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      Plaster walls of Jaffa Roofhouse imbue apartment with history and warmth

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      Gitai Architects has renovated an apartment in Jaffa, Israel with curved walls, plasterwork and pale floors to resemble the ancient port city’s limestone buildings.The studio overhauled the 270-square-metre apartment for a couple. It includes a combination of curved and linear elements to fuse traditional craftsmanship with more contemporary details.

      Called Jaffa Roofhouse, the project is a rooftop apartment that is in the shape of a cross with outdoor patios framing three sides of the unit. The unit has expansive views of the Mediterranea Sea, as well as Jaffa’s iconic Al Bahr Mosque minaret.

      “The Jaffa Roofhouse is situated at the ancient port of the city of Jaffa, reputed to be one of the oldest ports in the world, out of which modern-day Tel Aviv has grown,” said Ben Gitai, who founded the studio in 2014.
      “This Roofhouse is designed to feel suspended in the air of Jaffa-Tel Aviv and grounded by its materiality.”

      Gitai Architects sought to renovate the apartment with curved walls to soften its existing boxy shell. Covered in plaster, the walls change in hue from golden to lavender shades as the sun rises and sets across the city.
      The curved walls feature in the living room. One conceals a galley-style kitchen with dark cabinets, the second accommodates a built-in dining nook and the third houses a bedroom.

      These curved structures, which are made of compressed soil and straw and covered with lime plaster from Israeli company ArcoLime, were constructed at an offset from the concrete existing shell.

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      A gap between the apartment’s original concrete walls and the natural covering applied over them allows for air to flow inside and promote a natural circulation to help regulate humidity and temperature.

      “Materiality was of premier importance in the spatial atmosphere and expression of this project, with most of its elements being earth-made from soil sourced from the local area,” the studio said.
      “Throughout the design development of the project, a profound dialogue was in-stored between the Roofhouse and the surrounding landscape.”

      The master suite has more curved walls forming rounded nooks for a walk-in closet and shelving.
      Curved elements extend outside the apartment as well for a rounded built-in seating nook on the terrace with cushions and a U-shaped seating arrangement. An outdoor dining area has an oval-shaped table to seat 20 people and is covered by a pergola for shade. Completing the roof terrace is a wall-like garden that was custom made for the project with 450 different ceramic pots created by hand.

      In addition to this project, Gitai Architects has also built a rammed-earth observatory in Israel’s Negev desert. The studio has offices in Haifa, Israel and Paris, France.
      Israel’s historic centre of Jaffa is about a 10-minute drive south of the heart of Tel Aviv. Another apartment in Jaffa to similarly feature a mixture of old-world and contemporary styles is a penthouse by Pitsou Kedem and Baranowitz & Goldberg.
      Photography is by Dan Bronfeld.
      Project credits:
      Design team: Ben Gitai, Charly Crochu, Cloe Constantini, Dani Guinness, Meitar Tewel, Itay aviram, Sara Arneberg GitaiCuration: Isabelle WolfClients: Isabelle Wolff, Yves TirmanEngineering: Kobi BenishuLandscape: Sachar Tzur of Studio TzuraConsultants: Yonathan SteinbergerCollaborators: Stella Projects, Tal Banker

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    • 113 Shares99 Views

      Studio Venturoni warms up Rome apartment with earthy hues

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      Bands of terracotta and sand-coloured paint wrap around the walls of Trevi House, a one-bed apartment in Rome that’s been overhauled by Studio Venturoni.The apartment is situated at the heart of the Italian capital, just a stone’s throw away from the famous Trevi fountain.

      Its interior had previously been dominated by heavy masonry partitions that were splitting up the sizeable 80-square-metre floor plan into several small, cramped rooms.

      Custom wooden cabinets and bookshelves accumulated by the owner were also blocking natural light from coming in.

      Tasked with creating a greater sense of space inside the apartment, Milan-based Studio Venturoni decided to knock through all of the existing partitions.
      This more open floor plan has allowed room for a central dining area. Surrounding walls here feature wide bands of terracotta and sandy-beige paint, two earthy hues which the studio felt were synonymous with Rome.

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      Studio Venturoni also hoped that the horizontal bands of colour would make the room appear wider.

      Terracotta and orange surfaces appear again in the adjacent living area, which has been dressed with a lengthy grey sofa that slightly rises up on one end like a chaise lounge.
      This piece was specifically selected for its slight resemblance to a triclinium: a type of seat that would appear in the formal dining rooms of affluent Roman homes, composed of three adjoining chaise lounges on which residents would recline while being attended to by servants.

      Other striking furnishings – like Fabio Novembre’s face-shaped Nemo armchair – have been included to match the “monumental feel” of the apartment’s grandiose mahogany doors and wooden ceilings, which the studio decided to preserve during the renovation works.
      “My career has allowed me to understand the importance of detail: everything must be in the right place and we should not be afraid to express bold concepts, even in a domestic setting,” the studio’s founder, Francesca Venturoni explained.

      Burnt-orange tiles have been used to line the floor and the lower half of the walls in the kitchen, which was given a complete re-fit with jet-black cabinetry.
      A curved black counter has also been installed directly beside the kitchen’s window, so that inhabitants can overlook the bustling tourist crowds or listen to the sound of the waters from the Trevi fountain while enjoying breakfast.

      Cooler tones appear in the apartment’s bathrooms, where surfaces have been lined with grey-flecked stone tiles.
      The bedroom also features a blue headboard and curtains, tempered by rich, mustard-coloured dress cushions and brass lighting fixtures.

      Other homes in the historic city of Rome include a cosy apartment by Studio Strato, which has its own reading nook and an industrial-feel flat by architect Alessandro Tomei that boasts exposed concrete surfaces and iron-framed glass partitions.
      Photography is by Michele Bonechi.

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    • 163 Shares159 Views

      Whale Design Lab references Louis Kahn for makeover of Mài Apartment in Vietnam

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      Geometric forms and graphic terrazzo surfaces feature in this duplex apartment in Ho Chi Minh City that has been updated by Whale Design Lab. Locally based studio Whale Design Lab revamped the formerly lacklustre interiors of the Mài Apartment to reflect the client’s penchant for modernist architecture. A particular point of reference was the work
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    • 150 Shares159 Views

      Ljubljana apartment by Arhitektura d.o.o features mobile steel furnishings and silver curtains

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      Arhitektura d.o.o has fit out this apartment in the Slovenian capital with metallic moveable furniture so its owners can adapt the layout to suit their busy social lives. The apartment, named Rubikum for Three, is situated just outside the centre of Ljubljana and belongs to a young couple and their pet dog. They had previously
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    • 113 Shares169 Views

      Unknown Architects overhauls Amsterdam apartment with red steel columns

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      Dutch studio Unknown Architects used four oxide-red steel columns to open up the previously constricted interior of this apartment in Amsterdam.House With Four Columns is a two-floor apartment situated in Amsterdam’s De Baarsjes neighbourhood.

      The apartment previously had old-fashioned interiors and, despite measuring 200-square-metres, a poor sense of space as the ground floor was dominated by a central load-bearing wall.

      Unknown Architects was brought on board to refine the home’s floor plan and give it a more modern fit-out.

      The practice first set about removing the obtrusive load-bearing wall. In its place simply stands a series of four exposed steel columns, turning the ground floor into a singular open-plan living space.
      When the columns first arrived on-site they had been finished with an oxide-red primer, but due to Dutch safety regulations, a black fire-resistant coating had to be applied.

      Instead of leaving them like this, the practice decided to add a top coat of paint that matched the columns’ original shade.
      “As a result, the steel structure becomes the most distinctive element of the interior, which makes sense to us because it is the most dramatic element in the transformation,” the studio told Dezeen.

      With the load-bearing wall gone, the ground floor is instead anchored by three elements – the first is a boxy white volume that accommodates a fridge, wardrobe, toilet and extra storage space.
      The second element is the nut-wood breakfast island in the kitchen, which is topped with grey marble. The third is the gently twisting staircase that leads down to the basement level.

      Surrounding walls on the ground floor are painted white, and the floor is smooth concrete. The columns are complemented by an oxblood-coloured leather sofa, which backs onto a tall wooden bookshelf.

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      There is also a couple of contemporary artworks and a striking pendant lamp composed of an interlocking circle and square-shaped lights.

      The basement also has a central load-bearing wall. It’s punctuated by two openings, however, the practice was unable to add more because of the high groundwater level and subsequent risk of leakage.
      Wide doorways have been introduced in House With Four Columns’ bedrooms to improve sightlines throughout the rest of this level and foster a sense of spaciousness.

      Unknown Architects was established in 2012 by Daan Vulkers and Keimpke Zigterman. The practice has previously overhauled a corner-plot property to revive its original decor features and updated a 200-year-old home to feature a twisting staircase.
      Photography is by MWA Hart Nibbrig.
      Project credits:
      Architect: Unknown ArchitectsEngineer: De IngenieursgroepContractor: To BuildCarpenter: Houtwerk Delft

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    • 113 Shares119 Views

      Architect couple turns Edinburgh apartment into modern living space

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      Married architects Luke and Joanne McClelland have overhauled their own apartment in Edinburgh, Scotland, to feature a sequence of contemporary light-filled living spaces.The lateral apartment spreads across the drawing-room levels of two adjoining Georgian townhouses in Edinburgh’s Comely Bank neighbourhood.
      Joanne and Luke McClelland – who runs his own architecture studio called MCLND – purchased it back in 2018, having spent the past eight years living in a cramped flat in London.

      Despite the grander scale of the Edinburgh apartment, it still had some significant problem areas.

      The north-facing living area had hardly any access to natural light, the bathroom had a dated, 70s-style turquoise interior and the kitchen was small and felt isolated from the other rooms.

      To create a bright and modern home, the McClelland’s decided they had to completely reconfigure the floor plan.
      The former kitchen has been opened up and now includes a dining area, complete with white-painted walls and oak herringbone floors.

      Along the rear wall runs a series of matt-black and wooden cabinets which were all sourced from IKEA – although the architects both have previously designed homes for wealthy clients, they didn’t feel the need to use expensive brands to achieve a high standard of design.
      “Having specified kitchens at over 10 times our available budget, we tried to use affordable products to recreate the specific qualities that previous clients associated with luxury, simplicity, symmetry and integration,” said the pair.

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      To complement the cabinetry, black taps, pendant lamps and door handles have also been incorporated in the space. Black-frame chairs with woven seats have also been placed around the dining table.

      Doorways have been widened to let sunlight from the south side of the apartment penetrate the new living area, which has been created in a former bedroom.
      It’s dressed with a slate-grey sectional sofa, a couple of armchairs upholstered in forest-green velvet armchairs and a graphic monochrome rug.

      Jet-black paint has also been applied to the surround of the room’s fireplace, which used to be bright orange.
      “Whilst it didn’t fit with the Georgian property, there was a charm in the curved bricks and sheer brutality of the design,” the architects explained.

      The architects split the old living area to form two separate bedrooms, both of which feature original pine flooring and ornate cornices.
      A cupboard in the apartment and the disused pantry have together been transformed into a shower room. Stark white tiles have been applied in a grid-like fashion across its walls, while the floor has a striking triangle print.

      In the main bathroom, surfaces have been updated with glazed green tiles which clad the lower half of the walls and the front of the tub.
      The sink basin perches on top of a restored 1960s wooden sideboard by Danish designer Ib Kofod Larsen.

      Luke McClelland launched his own studio this year after leaving his position at Studio 304. He and his wife, Joanne McClelland, met whilst both studying architecture at the Edinburgh College of Art.
      Their apartment joins a number of design-focused properties in the Scottish capital.
      Others include Flitch House by Oliver Chapman Architects, which references the Arts and Crafts movement, and another home by studio Archer + Braun, which has a red-sandstone extension.
      Photography is by Zac and Zac.
      Project credits:
      Architects: Luke and Joanne McClellandStructural engineer: McColls

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    • 125 Shares189 Views

      Rust Architects softens modernist Tel Aviv apartment with oak details

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      Tel Aviv studio Rust Architects has renovated an apartment in the Israeli city for a couple who both work from home.The apartment is in a residential building in the city centre built in the modernist-era international style.
      Rust Architects renovated the one-bedroom unit with a pared-down material palette and colour scheme.

      “It is in a modernist building, so we designed the interior as simple and modern,” Rust Architects founder Ranaan Stern told Dezeen.

      “Similar to Bauhaus buildings principles, the apartment has a large span that brings in natural light but maintains comfortable proportions for the space and the hot temperatures of the Tel Aviv summer months.”

      The apartment is for a young couple who are both professional photographers and designers.
      “Both homeowners work from home, so proximity and visual angles between different spaces such as the workroom and living room were essential,” the studio added.

      The apartment comprises an open-plan kitchen, living and dining area with sliding glass doors that access a terrace.
      An L-shaped hallway accommodates the entry and accesses a home office, which was custom-made by Rust Architects and enclosed by a metal frame with glass doors. The partition allows natural light to pass into the corridor.

      Various wood details also feature in the design, particularly a kitchen cabinet made of oak that houses the refrigerator and oven. Its rounded corner meets the hallway and has a series of shelves and doors.

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      A built-in media console in the living room nearby is also made of wood, and a wall in the office is clad in the same natural material.

      The touches of wood are contrasted with industrial details, such as an exposed concrete block wall in the living room and electrical systems on the ceiling.
      There were left exposed by the studio in order to keep the apartment’s original height.

      A variety of floor coverings provide visual depth across the unit, which otherwise features white surfaces and black window frames.
      Small, black tiles cover the bathroom floors and walls, the home office has wood floors and large concrete tiles cover the kitchen and living room.

      “The concrete tiles on the floor produce a cool and pleasant feeling, especially during the summer months, and the natural oak in the carpentry creates a relaxed and warm feeling,” Rust Architects said.
      The studio, which was founded by Stern in 2016, has also redesigned a 1960s apartment and created a home with cubby holes, shelves and cabinets – both are in Tel Aviv.
      Photography is by Yoav Peled.

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    • 100 Shares199 Views

      Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura remodels 1960s Brasília apartment

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      Brazilian studio Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura has opened up the layout of an apartment in Brasília built in the 1960s to meet a family’s contemporary requirements.The remodelled apartment is located in residential building 308S in Brasília’s model superquadra, one of the first completed apartment blocks of the urban design scheme conceived by architect Lucio Costa and landscape architect Burle Marx.

      Local studio Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura reconfigured the apartment’s standard layout, which split the main living areas into two separate spaces.

      In the updated floor plan the exposed concrete walls are cut open to form a single, shared space for the family to gather.

      The studio was careful to preserve modernist design elements in the apartment, including its granilite flooring and white cobogo screens.
      “The project is summed up in an exaltation of the Brazilian architecture lighting what is most typical in the city’s residences and buildings while joining the modernist and contemporary office technologies and references,” said the studio.

      Black cabinetry with corrugated glass doors contrasts with the white countertops in the kitchen. Natural light passes through the square cut-outs on the cobogo wall to brighten the narrow space.
      In the living room low-lying wood shelving units wrap around the space forming a bench in front of the large windows and a surface for storing objects along the interior wall. The lounge is furnished with a grey couch and wood tables.

      Bloco Arquitetos reconfigures 1960s Brasília apartment with translucent walls

      In the dining area and library, a massive wooden bookshelf is stacked with books and audio equipment.
      Three doorways that lead to the bedrooms and bathroom are concealed within the unit, which the studio custom-built.

      In the master bedroom, the backside of the shelf forms a decorative wall of wood panelling. Opposite the large windows, a row of black doors creates a closet that doubles as a doorway to enter the bathroom situated between the two bedrooms.
      Walls in the shared bathroom are clad with vertically-laid green tiles. A large rectangular mirror hangs above the wood vanity, which is topped with two circular sink basins.

      The existing cobogo screen and concrete wall from the kitchen continue into the second bedroom. In this bedroom the closet is covered with a series of mirrors that reflect the space’s wood furnishings and the decorative window treatment.
      Several of the wood furniture pieces in the apartment are designed by Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura architect Clay Rodrigues. The studio also cut a hole into the cobogo wall so the client’s cats could access their litter box.

      Brazilian studio Bloco Arquitetos also renovated an apartment on the same building block in Brasília. As part of the remodel the studio added sliding translucent glass walls.
      Other projects by Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura, which translates to English as Under the Block, include an abandoned hospital transformed into a contemporary art gallery.
      Photography is by Joana France.

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