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      in Rooms

      Tiny exhibition centre on remote Chinese farm features timber interiors

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      SHAW Architecture & Design Studio has created a modest exhibition centre for an organic farm in Loudi, a secluded village in China’s Shanxi province.The exhibition centre sits beside an eco-farm in Loudi called Huo-shui-yuan. Presided over by the village collective, the farm focuses on cultivating organic produce and educating locals about the natural environment.

      The interior of the exhibition centre is almost entirely lined with timber
      SHAW Architecture & Design Studio wanted the centre to pay homage to the surrounding landscape, which forms part of the Loess Plateau – an arid area of highland in northern China that’s distinguished by its crumbly, yellow-grey soil that has been deposited by the wind throughout the ages.
      “In two to three million years, this land changed from forest into broken valleys, wrinkled like an old man’s skin,” explained the studio, which is based in Shanghai.

      Visitors can rest on built-in seating nooks at the peripheries of the room

      The interior of the centre has therefore been made deliberately dark in order to steer visitor sightlines towards the outdoors. Timber beams – some of which are slightly charred – line the walls, while the floor has been inlaid with large black tiles.

      Red mesh shades the interior of a farm visitor centre by Vector Architects

      Only a few pendant lamps have been suspended from the ceiling. Gridded or slanted window frames that the studio crafted from wooden twigs, salvaged from the farm’s broken fences, also filter the natural light seeping through to the centre.

      There are a couple of long tables for community workshops
      Seating nooks for visitors have been built-in around the periphery of the room, along with a series of cabinets and shelves where agricultural objects will be put on display. The only freestanding furnishings in the centre are two long tables and a handful of stools, which are used for community workshops.
      One of the tables balances on chunky rammed-earth legs, which the studio included as a nod to the materiality of yaodongs, or “house caves” – earthen shelters which are carved out of hillsides in the Loess Plateau region.

      One of the tables balances on chunky rammed-earth legs
      SHAW Architecture & Design Studio was founded by Xu Zhifeng in 2013. Similarly to this project, Vector Architects created a visitors centre for a farm in Kunshan, China.
      The centre occupies a restored outhouse and is externally clad with louvres of weathered steel.
      Photography is by Shuyin Wu.
      Project credits:
      Interior design: SHAW Architecture & Design StudioLead designer: Shuyin WuClients: LSM Rural Reconstruction Center, Beijing Common Justice FoundationLocal project coordinator: Lixia YanConstruction team: Hongwei Mei, Qingfeng Kong, Yongkang Bai, Long Li, Weixing WangLighting installer and painter: Yuanping LiRe-used wood manufacturer: Xinliang FengRam earth consultant: Zengfei LiangIllustration: Shuyin Wu

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      in Rooms

      Terrazzo and bronze staircase forms focal point of The Sukhothai hotel by Neri&Hu

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      A dramatic staircase connects floors inside this Shanghai hotel, which Neri&Hu has designed with calming, nature-inspired rooms.The staircase can be found in the entrance lobby of The Sukhothai hotel, which is situated in Shanghai’s Jing’an district.

      A huge staircase is the focal point of The Sukhothai’s lobby. Photo is by Pedro Pegenaute
      It features a bronze balustrade and a staggered sequence of slim, grey-terrazzo steps that have been slightly set apart to create the illusion that they’re hovering.
      The entire structure is then enclosed by a gridded timber framework that “envelops” guests as they ascend to the first floor.

      Bronze has been used to make the balustrade, while the steps are grey terrazzo

      In the communal areas that lie beyond the staircase, Neri&Hu has fashioned an aesthetic that subtly celebrates the culture of both Shanghai and Bangkok – where the inaugural branch of The Sukhothai is located.
      “The challenge for Sukhothai in Shanghai was how to remain true to the spirit of the original iconic hotel in Bangkok while bringing in elements that represent the local culture and history,” the studio explained.

      Green hues reference nature and gardens. Photo is by Pedro Pegenaute
      “In the end, our guiding concept was inspired by a universal condition that defines many dense Asian metropolises such as Shanghai and Bangkok — the sense of fragility and congestion and the desire for a reconnection with nature, for room to breathe and rejuvenate,” it continued.
      “We created an urban oasis in the midst of the concrete jungle of the city, so every aspect of the hotel relates to nature.”

      The hotel’s swimming pool is also lined with green tiles. Photo is by Pedro Pegenaute
      Gardens became the main point of reference for the studio. For example, a network of columns has been installed in the restaurant as a nod to the ornate pillars that typically appear in Italian renaissance-style gardens.
      The forest-green leather chairs that surround the dining tables and the emerald-coloured tiles that line the open kitchen are also meant to evoke lush, verdant settings.

      Neri&Hu keeps time-worn details in Parisian restaurant Papi

      A medley of green tiles has also been applied mosaic-style to the hotel’s swimming pool.

      Natural materials are spotlighted in the bedrooms. Photo is by Pedro Pegenaute
      Neri&Hu have continued to use green tones and natural materials upstairs in the 201 guest bedrooms. Walls have been painted a tranquil jade hue, while the floor, headboards and writing desks are lined with wood.
      Pebble-grey Carrara marble has been used to line almost every surface in the bathrooms – including the tubs.

      Grey marble lines surfaces in the bathrooms
      A number of hotels have opened in China this year. Among them is the Intercontinental in Chongqing and Read and Rest Hotel in Beijing, which includes a small library filled with print magazines from across the world.
      For those looking to stay a bit more off the beaten track, Wiki World and Advanced Architecture Lab have also created a collection of 18 mirrored guest cabins on the forested mountainsides of Yichang in China’s Hubei province.
      Photography is by Xia Zhi unless stated otherwise.

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      Imafuku Architects completes Dongshang bar in Beijing with bamboo surfaces

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      Canes of bamboo interlace across the ceiling to form a canopy above guests in this bar in Beijing, China designed by Imafuku Architects.Dongshang – which is shortlisted in the bar interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards – offers an extensive menu of sake and whiskies from Japan, as well as a selection of Japanese dishes.
      When it came to designing the interiors of the bar, Imafuku Architects wanted to use a material that spoke of the bar’s Japanese menu, as well as its Chinese location – bamboo immediately came to mind.

      Bamboo lines the upper half of the corridor leading into Dongshang

      “The history of planting and using bamboo in these two countries can be traced back to ancient times,” explained the studio. “Both Chinese and Japanese people have utilized bamboo as a material for construction, furniture, containers and even art pieces.”
      “Dongshang invites guests on a story of traditional aesthetics and crafting techniques of the two countries through the contemporary reinterpretation of bamboo.”

      Centre for displaced Rohingya women built from bamboo in Bangladesh

      The studio had also become particularly inspired by the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a group of Chinese scholars, musicians and writers from the third century who would convene in a bamboo grove to escape the turmoil and corruption associated with the royal courts at the time.

      The bamboo is fixed to the walls with brass nails
      Guests are led into Dongshang through a long corridor. The bottom half of the walls here are lined with dark grey terrazzo, while thin strips of bamboo have been affixed to the upper half with brass nails.
      Some of the bamboo strips arch up and away from the wall to form a lattice across the ceiling. Spotlights have been installed directly above the latticework so that, when switched on, light dapples the surrounding surfaces much like “sunshine filtering through tree leaves”.

      A “canopy” of criss-cross bamboo canes appears in the main dining room
      The terrazzo and bamboo-strip walls continue into Donshang’s main dining space. Mushroom-coloured sofas and armchairs have been dotted throughout, arranged around square wooden tables.
      Canes of bamboo have been arranged into a criss-cross-pattern “canopy” on the ceiling, a feature that the studio hopes will lend the room a cosier and more intimate ambience.

      Mushroom-coloured furnishings have been used to dress the space
      More bamboo canes appear at the rear of the room but have been stood upright to create a fluted feature wall behind the drinks bar. Backlit liquor bottles are openly displayed on three-millimetre-thick shelves crafted from steel.
      A splash of colour is offered by the high chairs that run around the bar counter, which are upholstered in sapphire-blue velvet.

      Bamboo canes create a feature wall behind the bar
      Dongshang restaurant will compete in the 2020 Dezeen Awards against projects such as J Boroski by Atelier XY, which is decorated with over 1,000 insects, and The Berkeley Bar & Terrace by Bryan O’Sullivan Studio, which includes a cosy, pink-hued snug where guests can enjoy their cocktails.
      Photography is courtesy of Ruijing Photo.

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      KCC Design creates monochrome office for own studio in former factory space

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      KCC Design has completed the interior design for its own office in Shanghai, which features an exhibition space and 21 enclosed boxes for individual work in a subdued colour palette.The studio, which works in architecture and interior design as well as wayfinding, regional planning and lighting design, created the office in an old factory building that has been converted into office space.
      KCC Design designed its new office, which has been shortlisted for the Dezeen Awards 2020 in the large workspace interior category, to make a move away from open-plan working.

      Top: the KCC Office reception area. Above: the ground floor is taken up by an exhibition space
      “The most important thing is that we have been working in an open office working environment so far,” KCC Design principal and design director Marco De La Torre told Dezeen.

      “We thought it is problematic because more and more people no longer want this kind of working environment but a living environment,” he added.
      “After all, as a design company, we spend a longer time at the office, so we need to re-think how an office should be.”

      The studio wanted the office to be a “living environment”
      Though the studio was working from home in February due to the coronavirus pandemic, life in Shanghai returned to a sense of normalcy after March, De La Torre said, enabling it to come back to the office.
      “We are wearing masks for public transportation and public venues like cinemas, all other activities have returned to normality,” De La Torre said.

      On the first floor, 21 boxes function as more private workspaces
      The studio discussed how to combine ideas of “individual and independent thinking” with “collective and cooperation creating” for the design of its office.
      The solution was to divide the space into separate uses for separate floors. The ground floor of the office is the studio’s public area, which it calls its “living space”.
      This floor has meeting rooms and tea rooms for client meetings, as well as an exhibition space that can also host events.

      White and grey were the only colours used for the interior
      Upstairs on the first floor, the core office area has 21 enclosed boxes that are used as the studio’s main workspaces. They are designed to function as private work areas where team members can also feel at home.
      “This office design is for the people to feel ‘living’ here, not only as work display,” De La Torre said.

      Old nylon factory converted into “cathedral-like” office space

      KCC Design worked with a limited material and colour palette when designing the space. When it came to colour, the studio kept its office mainly white and grey, and said the reason behind its colour and material choices was simple.
      “Concrete and paint are the only two materials,” said De La Torre. “The reason for choosing such materials is their extreme plasticity. These inert materials also symbolise human wisdom and technology.”

      The office entrance features geometric shapes
      “They have no personality,” De La Torre explained. “As dead as an inorganic substance. This extreme quietness is what we need most in a noisy urban environment and an impetuous work environment.”
      “Of course, the white of the whole wall also has the meaning of white paper to the designer,” he added. “It represents the birth can be anything.”
      Describing interior and architectural design as a poetic, logical system, De La Torre said artificial space should be respected as an artefact.
      “Therefore, the space poetry of this office space is ‘we living here instead of working here now’,” he said. “And the logical principle of our interior is a ‘fluid and continuous public space’ and a ‘solid and independent private space’.”
      Many former factory spaces and warehouses have been turned into offices, including an old nylon factory in Arnhem that is now a “cathedral-like office space and a heritage building in Mumbai.

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      Atelier XY covers cocktail bar in Shanghai with over 1,000 insects

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      Preserved tarantulas and beetles decorate the shadowy rooms inside this bar in Shanghai, China designed by local studio Atelier XY.Atelier XY designed the bar, which is called J Boroski, to reflect its owners’ interest in insects.
      It’s located in Shanghai French Concession – a region of the city that was occupied and governed by the French state from 1849 up until 1943. Over the last few decades the area has been redeveloped, and it’s now host to a number of eateries, boutiques and quaint music venues.

      Top image: beetles cover the surfaces of the bar. Above: a glass-brick wall runs down the back of the room
      To enter the bar, visitors walk through an assuming door and up through a dark stairwell.

      “It acts as a transition between the noisy exterior and the quiet interior. Once the reception is reached, the unique character of this place slowly reveals itself,” explained the studio.

      Behind the partition are dimly lit lounge areas
      The main bar area inside is dominated by a 12-metre-long counter where up to eight mixologists can stand and rustle up cocktail orders.
      Amber-hued lights illuminate drink bottles on display, fostering a sense of warmth.

      Office AIO’s Bar Lotus in Shanghai turns from daytime cafe into evening cocktail bar

      A gridded teak-wood framework covers the wall directly behind the counter and extends up to cover half the bar’s ceiling. Every square opening in the grid is centred by a beetle – in total there are 1,254.

      Dark leather furniture features throughout the bar
      Along the rear of the bar is a glass brick wall, through the centre of which runs a series of see-through blocks that contain 42 preserved Thai Black tarantulas.
      It has also been inbuilt with a couple of black-iron drawers – when pulled out, further taxidermy insect specimens are revealed. These can also double-up as small ledges where standing visitors in the bar can rest their drinks.

      Preserved spiders are set inside the glass-brick wall
      The wall separates the bar from a couple of dim lounge areas dressed with comfy armchairs upholstered in dark, umber-coloured leather.
      A small amount of light is offered by a handful of tealight candles in glass tumblers.

      The bar includes a lab-style space where guests can watch cocktails being made
      There is also what the studio describes as a “chamber room”, which lies behind a heavy glass-brick door. Inside there’s a laboratory-style space where visitors will be invited to watch mixologists experiment with making drinks, using extravagant tools like centrifuges or rotary distillation machines.
      The dark colour palette of the bar seeps through into the bathroom, which is completely clad in glazed, oxblood-coloured tiles. It’s centred by a lengthy wooden sink.

      Oxblood-coloured tiles cover the bar’s bathroom
      Atelier XY is based in Shanghai and was established in 2018 by Qi Xiaofeng and Wang Yuyang.
      Its J. Boroski project is shortlisted in the bar interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards. It will go up against spaces such as The Berkeley Bar & Terrace by Bryan O’Sullivan Studio, which features ornate plasterwork friezes, walnut wall panelling and a blush-pink snug where guests can retire with their drinks.
      Photography is courtesy of Schran Images and Hu Yanyun.
      Project credits:
      Design: Atelier XYTeam: Qi Xiaofeng, Wang Yuyang, Chen XiProduct design: Notion Common, Atelier XYLighting: Zenko lighting design

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      Linehouse uses typically urban materials inside Xiamen's JNBY store

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      Concrete, steel and fluted glass merge inside this shop that design studio Linehouse has created for fashion brand JNBY in Xiamen, China.Chinese cities were a key point of reference for Linehouse, which has decked out JNBY’s Xiamen store with materials often seen in dense urban settings – concrete, glass and steel.
      The interior aesthetic of this JNBY store will be rolled out across all of the brand’s future locations in China – one branch has already opened in Chengdu, and another is set to open in Changsha.

      The JNBY store features a coffered concrete ceiling
      The ceiling of the 100-square-metre store is entirely covered with concrete coffers. Each one is bordered by bright-white LED strip lights.

      A curved, steel-frame screen inset with panels of fluted glass runs around the periphery of the space, set back from the structural walls. The partition balances on chunky cylindrical blocks made from recycled concrete pavement.

      Panels of fluted glass form a screen around the edge of the store
      The urban materiality of the store is interrupted by a couple of ceramic display stands, which Linehouse formed by wrapping convex tiles around steel poles that extend from the floor to the ceiling.
      Some of the stands have been fitted with a metal ring where garments can be hung, while others have small shelves where accessories can be put on show.

      The screen’s glass panels are held within a steel framework
      Convex tiles also clad the front of JNBY’s service counter. When viewed up close, customers will be able to see a myriad of cracks, which Linehouse made visible by adding Chinese ink into the tiles’ glaze.

      John Anthony restaurant by Linehouse is “British tea hall turned Chinese canteen”

      The sculptural bases of the store’s low-lying display tables are made from grainy wood or concrete that the studio has cast against pieces of fabric.

      Convex tiles with subtle cracks clad the store’s service counter
      “The brand sought a modern approach to capture its core values, focusing on material exploration while guiding urban dwellers in appreciating the surprise and poetry of everyday life,” explained Linehouse.
      “So we wanted to contrast the urban represented by the concrete, steel and textured glass with the notion of crafted imperfection represented in the ceramic and timber detailing… they have the qualities of the handmade; variation and contrast.”

      The same tiles form a couple of vertical display stands
      Linehouse was established in 2013 by Alex Mok and Briar Hickling, and works between offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
      The austere material palette of the JNBY store in Xiamen is a far cry from the studio’s recently completed project, Basehall – an upscale food court in Hong Kong. Inside, the venue features walls lined with pink-metal rods, brass light fittings and a blue metalwork ceiling.
      Photography is by Dirk Weiblen.
      Project credits:
      Architect: LinehouseDesign lead: Alex Mok, Briar HicklingDesign team: Cherngyu Chen, Jingru Tong, Celine Chung

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      O shop in Chengdu is a lifestyle store by day and a bar by night

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      A series of mirrored panels obscure the cocktail bar that lies inside this shop-cum-cafe in Chengdu, China created by design studio Office AIO.The shop, which is unusually called O, was named by its owner and the co-founder of Office AIO, Tim Kwan.

      Taking the first letter from the word “object”, Kwan and the shop owner felt that O was the “perfect shape representing eternity – it has no beginning nor end, no direction nor a right way round”.

      The looping shape of the letter O also nods to the shifting function of the 68-square-metre shop: by day it’s a cafe that sells and showcases a curated selection of lifestyle items and designer furnishings, while at night it turns into a bar.

      Down one side of the shop runs a lengthy sandstone counter where the cafe’s coffee machine is kept. Just in front is a long wooden table where the barista can prepare drink orders.
      The base of the counter has been in-built with a fireplace, which can be switched on as night falls to evoke a cosier mood within the store.

      On the other side of the store is a silver-metal shelf where products are displayed and a row of fold-down seats upholstered in tan leather.

      Chengdu cafe features interiors inspired by Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel

      The rear of the store appears to be lined with mirrored panels, but these can be drawn back to reveal the night-time drinks bar. Liquor bottles line the inner side of the panels.

      Surfaces throughout the rest of shop O have otherwise been kept simple. A patchy band of exposed concrete runs around the lower half of the walls, but off-white paint has been applied to the upper half.
      Interest is added by a handful of potted plants and a sequence of arched screens that have been suspended just beneath the ceiling.

      The last screen has been fitted with an LED strip light that can be adjusted to imbue the space with different colours.
      “[The screens] bring a sense of character to the store without occupying any footprint,” explained the studio.
      “We hope that this space will encourage quality ideas, objects, and people to interact and exchange, and ultimately reach a wholesome experience that is objectively desirable,” it concluded.

      O by Office AIO is longlisted in the small retail interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.
      It isn’t the first day-to-night venue that the studio has created – two years ago it completed Bar Lotus in Shanghai, which boasts emerald-coloured walls and rippling rose-gold ceilings. The project won the restaurant and bar interior category of the 2019 Dezeen Awards, when judges commended its mix of contemporary and traditional references.
      Photography is courtesy of WEN Studio.
      Project credits:
      Designed by: Tim Kwan/Office AIOConstruction: Sichuan ChuFeng Architectural Decoration

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      CL3 unveils interior design for Intercontinental Chongqing Raffles City

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      Sailing and nautical aesthetics informed CL3’s interiors for the Intercontinental hotel in the Raffles City Chongqing complex in China, which includes guest rooms that draw on the design of yacht cabins.Intercontinental Chongqing Raffles City is located in the Raffles City Chongqing development, which features a “horizontal skyscraper,” the Crystal skybridge that connects four 250-metre tall skyscrapers.
      The hotel’s location in the city’s Chaotianmen area, where the Yangtze and Jialing rivers meet, was the starting point for the designers.
      “The project has a geographical and historical significance by being where the ancient emperor sent his fleet to meet the people,” CL3  said.

      This nautical past not only informed the design of the eight streamlined skyscrapers that make up the Raffles City Chongqing complex, which features sail-like screens, it was also carried through into the interior design.

      CL3 was approached to create the interiors after working with architect Moshdie Safdie of Safdie Architects on the Marina Bay Sands project, and designed the interiors of the hotel’s main areas as well as the residential lobby and common areas for five of the towers.

      The studio was also responsible for the design of the residential clubhouse inside the signature Crystal skybridge that connects four of the towers.
      Intercontinental Chongqing Raffles City’s grand reception is located on level 42 at the skybridge and nods to the sailing theme with a reception desk shaped like the hull of a ship, complemented by lighting in the same shape.

      “The shape design echoes the water reflection during sailing in the river,” the studio said. The link bridge reception area was also decorated with marine-themed Chinese motifs and crafts.
      In the arrival lobby area, CL3 added stylised drawings of traditional ships to the mirrored walls of the elevators.

      The lobby lounge was designed to create a “mountain landscape in the sky” and filled with green plants under an arc-shaped dome.
      It features views of the skybridge that stretches across the skyscrapers, which visitors can enjoy from enveloping seats in pale wood with an undulating, wave-like shape.

      For the interior of the hotel rooms, the studio used pale wood combined with beige and cream colours and softly curved walls.
      “The inspiration from the timeless ultra-luxury of contemporary sailing vessels is reflected in the ambience, furniture selections, finishes and guest rooms, ” CL3 said.

      The nautical theme is less apparent in the Jing restaurant, which has a dark stone floor and peacock blue detailing.
      The distinctive bar, where guests can sit and enjoy a meal, has been decked out in pale blue, bright blue and white stripes that pick up the blue hues in rest of the room.

      CL3 was also behind some of the residential areas in the complex, including the residential clubhouse inside the Crystal skybridge itself which has a swimming pool, gym and a spa, as well as private function rooms.
      Rattan lounge chairs with blue upholstery surround the pool, whose “modern shape and light colours reflect the rhythm of urban life,” the studio said.

      CL3 was founded in 1992. The studio is based in Hong Kong but also has offices in Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai.
      As well as the Raffles City Chongqing complex, Safdie Architects also designed a housing development in the city, Eling Hill, consisting of a set of stepped homes on a hill overlooking the Yangtze River.
      Photography is by Feng Shao.
      Project credits:
      Client: CapitalandProject name: Intercontinental Chongqing Raffles CityProject location: No. 2 Changjiang Binjiang Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China 400010Completion time: 2020Interior design firm: CL3 ArchitectsInterior design team: William Lim, Jane Arnett, Simon Ho, Jun Tse, Katerin TheysArchitecture design firm: Safdie Architects

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