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      Studio Aisslinger designs LOQI office with social distancing in mind

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      Studio Aisslinger has created an adaptable workplace for accessories brand LOQI, featuring coloured curtains, folding screens and “work capsules”.Located in Berlin, the LOQI Activity Office serves as the European headquarters for the American company, which specialises in totes and weekend bags produced in collaboration with artists.

      The office contains a mix of different work zones
      The workspace is designed to support creativity and collaboration, but also to create a safe and supportive environment for staff in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
      To satisfy both of these conflicting requirements, Studio Aisslinger planned the space as a series of distinct but flexible zones, facilitating solo work, group workshops and a range of activities in between.

      Contrasting colours help to signal different areas

      “The workspace is treated like living, breathing organisms that adapt to accommodate a team deciding on flexibility, autonomy and the ability to choose when and how they work,” explained the studio, which is led by designer Werner Aisslinger.
      “The result is an office space of a different kind – a lively and inspiring working landscape, breaking through the grey schematism of standardised workstation units.”

      Folding metal screens are used as partitions
      The office comprises a large open-plan space, so the design team had to find creative ways to demarcate different areas.
      Partitions were designed to be as adaptable as possible, in the form of heavy fabric curtains and perforated metal screens. A bold colour scheme was also applied, so it’s clear where one area ends and another begins.

      Studio Aisslinger’s Work Capsules provide spaces of solitude
      Isolated workspaces are provided by Studio Aisslinger’s Work Capsules – a design previously created for the 25Hours Hotels.
      With felt-covered exteriors and a bubble window, these pods allow occupants to find privacy and separation, without being completely cut off from the more public activities going on around them.

      Meeting areas are framed by curtains, so they can be opened or closed
      There are various other types of workspace on offer, including large desks with integrated lighting fixtures, a pink tiled bar, standing desks, bleacher-style seating areas and sofa booths.
      Meeting areas are dotted through the centre of the space, framed by curving curtain rails. These spaces feature fluffy carpets, which not only give them a different aesthetic but also help to create acoustic baffling.
      These spaces are all furnished with Studio Aisslinger designs, including the Aspen pendant lights for B.lux and the Circle Barstools.

      A change in floor surface gives meeting areas a different feel
      LOQI is one of many companies that have had to think more carefully about how they plan their offices, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

      Meditation chambers by Office Of Things wash workers in colourful light

      The virus appears to have accelerated trends for partitioned spaces and mobile pods, with examples including a converted warehouse in Melbourne and a series of meditation chambers in YouTube and Google offices.

      Fabric panels line the walls, to improve acoustics
      With this design, Studio Aisslinger highlights the need for flexibility in the workplace, allowing people to find solitude when they need it, but to also bring people together.
      They studio describes the project as “a complex, constantly changing conglomerate of working areas, break-off units and work capsules”.
      The aim was to create an environment that people are proud to call their workplace, and perhaps even share on their social media platforms.

      Staff can choose to work seated or standing
      “New offices being planned for the near future will less emphasise communal co-working areas but nevertheless we all need new spaces for interaction or idea generation and collaboration,” added the design team.
      “Flexible and open, the room adapts to its respective needs, creating space for playful creativity, for that dance of mind and body that is needed to gain new ideas.”

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      Ben Allen completes overhaul of his own home in east London

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      Artworks by Olafur Eliasson informed architect Ben Allen’s revamp of his two-storey maisonette in London’s Bethnal Green, which features mirrored furniture elements.The maisonette is set inside Keeling House, a 16-storey residential block that was designed by English architect Denys Lasdun in 1957.

      Reflective artworks by Olafur Eliasson are presented in the home’s stairwell
      The founder of Studio Ben Allen and his wife decorated their home’s interior with an array of personal possessions so that it looks like a cabinet of curiosities.
      Amongst these possessions are a number of optical artworks gifted by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, whom Allen worked for over a 10-year period.

      Oval mirrored side tables have been placed beside the bed

      Several of the artworks are crafted from glass or mirror, and this prompted Allen to incorporate reflective elements in other spaces throughout the home.
      The architect was also inspired by the round convex mirrors that appear in London’s Sir John Soane Museum, which playfully skew how visitors perceive the exhibition rooms.

      The bedroom’s vanity table is also mirrored
      A pair of oval mirrored side tables feature in the bedroom that’s located on the maisonette’s upper floor.
      Another mirrored panel has been mounted on the wall to form the backing of a vanity table, which boasts a semi-circular brass ledge where jewellery, perfume bottles and other trinkets can be displayed.
      The bedroom has otherwise been simply finished with white-painted walls, larch wardrobes and exposed-wired lighting fixtures.

      More mirrors have been affixed to the bathroom’s cabinet and walls
      In the bathroom, half-moon-shaped mirrors have been affixed to the doors of a storage cabinet, which sits directly above a bespoke green-concrete sink.
      The image of the sink is repeated in an arched mirror on an adjacent wall.

      The bathroom’s hardware is made from gold-hued brass
      Surfaces are clad with jade-green tiles, while taps, spouts and the tubular shower head are made from brass. Perforated shutters have also been installed in front of the windows to allow just a little amount of natural light to seep through from the outdoors.
      “We wanted the bathroom to be purposefully darker to contrast with the brightness of the rest of the flat and to imbue it with a sense of refuge,” Allen explained.

      Studio Ben Allen makes Room for One More inside Barbican flat

      At this level of the house, there’s additionally a study that has a green cushioned daybed and a larch work table.

      A study with larch-wood joinery is on the home’s upper floor
      Most of Eliasson’s art pieces can be seen in the maisonette’s stairwell, displayed alongside arched mirror shelves that hold candles or tiny architectural models.
      Steps lead down to the lower floor, where Allen has exclusively applied a selection of “robust” materials which are meant to age well over time.
      “[Materials] have also been chosen to give a sense of tactile warmth both when the flat is flooded with daylight, as well as on overcast days and at night,” added Allen.

      Downstairs is the kitchen, which features a green-concrete counter
      The kitchen, for example, has oak cupboards and a green-concrete countertop. A grey-tile splashback is dotted with brass pegs where crockery or cooking utensils can be hung.
      Just opposite there’s a book-lined sitting room complete with a black leather sofa and a cosy oak seating nook that doubles-up as a storage box.

      A tall shelving unit separates the kitchen from the sitting room
      To loosely divide these two spaces, Allen and his team have erected a trellis-style shelving unit that stretches from floor to ceiling. A small work desk can be pulled out from the blue fibreboard drawers that sit at the unit’s base.
      The presence of the unit acts as a small homage to architect Lasdun, who had originally designed the flats inside Keeling House with galley kitchens that were separate from the sitting rooms.
      This was changed in the 1990s when, at risk of demolition, the building was completely revamped to feature minimal, open-plan living areas.

      The sitting room includes a cosy window nook
      Expansive panels of glazing look through to the maisonette’s balcony, where Allen has added a planter filled with wild grass and a Rhus Typhina tree. Beyond lies views of Hampstead Heath park and the city of London.
      Allen established his self-titled studio in 2014 and has since gone on to complete a number of projects. Just last year, the studio created an artichoke-shaped garden room for a home in southwest London, and renovated a Barbican flat to include colourful fold-out furniture.
      Photography is by French + Tye.
      Project credits:
      Architects: Studio Ben Allen (Team: Ben Allen and Marco Nicastro)Main contractor: Sullivan and CompanyBalcony and window planting scheme design: Todd Longstaffe-Gowan

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      V&A curator picks five highlights from Bags: Inside Out exhibition

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      The 19th-century equivalent of an activist’s slogan tote and a portmanteau made from repurposed fire hoses feature in this roundup of V&A curator Lucia Savi’s favourite pieces from the Bags: Inside Out exhibition.On show at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum until September of next year, the exhibition traces the evolution of bags from the 16th century to the present day.
      Over three distinct sections and nearly 300 exhibits, it explores the different functions that these carriers can serve, the ways they can communicate status and identity as well as the craftsmanship that goes into their making.
      Along the way, designs by luxury fashion houses rub shoulders with personal items belonging to historical figures such as Winston Churchill and artefacts sourced everywhere from Pakistan to Burma.

      “If you think about it, bags are everywhere. Men, women, children – everybody wears them and uses them on an everyday basis,” Savi told Dezeen.
      “We can’t even pinpoint when the first bag in history was made or used because it’s such a functional object that was useful for so many reasons – to travel from A to B, to transport personal belongings.”
      “But they can also be status symbols and carry meaning or memories. In the fashion business today, bags are often the biggest revenue drivers,” she continued. “The exhibition sets out to investigate what makes this object so special, so coveted and so multi-layered.”
      According to Savi, a key factor in this is the fact that bags allow their wearer to present themselves to the world while simultaneously revealing who they really are on the inside.

      Freitag’s Sweat-Yourself-Shop is a tiny factory for making bags

      “I think this is at the core of what bags are – they’re functional, they have meaning but they’re very private. We carry our most personal belongings in our bags and not everybody wants to open theirs and show off the contents,” she said.
      “At the same time, we carry them physically on the body, we’re commuting, were travelling. So there are these dichotomies between inside and outside, private and public.”
      This is evidenced by the millions of view racked up by “What’s in my bag” videos on YouTube and translated into the design of the exhibition itself, which is courtesy of London architecture practice Studio Mutt.

      V&A East “will speak to the local population” says Gus Casely-Hayford

      The ground floor of the V&A’s Gallery 40 is transformed to resemble the inside of a bag, with fabric partitions acting like the lining and dividing the space into small, intimate “pockets”. Here, the exhibits are displayed largely on their own, cracked open to reveal their vulnerable insides, while on the upstairs mezzanine the bags are showcased on mannequins, to suggest their public, outward-facing role.
      Bags: Inside Out opened its door earlier this month after being delayed twice due to coronavirus lockdowns and only a few days before Tier 3 restrictions were once again imposed on London.
      As a result, the museum is currently closed, so we have enlisted Savi to share her personal highlights from the show below:

      Jane Birkin’s Birkin bag by Hermès, 1984
      “This is the very first Birkin bag that was ever made. The story goes that Jane Birkin was on a plane from Paris to London in the 80s and was complaining to the man next to her that she couldn’t find a leather bag she liked. It turns out she was talking to the CEO of Hermès, so they start drawing some ideas on one of those paper [sickness] bags.
      “Now, the Birkin is the most recognised and coveted handbag of our time. It’s not easy to get hold of one, because of the price but also because you can’t just walk into a shop and buy one. They fetch crazy prices at auctions and a report found that the value of a Birkin is actually more stable and better-performing than gold.
      “The primary function of a bag throughout history was to carry valuables and in this case, the bag became a valuable object in itself. This is, of course, because of the craftsmanship and the quality – it takes many hours for a Birkin to be made and it’s all done by one artisan. But it’s also because of the exclusivity and the celebrity association, which together created the phenomenon of ‘it-bags’.”

      Anti-slavery workbag by Samuel Lines and the Female Society for Birmingham, 1828
      “This bag was made by women from the Female Society for Birmingham as part of their campaign to abolish slavery in the British Empire. Printed on the bag is a powerful image of an enslaved woman who is breastfeeding while a man is telling her to go back to work.
      “This piece was showcased very much on the body, for everybody to see what these women were advocating for. It was used to carry pamphlets and campaign materials, which they sold alongside the bags to raise money. But also, because it’s a work bag, it was used to carry tools and little items that were used for sewing, so there’s really a double function there.
      “What’s interesting about this bag is that we just have the silk part but we don’t have the metal frame and the handles. So it really shows you how these bags were made by this group of women. Not many of them have survived but they exemplify an important function of bags, both historically and today, as a way of showcasing our beliefs.”

      Daln by Kazuyo Sejima for Prada, 2019
      “Bags offer fertile soil for experimenting with new ideas and for collaborations between designers, artists and more recently architects. They’re quite sculptural objects with a large surface area, so they’re almost like a blank canvas.
      “This collaboration is part of a collection called Prada Invites, where the brand recruited four female architects to reinvent its iconic nylon bag. Prada is a historic fashion house that started in 1913 as a leather luggage maker. But when Miuccia Prada took the helm of the company in the 80s, she introduced this very new material that you normally wouldn’t associate with luxury and redefined it.”
      “Kazuyo Sejima’s interpretation of the bag really gives the freedom to the wearer to reinvent the bag every time – you can un-zip some parts, make it longer or shorter. And you can add all these colourful, detachable pouches and pockets with soft shapes that contrast with the black, square body of the bag.”

      Weekend bag by Elvis and Kresse, 2019
      “More and more, we’re seeing brands try to work with materials that are not exploiting the natural world and not creating too much waste. But this brand, Elvis and Kresse, has been doing it for years and decades.
      “They saw that fire hoses, once they reached the end of their life, were just ending up in landfill. So they started to produce accessories out of them, using the material almost as if it was leather and fabricating the bags using similar machinery.
      “First, the hose gets washed and then it’s cut in half. It has two surfaces, a smooth and a dimpled one, and they combine these to create the designs. The lining is made out of parachute silk or old auction banners and everything from the packaging to the labels is made from rescued materials.”

      Iside Toothpaste bag by Bethan Laura Wood for Valextra, 2018
      “Normally, Valextra’s bags are quite severe. They’re very simple, very structured bags, but with the intervention of British designer Bethan Laura Wood on the handles and the addition of this sinuous, toothpaste-like hardware, the bag almost becomes a completely different object.
      “She was inspired by the linework of [Scottish artist] Eduardo Paolozzi and the piping along the side of the Valextra bag, where the leathers is inked to finish the seams. And I really enjoyed the idea of playing with that line and the fact that she intervenes on the hardware but not on the leather, which is a very interesting way of thinking about bags.
      “Working with a designer who normally maybe doesn’t work on leather or hardware and has never worked on bags, I think it does bring a completely different perspective. It challenges the makers and it creates almost like wearable pieces of art.”
      Bags: Inside Out is on show at the V&A in London until 12 September 2021. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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      Homework creates curves inside GoodBody hair salon in Oakland

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      Curved seating, shelving and mirrors feature throughout Goodbody hair salon in Oakland, California, which design studio Homework has finished with salmon-pink accents.GoodBody, which specialises in cutting, colouring and styling textured hair, is located in downtown Oakland. It takes over a building that was previously host to several dated offices.
      To transform the site into a modern salon, San Francisco-based studio Homework had to completely strip away any evidence of the previous fit-out.

      Top image: GoodBody is set inside a spacious hall. Above: curved elements are used to break-up the space

      As well as removing decorative elements, the studio tore down partition walls and knocked through a dropped ceiling to create a vast, double-height hall.
      It was initially unclear as to how the space would be organised to accommodate the salon’s various service areas.

      A semi-circular bench anchors the salon’s waiting area
      “After rounds of iterations, we developed sinuous millwork curves to promote the service functions while defining the space,” explained Ben Work, who runs Homework alongside Susan Work.
      Curved elements can be seen as soon as customers walk into GoodBody – a semi-circular bench has been placed in the salon’s entryway to delineate a waiting area.

      Arched mirrors accompany the salon’s styling stations
      The grooved, salmon-pink bench bends round to adjoin a matching desk where staff can stand and check appointments. Overhead hangs a quartet of brass pendant lamps.
      Nearby sits a salmon-pink platform that dips inwards to form an arc shape. The platform is topped with chunky tiered shelves that display various hair and beauty products that are available for purchase.

      Each mirror is illuminated by an LED strip light
      On the opposite side of the room is a sequence of styling stations. Each one has a tall arched mirror framed by an LED strip light and a comfy swivel chair upholstered in caramel-brown leather.
      These complement the salon’s buttermilk-coloured walls and the gold-velvet curtains that have been hung in front of all the doorways.

      Curved shelving displays an array of hair and beauty products
      At the rear of the salon is a huge vaulted opening which leads through to the hair-wash room.

      New York hair salon Hawthorne Studio is designed for social distancing

      This has been completed in a darker, richer palette – surfaces have been painted what the studio describes as a shade of “peacock green”, while the sinks are made from black porcelain.
      A rounded, salmon-pink cabinet visually ties-in this room with the rest of the salon.

      A vaulted opening looks through to the hair-washing area
      Other striking hair salons to open this year include Hawthorne Studio in New York, which design practice BoND had to adapt to suit health and safety regulations put in place as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
      All of the styling stations, for example, are mobile so that customers can be moved to sit six feet apart. Spaces are also divided by wooden frames instead of walls, so that staff can monitor how many people are entering the salon.
      Photography is by Aubrie Pick.
      Project credits:
      Design: HomeworkStyling: Bianca Sotelo

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      Dezeen's top 10 home interiors of 2020

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      Continuing our yearly review, Dezeen has selected the top 10 home interiors of 2020 – including a rustic home in rural France and a multicoloured Tokyo apartment.

      MA House, France, by Timothee Mercier
      This dwelling, which architect Timothee Mercier built for his parents, is meant to be aesthetically harmonious with the rural landscape of Vaucluse, France.
      Inside there’s whitewashed walls and just a smattering of rustic furnishings, which Mercier either found in Parisian flea markets or had custom made.
      “I decided early-on to infuse the house with the monastic qualities of its surroundings,” he told Dezeen. “[The house] had to be a spectacle, but a discrete one.”
      Find out more about MA House ›

      House V, Slovakia, by Martin Skoček
      Bricks salvaged from the ruins of an 80-year-old property now line the interior of House V, which is situated in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava.
      The time-worn bricks cover walls in the living room, bedroom and even the master bathroom, where a freestanding tub has been placed beneath the peak of the home’s pitched roof.
      Find out more about House V ›

      EGR Apartment, Ukraine, by Ater Architects
      To open up the constricted floor plan of this Kyiv apartment, Ater Architects demolished partition walls and replaced them with cobalt-blue curtains.
      The curtains – and the pink grouting between the kitchen tiles – offer a shock of colour amongst the otherwise monotone interior, which has white-painted walls running throughout.
      Find out more about the EGR Apartment ›

      Edinburgh apartment, UK, by Luke and Joanne McClelland
      Having lived in a poky London flat for eight years, architects Joanne and Luke McClelland set about making the rooms inside their Edinburgh apartment as bright and spacious as possible.
      The pair painted surfaces white, widened doorways to let in more sunlight and opened up the kitchen to include a dining area. Commenters were particularly impressed with the high-end look of the kitchen’s wooden cabinetry, which was actually sourced from IKEA.
      Find out more about the Edinburgh apartment ›

      Imperfect Residence, Hong Kong, by NC Design & Architecture
      Naturally flawed materials feature inside this Hong Kong apartment, which draws on the values of wabi-sabi – a Japanese philosophy that encourages finding beauty in imperfection and transience.
      Jagged offcuts of marble have been set into the floor, while oxidised copper has been used to make custom lights or decorative panels. Beige plaster also gives the walls a slightly uneven surface finish.
      Find out more about Imperfect Residence ›

      Kew Residence, Australia, by John Wardle
      Commenters loved the personal feel of architect John Wardle’s Melbourne home, which he decided to revamp after his three children grew up and moved out.
      At the heart of the plan is now a “cocoon”-like study where Wardle displays books and ceramic ornaments that he’s collected over the years. The architect also made sure that his favourite type of wood, Victorian ash, was used for all of the home’s joinery.
      Find out more about Kew Residence ›

      Urban Cabin, Italy, by Francesca Perani
      A daybed that doubles up as a storage box and a wardrobe that hides a washing machine are some of the handy space-saving elements that feature inside this tiny guest cabin, which occupies the porch of a home in Bergamo.
      Architect Francesca Perani made the unusual decision to line the 25-square-metre interior with OSB – a material she had previously only seen used on construction sites.
      “I love its textural irregularity, random organic composure and recycled properties,” she explained.
      Find out more about Urban Cabin ›

      Nagatachō Apartment, Japan, by Adam Nathaniel Furman
      Tasked with turning this lack-lustre Tokyo apartment into “a place of happiness, joy and lightness”, designer Adam Nathaniel Furman applied vivid, food-inspired colours to its interior.
      The kitchen has watermelon-green floors, while the dining area has lilac carpet that looks like icing. “Zesty” lemon-yellow taps and milky orange tiles also appear in the bathroom.
      “The colour scheme became a matter of choosing ingredients for a beautifully calibrated visual feast,” Furman explained.
      Find out more about the Nagatachō Apartment ›

      Flat House, UK, by Practice Architecture
      Prefabricated panels made from hempcrete – a mixture of hemp and lime – were used to construct the structural shell of this zero-carbon house in Cambridgeshire.
      Practice Architecture left these panels exposed on the interior to create warm, textured surfaces. Wooden furnishings and an assortment of woven rugs further amplify the home’s cosy feel.
      Find out more about Flat House ›

      Casa A690, Mexico, by Delfino Lozano
      Architect Delfino Lozano fashioned what he describes as a “Mexiterrean” aesthetic for this 1970s property in Zapopan.
      Lozano says that whilst the home’s architecture is traditionally Mexican, the interiors appear more Mediterranean because of his use of “simple and pure” materials. Almost every room boasts plain, white-painted walls and built-in wooden furniture.
      Find out more about Casa A690 ›

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      Spacon & X creates casual diner for Noma's burger spinoff POPL

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      Prolific Copenhagen restaurant Noma has opened a burger joint featuring an interior filled with natural materials and plants designed by Spacon & X.Born out of a summer pop-up, POPL is a diner in Copenhagen’s pretty Christianshavn neighbourhood, serving a simple menu of burgers, fries and light bites.
      POPL is designed by Danish studio Spacon & X, the Emerging Interior Designer of the Year from the inaugural Dezeen Awards in 2018.

      POPL is a burger joint in Christianshavn, Copenhagen

      The interior design takes cues from Izakaya, informal drinking venues that can be found in Japan. The aim was to create a raw simplicity but to also create a feeling of warmth and comfort.
      The designers did this with the use of warm colours and materials, which contrast the starkness of the building’s concrete structure. They also added a wooden “plant bridge” above the tables, so that greenery is visible everywhere.

      A plant bridge is suspended above the tables
      “We found it a natural decision that the design concept follows Noma’s approach to the burger: simple, welcoming, and with the best quality ingredients,” explained Malene Hvidt, architect and partner at Spacon & X.
      “The design is welcoming to the extent that guests are not afraid to use the space as a hangout,” she told Dezeen. “The surface materials and careful detailing communicate this through their expressive robustness and honesty.”

      Natural materials feature throughout the interior
      The design centres around the use of natural materials. Acoustic ceiling panels are lined with dried and compressed meadow flowers, which offer a delicate fragrance, while paper lights and artworks are dotted around.
      All of the furniture is made from brown core ash wood. These pieces were all designed bespoke for POPL through a collaboration with furniture brand e15, to help give the restaurant its own identity.

      Spacon & X worked with e15 to create bespoke furniture
      Bespoke tables, chairs, stools, benches and coat hangers are all characterised by simple forms that celebrate the construction joints, fusing Nordic, Japanese and American furniture-making traditions.
      Tables are topped with Richlite, a composite material made from recycled paper and bio-resin. Meanwhile, benches are upholstered in a distinctive yellow leather, which is complemented a tactile red artwork that covers the rear wall.

      Warm tones help to create a cosy atmosphere
      “The focus of this project is on the use of natural materials and craftsmanship,” said e15 founder Philipp Mainzer. “This is very much in line with the approach to our work at e15.”

      BIG overhauls Copenhagen warehouse for Noma 2.0 restaurant

      “Every surface tells a story,” added Hvidt, “like the compressed flower acoustic board solutions, which from a distance are a dappled colour but up-close reveal their texture and scent. Or the red artwork, celebrating the handcraft skill of applying tile mortar.”

      Benches are upholstered in yellow leather
      This is the first time that Spacon & X and e15 have collaborated with Noma, which is regularly named as one of the best restaurants in the world. For Noma’s main venue, it worked with architects BIG, interior designer David Thulstrup and furniture brand Brdr Krüger.
      By allowing a new creative team to put their stamp on the Noma aesthetic, POPL hopes to reach a wider audience.

      The design takes its cues from Japan’s Izakaya drinking venues
      Hvidt hopes visitors will liken the experience to the casual atmosphere of an American diner, even though the space looks very different.
      “We have definitely brought a new dialect to the Noma language,” she added.
      “The nuanced American diner feel is created through elements such as the heavy diner booth typology, but the association is then offset through the care put into the material sourcing, detailing and craftsmanship. The striking yet natural colours again play with the American diner tradition in a Scandinavian context.”
      Photography is by Bjørn Bertheussen.

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      Linehouse transforms Shanghai swimming pool into office space

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      Design studio Linehouse has converted a Shanghai office block’s swimming pool into an additional workspace, using a palette of blue vinyl, peachy leather and light-hued timber.The swimming pool was part of the fitness facilities made for office workers of the Jing’An Kerry Centre, a mixed-use development in Shanghai’s Jing’An district designed by architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox back in 2013.

      The bowl of the swimming pool has been turned into a huge seating area
      However as the pool was rarely used, locally-based studio Linehouse was asked to convert the room into something slightly more practical.
      It now plays host to various seating areas where staff can work or host informal catch-ups with clients throughout the day. Businesses in the development can also choose to use the room for corporate events or talks.

      Flecked blue vinyl lines the inside of the former pool

      The focal point of the room is still the swimming pool, but it has been drained of water and lined with flecked blue vinyl from flooring specialists Tarkett.
      “It was a great opportunity to play with levels which normally an existing interior space does not allow,” Linehouse’s co-founder, Alex Mok, told Dezeen.

      A curved pane of glass encloses a boardroom
      Flights of steps that double up as seats have been built-in at the side of the pool, topped with baby-pink cushions. A semi-circular banquette upholstered in peachy-coloured leather has then been created at the far end of the pool.

      Linehouse adds elevated tearooms in a warehouse for Tingtai Teahouse in Shanghai

      The studio also decided to preserve the huge oval skylight that lies directly above the pool.
      Around the skylight runs spherical pendant lamps and a series of light-hued timber fins, some of which extended down towards the floor to form slatted screens.

      Some work areas are fronted by slatted timber screens
      Should workers need to take a call, they can escape to one of the private phone booths which are at the peripheries of the room.
      Inside, the booths are lined with leaf-printed wallpaper from Calico.

      Printed wallpaper lines the inside of the phone booths
      There’s also a small cafe anchored by a Ceppo Nova stone counter and a formal boardroom enclosed by a curved pane of glass.
      The black gridding across the glass is meant to mimic the form of the blue wainscotting that lines the room’s walls. Emerald-green wainscoting features in the meetings rooms, which have been created inside the swimming pool’s former changing areas.

      Meeting rooms boast emerald-green wainscotting
      Linehouse was set up by Alex Mok and Briar Hickling in 2013. This isn’t the studio’s first conversion project – last year it turned part of an abandoned factory into a teahouse, where guests enjoy their drinks from inside glass-fronted boxes.
      Photography is by Dirk Weiblen.
      Project credits:
      Architect: LinehouseDesign lead: Alex Mok, Briar HicklingDesign team: Cherngyu Chen, Eleonora Nucci, Jingru TongClient: Kerry Properties

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      Out Of Office is a Mad Men-inspired drinks bar in Guangzhou

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      The TV show Mad Men informed the retro feel of this bar in Guangzhou, China, which designer Vinki Li has finished with wood-panelled walls, marble floors and plush mid-century furniture.Vinki Li – who is based in Hong Kong – had been told to make the interiors of Out Of Office unlike any other bar in Guangzhou, so she looked to foreign films and television shows for aesthetic inspiration.
      Her main point of reference ended up being Mad Men – a TV series which follows the life and times of Don Draper, a creative director working at an advertising agency on New York’s Madison Avenue during the 1960s.

      The bar is entered via a lobby that looks like a secretary’s office

      Not only is Li a fan of the show, but she liked that its 1960s setting would give her the opportunity to showcase mid-century furnishings inside Out Of Office.
      “I have always been a big fan of mid-century architecture and designs, I considered it very timeless, well-designed…it still feels fresh today,” she told Dezeen.

      A typewriter and old-school telephone top the desk in the lobby
      Li named the bar after season one, episode 13 of Mad Men, in which protagonist Draper leaves the office for the evening and remaining staff members throw a revelrous, alcohol-fuelled party in anticipation of presidential election results.
      “I wanted to create a similar atmosphere when guests come to unwind after working during the day, a feeling of the boss not being here,” added Li.

      The main bar features wood-lined walls and marble floors
      Guests enter Out Of Office via a grey tiled lobby that’s been styled to resemble a secretary’s office, complete with shuttered window blinds.
      At the centre of the space is a glass-topped desk scattered with paraphernalia that would have appeared in workplaces of the 1960s, such as a typewriter and a rotary dial telephone.
      The desk backs onto a tall shelving unit featuring artsy ornaments, leather-bound books and a globe. In the corner of the lobby there’s also a coat rack, off which a suit jacket, tie and fedora hat have been hung.

      Vintage advertisements have been mounted on the walls
      A door leads through to the main bar, where Li has used a palette of rich, dark materials that she felt evoked the “machismo of executive boardrooms”.

      Retro Helsinki bar takes its design cues from 60s and 70s disco music

      While the floor boasts a mix of murky-green Kesariyaji marble and white Statuario marble, walls have been lined with cherry wood.
      Vintage advertisements have been mounted as decoration.

      High-gloss steel and velvet was used to make the drinks counter
      The base of the drinks counter is crafted from high-gloss stainless steel and inlaid with strips of caramel-coloured velvet. In front runs a row of stool seats upholstered in chocolate-brown leather.
      Alternatively, guests can choose to sit in one of the heavy mid-century armchairs that have been placed at the centre of the bar.

      Seating has been arranged in desk-style set ups
      Extra clusters of seating run down the side of the room and are hidden by walnut and brass partitions – much like how desk cubicles were screened-off in 1960s offices.
      A select few are able to enjoy their drinks in Out Of Office’s VIP room. It boasts deep-red sofas and a gridded cabinet that displays special whiskies inside illuminated box shelves.

      Out Of Office includes a VIP room for select guests
      The world of television and film offers a wealth of inspiration to designers and architects.
      Earlier this year, Spanish studio Masquespacio created a co-working space in Valencia that draws on a scene from the 1960s film Playtime. British architect Adam Richards also modelled the layout of his home in Petworth, England around the story of post-apocalyptic flick Stalker.
      Photography is by Hoshing Mok.

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