all

Subterms

    More stories

    • 138 Shares119 Views

      in Rooms

      Airbnb creates rentals based on famous places and movies for guests

      by

      Rental platform Airbnb has announced the addition of its Icons program, a category that provides a range of international experiences including a stay in the house from Pixar’s Up and an overnight in the Musee D’ Orsay in Paris.

      The first 11 Icons experiences include recreations of houses from popular culture, such as the floating house from Pixar’s film Up, and visits with celebrities, such as a night out with comic Kevin Hart.
      Airbnb has created 11 “extraordinary” experiences for its new Icons category. This photo and top photo by Ryan LowryOf the 11 Icons, house rentals include a full-scale model of the house from Pixar’s Up, which is suspended by a crane during a breakfast picnic, to a stay in the clock tower of Paris’s Musee D’ Orsay, which was transformed into a bedrom by French designer Mathieu Lehanneur and will be available for the opening of the upcoming summer Olympics.
      The experiences will be awarded to guests through a selection process, with approximately eight additional Icon experiences being rolled out throughout the year to join the first batch. Each Icon is free or under $100 (£80).
      The category includes recreations of houses from popular culture and experiences with celebrities. Photo by Ryan Lowry”Icons take you inside worlds that only existed in your imagination – until now,” said Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky. “As life becomes increasingly digital, we’re focused on bringing more magic into the real world. With Icons, we’ve created the most extraordinary experiences on Earth.”

      The launch follows the platform’s release of recreations of Barbie’s Malibu Dreamhouse and Shrek’s swampland cottage, as well as previous overnight experiences in an Ikea showroom and the last remaining Blockbuster.
      Rentals include an overnight stay at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Photo by Frederik Vercruysse”These experiences captured people’s imagination and they allowed people to step into someone else’s world,” said Chesky. “And at its best, this is what Airbnb does. And what it’s always been about.”
      To create the spaces, the brand employed a variety of strategies. In the case of the Up house, it was built from scratch, while other properties were renovated or outfitted with a particular theme such as the X-Mansion from the X-Men movie series or Prince’s Purple Rain house.
      The rental was designed by Mathieu Lehanneur and will be available during the opening of the summer Olympic Games. Photo by Frederik Vercruysse”The Up house is one of the most iconic homes in any film ever,” said Chesky. “You’re gonna be able to stay in Carl and Ellie’s home and it will feel like you’re stepping inside the movie.”
      “This is a real house we built from scratch. We had to literally paint every detail in the home to match the exact Pantone colours used in the film, from the roof tiles to the siding,” he continued.
      The rentals include houses built from scratch or outfitted in a particular style. Photo by Max MiechowskiFor the X-Mansion, the team searched for a home in Upstate New York that looked like an approximation of the house from the movie series and then covered the interior in comic-strip style illustrations by artist Joshua Vides.
      According to Airbnb VP of design Teo Connor, it took approximately two weeks for Vides and his team to hand-paint each room.
      For the X-Mansion from the X-Men movie series, the interior was painted with comic-style illustrations. Photo by Holly Andres”Each Icon has a different timeline because they’re all so unique, so different,” Connor told Dezeen. “[There was] a huge amount of effort to bring these things to life and I think it really shows.”
      “With these types of things, we’re really wanting to immerse you in a world and for it to feel authentic,” she continued.

      If designers don’t embrace AI the world “will be designed without them” says AirBnb founder

      Other Icons include a stay at the Ferrari museum in a custom-made circular bed that is surrounded by various Ferrari models and a visit to Bollywood star Janhvi Kapoor’s “childhood oasis” in India.
      To visit the various experiences, travellers must submit a written entry through Airbnb during a timed submission period. 4,000 guests will be selected and awarded a “golden ticket” to attend the experiences over the coming year.
      Other experiences include a stay in Prince’s house from the movie Purple Rain. Photo by Eric OgdenThe brand also released several updates in order to make booking and organizing group trips easier for travellers, including multiple users being able to message the host and a ranking system when selecting a rental together.
      Last year, Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky warned against designers failing to embrace AI and announced a program that called to designers and creatives to rent out their spaces for supplemental income.
      The photography is courtesy of Airbnb.

      Read more: More

    • 113 Shares169 Views

      in Rooms

      Pixelated furniture appears throughout Lunet eyewear store in Bucharest

      by

      Romanian practice Bogdan Ciocodeica Studio played with the idea of “blurry vision” in this eyewear store in Bucharest, where pixelated furnishings sit against translucent latex curtains.

      This is the third space that Bogdan Ciocodeica Studio has designed for Lunet, having worked on the eyewear brand’s inaugural Bucharest store and another branch in the city of Cluj-Napoca.
      Lunet has opened its second store in the Romanian capitalThe interiors of the two other locations play with colour and metallics, but the firm wanted this store to look like “a playful and pixelated environment”.
      “All the shapes and volumes are stylised and synthesised to their essence, stripped of unnecessary information so that they become almost low-resolution images, containing only the vital information,” Bogdan Ciocodeica Studio explained.
      Cutouts around the shelves are meant to make them look pixelatedGlasses are displayed on tall wooden shelving units that were installed at intervals around the store’s periphery, with square cutouts designed to mimic the blocky form of pixels.

      Translucent latex curtains were hung between the shelves. “[They] give depth and texture to the otherwise straight walls, granting it almost a blurry vision-like effect,” added the studio.
      Similar pixel-style cutouts can be seen on the store’s chairs, rug and service deskMore glasses are showcased on freestanding L-shaped partitions, each incorporating a full-length mirror and set on wheels so they can be easily moved around.
      A seating area at the heart of the store is furnished with two wide-set wooden chairs, their armrests featuring the same pixelated edging as the shelves.
      Underneath the chairs is a large burnt-orange rug with pixel-shaped openings that offer fun peeks at the store’s gridded tile flooring.
      Gridded tile flooring runs throughout the spacePixel-style cutouts were also made in the wooden service desk, which sits directly beneath a lightbox displaying Lunet’s logo.
      Eye tests are carried out in a secondary room towards the rear of the store. All the walls here were painted brick-red except one, which features a brightly-hued surrealist graphic of a woman wearing sunglasses.
      The eye test room includes a graphic feature wallA number of other architects and designers have incorporated pixels into their projects. Canadian studio Partisans used pale yellow bricks to create an undulating pixelated facade for a home in Toronto.
      And ODA also staggered apartment blocks to form a pixelated residential block in New York.
      The photography is by Vlad Patru.

      Read more: More

    • 113 Shares99 Views

      in Rooms

      Dezeen Events Guide launches digital guide to NYCxDesign 2024

      by

      Dezeen Events Guide has launched its guide to NYCxDesign 2024, highlighting the key events in New York City from 16 to 23 May.

      The festival celebrates its 12th anniversary with a programme of exhibitions, open showrooms, tours, talks, design fairs and product launches.
      Located across neighbourhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, around 200 events are taking place across eight days, spanning architecture, design, art, fashion and technology.
      Use our interactive map
      This year’s guide also features a curated map with the key events of the festival, helping you navigate your way around the city.

      Click to use Dezeen’s map for NYCxDesign 2024There is still the opportunity to feature in the guide
      There are three types of listings still available:
      Standard listings cost £125 ($160) and include the event name, date and location details plus a website link. These listings will feature up to 50 words of text about the event.
      Enhanced listings cost £175 ($225) and include all of the above, plus an image at the top of the listing’s page and a preview image on the Dezeen Events Guide homepage. These listings will also feature up to 100 words of text about the event.
      Featured listings cost £350 ($450) and include the elements of an enhanced listing plus a post on Dezeen’s Threads channel, inclusion in the featured events carousel on the right hand of the homepage for up to two weeks and 150 words of text about the event. This text can include commercial information such as ticket prices and offers and can feature additional links to website pages such as ticket sales and newsletter signups.
      For more details about partnering with us to help amplify your event, contact the team at [email protected].
      About Dezeen Events Guide
      Dezeen Events Guide is our guide to the best architecture and design events taking place across the world each year.
      The guide is updated weekly and includes events, conferences, trade fairs, major exhibitions and design weeks.
      The illustration is by Justyna Green.

      Read more: More

    • 113 Shares169 Views

      in Rooms

      Holloway Li furnishes Mother London office with bold-coloured furniture

      by

      Interior design studio Holloway Li has reimagined the office of advertising agency Mother London using bespoke furniture that nods to the 1970s to enhance its industrial setting in Shoreditch, London.

      Aiming to create a flexible multi-purpose space, Holloway Li reconfigured the ground floor and mezzanine of the office – located in a former tea factory – to host an open-plan kitchen, dining area and seating space, along with an updated reception area.
      Bespoke, bold-coloured furniture features throughout the office interiorBright red tables line the dining area to provide a flexible space for hosting office lunches as well as meetings, events and exhibitions.
      Designed by Holloway Li and manufactured by collaborator UMA, these bespoke tables nod to 1970s furniture design and feature a structural foam core encased by a thin layer of fibreglass, chosen for its lightweight materiality.
      Bright red tables encased with resin fill the dining area”Whilst celebrating the brand’s distinct and eclectic character, we wanted to reinvigorate the space with a new material palette, in keeping with the furniture’s precursors so there was a retained sense of familiarity for the pre-existing environment,” project designer Ivy Aris told Dezeen.

      “Our approach sought to not only elevate the multi-purpose functionality of the building as both an office and a hospitality setting, but also to develop methods of production with our close collaborators UMA and CraftWorks.”
      Deep green cabinets and red shelves line the kitchen spaceAdjacent to the dining area, an industrial-style kitchen is organised around two sleek stainless steel islands.
      Deep green cabinets topped with stainless steel and red-coloured shelving feature in the kitchen and display the agency’s extensive vintage tableware collection.

      London apartment features fish and chip shop-informed kitchen

      “In the kitchen, more muted shades of green and burgundy offset the clinical brushed steel counters, creating an adaptable space suited to shapeshifting from day to night,” studio co-founder Alex Holloway told Dezeen.
      “Much of our scheme was shaped by materials with reflective qualities, capitalising on the natural light from the original tea factory’s windows which worked to accentuate the raw charm of the industrial setting,” he added.
      Playful pink sofas wrap around the mezzanineThis material palette extends into the renewed 63-square-metre mezzanine area, which is furnished with playful pink sofas from Holloway Li’s T4 collection and complemented by red coffee tables made from salvaged wood.
      Meanwhile, at the office’s reception, the studio preserved an existing stainless steel desk and encased its structure with a translucent, glowing fascia. This is set against a backdrop of red curtains and hanging light bulbs, adding a sense of drama and theatricality to the reception area.
      A glowing reception desk is backed by red curtainsHolloway Li is an interior design studio founded by Alex Holloway and Na Li in 2018.
      Other recently completed office interiors include the conversion of a Victorian mission church into a flexible studio in London and a Minecraft-inspired office in Prague.
      The photography is by Felix Speller.
      Project credits:
      Interior design: Holloway LiDesign team: Alex Holloway, Ivy Aris, Jazzlyn JansenProject manager/ QS: Holloway LiContractor: Craftworks ProductionsMetalwork: Steel & FormJoinery: Craftworks ProductionsFurniture procurement agent: Holloway LiBespoke furniture (T4, Big Red, Reception Desk): Uma Objects

      Read more: More

    • 113 Shares99 Views

      in Rooms

      Eero Saarinen’s Black Rock skyscraper refurbished in New York

      by

      The first and only skyscraper designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen in New York City has undergone a renovation by Vocon Architects and MdeAS Architects to help it “meet the expectations of today”.

      At the behest of developer HGI, local architecture studios Vocon Architects and MdeAS Architects renovated and restored the 51W52 skyscraper, also known as Black Rock, which was completed as a headquarters for American media giant CBS in 1964.
      CBS moved all of its facilities out in late 2023 and Black Rock now contains offices for a variety of companies, including HGI itself.
      Eero Saarinen’s first and only skyscraper has been renovatedDesigned by modernist architect Saarinen as his first and only skyscraper, 51W52’s original symmetrical facade of granite, bronze and travertine has survived, with the bronze fins updated by the renovation team.
      At the time, Saarinen called it the “simplest skyscraper statement in New York”.

      The original design was mostly maintained, and the developer, which purchased the landmarked building in 2021, said that the relatively column-less floor plans made it a perfect candidate for a contemporary office, though the interiors needed an update.
      The building’s facade is made of granite, bronze and travertine”From the beginning, we understood the immense potential of 51W52 given its architectural significance, desirable floor plans, and central location in Midtown,” said HGI president T Richard Litton Jr.
      “The structure of the building was optimal, we just needed to make subtle enhancements to reflect and appreciate its original design.”
      Most of the structural elements in the building were left intact. The architectural team completely renovated two lobbies on the ground floor, including a revamp of the finishes and the elevators. They also redid the building’s rooftop garden.
      Contemporary details and furnishings were added to the lobbyThe project also included the renovation of key amenities spaces including a lounge, fitness centre and a private cafe.
      The studios said that instead of completely rethinking the aesthetics of the 900,000-square-foot (83,600 square-metre) building, they aimed to “let the significant architecture speak for itself”.
      The wide, long walls of the lobby were finished in detailing that echoes those used for the original facade. Some of the walls were covered in brass-tipped wooden slats, while others feature monolithic granite slabs.
      The elevator bay was clad in light-coloured stoneBack-lit stone clads the reception desk, above which was placed a modernist fresco that incorporates the CBS logo to call attention to the history of the building.
      This artwork, by artist Vincent Ashbahian, was originally displayed in the building in the 1970s and willed back to the building after his death.
      Toronto outfit Viso created a massive lighting fixture made of dangling lights on strands to cover a large swath of the lobby.

      Oyler Wu Collaborative repurposes Eero Saarinen bank teller canopies for installation

      “By conceptualizing the experience from the outside in, we were able to restore the fundamental beauty of his design and apply the principles of form, light, and even water to new elements such as the feature stair and water feature that meet the preferences of contemporary office users,” said MdeAS Architects managing partner Dan Shannon.
      From the lobby, a glass-lined stairwell leads down to lounge areas. The stairwell shaft is clad in stainless steel rendered in an undulating pattern.
      Models of furniture originally designed by Saarinen and architect Florence Knoll were placed throughout the renovated spaces.
      A water feature was placed underneath the staircase leading to the below-lobby loungeAs it leads to lounge areas below, it passes over a small, still water feature: a small pool of water retained by black-painted metal.
      “The creation of private lounges, a conference center, and fitness studios help the building meet the expectations of today’s best corporate talent, while their designs maintain the integrity of Saarinen’s original architecture,” said Vocon Architects principal Tom Vecchione.
      Saarinen is known for his modernist architecture, with built work across the United States and Europe. Recently, a number of his buildings have been undergoing renovation, including his TWA terminal at JFK, which was repurposed into a hotel.
      Other modernist skyscrapers that have undergone restorations and renovations in New York City include the famous Lever House skyscraper, which was restored by SOM, its original architects.
      The photography is by Colin Miller.

      Read more: More

    • 150 Shares159 Views

      in Rooms

      Hemingway Design and James Shaw create furniture from recycled clothes for Traid

      by

      Local studio Hemingway Design collaborated with designer James Shaw to transform a London store interior for charity retailer Traid, which features colourful furniture created from leftover second-hand clothes.

      Hemingway Design renovated Traid’s Shepherd’s Bush branch as part of a wider rebrand for the retailer to mark its 25th anniversary, including its visual identity.
      Hemingway Design has redesigned the Traid store in Shepherd’s Bush, LondonTraid sells donated clothing and accessories in 12 stores across London to fund global projects that tackle the issues caused by producing, consuming and wasting textiles.
      As part of the Shepherd’s Bush store refurbishment, Hemingway Design worked with Shaw to create furniture out of poor-quality clothes salvaged from the Traid sorting warehouse that the retailer deemed unsellable.
      James Shaw created furniture and lighting made from recycled clothesShaw, whose practice centres on repurposing waste materials, created curved pendant lighting from the leftover clothes, which were shredded back to fibres and combined with a plant-based binder.

      The designer applied this method to make the rest of the furniture. One piece is a low-slung bench for trying on shoes, upholstered with a yellow, green and blue patchwork of old denim jeans and corduroy trousers.
      Shaw designed the bench’s lumpy legs in his trademark extruded HDPE plastic, finished in the same colours as the patchwork seat.
      This included changing room door handlesElsewhere in the store, boxy pinewood changing room doors feature multicoloured handles created from the leftover clothes, defined by a speckled appearance thanks to the combination of shredded fibres.
      Silver scaffolding previously used for a different purpose in the original shop layout was used to create a “staff picks” clothes rail positioned at the front of the store.
      The designer combined shredded fibres with a plant-based binder. Photo by James Shaw”To align with Traid’s manifesto of reducing waste and prolonging the lifespan of items, a fundamental objective of the refurb was to reuse and repurpose existing fixtures and fittings within the store where possible,” explained Hemingway Design.
      British designer Charlie Boyden created chunky pastel-hued plinths from other offcuts and materials salvaged from the strip-out. They display merchandise in the shop window illuminated by more of Shaw’s clothing-based pendant lighting.
      Existing silver scaffolding was used to form a “staff picks” clothes railSwirly linseed-based oil-stained pine also characterises the geometric cash desk, fitted with an accessible counter and positioned in front of an existing timber stud wall painted in bold pink.
      Next to the counter, bespoke bright green Unistrut shelving creates additional space for hanging clothes and displaying shoes.

      Previously unrecycleable clothing made into Fibers Unsorted textile

      According to Hemingway Design, Traid has put 228 million garments back into use to date, saving 622,059 tonnes of carbon dioxide and 105.3 million cubic metres of water.
      “The charity retailer maximises the potential of the clothes you no longer wear, demanding change from a throwaway, fast fashion culture that continues to destroy this planet,” said the studio.
      Charlie Boyden designed display plinths using off-cutsShaw recently applied his extruded plastic designs to another store renovation in central London for shoe brand Camper, which includes a jumbo foot sculpture.
      Hemingway Design previously created a minimalist but colourful logo to celebrate 100 years of the Dreamland amusement park in Margate, Kent.
      The photography is by French & Tye unless stated otherwise. 

      Read more: More

    • 175 Shares139 Views

      in Rooms

      The Hoxton Vienna offers “contemporary take on the Wiener Werstätte arts and craft movement”

      by

      AIME Studio’s interiors for the latest outpost of The Hoxton hotels, in a renovated marble-clad 1950s office building in Vienna, celebrate arts and crafts and post-war modernism.

      Creative studio AIME Studio has converted the former administration building of the Chamber of Commerce in Vienna, which was originally designed by architect Carl Appel, into The Hoxton Vienna.
      The building now features 196 rooms, a rooftop bar and swimming pool, a restaurant, cocktail bar, a private apartment and an auditorium for events and programming.
      The lobby of the hotel, which was previously an office building, features original travertine wallsBy focussing on mid-century Austrian design, the hotel aims to show guests a less classical side of what is often considered a traditional European city.
      Appel was known for shaping the “Second Ringstrasse” style of the post-war reconstruction period, which the studio referenced in its design.

      “Our aim was to create a design that respected the building’s history and to preserve the architectural style of the 1950s,” AIME Studios’ Aaron Gibson told Dezeen.
      The Hoxton Vienna is filled with mid-century design details”We visited buildings in Vienna designed by Carl Appel and renowned Austrian architects of the early 20th-century – like Adolph Loos and Otto Wagner – which inspired the interiors for The Hoxton Vienna,” Gibson added.
      The double-height lobby of The Hoxton Vienna preserves key features and details from Appel’s original 1950s design.
      The bedroom’s feature geometric patterned fabrics and soft furnishingsThe mid-century finishes of stones and metals in the original office building set a neutral and semi-industrial context for the renovation.
      “We deliberately used the key features and details from Carl Appel’s original design for the architecture and the interior as a basis for our decision-making throughout the ground floor,” the studio said.
      The hotel has a ground-floor restaurant that continues the design themesAIME Studios also worked with The Federal Monuments Authority Austria, which enforces the Monument Protection Act in order to explore, protect and maintain Austria’s cultural heritage.
      Together they selected furniture items for the hotel which reflect the 1950s, including light fittings, armchairs, sofas, and even the fabrics and textiles used in the space.
      Just off the main lobby there is a small cafe bar”We inherited amazing existing features like the large format terrazzo flooring, travertine walls and corrugated aluminium columns, which are all great examples of 1950s architecture,” AIME told Dezeen.
      The interior scheme complements the existing restrained colour palette of the natural stones’ soft hues of green-grey, beige and blue tones.
      The rooftop bar and pool area adopts a more contemporary designThe studio also took inspiration from the Wiener Werkstätte (Viennese workshops), one of the longest-lived design movements of the 20th century and a key organisation for the development of modernism.
      Centred in the Austrian capital, it bridged traditional methods of manufacture and avant-garde aesthetics.
      In the bedrooms, geographic patterned curtains are influenced by iconic Werkstätte fabrics and ruched headboards are inspired by Loos’ style.
      The auditorium is The Hoxton’s largest events space to date”We selected Viennese fabrics with restrained colours and quiet and small-scale patterns, demonstrating a contemporary take on the Wiener Werstätte arts and craft movement,” Gibson explained.
      Besides the usual hotel program of rooms and restaurants, The Hoxton Vienna features a large auditorium designed in a 1950s palette of pale yellow and blue with mid-century wood panelling, furniture and fittings.

      The Hoxton hotel opens in Chicago’s old meatpacking area

      The auditorium will host events like stand-up comedy, gigs and conferences, as part of the wider cultural programming of The Hoxton Vienna.
      The hotel also has a private “apartment,” which is an open-plan series of rooms across different levels, including kitchen, dining, sitting and meeting spaces.
      There is a speakeasy-style bar in the basementThe interiors of the apartment distil the essence of AIME Studios’ interior design at The Hoxton, with Wiener Werstätte patterns and colours, mid-century modernist furniture and light fittings, and artwork referencing the period.
      Other hotels from The Hoxton that have recently featured on Dezeen include their first opening in Germany with The Hoxton Charlottenburg in Berlin and the Ricardo Bofill-inspired The Hoxton Poblenou in Barcelona.
      Photography is by Julius Hirtzberger.

      Read more: More

    • 175 Shares139 Views

      in Rooms

      Jane Withers picks five projects that don’t “take water for granted” from MK&G exhibition

      by

      An exhibition at Hamburg’s MK&G museum examines the global water crisis and what architects and designers can do to help. Here, curator Jane Withers selects five highlights from the show and explains the stories behind them.

      Water Pressure: Designing for the Future is the result of several years of research by Jane Withers Studio, which involved compiling a broad range of ideas on how to confront water scarcity from the fields of design, science and activism.
      “The current water crisis is largely the result of mismanagement and overconsumption, so there is potential to rethink the systems,” Withers told Dezeen. “A multidisciplinary approach is required and architecture and design are strong components within this.”
      A new exhibition at MK&G (top image) deals with issues of water scarcity (pictured above in Cape Town)The exhibition, on show at MK&G until 13 October, is organised around five themes: Water Stories, Bodily Waters, Invisible Water – Agriculture and Industry, Thirsty Cities, and Ecosystems – Land and Ocean.
      Each theme explores water as a life force and a common medium that unites humans, plants, animals and the landscape.

      “We take water for granted in every way and we need to rekindle our psychological, physiological and spiritual understanding of it,” Withers said.
      The projects on show range from the CloudFisher system, which harvests water from fog or clouds, to a proposal for low-cost floating schools by architecture studio NLÉ and a mural by Slovenian architect Marjetica Potrč calling for the recognition of water as a living being.

      Laero develops at-home system for turning wastewater into drinking water

      While some reflect on water’s poetic and mythical associations, others offer more scientifically-led solutions to specific problems associated with water scarcity, human-induced climate change and water justice.
      Withers said she hopes visitors to the exhibition will leave with a better understanding of water and the challenges we face, as well as recognising that there are things we can all do to help shape a different future.
      “We need policy change but also individual changes of mindset and a new water consciousness,” she added. “We’re very keen that the exhibition is a starting point for conversations and for campaigning about water culture.”
      Below, Withers outlines five key projects featured in Water Pressure:
      Graphic by Marjetica PotrčTime on the Lachlan River by Marjetica Potrč
      “The first room in the exhibition is framed by two wonderful works by artist and activist Marjetica Potrč. The mural Time on The Lachlan River illustrates the campaign by Australia’s Aboriginal Wijaduri people to prevent the enlargement of a damn that could have deprived the land downriver of water.
      “On the other side, the visual essay The Rights of a River tells the story of a water referendum in Slovenia in 2021, when an overwhelming majority of people voted against a law that would have allowed private businesses to exploit the country’s rivers for profit.
      “This shift in thinking about rivers and how we view them not as objects to be exploited but as subjects with their own rights is fundamental to creating a more equitable water culture and sets the tone for the exhibition.”
      Photo courtesy of NLÉMakoko Floating System by NLÉ
      “Architectural practice NLÉ has been researching the potential for floating architecture in African cities affected by rising sea levels for over a decade. Their prototype floating building was a low-cost school for the Makoko community in Lagos inspired by their vernacular floating structures.
      “The Makoko School became something of a poster project for floating architecture through photographer Iwan Baan’s alluring images of kids clambering over an ark-like wooden building. It could have stopped there but NLÉ has gone on to develop a scalable prefabricated floating building system for the development of waterfronts amid the challenges of climate resilience.
      “The studio is currently working on a regeneration plan for the Makoko area based on this technology, and recently published the book African Water Cities that examines the potential for waterborne living in other African cities.”
      Photo by Ugo CarmeniDeath to the Flushing Toilet by The Dry Collective
      “Death to the Flushing Toilet is a campaign by The Dry Collective that provokes a rethink of the waterborne sewage systems we take for granted. It’s madness that wealthier regions of the world use vast quantities of freshwater to flush away human waste, while two billion people still lack basic sanitation.
      “In urban areas, as much as 30 per cent of freshwater is used to flush toilets and often this is drinking quality water. The Dry Collective aims to persuade architects and designers to use alternative systems.
      “Taking the traditional Finnish huussi – a composting dry toilet used in rural areas – as a model, they produced a film set in 2043 that imagines a global shift where water is no longer wasted on flushing and human waste is recycled as fertiliser. The technology for circular sanitation systems already exists so the real issue is overcoming prejudices and the ‘yuck factor’.”
      Photo by Merdel RubensteinEden in Iraq
      “Eden in Iraq is an incredibly inspiring project that has gotten off the ground against the odds in Iraq’s Mesopotamian Marshes, where the discharge of untreated sewage has polluted the fragile marsh ecosystem and led to disease.
      “The wetland garden is designed to use plants to clean the local community’s wastewater. The garden’s ornate symmetrical design takes inspiration from the embroidered wedding blankets of Marsh Arab tribes and their tradition of reed construction for buildings.
      “The first construction phase, completed in 2023, demonstrates the potential for nature-based wastewater systems to work at a community level.”
      Drawing by OOZE ArchitectsRe-imagine Water Flows by Ooze Architects
      “Re-imagine Water Flows is a special commission for the Water Pressure exhibition using the MK&G Museum as a case study to understand the water challenges Hamburg faces and how the building’s water ecosystem could be made more resilient.
      “A mural by Ooze Architects shows two versions of the museum – one with its current situation marooned between massive roads and Hamburg’s main railway station and the other illustrating how it could be transformed into a shady green oasis.
      “In the studio’s proposal, rainwater and wastewater are recycled to be reused for non-drinking water use inside the building, as well as for irrigating the landscape and recharging the Hamburg aquifer.
      “The mural expands to show how Hamburg is threatened by drought and increased risk of flooding that could also affect the river Elbe watershed. It invites us to think about the importance of these common water flows linking countries and cities.”
      The top image is by Henning Rogge and the image of the Newlands municipal swimming pool in Cape Town is by Bloomberg via Getty Images.
      Water Pressure is on show at MK&G Hamburg from 15 March to 13 October 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for all the latest architecture and design events taking place around the world.

      Read more: More