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      Ten gallery interiors that are artworks in their own right

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      A subterranean gallery carved into a sand dune and a treehouse-style art museum feature in our latest lookbook, which collects striking gallery interiors from around the world.

      Art galleries are specifically designed as spaces for showcasing artworks such as sculptures and paintings. As a result, they are often characterised by neutral and minimalist interiors so as not to divert attention from the objects on display.
      However, some galleries are defined by statement designs that not only complement the artworks they house, but transform their interiors into masterpieces themselves.
      From a converted Iranian brewery to a Milanese basement, read on for 10 galleries with memorable interior designs.
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring inviting entrance halls, terracotta kitchens and Crittal-style windows.

      Top: Helsinki’s Amox Rex museum. Above: image is courtesy of IK LabIK Lab, Mexico, by Jorge Eduardo Neira Sterkel
      Curving cement walls and undulating vine floors provide an alternative backdrop for artwork within the gallery at the Azulik resort in Tulum.
      The gallery, which visitors must enter without shoes via a winding walkway, is elevated above the ground and reaches the height of the surrounding tree canopy. Circular windows of various sizes flood the space with natural light.
      The gallery was opened by the resort’s founder and designer, Jorge Eduardo Neira Sterkel, after the great-grandson of the famed American art collector Peggy Guggenheim and a Tulum local suggested the idea.
      Find out more about IK Lab ›
      Photo is by Wen StudioTaoCang Art Center, China, by Roarc Renew
      TaoCang Art Center is comprised of two disused granaries located in the village of Wangjiangjing in China’s Zhejiang province. Shanghai studio Roarc Renew connected the volumes with a pair of sweeping brick corridors that are lined with arches.
      Functioning as distinct gallery spaces, the granaries are characterised by striking arrangements of lotus flowers on their floors – an ode to the village’s lotus-flower industry and a pond adjacent to the site.
      Find out more about TaoCang Art Centre ›
      Photo is by Ye Rin MokMaison Lune, USA, by Sandrine Abessera, Lubov Azria and Gabriella Kuti
      Designers Sandrine Abessera and Lubov Azria, founders of the contemporary art gallery Maison Lune, worked with interior designer Gabriella Kuti to set it within a former private house in California.
      Spread across rooms in neutral hues, the gallery is laid out like a collector’s home featuring a varied cluster of artworks and design pieces. Multiple terraces and internal stepped areas provide plinth-like display units for the objects throughout the property.
      “We want to build an alternative to traditional galleries, which are often perceived as too elitist and intimidating,” explained Abessera and Azria.
      Find out more about Maison Lune ›
      Photo is by Tuomas UusheimoAmos Rex, Finland, by JKMM Architects
      Finnish studio JKMM Architects designed the Amos Rex art museum in Helsinki with a series of domed subterranean galleries, which bubble up through the ground to create a sloping outdoor playground.
      While a portion of the museum is housed in the renovated Lasipalatsi, a functionalist 1930s building at street level, Amos Rex was also extended underground to include the domed galleries. These subterranean spaces feature minimalist monochrome interiors illuminated by large round skylights.
      Find out more about Amos Rex ›
      Photo is by Sergio LopezStudio CDMX, Mexico, by Alberto Kalach
      A multi-purpose artist residency and gallery come together at Studio CDMX, a space in Mexico City designed for Casa Wabi founder Bosco Sodi in which to work and exhibit his pieces.
      Constructed on the site of a former warehouse, the building reflects its location’s industrial roots with concrete, metal and brick elements arranged in chunky formations. Sodi’s sculptural works, finished in materials including stone and ceramic, also influenced the interiors.
      Find out more about Studio CDMX ›
      Photo is by William Barrington-BinnsPrivate gallery, Thailand, by Enter Projects Asia
      A winding rattan installation traces an overhead route through this private gallery in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
      Architecture studio Enter Projects Asia used an algorithm to design the structure, which snakes in and out of the gallery’s various indoor and outdoor spaces.
      “We sought to create an immersive experience, giving the space a warmth and depth uncharacteristic of conventional art galleries,” said studio director Patrick Keane.
      Find out more about this private gallery ›
      Photo is by Duccio MalagambaFondazione Luigi Rovati Museum, Italy, by Mario Cucinella Architects
      Layered stone walls line the new basement of the Fondazione Luigi Rovati Museum, an art gallery housed within a 19th-century palazzo in Milan that was both preserved and expanded by Italian studio Mario Cucinella Architects.
      The basement walls were created from overlapping layers of limestone ashlar, which curve upwards to form domed ceilings. Free-standing and wall-mounted cases designed by the architecture studio display two hundred Etruscan artifacts, including ancient jewellery and cinerary urns.
      Find out more about Fondazione Luigi Rovati Museum ›
      Photo is by Ahmadreza SchrickerArgo Factory Contemporary Art Museum & Cultural Centre, Iran, by Ahmadreza Schricker Architecture North
      US studio Ahmadreza Schricker Architecture North renovated a 1920s brewery in central Tehran to create the Argo Factory Contemporary Art Museum & Cultural Centre, preserving many of the factory’s original industrial features.
      Designed without middle supports, a curvilinear concrete staircase was inserted into the building to connect the museum’s lobby and its six galleries above. The staircase is one of a number of new elements with a rounded shape, created to contrast the uniform brick architecture.
      Find out more about Argo Factory Contemporary Art Museum & Cultural Centre ›
      Photo is by Wu QingshanUCCA Dune Art Museum, China, by Open Architecture
      Carved into a dune on a beach in Qinhuangdao, this coastal art museum is comprised of a network of subterranean concrete galleries.
      Beijing-based firm Open Architecture took cues from caves for the interlinked spaces, which are illuminated by organically shaped openings and feature an irregular texture.
      “The walls of ancient caves were where art was first practiced,” Open Architecture co-founder Li Hu told Dezeen.
      Find out more about UCCA Dune Art Museum ›
      Photo is by Kevin ScottMini Mart City Park, USA, by GO’C
      Mini Mart City Park is a community arts centre with a gallery built on the site of a former 1930s petrol station in Seattle.
      Local studio GO’C referenced the location’s history when creating the design for the centre, opting for classic signage, an overhanging roof and divided metal windows.
      Inside, the gallery space is characterised by exposed wooden rafters and smooth grey-hued floors, providing a neutral backdrop for the exhibition of artwork.
      Find out more about Mini Mart City Park ›
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring inviting entrance halls, terracotta kitchens and Crittal-style windows.

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      Formation Association transforms series of buildings for Phillips Los Angeles

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      Los Angeles architecture studio Formation Association has turned an assemblage of buildings in West Hollywood into a new home for London-based auction house Phillips.

      The West Coast headquarters for Phillips opened in October 2022 and includes three showrooms, a patio and offices created from a set of disparate structures on Santa Monica Boulevard.
      The new Phillips Los Angeles combines several different structures, including a historic doorway that was preservedFormation Association preserved many of the existing architectural elements of the eclectic collection of buildings, ensuring that each section retained its identity.
      “We started with idiosyncratic conditions and buildings layered with history,” said studio co-founder John K Chan, who led the project. “We wanted to keep that sensibility. The building is a varied palimpsest, with traces of the past appearing within the new facade.”
      An oculus punctures the curved overhang above the main entranceThe entrance to the 3,182-square-foot (296-square-metre) showroom is on an acute street corner, beneath a curved canopy clad in grey stucco.

      “This rounded marquee, punctuated by an overhead oculus, evokes the automobile-oriented Streamline Moderne era,” said Formation Association.
      Another circular cutout was created in the first gallery, exposing wooden beams that were painted silverThe textured stucco is contrasted by smooth trowelled plaster that covers adjacent surfaces, intended to add a Southern California identity to the building.
      On the east elevation, the team retained the sheet metal siding and an old doorway of a historic facade.
      Oak floors throughout the building match those found in Phillips’ other international locationsThis side of the building also includes a tall, narrow window through which Phillips can move large artworks in and out.
      Along the south facade, the architects added recessed windows cut at angles into the thickened perimeter wall, which allow more light into the galleries.
      The tallest space in the building, Showroom C, will be used to showcase larger artworks and sculptureInside, the three gallery spaces are laid out in sequence. Upon entry is Showroom A, which features a soffit ceiling and wide baseboards to evoke a residential space.
      A second oculus punctures the ceiling, exposing wooden beams painted silver as a nod to the work of Californian architect Richard Neutra.
      Steps and a ramp lead up to an office space that’s also used for client meetingsThe smallest gallery, Showroom B, is accessed through an open portal, and Showroom C is reached through a similar threshold.
      With a ceiling over 15 feet (4.5 metres) tall, this gallery is used for displaying larger artworks and sculptures.

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      All three spaces feature oak floors that match those found in all of Phillips’ international locations.
      “With the interplay of light and oak wood floors across the three subsequent showrooms, we were thinking about the cadence of an irregular enfilade,” said Chan. “Each of the three galleries has a distinct proportion that we wanted to leverage.”
      At the back of the building is a patio enclosed by grey-stained plywood wallsFrom Showroom C, a couple of steps and a ramp lead up to a small office used for client meetings.
      At the back of the building is the covered patio, enclosed by walls made from plywood that was stained grey to match the exterior stucco.
      Phillips Los Angeles opened in October 2022The opening of Phillips Los Angeles follows over a decade of continual growth for the city’s arts scene, which has seen galleries like Hauser & Wirth and The Future Perfect set up shop, and an annual edition of the Frieze Art Fair introduced.
      Formation Association is led by Chan and partner Grace U Oh. As well as completing a variety of institutional, residential and commercial projects, the studio has contributed several times to a program organised by the Architects for Animals charity that asks LA-based architects to design shelters for the city’s homeless cats.
      The photography is by Eric Staudenmaier.
      Project credits:
      Design team: John K Chan, Nick Miuccio, Carlo ‘CJ’ Guzman, Jay Lee, Colin JacobsStructural engineer: Nous EngineeringMEP engineer: Engineous GroupLighting designer: Fisher Marantz StoneLandscape designer: Ochre

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      Worrell Yeung renovates cast-iron New York building for arts organisation

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      Architecture studio Worrell Yeung has renovated a historic cast-iron building in Soho for an arts organisation called Canal Projects, which hosts exhibitions “in an unmistakably New York City space”.

      Sat between Soho and Tribeca, the five-storey landmark was built in 1900 as a manufacturing centre, featuring a decorative white facade, double-hung windows and an external fire escape all typical of the neighbourhood.
      Worrell Yeung renovated the lower two floors of a landmarked building to create a home for Canal ProjectsIts street and basement levels were renovated by Worrell Yeung to create a home for Canal Projects, a non-profit arts organisation that hosts exhibitions, talks, performances, readings and screenings for the community.
      The studio was careful to retain as much of the building’s character as possible, highlighting the existing features like original masonry and steam radiators, and restoring them where necessary.
      Patinated bronze panels line the new entry thresholdVisitors arrive via a new entry threshold on Canal Street, where patinated bronze panels line the tall walls in a space intended to offer a moment of pause.

      Up a short flight of steps is the main gallery space – a large, open and flexible room that can be programmed in accordance with the organisation’s needs.
      The main gallery space is surrounded by windows and features historic details”We designed the foundation to be a series of spaces that would compress and expand, collapse and unfold and move between dark and light,” said Worrell Yeung co-founder Jejon Yeung.
      Surrounded by 14 large windows on two sides and boasting ceilings over 13 feet (four metres) tall, this room is light-filled and spacious.
      A staircase leads down to more space at cellar levelNew white oak floors complement the industrial details, including five cast iron columns and five wide flange steel columns that were exposed and restored.
      “Similarly to providing artists with a distinctive platform, we wanted viewers to experience art in an unmistakably New York City space,” said Max Worrell, Worrell Yeung’s other co-founder.
      A library area is formed by pivoting floor-to-ceiling shelves”Passers-by will glimpse exhibitions from the street through the window walls along Canal and Wooster Streets, and visitors on the interior can see artwork with the city context visible in the background,” Worrell said.
      Also on the ground-floor level are private offices for the curators and a bright orange public restroom.
      The dark cellar space is used for film screeningsNext to a freestanding reception desk by artist Zachary Tuabe, a staircase leads down to the basement level, which has a much smaller occupiable footprint.
      Darker and more enclosed, the cellar space features original brickwork, masonry and timber ceiling joists, and provides a very different exhibition space that is suitable for film screenings.
      A bright orange kitchen is tucked into an alcoveLight from the steel sidewalk grates illuminates one end of the space, where a library area is created by floor-to-ceiling shelving that pivots as required.
      A pantry area is hidden in an alcove behind a set of stable doors and is coloured entirely bright orange to match the upstairs restroom.

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      “We wanted artists to confront a venue that provides sufficient neutrality for their work, but that is also distinctly undivorceable from the Soho Cast Iron District,” said Yeung.
      “This is a building typology unique to New York City, and a richly layered context within which to exhibit.”
      A public restroom on the upper level matches the kitchenCanal Projects opened to the public in September 2022, with an exhibition titled Pray organised by artistic director and senior curator Summer Guthery.
      The show featured works by Bangkok and New York-based artist Korakrit Arunanondchai, and American artist and filmmaker Alex Gvojic.
      The building is located on the corner of Canal and Wooster Street, between Soho and TribecaWorrell Yeung was founded in 2015, and has worked on a variety of projects in and around New York.
      The studio recently completed a timber-clad lake house with cantilevered roof planes in Connecticut, while past endeavours have included a Hamptons renovation, a Chelsea loft apartment, and the penthouse in the Dumbo Clocktower Building.
      The photography is by Naho Kubota.
      Project credits:
      Architecture and interior design: Worrell YeungWorrell Yeung project team: Max Worrell, founder and principal; Jejon Yeung, founder and principal; Beatriz de Uña Bóveda, project manager; Yunchao Le, project designerStructural engineer: Silman (Geoff Smith, Nick Lancellotti)Lighting designer: Lighting Workshop (Doug Russell, Steven Espinoza)MEP engineer: Jack Green Associates (Larry Green)Expediter/code consultant: Anzalone Architecture (James Anzalone)Contractor: Hugo Construction (Hugo Cheng, Kong Leong)

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      MEE Studio creates wood-and-copper interior for cafe in former church in Copenhagen

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      Architecture firm MEE Studio has designed the interiors and bespoke wooden furniture for a cafe and boutique in the Nikolaj Kunsthal art gallery within an old church.

      The municipality-run gallery, which is set in a deconsecrated church in central Copenhagen, asked MEE Studio to design a “lively and functional” space.
      Before designing the interior spaces, which feature warm and tactile materials such as copper and wood, the rooms in Nikolaj Kunsthal first had to be restored.
      The gallery is located in a former church”The spaces had been used for various purposes since the 1980s including art installations and other changing uses,” MEE Studio founder Morten Emil Engel told Dezeen.
      “This has left the spaces with remnants of ad-hoc electrical wiring, bricked-up arches, blocked-off windows and arbitrary lighting. Additionally, there was no water supply or plumbing in the spaces that now have the cafe.”

      The studio reestablished the grand door and window openings in the space and replaced the old acrylic paint with breathable lime-based paint, while also adding acoustic plaster to improve the acoustics of the spaces.
      Untreated copper was used as a backsplash for the barAt the centre of the cafe, Engel created a long bar that also functions as a ticket counter and is made from solid oak wood.
      Wood was also used for all the other furniture, including benches, tables and sculptural shelves, which Engel designed specifically for the project using European oak from sustainable forestry.
      “I wanted the benches to reference church benches – a bit chunky and heavy,” he said. “The church architecture is very robust with the church tower having two-metre thick walls. So the furniture had to have some substance to them.”
      The furniture complements the “robust” church architectureEngel also aimed to give the pieces a contemporary feel by fusing their “heavy look” with more contemporary elements.
      “All the furniture has visible joinery and tectonics in fumed oak, which allows the user to see how they are made and assembled,” he said.
      “I added some decorative inlays in the bar counter and boutique shelves. Inlays were traditionally used as a way of repairing wood and I wanted to symbolise that repair can be beautiful and sustainable,” he added.
      “In this way, it is sending the message that the furniture should have a long life and be repaired if it ages.”
      Artworks decorate the walls, here Pull by Martha HviidBehind the central bar, a copper backsplash adds an eyecatching material detail together with the matching sink and worktops, which were designed in reference to the roof of the old church.
      “As many traditional buildings in Copenhagen, the roof of St Nikolaj Church is made with traditional copper roofing, which has aged to a rich green patina over time,” Engel said.
      “I wanted to reference the existing material palate of the church but use it in a new way. So the kitchen features worktops, sinks and backsplash in raw untreated copper, which will evolve beautifully with time.”
      Lime-based paint was used for the wallsThe white walls of the cafe and store were contrasted with not just the copper and wood but also a burgundy red fabric designed by fashion designer Raf Simons for Kvadrat, which was used for the cushions and backs of the sofas and chairs.
      The colour was a nod to some of the space’s original colour but could also help disguise red wine spills in the cafe.
      “Oakwood was already used throughout the church so it seemed natural to use oak as a material,” Engel explained.

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      “There was also the burgundy red paint which had been used originally for some woodwork, for instance, the stairs in the tower and the ceiling in what is now the cafe,” he added.
      “So it seems natural to work with an interpretation of the burgundy red for the color of the cushions. I matched the burgundy red to a fantastic Kvadrat textile designed by Raf Simons and it worked in providing vibrancy, but also as a practical colour in a cafe where red wine is served.”
      Red fabric was used for the seating, with the artwork Mercury (socks) hanging aboveAs well as the bespoke furniture pieces, the space was also decorated with carefully chosen artworks that have ties to the city of Copenhagen.
      “Mercury (socks) is a photograph by the famous Danish/Norwegian artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset from a series of classical sculptures by the world-famous Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen,” Engel explained.
      “The Thorvaldsen Museum is located only a few minutes away from Nikolaj Kunsthal, so the work relates both to art from the 19th century and contemporary art from the 21st century which is what you find in Nikolaj Kunsthal.”
      Other recent interior projects in Copenhagen include Space10’s headquarters, which has a kiosk-like design library, and the cafe and shop design for Designmuseum Denmark by OEO Studio.
      The photography is by Paolo Galgani.

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      Golem creates “pleasure-driven” pink interior for Superzoom gallery

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      Bubblegum-pink walls, floors and furniture create unconventional spaces for displaying art at this gallery in Paris designed by local studio Golem.

      Headed by architect and artist Ariel Claudet, the practice was invited to design the interior for the Superzoom art gallery, which is located in the historic Le Marais district.
      Superzoom gallery in Paris features bubblegum-pink interiorsThe gallery comprises three spaces arranged in an unusual order, with the gallery director’s office at the entrance, a white-cube gallery space in the centre and an accessible storage space at the rear.
      “We flipped upside-down the classic and elitist sequence of an art gallery, offering visitors a new pleasure-driven experience and the gallery managers three spatial tools for a large range of curatorial approaches,” explained Claudet.
      Pink is Superzoom’s signature colourSuperzoom’s signature colour pink was used as the basis for the design, reflecting the vibrancy of the local nightlife and techno scene where the gallery mingles with artists and collectors, according to Claudet.

      An integrated sound system hooked up to a vinyl record player provides a soundtrack of electronic music to enhance this connection.
      The “pink den” contains a built-in bench for visitors and a synthetic grassBy placing the director’s bright-pink office at the front, Golem aimed to create an entrance that is warmer and more inviting than a typical white gallery space.
      The “pink den” contains a built-in bench for visitors and a fake grass carpet that contributes to the warm, tonal aesthetic.
      The integrated sound system is hooked up to a record playerVisitors can continue through into a large and versatile white-walled gallery. This display area remains connected to the main spatial concept thanks to the pink openings on either side.
      The final space within the gallery is a storage area with walls painted the same shade of lively pink. In a conventional gallery setting, this space would be hidden away. But here, it is open and accessible to visitors.

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      Each of the spaces in Superzoom’s gallery can be used for exhibiting work, either independently or together.
      For example, Golem suggested the white cube could be used for a solo show while other artists’ work is presented in the director’s office and storage space.
      A white-walled gallery provides more space for exhibiting artAll of the furniture and the pink wall separating the white cube from the director’s office are mobile and can be removed to create a larger space for exhibitions or parties.
      Golem designed the baby pink table featured in the director’s office as an emblem of the gallery that can be taken to art fairs or used for client dinners.
      The pink office table can be removed and brought to art fairsClaudet founded Golem in 2021 after working as an architect for practices including Rem Koolhaas’s Rotterdam-based firm OMA.
      Other all-pink interiors published on Dezeen include a fur-covered Balenciaga store in London and the Minimal Fantasy holiday apartment in Madrid.
      The photography is by Cyrille Lallement.

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      Sculptural rattan installation meanders through Thai art gallery by Enter Projects Asia

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      Architecture studio Enter Projects Asia has completed a private gallery for a collector in Chiang Mai, Thailand, featuring an undulating rattan structure designed by an algorithm that weaves its way in and out of the building.

      The 2,000-square-metre gallery complex comprises gardens, water features and a series of pavilions for displaying the owner’s collection of silverware, fine china and porcelain, including what is reportedly the largest collection of Wedgwood porcelain in Southeast Asia.
      A rattan installation weaves throughout the galleryEnter Projects Asia, which is based on the Thai island of Phuket, developed a holistic proposal for the project that spanned everything from spatial planning to lighting and furniture, with the fluid rattan structures providing a consistent element throughout the scheme.
      The aim was to create a less “clinical, antiseptic” interpretation of a traditional gallery, based on the studio’s research into parametric design and dynamic forms, Enter Projects Asia director Patrick Keane explained.
      The overhead rattan structure drops down to form several pods”We sought to create an immersive experience, giving the space a warmth and depth uncharacteristic of conventional art galleries,” he said.

      The gallery features two wings arranged on either side of a central entrance. Each wing contains an exhibition space, with a private dining area also accommodated in the larger of the two volumes.
      The gallery complex also includes gardensThe rattan installation begins at the entrance and traces an overhead route through the building, seamlessly transitioning between inside and outside.
      At several points, the suspended structure drops down to create bulbous open-sided pods, incorporating shelves for displaying artworks and objects.
      The rattan structure weaves in and out of the buildingThe installation’s complex form was generated using generative design software and is intended to simulate the movement of clouds and steam.
      Its shape seems to change constantly when viewed from different perspectives, adding visual dynamism to the interior.

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      Lighting integrated within the overhead structure creates a warm glow both during the day and night, while concealed lights illuminate the display areas.
      The three rattan pods – measuring five, four and three-and-a-half metres in height respectively – were fabricated in a factory during the coronavirus lockdowns before being transported to the site and assembled.
      Lighting was incorporated into the rattan shapes to create a warm glowEnter Projects Asia regularly works with rattan palm, which is a naturally abundant resource in the region. Previously, the studio produced a similarly sculptural wickerwork installation for an office and factory building in Waregem, Belgium.
      During the pandemic, the practice also launched an initiative called Project Rattan that focuses on creating bespoke rattan furniture and lighting using local craft skills.
      The rattan structure creates a cohesive scheme throughout the galleryAccording to Keane, the fast-growing palm species are well suited to use in interior design, offering a sustainable alternative to conventional building materials.
      “It is not hard to be sustainable in construction if we adapt to our environment,” he said. “Why would we use synthetic, toxic plastics when we have all the noble materials we need at our fingertips?”
      The bulbous shapes were created with parametric design softwareKeane founded Enter Projects in 2005 after completing his studies in Australia and the USA. Since relocating to Asia, the firm’s projects aim to combine a focus on innovation with a strong sustainable agenda.
      Previously, a rattan studio the practice designed for yoga brand Vikasa was named leisure and wellness interior project of the year at the 2020 Dezeen Awards.
      The photography is by William Barrington-Binns.

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      GSL Gallery takes over disused Parisian factory with “punk” interiors

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      Weathered walls and concrete floors feature in this design gallery that creative collective The Guild of Saint Luke and architecture firm Studio ECOA have set up inside a former factory in Paris.

      Spread across one storey and two mezzanines, GSL Gallery provides a mixture of studio and exhibition space for the group of architects, artists and artisans that make up The Guild of Saint Luke.
      GSL Gallery sits inside an old factoryThe gallery occupies a disused factory in Pantin, a neighbourhood in northeastern Paris with a growing arts and culture scene.
      In recent years, the building operated as a classic car garage but was purchased by art dealer and gallerist Hadrien de Montferrand during the pandemic with the aim of transforming the site into a gallery.
      The building’s concrete floors were retainedDe Montferrand enlisted locally based Studio ECOA to carry out all the necessary architectural changes and asked The Guild of Saint Luke (GSL) to steer the building’s design and become its first tenant.

      “We were charmed by the space and found the patina and raw walls to be punk and accidentally on-point,” GSL’s creative director John Whelan told Dezeen.
      Clean white panelling was added to give the space the look of a typical gallery”Working in close collaboration with Studio ECOA, we proposed a project that retained all of the rawness of the spaces with very minimal design interventions,” he continued.
      “We felt that it would be criminal to interfere with the existing mood, which is melancholic and eerily beautiful.”
      Studio ECOA restored the building’s facade and aluminium roof, as well as preserving its original concrete flooring.
      A live-work space can be found on GSL Gallery’s first mezzanineBoxy storage units were built on either side of the front door to form a corridor-like entrance to the ground floor, where white panelling was added across the lower half of the patchy, time-worn walls to emulate the look of a typical gallery.
      This ground-floor space will be used to display a changing roster of avant-garde installations, which GSL hopes to finance by using the gallery’s workspaces to produce more commercial projects for design brands.

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      “Commercial endeavours will help to fund more proactive ‘passion projects’, where we will exhibit GSL’s own designs along with designers and artists that we admire,” Whelan said.
      “Our chief motivation is creative freedom, as we hope to produce installations that do not necessarily adhere to a commercial brief.”
      Bathroom facilities are contained in a mirrored volumeThe building’s two existing mezzanines were cut back to create a central atrium, which draws natural light into the gallery’s interior.
      The lower mezzanine now houses a hybrid live-work space where GSL members or visiting artists can stay the night.
      This space is centred by a large Donald Judd-style wooden table and also accommodates a bed, kitchenette and a bathroom concealed within a mirrored volume.
      Metal sanitary ware reflects the light in the bathroomExtra exhibition space is provided on the secondary mezzanine that sits beneath the building’s roof, directly under a series of expansive skylights.
      Prior to now, GSL has largely specialised in hospitality interiors – restoring historic brasseries across Paris and devising opulent restaurants such as Nolinski near the Musée du Louvre and Maison Francois in London.
      The lower mezzanine also houses a bed and a large table”We hope that the gallery will be an extension of the aesthetic that we are trying to develop, embracing new ideas but never abandoning the pursuit of beauty,” Whelan explained.
      “It feels like a good time to do so, as Covid has cleared and a mood of optimism in design has emerged. This bracing, minimal space feels almost like a clean slate and invites a multitude of possibilities.”
      The second mezzanine sits directly underneath the building’s skylightsOther recent additions to Paris’s cultural landscape include a major extension of the Musée Albert Kahn by Kengo Kuma and Associates, which made room for a historic collection of 72,000 photographs.
      Elsewhere in the French capital, Bruno Gaudin Architectes just completed a 15-year renovation of the National Library of France, incorporating a number of new circulation routes and public spaces.
      The photography is by Oskar Proctor. 

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      Maison Lune gallery in California showcases art and design in residential setting

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      This art and design gallery in Venice, California occupies a former private house where interiors by designer Gabriella Kuti provide a warm, neutral backdrop for the works on show.

      Maison Lune was co-founded by French artist and designer Sandrine Abessera and Ukrainian fashion designer Lubov Azria, who set about creating a “dream home, where beauty rules”.
      Maison Lune is presented as a collector’s house, where all the art and design pieces are for sale”We want to build an alternative to traditional galleries, which are often perceived as too elitist and intimidating,” said Abessera and Azria.
      The duo worked closely with interior designer Gabriella Kuti to turn what was a private house in a protected historical building into a space to showcase a rotating series of exhibitions.
      The house has various terraces and balconies used to display works outdoorsThe gallery is organised like a collector’s home, with artworks and design pieces spread across multiple rooms that total 4,000 square feet (371 square metres).

      Their intention was to allow visitors to journey through the different rooms and floors, which are designed to exude a warm atmosphere.
      The interiors were designed to provide a warm and neutral backdropThe team didn’t need to alter too much of the existing interiors but added storage and lighting to help better display the works.
      “The space was already an amazing canvas for this purpose: high ceilings, lots of lights and skylight, white limestone floors,” the co-founders told Dezeen. “We created more shelving with LA artisans and added more lights.”
      The gallery’s debut exhibition is titled Transcendence and is curated by Gaia Jacquet MatisseArchitectural features like circular windows, spiral staircases and marble bathrooms all bring character to the gallery.
      The house also has a terrace with a small swimming pool and balconies for displaying pieces outdoors.
      The team added shelving created by LA-based artisans for displaying smaller objectsEverything displayed through the various styled vignettes, from artworks to collectible design pieces, is for sale.
      The aim is to spotlight a wide range of both established and emerging artists and designers, who work across mediums and techniques including painting, sculpture, photography, furnishings, ceramics, lighting, textiles and objects.

      The Future Perfect turns 1970s Beverly Hills house into Casa Perfect showroom

      “The pieces showcased represent the varied and changing cultural landscape of identities, values and beliefs,” the pair said.
      Inaugurating the gallery is a group exhibition titled Transcendence, curated by Gaia Jacquet Matisse and including work by her mother, Sophie Matisse, along with artists Bobbie Olivier, Jeannie Weissglass, Edson Fernandes, James Fischetti, Angela Damman and Santiago Martinez Peral.
      Existing architectural features like a circular bathroom window add character to the galleryTogether, the show aims to “examine the concept of duality within our existence as humans inhabiting the earth, alongside nature” according to the team.
      This debut exhibition will continue until the Frieze Los Angeles 2023 art fair, which takes place 16-19 February, then the gallery is scheduled to host four showcases per year.
      Maison Lune is located in a historic part of Venice, California, next to one of the city’s canalsPresenting art and collectible design in a residential setting has become a popular way for gallerists and fairs to contextualise the objects, and make them more appealing to potential buyers.
      Galleries like The Future Perfect, which operates showrooms in LA and New York under the moniker Casa Perfect, and the Nomad Circle series of travelling design fairs are among those that have found success through this format.

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