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      Holky Rády Architekturu creates “fun” but compact ice cream shop in Brno

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      Arches and undulating surfaces fill this small ice cream parlour, which Czech studio Holky Rády Architekturu has designed in the city of Brno.

      Called Ještě Jednu, the shop has a footprint of just 29.5 square metres but accommodates a kitchen, ice cream bar, freezer and coffee corner.
      Arched forms feature in the interior of the Ještě Jednu ice cream shop in BrnoLocal practice Holky Rády Architekturu – meaning “girls who like architecture” in Czech – said it wanted to make the interior a “fun” environment using the building’s arched openings and ceilings as a starting point.
      This motif is picked up throughout the shop in the form of sweeping lighting fixtures and stainless steel sinks, where staff and customers can wash their sticky hands.
      Its serving counter is fronted by a fluted white concrete panelThe prep kitchen is separated from the main ice cream bar using a glass partition, which reflects the shop’s pendant lights and makes the space appear larger.

      “People behind the glass become the alchemists who prepare the frozen delicacies,” said Barbora Kudelová and Kristýna Sirováa, founders of Holky Rády Architekturu.
      A reflective glass partition separates the kitchen from the ice cream barA calming palette of desaturated pastel colours was selected to allow the ice cream offering to stand out, while cool stainless steel surfaces reflect their surroundings.
      The studio also incorporated subtle design references to the local area and to Italy – the birthplace of gelato.

      Little Sky ice cream shop in Melbourne aims to capture the “theatre of gelato”

      These include the serving counter, which is fronted by a fluted white concrete panel that recalls both classical columns and the pillars of a 13th-century church nearby in Brno.
      Similarly, the shop’s stainless steel sinks nod to the water fountains that are often found in the streets of Italian towns and cities.
      Stainless steel sinks offer a place to wash sticky handsOther ice cream shops featured on Dezeen include Little Sky in Melbourne, which was designed to capture the “theatre of gelato”, and an Instagram-friendly store in central London that features cloud-like ceilings and neon signage.
      The photography is by Barbora Kudelová.

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      No Architects references owner's artworks in Prague maisonette

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      No Architects repeated rounded beveled corners, royal blue and numeric details throughout an apartment in Prague, which was informed by two contemporary paintings.

      The apartment in the Czech capital’s Žižkov district, takes cues from the two modern artworks belonging to the owners – an unnamed piece by Vladimír Houdek and Cesta domů by Josef Bolf.
      Vladimír Houdek’s painting is mounted on the wall beside the kitchen.Houdek’s unnamed painting, featuring the number sixty-nine, is hung between the dining and kitchen areas.
      The rectangular piece is displayed in portrait orientation and divided into four sections with a pair of reflected sixes and nines in a greyscale, gradiented typeface.
      The bottom edge of the kitchen cabinets echo the painting’s frayed edgesThe frayed edges of the artwork are referenced on the bottom edge of the kitchen wall cabinets, a tactile detail that contrasts the sweeping curves of the base cabinet opposite.

      Rich royal blue, the central colour in the composition, is found in the kitchen, corridor, bathroom and master bedroom manifesting as large planes of lacquered MDF, tile and velvet upholstery.
      The number 69 becomes a pattern when minimised and embossed on the perforated screen in the living area, and in a larger format on cupboard doors in the second bedroom.
      The repeated 69 motif decorates a screen in the living areaA second painting, Cesta domů by Bolf, is hung in the living area on a grey-toned wall directly opposite the piece by Houdek.
      The contrastingly melancholy artwork, whose title translates to “way home” or “road to home”, shows a street scene with buildings, trees and figures obscured by a dark palette of greys and black.
      The living room separates the stairway and entrance hall from the balconyThe emotive painting is referenced by the teardrop-shaped pendant lamps above the kitchen island and dining table. They also recall a waterfall mural by artist Patrik Hábl on the side a neighbouring building, which is visible from the living room window.
      “It is a simple living space for a family who understands art and wants to appreciate and enjoy it” summarised No Architects.
      “[An] interior where contemporary art is not just replaceable decoration”.

      Bespoke built-in furniture is found in each room, backed by a neutral palette of wooden oak and whitewash finishes on floors, walls and ceilings.
      The apartment is situated in a 1990s attic extension of the original building, which dates from the first half of the 19th century.

      No Architects is a Prague-based architecture, design and planning studio founded in 2009, which previously designed a nursery in Prague that aims to ease separation anxiety in young children by incorporating plenty of internal windows, cubby holes and clear sightlines across the space.
      The photography is by Studio Flusser.

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      B2 Architecture creates optical illusion with office interiors for DDB Prague

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      Czech studio B2 Architecture designed office interiors for DDB Prague with coloured walls that project the company’s logo as an optical illusion.The office in Prague is occupied by a creative advertising agency that has a logo of a stylised B formed of two stacked D shapes.

      The segments of colour appear random when viewed from other angles
      Using anamorphosis, a perspective technique, B2 Architecture painted sections of colour on the walls and floors appear random and distorted unless viewed from a particular point – the front door.
      “The viewers entering the DDB Prague offices enter at the unique vantage point from which the DDB logo is visible in its perfect form,” explained B2 Architecture.
      “As their journey continues, the viewers can see that the illusion was formed by colour applied throughout the whole space of the agency.”

      The anamorphic illusion resolves itself from the doorway

      A striking black covers most of the walls and floors, providing a contrasting backdrop for another version of the agency’s logo picked out in neon behind the front desk.
      The opening from the lobby to the rest of the office is surrounded by abstract geometric shapes of white and blue the form the logo when looked at from the doorway.

      D-shaped benches can be tidied away by slotting into the wall
      White floors and walls continue through the open-plan office, with a slice of black in the corner adding to the graphic and dynamic vibe.
      The white wall next to this entryway is covered in two rows of the DBB Prague logo formed of colourful fabric-covered benches resting in slots carved into the wall.
      When employees gather for meetings they can grab a D-shaped stool and pull up a seat informally.

      A yellow “war room” punctuates the open-plan office
      In the centre of the L-shaped office sits the agency’s “war room”, a freestanding room shaped like a circular sector in plan and painted bright yellow inside and out.
      The interior of the room features amphitheatre-style stepped seating around the curved side, facing a floor-to-ceiling glass corner.

      Stacked curved benches form amphitheatre-style seating
      Black cushions and beanbag chairs provide comfortable places for colleagues to sit and hold brainstorming sessions together.

      Felice Varini creates optical illusion on roof of Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation

      The glass walls can be used as surfaces to draw on or screened off with dark curtains to create a private room for meetings and presentations.
      Shelves along the exterior are also painted yellow and are used to display books and objects from past campaigns.

      Shelves line the exterior of the yellow room
      Following a consultation with the staff at DDB Prague, B2 Architecture incorporated a cafeteria and lounge area for staff to socialise in and hold workshops.
      “An office landscape has been created to promote communication and teamwork with a mix of open spaces, retreats and collaboration areas,” said B2 Architecture.
      “It also assures both transparency and discretion, enables rapid orientation within the space and reflects the agency’s creative character.”

      The office interiors are designed to reflect the agency’s creativity
      B2 Architecture is based in Prague and was founded by Barbara Bencova.
      The office for DDB Prague has been shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2020 in the small workspace interiors category, alongside micro offices clad in corrugated aluminium in the Netherlands, and a timber music studio in a Finnish back garden.
      The winners of Dezeen Awards 2020 will be announced on 23 November.
      Photography is by Alexander Dobrovodsky.
      Project credits:
      Architect: B2 ArchitectureLead architect: Barbara BencovaClients: DDB Prague

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