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      Nameless Architecture creates “artificial valley” at base of Gyeryongsan Mountain

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      Architecture studio Nameless Architecture has completed the Café Teri bakery in Daejeon, South Korea, in a pair of buildings that flow into a central courtyard.

      Located at the foot of the Gyeryongsan Mountain in Daejeon, Nameless Architecture designed the two buildings to frame the entrance to a hiking trail that continues up the mountain.
      The cafe’s courtyard leads onto a hiking trailThe two rectangular buildings were angled, creating an outdoor space that narrows towards the mountain path. The three-storey building contains a cafe and the two-storey building opposite is a bakery.
      “The artificial valley, where the distinction between the wall and the floor is blurred, creates a flow towards the forest and becomes the yard to the cafe and a path for walkers,” Nameless Architecture co-principal Unchung Na told Dezeen.
      “We intended the building to become a path and courtyard that guides the flow of nature and visitors rather than blocking the promenade.”

      Concrete brick walls slope down into the floor of the courtyard at Café TeriThe 900-square-metre project was finished in concrete bricks, creating a rough texture on the exterior walls.
      “The concrete bricks used to construct the architectural topography emphasise the continuity of the flowing space,” said Na.
      “On the other hand, the facade wall made of rough broken bricks creates a difference of boundaries through the change of light, shadow, and time.”
      Nameless Architecture used concrete brick for the interior of the cafe as well as the exteriorThe flowing exterior walls of the project are replicated inside the ground floor of a cafe, where the back wall of a double-height space curves down into stepped seating.
      The floor, curved wall and stepped seating inside the cafe were finished in concrete bricks, and the remaining walls were finished in polished concrete.

      Stacked felt sheets create seating inside South Korean cafe

      “The fluid wall is continuous not only in the yard but also in the interior space, connecting the inside and outside scenery through a stepped space,” Na explained.
      A backyard area features uplifted terrain that mimics the curved concrete brick walls of the cafe and bakery, which Nameless Architecture designed to provide a spatially interesting place for people to enjoy food outside.
      Nameless Architecture used curved walls to create a distinct “architectural topography”The architecture practice designed the curved elements that appear to emerge from the ground with the aim of blurring the lines between what is wall and floor.
      “The basic elements of architecture can be reinterpreted to induce various experiences and actions of people,” said Na.
      “In particular, the two elements, wall and floor, are defined as fundamentally different architectural elements, but we tried to reconsider this strict relationship.”
      The project aims to reinterpret how walls and floors are used as architectural elements”The mutual relationship in which the wall becomes the floor, and the inside becomes the outside can be interpreted in various ways through the experience of the place,” Na continued.
      Other projects recently completed in South Korea include a department store in Seoul with an indoor waterfall and skyscrapers with red-painted steel columns designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.
      The photography is by Kyung Roh.
      Project credits:
      Architect: Nameless ArchitecturePrincipals-in-charge: Unchung Na and Sorae YooProject team: Taekgyu Kang, Changsoo Lee and Jungho Lee

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      Atelier38 reworks furniture store into home for Czech Radio

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      Architecture studio Atelier38 has converted a former furniture store in Olomouc, Czech Republic, into a broadcast centre arranged around a light-filled atrium. 

      Atelier38 refurbished the building, which was built in 1911, to give it the necessary technical and acoustic fixtures needed for a modern radio broadcaster.
      The original building dates from the early 20th centuryThe Czech Radio broadcast centre occupies a narrow plot in the middle of Olomouc and is characterised by its exposed reinforced concrete frame and long skylight window than can both be seen in the cavernous central atrium that spans four storeys.
      Throughout the 20th century, the building remained a furniture store, but the skylight was closed off with mineral wool to keep the building insulated.
      The atrium’s pitched skylight floods the interior with natural lightThe studio reopened this central atrium and made it the heart of the building. It added additions that highlighted the existing concrete structure to avoid detracting from the original fabric of the building.

      “We tried hard to preserve the visible supporting structure and not to destroy the integrity and sculptural quality of the central space,” said Atelier38.
      Original balustrades line the walkways and that span the void in the atriumA monochromatic scheme was chosen for both the circulatory and private areas to unite the interior – regardless of function and era – and highlight the building’s unique original structural details.
      Glass partition walls allow the ample natural light from the atrium to reach into the side rooms, which contain meeting and conference spaces, studios, offices and editing rooms as well as archives and storage facilities.
      Original details sit beside modern conveniences”The shape and proportions of the broadcast studios, control room, and self-service studios arose from the possibility of building into the existing skeleton structure,” the studio explained.
      “[The installed elements] form an artistic technological dialogue with the original supporting structure without suppressing it.”
      Recording studios are equipped with audiovisual and acoustic technologyThe studio also upgraded the thermal, sanitary and electrical services needed to meet contemporary standards and to ensure the smooth running of broadcasts.
      Other adaptive reuse projects published on Dezeen include a retreat for professionals inside an abandoned girls’ school by Artchimboldi and Emma Martí, and a former prison in Berlin converted into a hotel by Grüntuch Ernst Architects.
      The photography is by BoysPlayNice.

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      Five “quirky” sleeping pods top Watchet's East Quay arts centre

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      UK studios Pearce+ and Fægen have designed the interiors of five sleeping pods that stand on top of the Invisible Studio-designed arts centre on the dockside in Watchet, UK.

      The studios aimed to design the pods, which were created to provide interesting accommodation for people visiting East Quay and the town, to align with the ethos of the arts centre.
      The sleeping pods are located on top of Watchet’s East Quay arts centre”The whole of East Quay is about culture, purpose and imagination – it is a hub of creativity, opportunity, artistry and ideas,” explained Pearce+ founder Owen Pearce.
      “It is also most importantly about community – multiple hands and many eyes,” he told Dezeen.
      “We wanted this to be captured in the pods also, providing inspiring, exciting, different, unusual spaces and involving as many hands as possible in the design, from artists to makers to kids.”

      Two pods are raised on stiltsThe five pods are located in a series of metal-clad boxes on top of the East Quay arts centre, which was designed by Bath-based Invisible Studio with Ellis Williams Architects acting as executive architect for the local social enterprise Onion Collective.
      Two of the pods stand on stilts above the building.

      East Quay arts centre in Watchet takes cues from ad-hoc harbour buildings

      “All the pods are linked to their surroundings by fantastic views of the Bristol Channel, the Quantocks, the marina and the town,” said Pearce.
      “The form of the buildings feels rooted in the area as they jut and protrude as if continuously added to like some of the old houses in the town.”
      The walls of pod two were CNC etchedEach of the five pods is designed by Pearce+ and Fægen to have a different character and involve local artists and the community.
      The first sleeping pod, which was built with reclaimed furniture and materials, was designed as a “living museum” where guests are encouraged to leave an item and take one away.
      Etched illustrations cover the walls of pod two, which is designed by artist Isabelle Mole and aims to tell the story of the town.
      Pod 1 contains a “living museum””Our overarching aim was to provide a connection between guests and the local community,” explained Pearce.
      “This is done, for example, through direct object transfer in pod one as guests donate objects of meaning and take something in return or, in pod two, by visually exploring the stories and myths of the town in CNC etchings on the walls.”
      Pod four contains a cargo netThe third pod aims to evoke the feeling of a 1920s ocean liner, while pod four “is about play” and has semaphore signals painted on the walls. Here there is also a cargo net for sitting, which is reached by a staircase hung from the ceiling.
      Bristol graffiti artist Andy Council worked with local schoolchildren to create the interior of the fifth pod, which will be redecorated each year by an artist chosen by the Onion Collective.
      Bristol graffiti artist Andy Council decorated the fifth podIn line with the ethos of the project, Pearce+ and Fægen moved to Watchet for a year to act as contractor and fabricate the interiors of the pods with the help of a small team.
      Pearce hopes that the pods will provide fun places for visitors to stay and bring income into the community.
      “The brief for the competition was quirky places to stay,” he explained. “The client wanted to have fun with the pods and to provide an opportunity for inventiveness from architects.”
      “The building’s aim is to support a local artistic community and provide opportunities that weren’t available before. A key part of the economic strategy of the building is to attract guests from afar to bring in much-needed income, which in turn supports cultural and education work,” he continued. “The designs are then targeted to create a cool place to visit in order to do that.”
      Pearce+ previously collaborated with UK studio Hugh Broughton Architects and artists Ella Good and Nicki Kent to create the inflatable Martian House, which is currently installed in Bristol.
      The photography is by Joseph Horton.

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      Dezeen Agenda newsletter features Brad Pitt's foundation defective homes settlement

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      The latest edition of our weekly Dezeen Agenda newsletter features the $20.5 million settlement that Brad Pitt’s foundation has agreed with the owners of defective New Orleans homes. Subscribe to Dezeen Agenda now!

      This week, actor Pitt reportedly agreed to a settlement of $20.5 million for the owners of homes built by his Make It Right Foundation housing charity.
      Homeowners brought legal action after numerous defects to their homes – such as water leaks, black mould and foundation issues – were discovered, according to a report by NOLA.com.
      “Hopefully this agreement will allow everyone to look ahead to other opportunities to continue to strengthen this proud community in the future,” Pitt said in a statement.
      Aerial render of planned Angels Landing skyscraper in Los Angeles by Handel ArchitectsOther stories in the latest newsletter include the Architectural Workers United organizer Andrew Daley writing about how “Architects must reject the ‘follow your passion’ narrative and see themselves as workers”, news broke that Adam Neumann is launching his “first venture since WeWork”, a housing startup called Flow and US studio Handel Architects revealed designs for the Angels Landing skyscraper in Los Angeles.

      Dezeen Agenda
      Dezeen Agenda is a curated newsletter sent every Tuesday containing the most important news highlights from Dezeen. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Agenda or subscribe here.
      You can also subscribe to Dezeen Debate, which is sent every Thursday and contains a curated selection of highlights from the week, as well as Dezeen Daily, our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours on Dezeen.

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      Get your event listed in Dezeen's London guide for London Design Festival 2022

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      If you’re exhibiting during London Design Festival, there’s still time to get your event listed in our digital guide to the festival on Dezeen Events Guide.

      Our London guide will list the key events taking place during the week-long festival, which runs from 17 to 25 September 2022.
      London Design Festival hosts hundreds of events across its 12 districts, including the trade fair Design London and exhibitions, installations, talks and open studios.
      Dezeen will publish its London guide one week before the festival, which will include listings for all the key events.
      The digital guide will benefit from Dezeen’s high-ranking SEO and will sit on Dezeen Events Guide, which has received over 700,000 views since it launched in 2020.

      The London guide follows the success of our Milan design week 2022 guide, which received over 40,000 page views.
      If you want to be considered for the guide, please contact [email protected]. The Dezeen team will review the events to ensure the best are featured.
      Get listed in Dezeen’s digital London guide
      For only £100, you can feature your event in the guide, which includes up to 75 words of text, the date, location, a link to your website and an image.
      For more information about partnering with us to help amplify your event, contact the team at [email protected].
      About Dezeen Events Guide
      Dezeen Events Guide lists events across the globe, which can be filtered by location and type.
      Events taking place later in the year include Helsinki Design Week 2022, France Design Week 2022 and Copenhagen Architecture Festival 2022.
      The illustration is by Rima Sabina Aouf.

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      Michael Hsu converts 1940s Houston church into Asian smokehouse

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      US firm Michael Hsu Office of Architecture aimed to preserve the character of a gabled church in Texas while transforming it into a lively Asian smokehouse called Loro Heights.

      The project – located in Houston’s Heights neighbourhood – involved the conversion of a red-brick church dating to 1948 into a restaurant with an “active and casual atmosphere”, the team said.
      Michael Hsu has converted a gabled church into a restaurant named Loro HeightsRoughly L-shaped in plan, the building consists of gabled volumes that are set around outdoor space. Original elements included a sanctuary with a vaulted ceiling and exposed wooden trusses.
      Local firm Michael Hsu Office of Architecture wanted to honour the building’s history while incorporating features that align with Loro’s style and character.
      The building’s features include exposed wooden trusses and gabled roofs”It was important for us to preserve the existing character of the church,” said architect Michael Hsu, who founded his studio in 2005.

      “The design celebrates the vast sanctuary space and maintains the existing wooden trusses, while other elements relate directly to the Loro brand.”
      The smokehouse was informed by old Texan dance hallsIn addition to Houston, Loro restaurants are found in Austin and Dallas. The eateries offer barbecue fare with an Asian twist, such as char stew pork belly with a hoisin sauce and smoked beef brisket with Thai herbs.
      In terms of ambiance, the restaurants are designed to evoke old Texan dance halls and the “welcome feelings of socializing around a family table”, the team said.
      A lighting installation by Fibrous hangs from the ceilingWith these factors in mind, Hsu and his team re-conceived the building’s exterior and interior.
      On the front elevation, the team clad one side of the building in Western red cedar and Douglas fir, and cut away a portion of the wall to form an opening partly covered by a wooden lattice.
      Dining tables were added to the front porch and the former church sanctuaryJust behind the opening is a “front porch” with dining tables. Suspended overhead is a custom lighting installation by Fibrous, a studio in Austin.
      “The piece consists of massive ropes knotted together to form a delicate network akin to a chandelier, which grounds the high ceiling,” the team said.

      Wooden ceiling curves over restaurant in Austin by Michael Hsu

      The porch connects to the former church sanctuary, which has been transformed into a dining hall and bar.
      In addition to the vaulted celling and trusses, the space features newly added windows and skylights, which bring in daylight and brighten up the formerly dark space.
      White-oak furnishings complement the dark-stained cedar interior wallsInterior walls are clad in dark-stained cedar that mimics the appearance of charred wood. Wall pegs offer a clever spot for hanging coats and potted plants.
      Seating options include booths and long, communal tables, along with counter tables in the bar area.
      Woven chandeliers created by the architects with León León Design are suspended above the tablesThe white-oak dining furniture, along with other decor, was custom designed and fabricated for the space. Woven chandeliers were created by the architects in collaboration with Mexico City’s León León Design.
      Beyond the main dining hall, there is a kitchen, an outdoor beer garden, and a smoker yard for the preparation of meat. A portion of the building has a second level, which holds mechanical equipment.
      The studio preserved the church’s exposed wooden detailsOverall, the adaptive reuse project has provided a welcoming space for diners while also preserving the community sprit of the church building, the team said.
      “Today’s Loro restaurant serve as a space for neighbourhood gatherings and community connection,” said Hsu.
      Michael Hsu Office of Architecture is based in Austin and has an outpost in Houston. Other projects by the studio include the conversion of a former Manhattan printing house into Shake Shack’s headquarters, and a Miami sushi restaurant that embodies the “perfect contrast” between the materials, techniques and styles of Japan and Florida.
      The photography is by Chase Daniel.

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      Konishi Gaffney converts 1950s garage into artist's studio with a sense of “civic grandeur”

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      Architecture studio Konishi Gaffney has overhauled a 1950s garage in an affluent Edinburgh suburb, adding a rhythmic facade made up of wooden battens.

      The Scottish studio was challenged with turning the existing concrete garage into a functional artist’s studio, while being sensitive to the existing Georgian property in The Grange.
      The converted garage sits beside the original stone Georgian houseKonishi Gaffney devised a scheme that involved filling in the existing garage door, raising the structure’s roof to match the height of the house’s ground floor and incorporating the property’s side gate into the facade.
      These changes unified the structure’s appearance from the road creating a sense of contemporary “civic grandeur”, as well as facilitating secure side access to the back garden.
      The grid of battens frame a window and conceal a side gate”As a practice we’ve been exploring ways of expressing the structure of cladding in projects,” said Konishi Gaffney.

      “We started by setting up the vertical timber battens and horizontal cladding in a rhythm of fins across the facade.”
      Windows and skylights allow plenty of natural light to enter the studioTimber was selected for its affordability, sustainability and its capacity to weather appealingly.
      The battens were carefully orientated to allow water to drain off them and prevent water from pooling, as well as to catch light and form interesting shadows across the facade.

      Konishi Gaffney repurposes church into versatile community hub

      The existing structure was insulated and the walls and ceiling punctuated by two aluminium clad windows and a skylight, providing the studio space with ample natural light for the artist to work in during all seasons.
      The creative function of the structure’s interior is referenced in the facade, which was intended to read “like a musical score,” and “continue beyond, separated from the house, like a stage-front.” according to the architects.
      Wooden elements feature in the studio’s interior as well as on its exteriorThe wooden composition of the frontage continues on into the garage’s interior, which has a ceiling clad in dark stained wood with protruding beams.
      Other garage-related projects featured on Dezeen include an orange-painted timber-framed garage extension by McCloy + Muchemwa and a garage in Amsterdam that was transformed into a family home by Barde + VanVoltt.
      The photography is by ZAC and ZAC.
      Project credits:
      Architect: Konishi Gaffney ArchitectsStructural engineer: EntuitiveJoiner: Andrew MacdonaldCladding supplier: RusswoodWindows: VelfacPhotographer: ZAC and ZAC

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      Dezeen Agenda newsletter features the Dezeen Awards 2022 longlists

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      The latest edition of our weekly Dezeen Agenda newsletter features the longlists for this year’s Dezeen Awards. Subscribe to Dezeen Agenda now!

      This week, Dezeen revealed the longlists for Dezeen Awards 2022, which feature over 1,000 of the world’s best projects and practitioners across more than 40 categories.
      The architecture longlist highlights the best recently completed buildings from around the globe, designed by studios from 48 different countries including Peru, New Zealand, Germany, Mexico, Belgium and Japan.
      Grimshaw’s Victorian Tunnelling Centre (above) and LUO Studio’s Timber Bridge in Gulou Waterfront (above) feature in the Dezeen Awards 2022 architecture longlistDezeen also revealed this year’s studio longlist, as well as dedicated longlists for design, interiors, sustainability and media.
      Other stories in the latest newsletter include a roundup of seven innovative projects by Japanese designer Issey Miyake following the news of his death last week and an interview with the developer behind Saudi Arabia’s controversial megacity The Line, who says the development will “revolutionise our current way of life”.

      Dezeen Agenda
      Dezeen Agenda is a curated newsletter sent every Tuesday containing the most important news highlights from Dezeen. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Agenda or subscribe here.
      You can also subscribe to Dezeen Debate, which is sent every Thursday and contains a curated selection of highlights from the week, as well as Dezeen Daily, our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours on Dezeen.

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