to be designed by Masquespacio in the French city of Lyon.
    Piada is a restaurant in LyonThe interiors of the latest Piada blends retro design elements borrowed from traditional Italian restaurants, such as marble and gold finishes, with colours and materials that were chosen to echo the eatery’s healthy food menu.
    “First, we investigated ancient Italian restaurants and bars to bring the traditional concept into the design,” Masquespacio co-founder Christophe Penasse told Dezeen.
    Masquespacio took cues from traditional Italian eateries”Then, we sought elements that could represent a sort of healthy aspect, which at the same time have a splashy and young colour concept that represents the brand’s identity,” he added.

    A garland of lush plants and flowers is suspended above the entrance to the two-storey restaurant, under which floor-to-ceiling arched windows were designed to draw visitors in from the street.
    Bold blocks of colour define the spaceInside, guests are met with a collection of booth-like tables that offer a mixture of built-in seating, including banquette benches and rounded wooden stools.
    This area is defined by a bold palette of sugary pastel colours, ranging from pale lilac seat cushions to mint-green walls.

    Stucco walls and terracotta tiles form a winding pathway through Huesca restaurant

    Piada’s external arch motif is also continued in its interiors, where curved alcoves have been outlined with columns of bulbous sconce lights that resemble oversized Hollywood-style mirrors.
    “We used five elements to represent the traditional Italian bar and restaurant – arches, light bulbs with gold finishes, marble and mirrored menus,” explained Penasse.
    Piada’s design is also influenced by its healthy food menuIn a nod to Piada’s healthy food concept, Masquespacio added clusters of plants that spill out of backlit rounded nooks behind the seating areas both upstairs and downstairs.
    The studio also incorporated stucco on the walls and tiles with a handmade effect to create a more organic feel to the restaurant interior. All of Piada’s furniture was custom-made by Masquespacio to match the restaurant’s eclectic themes.
    The restaurant is the second of its kind in the French cityFounded in 2010 by Penasse and Ana Milena Hernández Palacios, the Spanish studio has completed a number of other interior projects with designs rooted in bright colour.
    These include a playful burger joint in Turin, multi-hued student housing in Bilbao and a colour-clashing phone repair shop in Valencia.
    The photography is by Gregory Abbate.

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    Patricia Urquiola turns Michigan’s Haworth Hotel into a “design showcase”

    European brands intermingle with furniture from US company Haworth in a Michigan hotel that has been reimagined by Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola.

    The Haworth Hotel is housed within a multi-level brick building in downtown Holland, a small city along Lake Macatawa. The hotel sits within the campus of the private school Hope College.
    The historic Haworth Hotel in Michigan was renovated by Patricia UrquiolaThe renovation was backed by the Haworth family, which owns the office furniture brand by the same name. The hotel is meant to accommodate visitors to the company’s global headquarters in Holland, along with visitors to the college.
    “The hotel was completely redone as part of a large initiative to turn a campus hotel into a design showcase while enhancing the guest experience,” the company said.
    The staircase is made of bent metal and oakTo revitalise the hotel, the company turned to Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola, who runs a studio in Milan. Urquiola has created several products for Haworth, including a sofa and pouf, and has a knack for balancing “warmth, playfulness, sophistication and multiple brand experiences”.

    For the hotel project – Urquiola’s first in the US – the designer was charged with creating a distinctive space that is both durable and comfy.
    The hotel lobby has furniture brands like CappelliniThe property contains 48 guest rooms, a range of meeting spaces, a fitness centre and a newly added coffeeshop that is open to the public. There also is a ballroom that doubles as a student dining space.
    Guests step into a bright lobby featuring pale wooden flooring and white walls. Daylight streams in through street-facing windows.
    The accent wall of the dining room is clad in white oakA centerpiece of the lobby is a wide, spiral staircase made of bent metal and oak. The stair rises up from a podium with geometric tile designed by Urquiola for Mutina.
    Just off the entrance is a lounge space fitted with furniture from Cappellini, Cassina, Poltrona Frau and Haworth. Underfoot is a grey rug from Gan, a division of Gandia Blasco.

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    Similar brands are featured in other areas of the hotel.
    For instance, a room with powder blue walls is fitted with poufs and stools from Haworth, Cappellini tables made of terrazzo and faux marble, and a modular sofa system designed by Urquiola for Haworth. Affixed to the walls are disc-shaped lighting fixtures from Pablo Designs.
    Meeting rooms were part of the renovation of the Haworth HotelIn a dining area, the designer placed tables and chairs from Cassina and a Big Shadow lamp by Marcel Wanders for Cappellini. An accent wall is clad in white oak.
    Guest rooms are intended to foster relaxation. Furnishings include Haworth poufs and chairs, bedside sconces by Louis Poulsen, and millwork designed by Urquiola and fabricated by Cassina Contract.
    The rooms include millwork designed by Urquiola”The Haworth Hotel is a blend of residential and commercial solutions – durable enough to withstand years of accommodating guests and with a vibe that feels like home,” the team said.
    Other interior design projects by Patricia Urquiola include a Maggie Centre for cancer care in Barcelona that has a bright and homely atmosphere. The building was designed by Benedetta Tagliabue of EMBT.
    The photography is by Haworth Hotel.
    Project credits:
    Interior design: Studio UrquiolaArchitectural design: GMB Architecture + EngineeringGeneral contractor: Owen-Ames-Kimball

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    Nintendo's former HQ to reopen as hotel designed by Tadao Ando

    Japanese architect Tadao Ando has transformed a building that was once home to video game giant Nintendo into a boutique hotel.

    Due to open on 1 April, Marufukuro Hotel will be located in Kyoto in a building that was occupied by Nintendo between 1933 and 1959, when the company was called Yamauchi Nintendo.
    At the time, the company was a manufacturer of Japanese playing cards called “hanafuda” and Western-style playing cards called “karuta” and “toranpu”.
    The building was home to Nintendo from 1933 to 1959Located in the Kagiyacho neighbourhood, just north of Kyoto railway station, the building has been unoccupied ever since Nintendo vacated it.
    Ando has renovated and extended the old structure, converting it into an 18-room hotel including a restaurant, bar, spa and gym.

    The building’s exterior has remained largely unchanged, retaining elements such as old Yamauchi Nintendo entrance plaques and window grilles patterned with details from the old playing cards.
    Ando’s task was to reimagine the building’s interior but incorporate many of its original 1930s details, which include decorative tiling and art-deco lighting fixtures.
    Art-deco details are retained in the renovationFor the annex, the architect has adopted a more modern approach with floor-to-ceiling windows and elements in raw concrete, the material he is famous for.
    Photos of the completed Marufukuro Hotel have so far been kept under wraps, but the hotel is already taking bookings and has released some visuals showing layout and furniture details in the guest rooms.

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    Guests can choose to stay in either the old or new parts of the building, in rooms ranging in size between 33 and 79 square metres.
    The project is backed by property developer Plan Do See.
    Tadao Ando converted the existing building into an 18-room hotelAndo is among Japan’s most prolific architects. Awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1995, his best-known projects include Church of the Light and Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum.
    Recent projects include the renovation of the Bourse de Commerce building in Paris, which proved controversial, and art centre Casa Wabi in Mexico.
    It was recently announced that Ando is designing a Palm Springs home for reality TV star Kim Kardashian.

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    Nordic functionalism informs Stockholm beauty clinic by ASKA

    Swedish architecture studio ASKA has drawn on the existing 1930s architecture for its refurbishment of Stockholm beauty salon MBS by Malika, adding arched shapes and oak veneer panelling.

    The beauty clinic in central Stockholm is located in a building designed in the Scandinavian modernist style known as Nordic functionalism – or simply funkis in Swedish.
    Doorways were given subtle arched shapesASKA, which is led by Polina Sandström and Madeleine Klingspor, made a number of structural changes to the space as part of the refurbishment, but wanted to keep the interior design both functional and stylish.
    The studio tore down most of the interior walls in the 70-square-metre salon to make more space for private rooms for its beauty therapists.
    The designers used oak veneer in reference to modernist designsAdditional walls were designed with the building’s modernist architecture in mind.

    “The new walls were designed in a way so they would go hand in hand with the rest of the architecture with oak detailing and structured glass, which also helps the daylight to get through the whole space,” Klingspor told Dezeen.
    “The centrally-placed dividing wall with the pseudo three arch was also an addition by us,” Sandström added.
    “From a functional aspect, it helps separate the public part of the clinic from the more private one.”
    A pale blue shade lines doorways and skirting boardsWood was used throughout the space, with oak veneer chosen as it was popular during the era when the building was constructed.
    The material added “the right nostalgic association” to the interior, while balancing out the otherwise clinical aesthetics and the salon’s cool colour scheme.
    ASKA aimed to create a light, clean atmosphere for the salon and chose to work with blue and white hues, with a pale blue shade lining the wooden skirting boards and door frames for a stylish contrasting detail.
    Colour was used to contrast against the abundant wood”We chose to add the popping blue colour because it works as a good contrast against the warm oak adding a fresh and clinical touch, while at the same time being a somewhat unusual choice for a beauty salon – adding a surprising element to the design,” Klingspor explained.
    In addition to changing the layout of the space, the studio also created a new showpiece for the salon, a tile-clad reception desk that greets visitors and references Finnish modernist architect Alvar Aalto.

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    “The reception desk is something of a key element that captures the essence of the concept in one piece – a homage to the functionalist era with a modern twist,” Sandström said.
    “The white tiles were inspired by Aalvar Alto’s interior designs and help define the shape of the desk-corners thanks to their slightly rounded aesthetic.”
    A tiled desk with a contrasting laminate tabletop was designed for the receptionBoth the shape of the desk and the materials were also chosen to evoke the era.
    “The compact laminate was also a material choice that is true to the mid-century design era, whilst the blue colour and dark blue grout add a bold, unique element to the expression,” Sandström added.
    “The different heights of the desk helps to create two different areas in a true ‘form follows function’ manner.”
    Cream-coloured manicure tables are dotted throughout the spaceASKA also designed cream-coloured lounge tables and nail manicure stations for the salon.
    The studio has previously created a hair salon in Stockholm that features an undulating ceiling installation that looks like dripping shampoo, as well as a pastel-coloured cafe that references Wes Anderson’s film aesthetic.
    The photography is by Mikael Lundblad.

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    Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems opens at the Design Museum

    An exhibition highlighting London-based designer Bethany Williams’ waste-combating, social-driven vision for the fashion industry has opened at the Design Museum.

    Exhibited in the atrium of London’s Design Museum, Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems is a celebration of Williams’ work which explores and responds to social issues through the use of community-led enrichment initiatives.
    Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems is a free display in the atrium of the Design MuseumA number of key works by the designer were exhibited across the four walls of the atrium’s balcony gallery, which is free to entry.
    Mannequins are displayed among textiles samples, photography and raw waste materials in efforts to highlight the studio’s commitment to sustainable fashion.
    The display was chosen to be shown in a free entry space in the museum”I decided to organise the display thematically rather than by collection,” said Design Museum’s head of curatorial and interpretation Priya Khanchandani.

    “It opens with a section about the studio specifically and then there’s a part about creative process, intellectual references and the way in which they propose alternative infrastructures of working, followed by a section about reuse and another about community collaborations,” she told Dezeen.
    “Bethany’s work not only tackles the question of the environmental impact of design, but it also has an amazing social purpose.”
    The exhibition design was completed by EditWilliams is a fashion designer, humanitarian and artist. She graduated from Brighton University with a degree in Critical Fine Art before receiving a master’s from the London College of Fashion in Menswear.
    She launched her namesake brand in 2017 and has strived to spotlight and respond to social and environmental issues, her works see her partnering with local grassroots programs and manufacturing collections using waste materials.
    Garments are exhibited alongside research, drawings and materialsA section of the display exhibits Willliams’ work as part of the Emergency Designer Network. The initiative is a collaboration between herself and designers Phoebe English, Cozette McCreery and Holly Fulton.
    The group of creatives, with their textile manufacturing knowledge and teams of volunteers, produced 12,000 scrubs, 100,000 masks and 4,000 gowns for frontline healthcare workers during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Waste crisis a “design-made mess” says Design Museum show curator

    Waste from packaging tape sourced from Rimini, Italy was handwoven and constructed into functional items and garments as part of Williams’s Autumn Winter 2018 collection, which was on display.
    “I felt it was very important to show not just the finished garments, which you would see in a retail fashion context; being a museum display I wanted to add other layers of information,” explained Khanchandani.
    Williams’ work merges streetwear and craft”There are process materials like drawings and sketches, and also source material,” said Khanchandani. “For instance, a jacket made of waste newspaper is shown alongside some of the waste material, the Liverpool Echo, which is dangling next to the garment.”
    “You’re able to see the journey of the objects from inception, to finished product.”
    Williams has collaborated with San Patrignano, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation programmeEach season, the fashion studio collaborates with different local charities and grassroots programs and donates a percentage of its profits to its causes.
    “With our work, we hope to continue to reach new audiences, encourage inclusivity and positive change for the fashion industry,” said Williams. “The Design Museum continues to be aligned with this via the exhibitions curated, including their Waste Age exhibition, which we featured in last year.”
    “We are so proud to showcase our new exhibition: Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems, a celebration of the new way of working proposed for the fashion industry by the studio’s work.”
    Dresses and corsetry feature boning constructed from waste materialsThe opening of Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems was timed to coincide with Williams’ Autumn Winter 2022 collection, titled The Hands that Heal Us, which was presented at the museum.
    The collection included a cactus leather jacket, and garments made from recycled and organic-based denim with detachable metal hardware that aid the recycling process at the end of its life.
    A skeleton suit was informed by a 19th-century children’s playsuitIn 2016, Williams graduated from London College of Fashion and showed her MA graduate collection in the university’s show as part of London Fashion Week.
    Last year’s Waste Age exhibition at the Design Museum, which featured Williams’ work, explored how design has contributed to the increasing throwaway culture and how people can create an alternative circular economy that doesn’t exploit the planet.
    Photography is by Felix Speller.
    Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems is on display at the Design Museum from 22 February 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for all the latest architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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