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      Webb Yates creates structural stone frame for Royal Academy summer exhibition

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      A post-tensioned stone frame by engineering firm Webb Yates is among the exhibits in the architecture rooms of this year’s Royal Academy of Arts summer exhibition, curated by London studio Assemble.

      Webb Yates worked with The Stonemasonry Company to create a frame made from cored cylinders of waste limestone joined together with tensioned steel rods, aiming to showcase stone as a modern, low-carbon structural material.
      It is one of the many pieces displayed at the annual Royal Academy of Arts summer exhibition, which is open until 18 August, and is part of the architecture section curated by Assemble around the theme “spaces for making”.
      A post-tensioned stone frame is on display at the Royal Academy summer exhibition”Webb Yates and The Stonemasonry Company have been advocating a return to stone structure to reduce carbon and pollution,” Webb Yates cofounder Steve Webb told Dezeen.
      “Many people construe this as a suggestion to return to the massive stone structures of the past but we want to reimagine how stone can be used by modern engineers and stone masons.”

      “The pylon demonstrates how post-tensioning slim stone elements can achieve strength and rigidity at a fraction of the carbon cost,” he continued.
      Webb Yates Engineers used steel rods to connect cored limestone cylindersDisplayed in the octagonal central hall at The Royal Academy of Arts, the stone structure is imagined as an alternative to building with steel, Webb explained.
      “Imagine crane masts, bridges or space frames like the Eden Centre and Stadium Australia being formed with stone elements instead of steel,” he said.
      “With a world-saving 75 per cent carbon reduction, inherent durability and fire resistance, we can put waste stone to use and make some really pretty structures.”
      Assemble curated two rooms at the exhibitionThe stone structure is displayed alongside architectural models, material samples, drawings and photographs in the architecture rooms – a regular feature at the annual summer exhibition, which also showcases various mediums of art.
      Other stone pieces in the show included a model of Artefact’s Brick from Stone installation and a column segment designed by Palestinian architects AAU Anastas, which is made up of a bulging piece of stone sandwiched between two stone fragments taken from a demolished building in Bethlehem.
      One gallery is designed as an industrial storage spaceAssemble, which was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in 2022, arranged the architecture exhibit across two rooms.
      Aiming to reflect the profession’s working processes, the central hall is curated as a studio-like display of works and the adjacent gallery is designed to appear like an architectural storage space, with exhibition pieces displayed on industrial shelving.

      Why aren’t more architects using stone as a building material?

      “We wanted to approach the two rooms slightly differently and show architecture in the space that it’s usually made,” Assemble’s Kaye Song told Dezeen.
      “We’re used to seeing architecture models and drawings presented in such a pristine way but that’s not usually the context you view finished architecture works,” Song added.
      “One gallery we’ve turned into an industrial storage-like space using off-the-shelf products like palette racking and wall-mounted brackets, and the other room has taken an artist’s studio approach.”
      Exhibits are displayed on industrial shelvingHanging from a skylight in the central hall are sheets made of biomaterials by artists Jessie French and Shanelle Ueyama. Surrounding them are mosaic panels by volunteers at the Hackney Mosaic Project and a glass sculpture by designer Yinka Ilori.
      In the adjacent room on the industrial shelving, which will be reused elsewhere after the exhibition closes, is a set of tools by sculptor James Capper, architecture models and casts by architecture studio Stanton Williams and rammed-earth stools by ceramic artist Lyson Marchessault.
      AAU Anastas also contributed stone exhibits to the exhibitionAssemble founding member Maria Lisogorskaya explained that a wide range of designs from different types of makers, not just architects, were chosen to create an engaging exhibition.
      “We wanted to showcase the breadth of the profession with models, tools, material samples and community projects, not just individual projects,” said Lisogorskaya.
      Tools by James Capper are among the other exhibits”There’s a range of people; there’s architects, product designers, structural engineers, fashion designers, musicians, scientists, community organisations,” Lisogorskaya continued.
      “We wanted to have a really broad net of people together under one roof to make for a more dynamic show.”
      Also taking place is the London Festival of Architecture, for which an eclectic range of benches has been installed on the Royal Docks and Unknown Works has constructed The Armadillo pavilion from eucalyptus wood.
      The photography is by Kaye Song.
      The Royal Academy of Arts summer exhibition takes place from 18 June to 18 August 2024 at Burlington House in London. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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      Eight compact studios embedded into residential gardens

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      From converted garages to compact new-builds, we have rounded up eight studios that provide retreat and solitude for their owners in their own back gardens.

      Featuring reclaimed materials, charred-timber facades and pared-back interiors, this list of garden spaces includes a converted workshop completed by designer Paul Westwood in the UK and a studio centred by a tree-shaped concrete structure in Belgium.
      Photo by Lorenzo ZandriShou Sugi Bangers, UK, by Unknown Works
      Charred timber wraps around this music studio completed by Unknown Works in the garden of a London home.
      Named Shou Sugi Bangers, the studio’s scalloped wooden cladding provides a series of nooks for external seating space, while the workspace is housed inside.

      Find out more about Shou Sugi Bangers ›
      Photo by James RetriefGardenhide Studio, UK, by Commonbond Architects
      Commonbond Architects designed and built its own studio at the end of a garden in London that aims to showcase the potential of hempcrete as a building material.
      The space was constructed from a cuboidal timber frame and reclaimed materials and is topped with a mono-pitched roof.
      Find out more about Gardenhide Studio ›
      Photo by Johnny UmansT(uin)Huis Atelier, Belgium, by Atelier Janda Vanderghote 
      Situated at the end of a garden in Ghent, Atelier Janda Vanderghote used simple materials such as concrete, brick and timber to create the T(uin)Huis Atelier.
      The studio features a rhythmic facade made up of copper-toned framing, while the interior is defined by an open-plan layout organised around a tree-shaped concrete structure.
      Find out more about T(uin)Huis Atelier ›
      Photo by Loes van DuijvendijkStudio Shed, The Netherlands, by LMNL Office
      Architecture studio LMNL Office completed the Studio Shed outbuilding as an addition to a home in Brabant, the Netherlands.
      Crafted from prefabricated timber panels, the garden studio features a rectangular, compact form that was clad with earth-coloured clay tiles to echo the tiles of the main house.
      Find out more about Studio Shed ›
      Photo courtesy of TEDSThe Garden Retreat, UK, by The Environmental Design Studio
      Reclaimed materials were used to create The Garden Retreat, which was added to a compact site in Cambridge by London practice The Environmental Design Studio.
      The studio’s facade is finished with stacked slate tiles bordered by concrete slabs. A waterfall feature and bird bath were also integrated into the facade to enhance biodiversity.
      Find out more about The Garden Retreat ›
      Photo by Daniel MulhearnBush Studio, Australia, by Dane Taylor Design
      Dane Taylor Design completed this multipurpose garden studio in New South Wales, which features a compact form clad with charred wood.
      Named Bush Studio, the space serves as a private retreat nestled into the surrounding landscape and is complete with clerestory windows and a mono-pitched roof.
      Find out more about Bush Studio ›
      Photo by Simon KennedyDark Matter, UK, by Hyperspace
      Converted from a suburban garage, this garden studio in Hertfordshire, England, features a charred-timber facade formed of 850 pieces of wood that doubles as an insect hotel.
      A pivoting door opens up to the studio interior which contains a spacious workspace animated by two perforated “light chimneys”.
      Find out more about Dark Matter ›
      Photo by Chris WhartonGarden Office, UK, by Paul Westwood
      Architect Paul Westwood used a pared-back material palette to complete the conversion of the dilapidated garage of his London home into a workshop and studio.
      The existing garage was stripped back to its structural shell and features a large skylight, underfloor heating and a natural material palette.
      Find out more about Garden Office ›

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      Modul 28 transforms fortified church in Transylvania into guesthouse

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      Romanian studio Modul 28 has updated and extended the rectory of a church in Transylvania, transforming it into a guesthouse that “balances preservation with innovation”.

      Located in the village of Curciu, the building was renovated as part of an initiative led by the Fortified Churches Foundation, which exists to preserve the region’s large number of fortified churches dating from the 13th to 16th centuries.
      The converted chapel and rectory contains a guesthouseRather than turn these sites into museums, the programme looks to introduce “contemporary functions” that will reintegrate them with the surrounding communities, Modul 28 said.
      At this site in Curciu, the studio has converted the adjacent rectory and chapel into a guesthouse, while the large church at the centre of the site remains open to the public.
      The main living area is housed within the old chapel’s apse”The initiative is based on the belief that turning heritage buildings into museums does not serve their long-term wellbeing, especially in the case of secondary importance constructions such as annexes,” said architect Andra Nicoleanu.

      “The design process for this project could be characterised by a meticulous approach that balances preservation with innovation, drawing inspiration from the historical and architectural context of the site,” she told Dezeen.
      Doorways and window shutters have been updated with pale woodA series of minimal and reversible alterations were made to the existing rectory, creating space for a double bedroom alongside a kitchen and dining area.
      Projecting out of the site’s boundary wall, the polygonal apse of the former chapel now houses the main living area. Three gothic windows surrounding this space, which had been partially destroyed, have been restored with thin-profile metal frames.

      Medprostor tops 12th-century church in Slovenia with folding roof

      The old rectory has been replastered and its doorways and window shutters have been updated with pale wood, contrasting the rough masonry exterior of the chapel and the gatehouse.
      “Our proposal, especially for exterior interventions, emphasises reversibility and the temporary nature by utilising lightweight materials, namely wood and metal inserts,” explains Nicoleanu.
      “Essentially, this approach serves as an exercise in contemporary materiality, contributing to the contrast between what already exists and what is currently being constructed,” she added.
      A temporary timber structure sits beside the guesthouseA temporary, pavilion-like timber structure tucked between the guesthouse and the site’s external wall provides bathrooms, with a shower lined with yellow corrugated metal.
      “The most significant gesture in the design was perhaps the decision to add a temporary construction to the exterior, that arises from the desire not to alter the volume of the interior spaces,” said Nicoleanu. “Although it fits contextually, in terms of plan resolution and resulting image, it stands out through contrast.”
      A shower is lined with yellow corrugated metalAnother recent project involving renovations of historic church buildings include the repair of a 12th-century structure in Slovenia by local practice Medprostor, designed as a space “between a ruin and a reconstruction”.
      In London, Tigg + Coll Architects converted an abandoned mission church into its own workspace and, on the Isle of Sheppey, Hugh Broughton Architects transformed a 19th-century church into a community hub.
      The photography is by Vlad Pătru.

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      Feature in Dezeen’s digital guide for London Design Festival 2024

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      London Design Festival is on the horizon. Make sure you don’t miss out on featuring in this year’s Dezeen Events Guide’s digital guide for the festival, which takes place from 14 to 22 September.

      The nine-day festival hosts a series of events across 11 districts, including exhibitions, open showrooms, talks, tours, product launches, pop-up shops and parties.
      This year marks London Design Festival’s 22nd edition, with hundreds of events expected to take place across the city attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees.
      Get listed in Dezeen’s digital guide to London Design Festival
      Get in touch with the Dezeen Events Guide team at [email protected] to book in your listing or to discuss a wider partnership with Dezeen. There are three types of listings:

      There are three types of listings:
      Standard listings cost £125 and include the event name, date and location details plus a website link. These listings will also feature up to 50 words of text about the event.
      Enhanced listings cost £175 and include all of the above plus an image at the top of the listing’s page and an image in the listing preview on the Dezeen Events Guide homepage. These listings will also feature up to 100 words of text about the event.
      Featured listings cost £350 and include all 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, newsletter signups etc.
      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 virtual events, conferences, trade fairs, major exhibitions and design weeks.
      For more details on inclusion in Dezeen Events Guide, including in our guide to London Design Festival, email [email protected].
      The illustration is by Justyna Green.

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      BIG opens Los Angeles office in renovated 1920s building

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      Danish architecture studio BIG has opened an office in Santa Monica in a renovated 1928 Spanish revival building designed by iconic Los Angeles architect Paul R Williams.

      The 1928 building was refurbished by the team, many of whom will be joining the freshly minted BIG Los Angeles team – recruited both from the New York office and from the local “talent pool”.
      BIG has opened an office in a 1928 Paul R Williams building in Santa MonicaBIG, the architecture studio established by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, will be anchored in the Californian city by partner Leon Rost.
      For the renovation, the studio kept many of the original Spanish revival details of the original structure including the expressive reliefs on the facade.
      Some of the plaster detailing was kept, but the office largely has an unfinished lookSome of the interior plasterwork was maintained as well. The primary second-floor workspace was opened up, and much of the walls were peeled back to reveal the wooden structure and enhanced mechanical system.

      Unfinished concrete columns are located in th middle of the space, with thick wooden rafters intersected by skylights.
      The office layout is open, with large spanning desks and folded Roulade chairs by KiBiSi, which Ingels is also a partner of.
      The office will help expand the studio’s West Coast presenceAccording to Rost, the studio plans to continue to update the space with samples of technology such as solar panels from the studio’s local projects, many of which are in late states. These projects include Claremont McKenna College Robert Day Sciences Center.
      “We’ve also designed an interior layout that preserves the original interior plasterwork from 1928 and intentionally chose a location that is close to public transport,” Rost told Dezeen.
      “As a Japanese Californian I am excited to root BIG on the Pacific Coast. In the city of storytelling, big dreams and a pioneer spirit, I am certain LA will be a fertile frontier for continued experimentation. You could say BIG – though born in Copenhagen – has always been an Angeleno at heart.”

      BIG unveils twisted skyscraper designed “in the tradition of Flatiron”

      The office is the studio’s second in the United States, after its New York office opened in 2010.
      The studio has a significant presence on the West Coast, and is currently in the process of completing a large mix-used development on an industrial site in Downtown Los Angeles and is working with British studio Heatherwick on a Google headquarters in the San Francisco Bay area.
      The studio will be under the direction of partner Leon RostBIG New York partner Kai-Uwe Bergmann told Dezeen that the move has come from the “considerable” amount of West Coast work the studio has had since opening in the United States.
      “Having also once called Los Angeles home – I attended UCLA in the 1990s – I am super excited to bring ‘Scand-American’ thinking to our future work within the Pacific Rim region,” said Bergmann.
      Other significant projects on the West Coast by BIG include the impressively massed Vancouver House skyscraper in Vancouver, Canada.
      The photography is by Pooya AleDavood.  

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      Studio Lotus wraps stone lattices around museum-cum-jewellery store in Jaipur

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      New Delhi practice Studio Lotus has used stone lattices and frescoes depicting regional architecture to embellish the Museum of Meenakari Heritage and Sunita Shekhawat jewellery store in India.

      Designed as the flagship store for Sunita Shekhawat’s eponymous jewellery brand in Jaipur, the building contains a museum focused on the craft of Meenakari on its ground floor.
      Studio Lotus designed the museum-cum-store for the brandAccording to Studio Lotus, it aimed to “foster an environment where the act of purchasing jewellery is not the primary goal”, but instead becomes a “natural conclusion of a transformative experience”.
      “The underlying emotion behind the Meenakari museum – the first of its kind – becomes the client’s way of paying homage to the city that has given her so much, while also establishing a novel paradigm in luxury retail design,” the team explained.
      Multiple historic influences shape the design language of the buildingWorking within the structure of a partially complete building on the site, Studio Lotus created bevelled balconies to produce a form that “intricately layers patterns and details and draw from different periods, woven together into one cohesive image”.

      The details and lattices take cues from historic influences such as Rajputana, Mughal, and Art Deco – as a nod to the city’s architecture and Shekhawat’s approach to jewellery design.
      The store was place in on the lower ground floorShekhawat uses Meenakari, or the art of enamelling metal, as the foundation of her jewellery work.
      To reflect this, Studio Lotus convinced Shekhawat to create a museum or “storytelling space” that presents the history of Meenakari craftsmanship on the ground floor, in a space that was originally earmarked for the store.

      Studio Saar looks to Indian architecture for cultural centre in Rajasthan

      “We seized this challenge as an opportunity to create a narrative gallery,” Studio Lotus founder Ambrish Arora told Dezeen.
      “In collaboration with Usha Balakrishnan and Siddhartha Das Studio, we were able to create or, rather, open up the world of enamelling from different perspectives for the visitor.”
      The semi-vaulted ceilings feature frescoesThe store was placed below, on the lower ground floor, with a gallery space clad in an off-white araish lime stucco surrounded by private pods designed for one-on-one client interactions.
      Arora explained that the wide floorplate and tall ceilings of the lower ground floor “lends itself well to the exclusive, by-appointment-only, bespoke nature of the business, and of the product too — the lack of natural light being conducive to the controlled lighting necessary for jewellery display”.
      A curved staircase leads to the storeThe semi-vaulted ceilings of the pods are adorned with frescoes by artists specialising in miniature paintings, which depict the region’s architecture, flora and fauna.
      The practice commissioned CraftCanvas, a collective of artisan communities in India, to develop the frescoes. The scale and curved profile of the ceilings proved to be a challenge for the artists.
      “It took repeated trial and error and a commitment, collaboratively, to reach a certain benchmark,” said Arora..
      Individual rooms were designed for client meetingsAll of the floors within the building are connected by sculptural staircase at the centre of the building.
      Shekhawat’s office and design studio are located on the first floor, while a restaurant and bar is planned for the top floor, which has views across the city.
      This floor was wrapped in glazing and shaded by stone lattices, which was designed to “respond to the inward-looking program on the lower floors”.

      Folded stone lattices filter sunlight into the upper space that is planned as a restaurantThe exterior of the building was clad in Jodhpur red sandstone, paying homage to Shekhawat’s hometown and in line with the colour scheme of Jaipur’s – or the Pink City’s – buildings.
      According to the practice, it aimed to engage with local craftspeople throughout the construction process – from crafting the furniture inside the space to cladding the facade.
      Jodhpur red sandstone hand-carved by indigenous craftspeople features on the facadeStudio Lotus was founded in 2002 by Arora, Ankur Choksi and Sidhartha Talwar. The studio works on a wide range of cultural, residential, commercial and mixed-use projects – including a government building in India clad in intricate brickwork.
      Other Indian architecture projects recently published on Dezeen include a home in Hyderabad topped with a lantern-like roof and a set of six holiday homes in Goa defined by peach-toned walls and arched openings.
      The photography is by Ishita Sitwala

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      Dezeen Awards 2024 entries close tonight at 23:59 London time

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      Today is the last day you can enter Dezeen Awards 2024 before the entry deadline tonight 30 May at 23:59 London time!

      Our online entry form is simple and we’ve even made you a simple five-step guide to make sure you get your project in on time.
      1. You can enter Dezeen Awards 2024 by going to the start your entry page, logging in and creating an entry.
      2. Answer four questions about your project in 300 words or less. Keep it short and stick to the facts! We advise doing this on a Word Document to have your work backed up.
      3. Upload a main image and up to 10 gallery images. These must be JPEG and under 10 megabytes (MB) each, with a maximum resolution of 100 Dots per Inch (DPI) and a maximum size of 3,000 pixels on the longest side.

      4. Make sure you have completely filled in your account details and entry form. Please note VAT will be charged to EU companies at checkout if a valid VAT number is not entered.
      5. Press submit and then pay by card or PayPal.
      Do you still need help?
      All the information you need to enter can be found here. However, if you have more questions send an email to [email protected] and someone from the team will get back to you.
      Remember to subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to hear about the latest awards news!
      Dezeen Awards 2024 in partnership with Bentley
      Dezeen Awards is the ultimate accolade for architects and designers across the globe. The seventh edition of the annual awards programme is in partnership with Bentley as part of a wider collaboration to inspire, support and champion design excellence and showcase innovation that creates a better and more sustainable world. This ambition complements Bentley’s architecture and design business initiatives, including the Bentley Home range of furnishings and real estate projects around the world. More

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      Shovk completes Japanese-infused renovation of Dzen House near Kyiv

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      Elements of Ukrainian and Japanese architecture combine at this pared-back residence on the outskirts of Kyiv, which local architecture studio Shovk created for a client with a passion for Japanese culture.

      The project involved the transformation of a basic bungalow built in 2010 into a two-storey dwelling that makes the most of its picturesque setting in a garden lined by conifer trees.
      Charred wood was used to clad the exterior of Dzen HouseShovk lead architect and partner Anton Verhun oversaw the design, which was informed by the owner’s travels to Japan and his respect for the aesthetic simplicity and practicality of traditional Japanese interiors.
      “Dzen House was conceived as a place where the client and his family could feel in harmony with themselves and the world,” Verhun told Dezeen.
      The two-storey home was originally a bungalow”They wanted somewhere they could simply watch the rain outside the window, warm themselves by the fireplace and practice yoga on the tatami mat near the round window,” he added.

      Shovk implemented several references to Japanese architecture in the project, including a large roof with overhanging eaves and an exposed wooden structure.
      A wood-fired oven features in the living roomThe exterior of the first floor is clad with Japanese-style yakisugi charred wood that provides natural weatherproofing. The blackened timber contrasts with the traditional Ukrainian mazanka plaster finish applied to the ground floor’s internal and external surfaces.
      The house’s entrance leads directly into a kitchen and dining space at one end of the largely open ground floor. A functional core at the centre of the plan separates this space from a lounge at the opposite end.
      Shovk’s interior scheme was informed by traditional Japanese designThe volume containing the staircase, utility room and shower room delineates the communal areas while allowing free-flowing circulation that helps to create a feeling of spaciousness.
      Throughout the building, large openings including frameless floor-to-ceiling windows on either side of the living room provide a strong connection to the gardens.

      Modektura adds sand terrazzo flooring to Kyiv apartment

      A fireplace located near the centre of the living area creates a focal point within this room. Its stainless steel chimney passes through the bedroom above, helping to warm the spaces on both floors.
      The new first floor was constructed from timber to minimise loading on the existing walls and foundations. Its interior is lined with birch plywood that has a similar thermal expansion coefficient to the pine frame, thus helping to prevent any cracks caused by movement.
      One room was dedicated to meditation and tea ceremoniesA simple plywood staircase ascends to a sequence of low, attic-like spaces including two bedrooms, a study, bathroom, utility room and a Japanese-style room with tatami mat flooring.
      Verhun added a circular window as an expressive element that “brings softness and naturalness” to the space, used for tea ceremonies, yoga and meditation.
      The compact main bedroom features a podium bed set next to a large frameless window that looks out onto the nearby trees. Built-in wardrobes provide discreet storage, while the exposed chimney adds a distinctive feature.
      A plywood staircase leads up to the second floorAccording to Verhun, the house’s owner has temporarily moved to another Ukrainian city for his own safety due to Russia’s invasion of the country.
      The project was completed despite long power cuts, air raids and missile attacks that forced the builders to spend hours in shelters.
      Birch plywood lines the upper-floor interiorVerhun also said that Shovk has begun taking on more projects abroad due to a decline in its Ukrainian work resulting from the ongoing war.
      Other recently completed projects in Kyiv include an apartment renovation by Modektura and a dance studio that was furnished using materials sourced from around the city in the face of wartime shortages.
      The photography is by Yevhenii Avramenko.

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