Subterms
Materials typical of a classic Parisian brasserie such as wood, marble and a lacquered ceiling are teamed with tubular steel furniture reminiscent of the 1970s in the Abstinence restaurant. More
Off-White’s latest AMO-designed flagship store features abstract interpretations of Paris’s courtyards and flea markets. More
Design studio Halleroed has used travertine podiums to display sneakers like sculptures in the Paris store of streetwear label Axel Arigato. More
The mid-century architecture and roadside diners of the American west informed the interior of this nostalgic hamburger restaurant in Paris designed by CUT Architectures. More
A chandelier of Nike sneakers now hangs inside 19th-century mansion Pershing Hall, where design studio Snarkitecture has created a new flagship for American streetwear brand Kith. More
French architecture studio Pierre-Louis Gerlier Architecte has renovated a studio apartment in Paris, adding a curved wall with scalloped wood panelling. More
French practice Franklin Azzi Architecture took tips from the work of Frank Lloyd Wright to design this Parisian co-working space, which features open areas for working, dining and lounging.The co-working space can be found along Rue du Quatre-Septembre in Paris’ second arrondissement, joining two other branches of The Bureau in the capital’s eighth arrondissement.
This new location is set inside a Hausmann building that dates back to the 19th century, but when it came to devising the interiors, Franklin Azzi Architecture had a more modern point of reference – mid-century homes created by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Top image: The Bureau’s restaurant. Above: one of the building’s communal work areas
“Those houses are manifestos because Frank Lloyd Wright broke free from unnecessary partitions to reveal open areas largely bathed in light, which was very innovative for the beginning of the 20th century,” the practice’s eponymous founder, Franklin Azzi, told Dezeen.
“For me, they are timeless works that reflect a real desire for integration into their environment through horizontality.”
An oak partition is inbuilt with private work booths
In keeping with Llyod Wright’s architecture, The Bureau’s ground level has been made to have a largely open layout.
The floor plan is interrupted by just one oak-lined partition, which is inbuilt with deep-set bookshelves and private booths where members can escape to take calls or do more focused work.
The concierge desk can be screened off by heavy green curtains
Adjacently lies an expansive workroom that features a long communal desk. Dangling above is a chandelier composed of glass spheres and silver-metal spokes.
Towards the front of the room is a concierge desk, which can be screened off by floor-to-ceiling green curtains if necessary.
Members will be able to dine at an in-house restaurant called The Comptoir
The Bureau’s in-house restaurant, called The Comptoir, has been created in a corner of the ground floor. A grey seating banquette winds around the wall, accompanied by brass-edged tables and wooden dining chairs.
Surrounding surfaces, including the structural columns and part of the ceiling, have been lined with slim mirrored panels.
Just in front of the restaurant is a striking, 70s-style decor feature – a sunken conversation pit complete with a plush, deep-green sofa and carpeting to match.
Franklin Azzi Architecture converts Nantes warehouses into art school
“In terms of inspiration, I position myself as an assembler, picking uninhibitedly from different periods and several registers,” explained Azzi.
“We immersed ourselves in the 1970s world of American offices, as well as the colours and material codes infused with Oscar Niemeyer’s work to create a unique hybrid identity for The Bureau.”
A sunken conversation pit lies in front of the restaurant
The upper levels of the building play host to more private work areas and meeting rooms, which boast original fireplaces and ornate ceiling cornicing.
Here, as well as downstairs, are a number of furnishings and ornaments sourced by French decorators The Socialite Family.
Meeting rooms upstairs showcase the building’s original features
The pandemic may have put co-working on hold for now, but shared offices are still continuing to pop up. Earlier this year, architect Caro Lundin opened the doors to ARC Club in east London, which is specifically designed for those tired of working from home.
Photography is by Valerio Geraci.
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A huge cylindrical volume clad in white tiles sits amongst aged stone walls inside Papi, a restaurant in Paris designed by Neri&Hu.Papi can be found in the French capital’s ninth arrondissement, taking over the ground floor of a 19th-century Haussmann building.
Top image: the exterior of Papi. Above: steel-framed windows can be pushed back to open up the restaurant to the street
Rather than modernising the 52-square-metre site of the restaurant, Neri&Hu has instead tried to showcase the “layers of material heritage” that denote the building’s long and storied past.
The Shanghai-based studio explained the building works had to be carried out “as carefully as an archaeological dig”.
Neri & Hu stripped back the interior to expose old brick and limestone surfaces
“Every single existing element was meticulously examined, and the challenge was in resisting the urge to fix every imperfection, to instead honour the imprint of time upon each surface,” added Neri&Hu.
“Each fragment represents a different period in Paris’ history, forming a beautiful yet challenging existing canvas for [Neri&Hu] to intervene.”
The dining area is enclosed within a cylindrical volume
Wallcoverings and finishes that have built up over the years from previous occupants have been peeled back to reveal the building’s older brick or limestone surfaces.
Aged stone moulding that borders the entrance door has also been exposed, and a slim cut-out has been made in the facade to reveal an existing steel lintel.
Similar steel has been used to frame the expansive panels of glazing that front the restaurant. These can be slid back during the warmer months, diffusing the boundary between Papi’s diners and passersby on the street.
Slim white tiles clad the inside and outside of the volume
The most significant contemporary addition that Neri&Hu have made to the interior is a towering cylindrical volume that encompasses Papi’s eating area.
Clad in narrow white tiles, the volume has been placed slightly off-centre so that it butts up against the right-hand side of the restaurant.
Neri&Hu looked to “traditional courtyard house typology” for Tsingpu Yangzhou Retreat
Inside are a handful of wooden dining tables and chairs. Guests can alternatively opt to sit on one of the bench seats that have been fitted in the birch plywood-lined openings running around the perimeter of the volume.
The volume hugs against the restaurant’s right-hand wall
Other than a couple of tube lights – specifically chosen by Neri&Hu to stand in “stark modern contrast” to the crumbling stone walls – decor in Papi has been kept to a minimum.
A few mirrors have also been incorporated within the cylinder.
“[The mirrors] create dynamic perspectives and voyeuristic moments between interior and exterior, but also invite guests within to cross gazes,” concluded the studio.
Bench seats have been integrated into the volume’s openings
Neri&Hu has been established since 2004. Other projects that the studio has completed this year include a cultural centre in Beijing that’s covered with aluminium louvres and a hotel in Taipei that takes design cues from the city’s urban landscape.
Photography is by Simone Bossi.
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