all

Subterms

    More stories

    • 163 Shares109 Views

      OMA designs glass volume to top Tiffany & Co's New York flagship store

      by

      OMA New York, led by Shohei Shigematsu, has unveiled its design for a glass addition to top the historic Tiffany & Co store on Fifth Avenue in New York City.The project involves the preservation of the jewellery brand’s 80-year old flagship location, a renovation of its ground floor and the construction of a rectangular glass volume that will span three storeys, adding space for hosting exhibitions and events.
      Built in 1940 by Cross & Cross, the existing limestone facade of the Tiffany & Co building is marked by its grid of windows and scalloped edges. In 1980 an upper volume was added to the building to house offices, which will be demolished and replaced by the new glass structure as part of this latest renovation by OMA.

      “Tiffany’s Fifth Avenue Flagship is more than a retail space, it is a destination with a public dimension,” said OMA Partner Shohei Shigematsu. “The new addition is informed by programmatic needs of the evolving brand – a gathering place that acts as a contemporary counterpart to the iconic ground level space and its activities.”

      “The floating volume over an existing terrace provides a clear visual cue to a vertical journey of diverse experiences throughout the building,” he added.
      OMA’s design plans to form the new volume using two stacked glass structures. The lower one will comprise a recessed box covered with glass windows, while the upper portion will be wrapped with slumped glass walls modelled after the building’s decorative parapet.

      OMA adds iridescent glass escalator to New York’s Saks Fifth Avenue

      The ridged glass requires minimal vertical support and has a reflective surface designed for viewing the city from the interiors while offering privacy looking in from the exterior.
      An outdoor patio for hosting events surrounds the lower, two-storey volume. The existing space is furnished with tables and plants that overlook Fifth Avenue and on to Central Park. Its double height walls are wrapped with smooth glass panes and vertical silver frames to tie the two volumes together.
      “The two spaces of the upper volume that make up the new addition is a moment of clear but complementary contrast to the original flagship,” the studio added. “It is a symbolic ending to the building that reflects an evolved luxury experience that is more a journey than a destination.”

      The project is currently under construction and is expected to complete in Spring 2022.
      Shigematsu leads OMA New York with fellow partner Jason Long. The outpost is intended to function independently from the studio’s international offices, including Rotterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Doha and Australia, as part of an initiative of founder Rem Koolhaas.
      Last year the studio installed a multicoloured escalator inside the renovated Saks Fifth Avenue department store.
      Other recent projects by the New York office include a plan for the 11th Street Bridge Park in Washington DC and a series of galleries inside Gio Ponti’s Denver Art Museum.

      Read more: More

    • 150 Shares159 Views

      Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel sets up in-house lab dedicated to generative design

      by

      Architecture firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel has launched ACPVLab, a research and development unit that will focus on using generative design to develop bespoke interiors.Led by Paolo Mazza and Marco Brambilla – who are both partners at Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel – ACPVLab will use generative design technology to “move beyond off-the-shelf solutions” and create “richer” interiors at a fast pace.
      Generative design involves using computer software to generate a variety of design solutions that meet the pre-set parameters of a given space.
      “Generative design, assisted by artificial intelligence, has now reached a level of accessibility and computational power which allows us to use it for our bespoke design, now supported by more and better-informed decisions,” Mazza told Dezeen.
      “Generative design and its algorithms will improve the speed with which variables such as comfort, people-to-people distance, headcount maximization, sustainability, natural lighting and other environmental and project data can be taken into account during the design process.”

      Wallgren Arkitekter and BOX Bygg create parametric tool that generates adaptive plans

      Using generative design, ACPVLab is setting out to develop its own scripts and software tools that will be able to process a greater amount of input data and therefore consider a wider array of spatial parameters.
      These tools will be able to be to produce different types of spaces including residential, commercial and offices – something which Mazza says is particularly important in light of the global coronavirus pandemic, which has challenged the way in which we can safely use and occupy workspaces.
      “We believe that the change of culture in workplaces is profound and will change the proportions between collaborative and personal workspaces, shifting the weight heavily towards collaborative spaces – social distancing is just one of the many parameters we feed our scripts with,” added Mazza.
      “In its essence, the new tool will allow for a more free, unconstrained and wide terrain of possibilities and configurations within which architects can operate and react quickly to ever-changing needs.”
      ACPVLab joins a growing number of architecture, construction and design companies turning to generative design. Last year, Wallgren Arkitekter and BOX Bygg worked together to create a parametric tool called Finch which can help architects and designers adapt their floor plans to suit the constraints of a given site.
      Phillipe Starck also employed generative design software developed by Autodesk to produce the AI chair for Italian furniture brand Kartell. Autodesk claimed it is the world’s first chair created using artificial intelligence to go into production.
      Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel was founded by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel and is based in Milan.

      Read more: More

    • 138 Shares189 Views

      Architensions creates colourful Children's Playspace with plywood climbing frame and tunnel

      by

      New York studio Architensions has designed structures modeled on clouds, treehouses, tunnels and igloos for an indoor playground for children in Brooklyn.Called Children’s Playspace, the space was designed for a wellness professional who wanted an intimate play area for children.
      Architensions’ response was to create structures in different colours and shapes that could offer different sensory experiences based on natural landscapes.

      Among these is an eight-foot-tall (2.4-metre-tall) green cylinder, known as the Treehouse, which is composed of a stepped bottom and gridded top wrapped in mesh.

      The Tunnel meanwhile has a slanted, gridded exterior and arched opening carved through it that leads up steps and down a ramp. Geometric windows with colourful frames protrude from the exterior to offer views out and inside to the brightly coloured orange walls.

      “As designers, we had to challenge ourselves and ask a number of questions,” said Architensions co-principal Alessandro Orsini.
      “How can the built environment relate to children’s imagination, cognitive development, and aesthetic appeal? Is it possible to merge aesthetics and function for a space that appeals to children?”

      Another structure, called Igloo, has a circular white base and a suspended triangular top covered with semi-translucent washi paper.
      Architensions said the project took cues from other architect-designed playgrounds such as the structures architect Aldo van Eyck’s built in his series of of Amsterdam playscapes and the never-built Contoured Playground Japanese American artist and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi designed to encourage freeform play.

      “The goal is to iconise the forms to make them recognisable and welcoming for the children,” Orsini added. “And, at the same time, to create inspiring spaces where they will always feel in control of their environments.”
      ‘This environment allows them to assume different body postures, to create boundaries, and to manipulate and re-invent their surroundings,” added co-principal Nick Roseboro.

      Other playgrounds recently completed by architects and designs with bold forms include a colourful playground in Madrid designed by Aberrant Architecture and an open-air space made of geometric structures by French designer Olivier Vadrot.

      Olivier Vadrot designs sculptural outdoor playground for children

      In Children’s Playspace, all the plywood is sanded and clear stained, ​and covered in non-VOC (volatile organic compounds) natural stain paint, in order to make it safe for the children.

      Three cloud-like structures made from slats of white-painted foam also hang from in the 875-square-foot (81-square-metre) playground, while a soft tan-coloured rubber floor was chosen to reference a forest floor covered in pine needles.
      Some of the walls are draped with with a silky textile to look like water or sky, while another is covered in a mural of woodland.

      Children’s Playspace joins a number of projects Architensions, which has offices in New York and Rome, has completed in New York borough Brooklyn. They include the renovation and extension of a Brooklyn townhouse and a tiny writer’s studio.
      Photography is by Cameron Blaylock.

      Read more: More

    • 150 Shares169 Views

      The Other Season applies natural palette to boutique hotel by Dutch seaside

      by

      Linen, bamboo and sandy-beige tones appear throughout Strandhotel Zoomers in the Netherlands, which has been designed by creative studio The Other Season.Strandhotel Zoomers huddles up against the sandy dunes of Castricum beach in north Holland.
      The hotel was completed by Dutch practice Breddels Architecten at the beginning of 2020 and features a facade clad with different-hued strips of timber.

      Creative studio The Other Season has applied a similarly warm and natural material palette throughout the hotel’s interior, which accommodates 12 guest rooms.

      Smaller rooms have views of the dunes, while larger rooms are orientated to overlook the calming ocean waves. There’s also a large apartment-style room for families visiting with children.

      “The outside of the building reflects the inside of it; simple and pure with beautiful nuances in colours that make you feel welcome and at ease,” said the studio, which is led by Jasmijn Boots and Marry Broersen.
      “We chose natural patterns, colours and materials for the flooring, doors and window coverings like bamboo and wood, as they reflect the wooden covering on the exterior of the hotel and of course the tones of the grasses and sand in the dunes.”

      Each room boasts simple white walls and an exposed concrete ceiling, but has been exclusively decorated with products from Dutch design brand HK Living.
      Taupe or maroon-striped scatter cushions have been used to dress the beds, as well as sandy-beige linen throws.

      Photo by Enstijl
      Storage is provided by bamboo-panelled cupboards, complementing the bamboo armchairs that appear underneath the rooms’ writing desks or beside the windows.

      Space&Matter converts Amsterdam’s bridge keeper’s houses into hotel rooms

      Shell-shaped ornaments, amber-hued vases and woven rugs have also been used as decor, along with oversized lamps that have been printed to feature spindly illustrations of faces.

      There’s no on-site restaurant at Strandhotel Zoomers, but instead a cosy breakfast room where guests can enjoy beverages and snacks.
      Wood has been used to craft the room’s prep counter, cabinetry and central dining table, which is surrounded by white wire-frame seats.
      More food is available just a stone’s throw away at the hotel’s sister company Beach Pavilion Zoomer.

      Other spots to stay around the Netherlands include Kazerne in Eindhoven, which has just eight guest rooms and an exhibition space that displays works from the city’s leading creatives.
      There’s also the Sweets Hotel in Amsterdam, which takes over a series of vacant canal-side bridge keeper’s houses in Amsterdam. It won the hotel and short-stay interior category at the 2019 edition of the Dezeen Awards, where it was praised by judges for “questioning the idea of hotels in the era of Airbnb”.
      Photography is courtesy of The Other Season and One Two Studio unless stated otherwise.

      Read more: More

    • 138 Shares199 Views

      Island Rest is a black-timber holiday home on the English coast

      by

      British practice Ström Architects has completed Island Rest, a low-lying holiday home in the Isle of Wight that is clad in beams of blackened larch wood.Island Rest has been designed by Ström Architects as a “home away from home” for a family of four, who wanted a place where they could spend quality time together.
      The house is nestled in a creek that looks out across The Solent, a 20-mile-long stretch of water that separates the Isle of Wight from mainland England.

      First revealed in a series of renderings in 2018, the now-complete Island Rest house comprises a single-storey rectilinear volume clad with beams of black-stained larch wood.

      A low-lying structure was specifically chosen so as not to compromise views of the surrounding natural landscape.

      “We wanted the house to sit quietly against the backdrop of trees, while feeling like it embraced the views when looking out,” said the practice.
      “Our clients asked for an architecturally timeless building, drawing on the very best modern architectural concepts to create a whole – no frivolous moves; rigour must flow through every space and every detail that the building is.”

      As the area surrounding Island Rest is prone to flooding, it has been positioned to sit at the highest point of the site.
      At one end the house is supported by a grassy hill, but as this gradually slopes away, slim metal poles are instead used to elevate the structure.

      Magnus Ström models gabled annex for Hampshire home on “rustic boutique hotel”

      Expansive panels of glazing have also been fitted on both sides of the home to maximise sightlines and natural light.

      Inside lies an open-plan living and dining area, complete with a jet-black kitchen suite. This leads off to a fleet of bedrooms for the owners’ three young children.
      Each room has been given a largely simple fit-out to make them “places to sleep and not places to stay”, in a bid to encourage the children to spend more time playing outdoors.

      To give the parents a greater sense of privacy, their bedroom has been placed on the opposite side of the house.
      It has ensuite bathroom facilities and access to a small deck that leads down to the swimming pool and verdant garden.
      “Landscaping was a consideration from the outset and has a very natural and organic feel, with mowed paths through wildflowers leading to and defining areas of different function and interest,” added the practice.

      Ström Architects was established in 2010 and is based in the New Forest, a district of Hampshire, England.
      Other homes on the picturesque Isle of Wight include The Sett by Dow Jones Architects, which takes design cues from black-painted fishermen sheds seen dotted along the island’s beaches.
      There’s also House for a Yachtsman by The Manser Practice, which is punctuated by several glazed openings.
      Photography is by Nick Hufton of Hufton + Crow.

      Read more: More

    • 113 Shares99 Views

      Greek islands inform design for Monastery Studio facial spa

      by

      A pale green lacquer table and dried plants are among the references to Greek architecture and “Californian freshness” in this spa in San Francisco designed by Jacqueline Sullivan.Monastery Studio is a spa and retail space in San Francisco, founded by Athena Hewett, that offers a range of facial and body services.
      The light-filled space is designed to take cues from Hewett’s Greek heritage and her time spent in the Cyclades.

      “Monastery Studio is inspired by Athena’s Greek heritage and memories of summers in the Cyclades – sun bleached architecture, ancient pottery, soft stones, the salty sea, diffused sunlight,” Sullivan told Dezeen.

      “Though the space has an old world feel it also has a distinctly Californian freshness and sensibility,” she added.
      Walls and flooring in the space are painted white to provide a neutral backdrop for the custom-built furnishings, ceramics and dried floral sculptures.

      At the centre of the shop there is a chartreuse-coloured lacquer table with chunky circular legs and rounded edges designed by Shin Okuda of Los Angeles furniture studio Waka Waka. The surface forms a display area for the spa’s range of oils and serums.

      Bottles of products and other trinkets, including dried flowers, rocks and pottery, are arranged across the thin boards that comprise a massive built-in shelving unit.

      Proem Studio uses muted shades to design Cheeks & Co facial spa

      To add texture to the space Sullivan installed a curving sculpture of brown and red plants that extends from the ground to the ceiling onto one of the walls.

      “We played with shape, texture, colour and scale in a way that feels informed by the past but simultaneously very contemporary,” the designer added.
      “Ultimately, we wanted the space to feel soft, special and thoughtfully considered, just like the Monastery oils themselves.”

      Curved archways lead into the treatment rooms which are also painted white and flooded with natural light from a row of windows. The rooms are outfitted with a wood chair for patients, wooden stools and potted plants.
      The exterior of the spa and store is clad with planks of black wood and fronted with three large windows.

      Other facial spas include a skincare studio in Los Angeles with light pink accents designed by Proem Studio and a skincare store in England with cane and ash wood cabinets.

      Read more: More

    • 113 Shares179 Views

      This week, architects designed innovative public toilets for Tokyo

      by

      This week on Dezeen, we featured three unusual restrooms designed for the Tokyo Toilet project, including Shigeru Ban’s colourful, transparent design.As well as Ban’s restroom, whose transparent walls become opaque when the toilets are in use, designs include Wonderwall’s concrete toilet that references primitive Japanese huts, and Fumihiko Maki’s “squid toilet” which is located in a park known as the Octopus Park.
      The project is being run by the not-for-profit Nippon Foundation and will see 17 toilets being built in total.

      Revit software costs “reasonable” says Autodesk president and CEO Andrew Anagnost
      The CEO of American software maker Autodesk, Andrew Anagnost, replied to criticism from leading architects about the rising cost and lack of development of its Revit application.

      Though he admitted improvements “didn’t progress as quickly” as they should, he called the expense of Autodesk software “certainly reasonable for tools that are at the centre of the daily work of architects.”

      Harikrishnan’s blow-up latex trousers go on sale with “do not overinflate” warning
      Fashion blew up this week, as Harikrishnan’s inflatable trousers went on sale – just six months after the designer showed them at his graduate show – with a warning to “not overinflate” the shiny latex garments.
      Spanish artist SiiGii took the concept one step further with their wearable, inflatable latex lilo, which enables the wearer to float in the ocean without worrying about sun exposure.

      Architecture “is more elitist than the most elite university in the world” says Phineas Harper
      Open House and Open City director and Dezeen columnist Phineas Harper inspired a passionate discussion in the comments after accusing architecture of rampant elitism.
      In a Twitter thread, the former Architecture Foundation deputy director compared the percentage of architects from non-state schools in its New Architects 3 publication with the percentage of state school students who went to Cambridge las year.
      “[W]e *need* to start talking about the impact of private schools on architecture,” Harper said.

      Dyson family to make art collection public in home gallery by Chris Wilkinson
      James Dyson, vacuum-cleaner entrepreneur and the UK’s wealthiest person, and his wife Deirdre are set to open their private art collection to the public in an art gallery that WilkinsonEyre’s founder, Chris Wilkinson, has designed for their UK home.
      In Ireland, O’Donnell + Tuomey unveiled a timber and concrete pedestrian bridge, which was built over the River Lee to improve connections to University College Cork. The bridge gives students direct access to an area of green space across the river from the university.

      Snøhetta, Studio Gang and Henning Larsen unveil designs for Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
      Competing designs for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, which will be built in Medora, North Dakota, were presented by Snøhetta, Studio Gang and Henning Larsen.
      Proposals include a scheme composed of four angular volumes topped by grass, a building composed of three horseshoe-shaped structures, and a library topped with a huge, curved roof that acts as an extension of the landscape.

      BIG reveals masterplan for “urban lilypads” off coast of Penang Island
      In other architecture news, Dutch studio MVRDV announced its plans to turn a deteriorating concrete factory in China into a creative office space with a maze-like garden on the roof.
      Denmark’s BIG unveiled its masterplan for BiodiverCity Penang, a series of islands in Malaysia that will be connected by a car-free autonomous transport system.

      Step House extension built around perforated birch-ply staircase
      Popular projects on Dezeen this week include the Step House extension with its plywood staircase, Worrel Yeung’s industrial artist studios in historic Brooklyn factory buildings, and Ridgewood, a renovated California house that pays homage to its “flamboyant” modernist architect.
      This week on Dezeen is our regular roundup of the week’s top news stories. Subscribe to our newsletters to be sure you don’t miss anything.

      Read more: More

    • 125 Shares139 Views

      Long wooden cabinet runs through slender Borden house by StudioAC

      by

      Pale woodwork wrapping white-painted walls forms storage to make more space in this 14-foot-wide house in Toronto, which has been overhauled by local firm StudioAC.The Borden project is the renovation of a Victorian-era, three-storey residence in Annex, a neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto.

      Like many other properties in the area the house has a “very slender” width measuring 14 foot (4.2 metres) wide, which is approximately half the length of a London bus.

      Focused on the the ground-floor living area and second floor bedroom, StudioAC’s overhaul aimed to emphasise the tall ceilings of the house and give the impression of more space inside.
      It painted the walls and ceilings white and added short wood cabinets, which it describes as “contemporary wainscotting”, to highlight the height of the walls.

      “With soaring ceiling heights, we wanted to articulate the interior in a way that felt intimate while maintaining an open slender floor plan,” StudioAC explained.
      “We utilised a language of wrapping the flooring material up to counter-height to create a nestled feeling throughout the ground floor and the level three bedroom suite.”

      In turn, the cabinetry is also used to conceal storage and functions, making more space in the floor. One of the cabinets stretches the floor length of the ground floor to form the base of a built-in fireplace and kitchen counter. Both the chimney and the oven are built out in white volumes on top.
      The decor of the space, including wood flooring and furniture, and mirrored walls, complements the simple aesthetic. A white couch is placed at the front beneath a large window covered with translucent, white curtains.

      Matching wooden cabinetry continues in the top floor main bedroom, extending around the bed and forming short storage cabinets, and closets.

      StudioAC designs Toronto house “disguised as a gallery”

      “The third floor bedroom suite also has incredible ceiling height,” said the studio. “So the language of the contemporary wainscotting is taken up to the bedroom to carry the thesis from private to public.”

      The woodwork leads towards the en-suite bathroom at the front of the house, whose walls and pitched ceiling is is covered in grey concrete.
      “The wood wrapper cradles the bed and weaves around the closet to direct the eye toward the bathing suite: an intimate room clad in concrete tile with a soaring pitched roof,” it added.

      StudioAC was founded in 2015 by architects Jennifer Kudlats and designer Andrew Hill, who met while working at KPMB Architects in Toronto.
      Other Toronto house renovations by the studio include Candy Loft, Hilton House and Pape Loft that was once a church. In one of its more recent projects it took cues from the work of late American designer Donald Judd to create a home “disguised as a gallery”.
      Photography is by Jeremie Warshafsky.

      Read more: More