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Balenciaga debuts “raw architecture” store aesthetic at Sloane Street flagship
Fashion brand Balenciaga has renovated its flagship store in London, which features aged and distressed surfaces and exposed construction elements. More
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Ten living rooms that use concrete to create textural interest
For our latest lookbook, we have selected ten living spaces from the Dezeen archive that use concrete as a focal design feature. More
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Curved concrete walls snake through Berlin artist's residence by Philipp von Matt
German architect Philipp von Matt has incorporated a skylit studio and a ground floor exhibition space into this artist’s home in Berlin. More
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Walnut and concrete wrap this “gallery apartment” in Sao Paulo by BC Arquitetos
Monolithic concrete columns and walnut panelling create a backdrop for an extensive collection of mid-20th century Brazilian art and design in this 1970s São Paulo apartment renovation by BC Arquitetos. More
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Concrete counter curves through ShuckShuck oyster bar in Vancouver
Canadian office Batay-Csorba Architects has created a greyscale interior for the ShuckShuck oyster restaurant in Vancouver complete with a snaking concrete bar. More
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Keiji Ashizawa uses “rough materials” to create cosy restaurant interior
Wood-wool cement-board walls and concrete tabletops feature in this Tokyo restaurant interior by Japanese architect Keiji Ashizawa.Located a few minutes walk from Kawaguchi station in one of Tokyo’s largest commuter towns, Grillno is a cosy, 26-seat restaurant that serves a menu of smoked and grilled dishes.
Top image: tables and chairs made from concrete, steel and wood furnish the interior. Above: dim lighting sets the mood
Built on the second floor of a concrete apartment building, the moodily lit interior features walls made from grey wood wool cement board alongside oak floors and doors.
An open kitchen with a long concrete counter allows diners to watch the chefs at work as they eat.
“There are two fundamental inspirations,” said Ashizawa, “the building materials used for the thirty-year-old concrete apartment building and the food ingredients the restaurant uses daily.”The textured walls are made from grey wood wool cement board
The 62-square-metre restaurant only opens in the evening, so guests typically experience the space at sunset or after dark.
“The space gets some natural daylight from the entrance,” Ashizawa told Dezeen. “The gentle light from the setting sun creates a spectacular atmosphere during the opening hours.”A concrete counter stretches along the length of the open kitchen
The restaurant’s owner is a friend of the Tokyo-based architect, as well as a regular collaborator.
“Since starting his career as a chef, I have been supporting him with the planning of his restaurants — and enjoying eating what he cooks, of course,” Ashizawa explained.
“As Grillno is a restaurant specialised in smoked and grilled dishes, we began by planning an open kitchen and a long concrete counter around the kitchen so that people could enjoy watching the chef cook while eating.”A suspended steel lamp hovers over the concrete counter
A thin, long steel suspension lamp hangs above the concrete counter to create an even light for dining.
“We believe that good restaurants can welcome people in many situations, whether you come by yourself, with your friends and family or for your night out,” continued Ashizawa.
“To make the most out of the space as possible, we planned different types of seating arrangements.”Campana brothers use hollow terracotta blocks for São Paulo Aesop store
These include the rounded counter, which seats up to 14 diners, alongside two cosy wooden tables for couples that are tucked away in a recess, and three tables that seat up to four people on a mix of chairs and benches.
Dining tables for couples are placed in a recess
“With a few rough materials, worked expertly by craftsmen, we tried to achieve a relaxing atmosphere with moments of tension to match the food and hospitality,” explained Ashizawa.
Incorporating industrial materials that are generally perceived as “rough” into commercial interiors is popular among architects and designers.
Lisbon-based Inês Brandão has created a kitchen from oriented strand board inside a converted barn home in Portugal, while brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana applied hollow ceramic bricks, typically used to build external walls, in a shop interior for Aesop in Sao Paulo.Read more: More
Old nylon factory converted into “cathedral-like” office space
HofmanDujardin and Schipper Bosch have inserted a steel frame into the expansive production hall of an old nylon factory in Arnhem to create the KB Building offices. The office is housed within one of several 1940s factories on a 90-hectare chemical-industry plant in the Netherlands, which local developer Schipper Bosch is transforming into a campus
The post Old nylon factory converted into “cathedral-like” office space appeared first on Dezeen. MoreArched precast concrete panels form North Perth House by Nic Brunsdon
Precast concrete panels punctuated with swooping arches make up this family home in Perth, Australia, designed by architect Nic Brunsdon.Nic Brunsdon squeezed the two-storey house onto a tight plot of land for a family keen to live closer to the city of Perth and all its amenities – even though it meant downsizing from their former property.
Working with a restricted budget, the architect and his eponymous studio decided to use precast concrete panels as the main building material.
“By using this commercial construction system as the main conceptual organising principle, the project was able to gain significant budget and time savings, while maintaining legible design integrity and innovation in housing type,” the studio said.
North Perth House comprises eight precast concrete panels that are arranged in a grid-like formation. The ground floor has a sequence of four panels that run horizontally from east to west.
“On the ground floor these panels demarcate layers of privacy from the street front back towards the rear of the property, each signifying a threshold leading deeper into the private life of the house,” explained the studio.On the first floor are another four panels that have been turned 90 degrees to run perpendicularly from north to south.
These arches slot neatly into notches that have been made in the concrete panels on the ground floor.The concrete panels are punctuated with arches – a shape that one of the clients was particularly fond of as it brought back childhood memories of the arched doorways that appeared in their grandmother’s home.
Narrow arching doorways connect different living spaces throughout North Perth House. On the ground floor, these arches have been made to sit in line with each other so that there are clear sightlines from the front to the rear of the home.The larger arches form windows or striking decor features. For example, one has been filled with bookshelves, while another has been inlaid with warm-hued timber to create a dramatic headboard in the master bedroom.
Timber is one of the three materials that Nic Brunsdon opted to apply throughout the interior – it has also been used for the cabinetry in the kitchen, staircase balustrades and sideboards.Concrete has then been left exposed across the walls and floor, while insulated polycarbonate sheeting has been fitted in some of the windows to diffuse the harsh sunlight.
Arches puncture floors and walls of Glebe House by Chenchow Little Architects
Pops of colour in North Perth House are provided by a selection of contemporary artworks.
“The simplicity of the design belies the complexity of the resulting spaces that are created; spaces that are compressed and dark, high and washed, raw and unfinished, and rich and intimate,” added the studio.Nic Brunsdon is based in Perth’s South Freemantle suburb. The architect is longlisted in the hospitality building category of this year’s Dezeen Awards for his project The Tiing – a boutique hotel in Bali that features rugged concrete walls that were cast against bamboo.
Its 14 guest rooms are each shaped like funnels, directing views towards the jungle on one side and the ocean on the other.
Photography is by Ben Hosking.Read more: More
