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    Glass bricks divide spaces in Suprematism apartment in Kyiv

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    Design studio Dihome has created a colourful industrial-style interior for this compact 15th-floor apartment in Kyiv, Ukraine.

    Named Suprematism, this 42-square-metre apartment was adapted for a young couple who wanted a bright, colourful apartment with the most functional use of space.
    “I wanted to dress the interior in a modern, bold way to give it a young and relaxed theme,” Dihome founder Yevheniia Sytnik told Dezeen.
    Geometric shapes and block colours characterise this apartment in Kyiv by design studio DihomeExisting walls were removed to create an open-plan layout, while glass bricks and panels were added to create spatial zoning without obstructing natural light.
    “Glass blocks, plywood and concrete are the DNA of this project,” said Sytnik.

    “The glass blocks in the living room required the builders to take them for grinding three times to ensure they fit perfectly,” she continued.
    The colour scheme is based on a palette of orange, blue, yellow and redSet against a backdrop of painted white walls, colour was introduced through furnishings and decorative pieces, including an orange coffee table and a deep blue velvet sofa in the living space.
    Above hangs a burnt orange wall panel by Ukrainian artist Tasha Oro, whose work references the early 20th-century art movement Suprematism – which the apartment is named after.
    “Suprematism is characterised by simple abstract forms such as squares, circles, and rectangles,” said Sytnik.
    The apartment is set across an open-plan areaWhile the living spaces are spread across one open-plan space, the kitchen is distinguished from the rest of the living area with a reeded glass partition and a change in materials.
    Grey stools with tubular red legs tuck under the kitchen work surface to create a space-saving dining area, with a floor-to-ceiling mirror panel incorporated to create the illusion of space.
    Dividing the bedroom from the social spaces is a structural concrete pillarA structural concrete pillar acts as a partition between the living spaces and the bedroom, doubling as a TV unit on one side and shelving space on the other.
    “This volume incorporates the constructive element of the building – the concrete pillar – and becomes the axis of the entire interior,” said Sytnik.

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    Two additional decorative wall panels by Tasha Oro hang on the bedroom side of the pillar in pastel tones.
    “I worked on the project as if in a constant dialogue with Oro’s panels,” said Sytnik.
    Space-saving storage solutions are incorporated throughout the designIn the bedroom is an inbuilt desk and a low platform bed, with a yellow curtain used to neatly conceal wardrobe space.
    Rough-textured concrete ceilings with exposed electrical wiring give the apartment an industrial look.
    A colourful geometric panel, designed by Re:Quiet using recycled plastic bottles, functions as a noise absorber.
    Glass bricks separate the bathroom from the wider apartmentDivided using a glass brick wall, the bathroom is the only separate volume in the apartment, with red and yellow tones continued here.
    “Suprematist motifs in the bathroom tiles and bright yellow kitchen are complimented by the graphic patterns of the ceramic granite,” said Sytnik.
    Other Kyiv-based projects recently featured on Dezeen include an apartment renovation by Modektura and a fitness studio made from leftover materials in the face of wartime shortages.
    Photography is by Andrey Avdeenko.

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      Bottega Veneta creative director Matthieu Blazy combines glass bricks and walnut for first store

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      Bottega Veneta’s creative director Matthieu Blazy has designed the brand’s Avenue Montaigne flagship store in Paris, which is dominated by walnut wood fittings and glass bricks.

      The 800-metre-square shop features industrial, square glass blocks integrated into the floors, ceilings and walls, creating a geometric grid which diffuses light throughout the store.
      Glass bricks feature on the walls, floors and ceilings of the storeWalnut wood panels frame the textured glass blocks. The same wood was used in transitional spaces for a spiral staircase, curved corridor and for statement details like a display table and wooden columns.
      The interior design aims to balance volume and scale throughout the space – from blown-up elements, like the wooden details echoing the woven leather “intrecciato” reminiscent of Bottega Veneta’s handbags, to the thousands of glass bricks.
      Walnut panelling echoes the brand’s famous intrecciato woven leather techniqueThe store in central Paris is the first designed by Blazy, who has led Italian luxury fashion house Bottega Veneta since 2020.

      According to the brand the store’s design aims to “celebrate Italian craftsmanship with a modernist sensibility”.

      “Woven” leather sofas and chairs are positioned in the spaceWithin the space, enclaves of soft seating and carpeted dressing rooms create smaller areas, contrasting the wide open stretches of glass brick in the main store.
      Sofas and chairs were styled in giant woven leather panels, also echoing the “intrecciato” technique Bottega Veneta is famous for in their handbag design.
      A spiral staircase leads to a second floorThe woven pattern is echoed in the carving of walnut tables and columns. Wool carpets and mirrored clothes rails complete the interior scheme for the open-plan space.
      The front door of the shop features a unique glass handle by the Venice-based Japanese glass artist, Ritsue Mishima.
      The store’s entry door features a bespoke glass handle by Ritsue MishimaOther retail design recently featured on Dezeen includes James Shaw’s installation of a jumbo foot in London Camper store and a “sensual” Ferragamo store by Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen.
      The photography is by François Halard.

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      Wooden elements “take centre stage” in Japandi-style Studio Frantzén restaurant

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      Scandinavian and Japanese influences come together at Studio Frantzén, a restaurant in London’s Harrods department store designed by Joyn Studio.

      Stockholm-based Joyn Studio created the sleek interiors for Studio Frantzén – the latest restaurant opened by chef Björn Frantzén.
      Top: visitors enter via a domed reception area. Above: the bar is characterised by back-lit glass bricksThe two-storey eatery is arranged across a main restaurant and bar on the fifth floor, as well as on an additional mezzanine and rooftop terrace on the sixth floor of Harrods.
      In stark contrast to the department store’s famed Edwardian baroque terracotta facade, Studio Frantzén features a contemporary palette that takes cues from both Scandinavian and Japanese design – a trend known as Japandi.
      Studio Frantzén is located across two levels at HarrodsVisitors enter the restaurant at a domed reception area, which references Scandinavian churches and forest chapels, according to the studio.

      The curved walls were clad with blocky cherry wood while illustrations of Nordic animals by Ragnar Persson decorate the ceiling and a Swedish wooden Dala horse was perched on the welcome desk.
      “Undoubtedly, wood takes centre stage in this restaurant,” Joyn Studio founding partner Ida Wanler told Dezeen.
      The main restaurant is composed of two dining hallsThe reception area gives way to a “glowing” bar composed of stacks of glass bricks bathed in amber light, which is mirrored by a ceiling of gridded copper.
      Informed by traditional Japanese izakaya – a type of casual watering hole serving snacks – the large main restaurant is composed of two dining halls with bespoke geometric terrazzo and marble flooring.
      One features bespoke timber seatingOne hall features an open kitchen and Joyn Studio-designed chunky seating booths and sofas carved out of end-grain wood. This was sourced from a large Hungarian pine tree, cut into cubes and then glued together piece by piece.
      This double-height space is illuminated by a spindly oversized chandelier by Swedish studio Front.
      The other follows the same gridded geometry as the barThe other dining hall, tucked around the corner and connected to a wine cellar, follows the same geometry as the bar.
      Sliding timber doors and a gridded wooden ceiling are interrupted by ultramarine benches in booths and delicate, ribbed paper lampshades.

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      “To create a distinctive Nordic dining experience with Asian influences within a historic London building, we delved into the architectural and design legacy of the early 20th century,” explained Wanler.
      “Inspired by the journeys of our predecessors to the far east, where they assimilated influences and pioneered a style known as Swedish Grace, we embraced the resonances between traditional Japanese and Nordic architecture and craftsmanship,” she continued.
      Mirrored artwork by Caia Leifsdotter was included in the mezzanineOn the upper floor, the mezzanine includes three intimate dining booths accentuated by a burnt orange carpet and a wall-mounted Psychedelic Mirror by designer Caia Leifsdotter.
      Characterised by marble, rattan and wooden accents, the rooftop terrace offers expansive city views.
      The rooftop terrace offers views of London”Aiming to infuse creativity into the traditional luxury context of Harrods, we envisioned a relaxed and comfortable ambiance with sparks of richness created in unexpected ways,” said Wanler.
      In 2022, Joyn Studio was longlisted for the title of emerging interior design studio of the year at the Dezeen Awards.
      Elsewhere at Harrods, fashion house Prada recently opened a green-hued pop-up cafe that referenced one of Milan’s oldest patisseries.
      The photography is by Åsa Liffner.

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      Studio Noju renovates curvy apartment in brutalist Torres Blancas tower

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      Local firm Studio Noju has updated a two-storey Madrid apartment within the Torres Blancas high-rise with a renovation that remains “in constant dialogue” with the original apartment design.

      Designed in 1961 by architect Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oíz, Torres Blancas is a 71-metre-high exposed concrete tower featuring cylindrical shapes that create bulbous balconies on its facade and curved rooms inside.
      Studio Noju renovated the largest apartment in Torres BlancasStudio Noju overhauled the 1040 unit – the brutalist building’s biggest apartment – to balance its history with contemporary design details, according to the firm.
      “Our interior design proposal for the apartment takes inspiration from the original ideas that the architect came up with for the building,” studio co-founder Antonio Mora told Dezeen.
      Recovered terrace space is characterised by green tilesA key part of the project involved expanding the apartment’s exterior area on the first floor from 15 to almost 80 square metres to create the amount of outdoor space that existed before multiple past renovations of the tower.

      This expansion added terraces that are characterised by curved floor-to-ceiling glazing and slatted crimson shutters. These open onto gleaming green ceramic tiles that take cues from 1960s interiors and form built-in benches, fountains and planters that follow the terraces’ meandering contours.
      Visitors enter at a semi-circular foyer”The outdoor spaces have been once again consolidated into a continuous terrace that follows the outline of the original plan,” explained Mora, who set up Studio Noju with Eduardo Tazón in 2020.
      “There is a constant dialogue between many of the solutions we have proposed in the interior design of the apartment with those proposed more than 50 years ago by Sáenz de Oiza.”
      White walls and ceilings create an airy open-plan first floorVisitors enter the apartment at a semi-circular foyer featuring Segovia black slate and wine-red panelling – the same materials used in the building’s communal areas.
      The open-plan ground floor is interrupted by snaking white structural walls, such as a partition in the living room that features repetitive circular openings.
      The kitchen was formed from a continuous countertopA continuous custom-made countertop with a subtle green hue forms the kitchen area, which includes a statement bulbous sink that echoes Torres Blancas’ cylindrical facade.
      Light reflects from the original glass-brick tinted windows and illuminates the smooth resin floor and metallic wall accents.
      Studio Noju salvaged an original brass banister for the staircaseWhite geometric treads create a floating staircase with an original polished brass banister that leads to the first floor. Upstairs, a sequence of bedrooms is characterised by oak ceilings that contrast with the bright white ceilings on the ground floor.
      Each bathroom is playfully colour-coded with individual mosaics of bright tiles, complete with sconce lights, mirrors and cabinetry that follow the rounded shapes found throughout the apartment.
      Each bathroom has colour-coded tiles”The [mosaic] material allowed us to solve all the elements of the bathroom such as shower areas, vanities, walls and floors, referencing a similar material strategy used in the original design,” said Mora.
      Adjacent to the main bedroom, the first-floor terrace includes a large green tile-clad outdoor bathtub cloaked in a sheer curtain, which is flanked by plants that were positioned to absorb the water produced by bathing.

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      “The element that we are most proud of is the feeling of a house-patio that has been recovered in the apartment,” reflected Mora.
      “The unit once again revolves around the exterior spaces, and these seem to blend with the interior through the curved traces of green tiles that enter and exit the living room and dining area,” added the architect.
      “Our biggest challenge was striking a balance between honouring the building, but at the same time imbuing the interior design with our language.”
      The first floor terrace features an outdoor bathtubStudio Noju showcased a similar colourful style in its debut project, which involved the renovation of an open-plan Seville apartment.
      Torres Blancas was among the buildings captured by photographer Roberto Conte in his series of brutalist buildings in Madrid.
      The photography is by José Hevia. 

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      Studio Rhonda uses saturated colours and glass bricks to revamp Zetteler's headquarters

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      Interiors firm Studio Rhonda has redesigned communications agency Zetteler’s London office using contrasting colours and tactile vegan and deaf-friendly materials.

      The studio, which is led by Rhonda Drakeford, created a distinctive feeling for each of the headquarter’s three zones – a main work area, a smaller cafe-style space for meals and relaxing, and a meeting space.
      The Zetteler headquarters is located in east LondonAs Zetteler founder Sabine Zetteler has severe conductive hearing loss, it was also important that the office didn’t feature details such as hard floors and high ceilings, which can create a disruptive atmosphere.
      “The space was to be split into three zones, each with a different ambience and function, with an emphasis on the whole space to be deaf-friendly, plus there was the need for the materials used to be vegan,” Drakeford explained.
      Plants are dotted throughout the spaceThe choice to use vegan materials was based on the fact that most of Zetteler’s staff is vegan or vegetarian.

      “The research process was enlightening; for example, I was surprised to learn that some paints include casein, a dairy product,” Zetteler told Dezeen.
      “I’m proud that we’ve been able to find vegan options for all our integral building materials, but I would really like to see manufacturers take more responsibility for transparency, so we can all make more informed decisions.”
      A duck-egg blue decorates the main workspaceTo create distinctive zones in the office, located in a mid-century industrial block off Broadway Market in east London, Drakeford used different colours and materials to define the spaces.
      A pale duck-egg blue was used for the main work area, which also features a large desk in natural wood and a jute carpet that gives the room an organic feel.
      Glass bricks create a light meeting roomThe adjacent meeting room is enclosed in glass brick walls, which Zetteler had requested to allow for light to flow through the space.
      “I sourced some Czech glass bricks with graphic linear mouldings for a contemporary edge,” Drakeford explained.

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      “I devised an anchor line of 2,300 millimetres from the ground as the top height of any structures so as to maintain coherence in all three zones and also to help the space retain an open-plan feel,” she added.
      “The roof of the glass-brick ‘pod’ stops at the 2,300 millimetres anchor line, allowing light to travel over it.”
      The Zetteler kitchen features wood and Valchromat surfacesIn the kitchen, the interior designer used furniture from brand Hølte, a Zetteler client whose showroom is close to the office.
      “I specified custom oversize recessed handles and an unusual matching oak splash-back combined with a beige tap by Toniton for a mono-material/colour effect ‘block’,” Drakeford said.
      “We also used the oversize circular handles on the adjoining orange Valchromat storage cupboards, which were also produced by Hølte, and the green Valchromat sliding doors to the right of the kitchen block,”
      Pale blue walls meet green storage spaces and a glass-brick meeting roomThe use of colour was defined by the light in the different rooms of the office, which sits on a north-south axis.
      “I worked with a cool, duck-egg blue at the front, south-facing area as I knew that the space tends to get very warm in the summer,” Drakeford explained.
      “A warmer, buff colour was used at the rear, north-facing section, to counteract how cold that area can feel in the winter months.”
      Warmer hues were used at the north-facing rear of the buildingThe neutral backdrop hues were complemented by pops of colour in a variety of textured materials and chalky tones. To make the space deaf-friendly, the designer chose to add plenty of soft materials to the interiors.
      “Curtains and rugs are used throughout to help with zoning and privacy as well as optimising the acoustics,” Drakeford said.
      “The meeting pod is purpose-built, very solid and lined with acoustic vegan wool, creating a quiet sanctuary from the more open-plan spaces. Planting is also a key part of the acoustic softening, as well as making the space more welcoming.”
      A deep blue hue makes the meeting room feel cosyThe overall design aimed to create an office that didn’t have the “matchy-matchy” feel of many corporate office spaces, Drakeford said.
      “I approached this space in the same way I would treat a residential interior, with the warmth and comfort of a mismatched but visually coherent family of furniture and materials,” she added.
      Other notable London offices include The Crown Estate’s Fathom Architecture-designed space in St James’s and a “homely” office in the brutalist Smithson Tower.
      Photography is by Taran Wilkhu.

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      Layers of mirror and glass feature in Shenzhen's “ghostly” Geijoeng store

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      Studio 10 has layered an array of reflective, translucent and transparent materials to create an ethereal store for a womenswear brand in Shenzhen. Designed by Studio 10 for Geijoeng – a Chinese minimalist womenswear brand – the 120-square-metre store features glass brick walls, a mirrored dropped ceiling and a green terrazzo floor. The studio’s aim […] More