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      Makhno Studio celebrates Ukrainian craft in all-beige home near Kyiv

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      Kyiv-based Makhno Studio has paired soft, bumpy textures and intricate ceramic walls inside this all-beige home in Ukraine, which was completed right before the Russian invasion.

      Located in Kozyn, a rural town just south of Kyiv, Mureli House is a celebration of summertime and Ukrainian design, with mureli being an old Ukrainian word for apricot.
      Intricate ceramics feature throughout the Mureli House interior by Makhno StudioThe home, which was completed just two months before the start of the invasion in February 2022, comprises an open-plan living room and kitchen, three bedrooms with three bathrooms, a guest bathroom, a laundry room and a garage with a terrace.
      The clients – a local Ukrainian couple with a large family – requested from the outset that Makhno Studio should work with as many Ukrainian manufacturers and craftsmen as possible to create bespoke products for the house.
      A bulbous sculpture decorates the fireplace mantel in the lounge”All materials in the home are natural,” the studio’s founder Serhii Makhno told Dezeen. “The team used almost all Ukrainian brands and worked with several local contractors to minimise the distance and logistics.”

      The clients wanted a neutral, beige interior across all of the rooms to create a cohesive look. As a result, the house’s second floor is finished mostly in wood while the entire ground floor is decorated with beige-coloured plaster.
      Makhno designed the pendant lights in the lounge to resemble seed podsMakhno Studio emphasised the generous volumes and curved staircase in the home’s entrance hallway through a wall of three-dimensional ceramic tiles and a dramatic cluster of pendant lamps made of clay and polystyrene foam.
      References to the natural world are integrated throughout the interior. Highlights include a cluster of Makhno-designed pendants in the living room that resemble seed pods and washbasins that appear like hollowed-out boulders.
      The entire ground floor including the kitchen is finished in beige-coloured plasterThe only exception to Mureli House’s monochrome colour scheme is the main bathroom, which features pink accents including ombre shower doors and scale-shaped concrete tiles that can be tilted away from the wall to double up as hooks for hanging towels and bathrobes.
      “Ceramic craftsmanship is an ancient Ukrainian tradition,” Makhno explained. “At the end of the 1920s, the ceramic tradition began to be restored in various parts of Ukraine. At Makhno, the tradition is continued today to highlight its uniqueness and naturalistic appeal.”

      Makhno Studio designs conceptual settlement within Martian crater

      Mureli House currently stands empty since the owners were forced to flee to safer areas in the west of Ukraine following Russia’s attempts to storm Kyiv in the early days of the war.
      The exact condition of the home is unknown. But Makhno Studio says a Russian military plane and several missiles were shot down over the surrounding area in Kozyn.
      Russian troops were forced to retreat from Kyiv at the start of April but left behind a trail of destruction in the city’s outskirts and have since carried out a number of airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital.
      The monochrome colour palette extends into the home’s three bedroomsIn total, more than 143 significant cultural sites have been damaged in Ukraine since the start of the war, including the Ivankiv Museum in Kyiv and several second world war memorial monuments in the surrounding region.
      Serhii Makhno says he currently remains safe in Ukraine, while the rest of his team is scattered throughout Europe and is working mainly on international projects.
      Boulder-like sinks and scale-shaped tiles feature in the main bathroomThe studio is among a number of Ukrainian practices that have told Dezeen they are now looking for support and commissions from foreign clients.
      Previous projects from the studio include Makhno’s own thatched-roof house in Kozyn and his duplex apartment in Kyiv.
      The photography is courtesy of Makhno Studio.

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      Arquitectura Nativa creates rammed-earth retreat for retired archaeologist

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      Arquitectura Nativa has completed a home in Mexico for a retired archaeologist and their partner, using “rudimentary and artisanal techniques” that help the home blend into its surroundings.

      Casa Martha is located on a steep and rocky site facing the ocean in La Misión, a small village situated roughly halfway between the cities of Tijuana and Ensenada, in the Baja California region of Mexico.
      The La Misión home by Arquitectura Nativa stretches across three levelsThree levels step down a hill, forming the living spaces for a couple and their guests.
      Local architect studio Arquitectura Nativa laid out the most public areas of the home on the lowest level. On this floor, there are two guest bedrooms, a dine-in kitchen and a generous outdoor patio facing the street.
      Many of the materials used in the home, such as the artisanal wooden shutters and rammed-earth walls, were chosen for their hand-made qualities and appropriateness to the building’s context.

      The public spaces can be accessed through the folding doors on the house’s lowest level”Casa Martha is modelled with deep sensitivity and respect for its surroundings,” Arquitectura Nativa principal Alfredo Navarro Tiznado explained.
      “The main construction element is compacted earth. In this way, the site and its topography are consolidated as the raw materials of the project,” he added.
      An open-plan living space takes up the second floor”The first level is divided into two areas, the visitor area made up of two rooms and the study area that can function as a painting and carpentry workshop or as a garage,” Tiznado explained.
      A breezeway open to the elements separates the two halves of the home. At the back of the property, two smaller courtyards ensure that every space gets natural ventilation and daylight.

      MDO converts rammed-earth houses in rural China into holiday villas

      A flight of stairs flanked by rammed-earth walls leads to the intermediate level, which the architect described as the “heart” of the home. This is where the main living space is located.
      An open-concept kitchen, living and dining room are flanked by glass walls, which open out towards the landscape and are shaded by an overhanging concrete slab.
      The home is surrounded by a sheltered walkwayA walkway surrounds the home that can be closed off with wooden shutters.
      “This lattice generates protection from the prevailing winds, as well as a component of privacy towards the interior,” Tiznado explained.
      Outdoor terraces can be accessed from the upper floorsThese handcrafted panels also create a “play of light and shadows,” Tiznado added.
      The studio also laid out two terraces on the roof of the spaces below, offering the occupants a variety of places to enjoy the outdoors.
      Walls of rammed earth and doors made from wood let the building blend in with the siteThe topmost level is significantly smaller than the two lower floors and is reserved for the owners.
      The second-storey perch offers the best views of the surrounding landscape and is separated from the guest rooms to give all occupants plenty of privacy when using the 310-square-metre home.
      “The main chamber has a view of the context’s landscape — in this space, the interior is blurred with the exterior,” said Tiznado.
      Wooden shutters help modulate the sunOther recent buildings in the Baja California area include a private residence that was converted into a hotel by Paolo Sarra and studio Punto Arquitectónico, and a hotel that combines modern design with traditional influences by Max von Wertz.
      The photography is by Oscar Hernández Rodríguez.
      Project credits:Architect: Alfredo Navarro TiznadoDesign team: Kenia Esmeralda García Rosas, Hanna Appel Hernández, Giancarlo Reyes OlguinConstruction: Pedro Luis Curiel Bojórquez, José Francisco Ramírez García, Alfredo Navarro Tiznado,

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      Studio Modijefsky favours clean lines in renovation of Dutch dyke house

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      Amsterdam interior design firm Studio Modijefsky has created a contemporary family home inside of a local dijkhuis – a traditional Dutch dwelling set next to a dyke.

      Located in the north of Amsterdam, the house was originally built for a middle-class family in the 1800s. But the building suffered substantial fire damage while serving as a kindergarten in the 1980s and had to be completely rebuilt in the same style.
      Home Dijkhuis is a renovated dyke house in AmsterdamStudio Modijefsky was asked by the new owners to create an interior that would respect the building’s heritage while introducing modern touches.
      Spread across 260 square metres, the home features an entrance, living area and study on the same level as the dyke. A spacious kitchen, dining area and garden are set a level down at the back of the house, while four bedrooms occupy the first floor under the gabled roof.
      Its low timber-beam ceiling is left exposed in the kitchenThe Netherlands has a long history of building next to its vast network of dykes – the embankments stretching thousands of kilometres along its coastlines and riverbanks to protect the low-lying country from flooding.

      As these dykes raise the ground level, a dijkhuis is often split across storeys of different heights and lighting conditions, which creates both challenges and creative opportunities according to Studio Modijefsky.
      “To create an interior that fits the original architecture while freshening it up, the spatial qualities of each living area were assessed and the properties of height, light and each building structure and window shape were maximised,” explained the studio.
      A green corduroy sofa and a walnut cabinet dominate the loungeIn the downstairs kitchen and dining area, a low timber-beam ceiling creates an intimate space anchored by a large table, where the family can come together for meals or enjoy views over the garden through the wide French windows.
      In the kitchen, a terrazzo-topped island is complemented with dark wooden door fronts, a backlit glass display cabinet and terracotta tiles on the floor.
      Marble detailing features throughout the house in fireplaces and splashbacksUpstairs, on the level of the dyke, the house’s entrance hallway leads into a bright living room, which the design team describes as “the most lavish space in the house”.
      It features tall arched windows and a high curved ceiling with art deco ornaments, giving the room a spacious and welcoming feel.

      Rainforest foliage and mirrors feature inside Amsterdam bar by Studio Modijefsky

      The walls and ceilings are painted in three different hues of white, strategically placed to enhance the room’s architectural features.
      “In a room with so much natural light, darker colours could be used to dramatic effect such as on the dark herringbone floor,” said Studio Modijefsky. “But all eyes will here be drawn to a monolithic walnut cabinet, whose shape mirrors the windows opposite it.”
      A built-in bar is set in one corner of the loungeIn addition to the walnut cabinet, the room is furnished with an olive-green corduroy sofa and a built-in cocktail bar with a terrazzo top.
      Across the hallway is a toilet decorated with off-white tiles that are glossy on the walls and matt on the floor. Other furnishings include wooden plinths, a purple marble splashback and an oak-wood cabinet with brass details.
      The study, which doubles as a guest room, has built-in storage cabinets and an en-suite bathroom with travertine instead of marble detailing.
      The curved ceilings of the dijkhuis create a sense of being envelopedFour bedrooms, two bathrooms and a separate toilet are squeezed onto the dijkhuis’s first floor. To create enough space for these living arrangements, the design team installed two dormer windows that run along two-thirds of the roof’s length.
      The floors and walls here are lighter compared to downstairs, with parts of the original beamed roof left exposed.
      Bathrooms on this floor feature rectangular tiles arranged in a herringbone pattern, which is echoed in the parquet of the bedrooms. In the corridors, the studio switched the pattern to straight planking in order to emphasise the vertical dimensions of the house.
      Four bedrooms are housed on the first floor under the home’s gabled roofStudio Modijefsky, which was founded by interior architect Esther Stam in 2009, has completed a number of projects in the Dutch capital in recent years.
      Among them is a travel-themed eatery with swampy purple ceilings and yellow-tiled walls that recall grassy meadows, as well as the renovation of a 119-year-old restaurant.
      The photography is by Maarten Willemstein. 

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      Ten multi-generational homes that organise space in interesting ways

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      A Mumbai apartment with its own temple and a Tokyo home for three generations and eight cats feature in this lookbook highlighting ten intergenerational households that showcase how interiors can balance privacy and community.

      Multi-generational living, in which several generations of a family cohabit under one roof, is already common practice in many parts of Asia, the Middle East, southern Europe and Africa.
      But with the growing price of housing, as well as elder and childcare, these kinds of communal living arrangements are now becoming increasingly popular around the world.
      This has prompted architects and designers to devise clever ways to divide up interiors, balancing the need for both private and communal spaces by using everything from staircases to moving partitions and planted terraces.
      Many also integrate accessible design features for their elderly inhabitants, such as wheelchair ramps and elevators.

      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing decorative ceramics, bathrooms with statement tiles and dining areas anchored by sculptural pendant lights.
      Photo is by Peter Bennetts StudioCharles House, Australia, by Austin Maynard Architects
      Pocket sliding partitions connect the rooms in this home so that its interiors can grow with the owner’s children and ultimately also accommodate their grandparents.
      Complete with a wheelchair-accessible garden, the building is one of a growing number of multi-generational houses being designed in answer to Melbourne’s housing crisis.
      “A diverse family home is often a healthy family home,” said Australian studio Austin Maynard Architects. “However, multigenerational homes also reflect the nature of our economy.”
      Find out more about Charles House ›
      Photo is by Ossip van DuivenbodeThree-Generation House, Netherlands, by BETA
      The Three-Generation House in Amsterdam was designed to resemble a “mini apartment building”, housing a young family on the lower floors and the grandparents on the top floor, which can be accessed via a private lift.
      A bright yellow staircase runs through the centre of the plan, helping to divide the open-plan interior while effectively connecting all the different levels of the home into a cohesive whole.
      Find out more about Three-Generation House ›
      Photo is by Katherine LuVikki’s Place, Australia, by Curious Practice
      Instead of doors, slim wooden blinds and raised plywood platforms help to demarcate the bedrooms in this Australian home, designed to accommodate the owner as well as her grown-up son and his family, who often come to stay for extended periods of time.
      “The play with the levels enables the architecture to act as furniture, which accommodates more or fewer guests for different occasions,” architect Warren Haasnoot of local studio Curious Practice told Dezeen.
      “Manoeuvring between spaces and levels invokes a sense that one is navigating between levels of terrain rather than moving room to room or outside to inside.”
      Find out more about Vikki’s Place ›
      Photo is by Albert Lim K SCornwall Gardens, Singapore, by Chang Architects
      Planted terraces are organised around a central pool in this family home in Singapore, providing each of the six bedrooms with natural vistas and a sense of privacy despite the busy floorplan.
      Local studio Chang Architects conceived the project as a “tropical paradise,” complete with a Koi carp pond and a waterfall to encourage the owner’s children to raise their families here once they’ve grown up.
      Find out more about Cornwall Gardens ›
      Photo is by Michael MoranChoy House, USA, by O’Neill Rose Architects
      Two brothers, their families and their mother share this residence in Flushing, Queens, which New York studio O’Neill Rose Architects describes as “three homes under one roof”.
      Designed to fuse American and Chinese ways of living in a nod to the client’s mixed heritage, the house effectively provides two separate homes for the two siblings, connected by a communal lower level that is also home to their mother and can be accessed via stairs hidden behind semi-transparent screens.
      Find out more about Choy House ›
      Photo is courtesy of NendoStairway House, Japan, by Nendo
      Three generations of the same family share this three-storey home in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district, with the more accessible ground floor given over to the grandparents and their eight pet cats.
      Japanese studio Nendo bisected the floorplan with a huge fake staircase, which provides a visual connection between the different levels while accommodating a bathroom, a playroom for the cats and a plethora of potted plants.
      Find out more about Stairway House ›
      Photo is by Javier Callejas SevillaResidence 1065, India, by Charged Voids
      Indian studio Charged Voids designed this house in Chandigarh to combine the communal focus of “Eastern spatial planning” with the “Western aesthetics” of Le Corbusier.
      Housing a family of six – including a couple, their parents and their children – the residence features private areas on the second floor and communal areas on the ground floor, which can be conjoined or separated using collapsible partitions.
      Find out more about Residence 1065 ›
      Photo is by Yao LiSong House, China, by AZL Architects
      A wheelchair ramp wraps its way around this house in the rural village of Nansong, which is inhabited by a couple in their 50s alongside three older family members, as well as occasionally their children and grandchildren.
      Like a traditional Chinese farmhouse, the building is organised around a central courtyard, with glazed openings providing views across the plan to create a sense of community and connection.
      Find out more about Song House ›
      Photo is by Matt GibsonWellington Street Mixed Use, Australia, by Matt Gibson
      Set on a narrow infill site in Melbourne, this home is constructed from irregularly stacked boxes that can be segmented to cater to different generations of the same family.
      A central atrium connects the different levels to the kitchen on the ground floor, while also functioning as a lightwell and a cooling stack for ventilation.
      Find out more about Wellington Street Mixed Use ›
      Photo is by Ishita SitwalaMumbai apartment, India, by The Act of Quad
      Indian practice The Act of Quad designed the “minimal but playful” interior of this three-generational apartment in Mumbai to consolidate the pared-back aesthetic of the owner, who is an engineer, with the more irreverent style of his cartoonist father.
      Intricate woodwork pieces were brought over from the family’s former home and refurbished to create a sense of tradition and continuity, while a small temple was tucked away behind folding doors with amber glass portholes.
      Find out more about Mumbai apartment ›
      This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing decorative ceramics, bathrooms with statement tiles and dining areas anchored by sculptural pendant lights.

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      Stewart-Schafer renovates modernist house in Connecticut woods

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      The founders of Brooklyn studio Stewart-Schafer have renovated a modernist home in Connecticut for themselves, using a natural colour palette to complement the surrounding woodland.

      James Veal and Christine Stucker, co-principals of Stewart-Schafer, chose to overhaul the modernist-style “architectural gem” for their family
      Stewart-Schafer principals James Veal and Christine Stucker added a personal touch to a house in EastonBuilt in 1984, the four-bedroom home sits within 18 acres of woodland in the town of Easton, a 62-mile (100-kilometre) commute from New York City.
      “The bones of the house and property were incredible,” Veal and Stucker told Dezeen. “You can tell the original owners who had this house built put a lot of love into it, no detail was spared.”
      The studio replaced some of the floor-to-ceiling windows and doors during renovation workThey had been searching for a house in Connecticut for a year, to no avail.

      But when they found this 4,700-square-foot (437-square-metre) residence on Morehouse Road it was “love at first sight” and they put in an offer almost immediately after viewing.
      The kitchen was given an update using wooden cabinetry”Sadly the second owners did not maintain it over the years and there were several things that needed to be fixed and replaced,” they added.
      An extensive renovation involved updating the family room, kitchen, and powder room, and redesigning the interiors throughout.
      A large bedroom was converted into a family room upstairsSeveral of the large glass windows and doors were replaced, and the exterior was transformed with new decking and planting after clearing the site of dead trees.
      The couple also renovated a cabin in the woods on the property, to serve as a guest house.
      Textures and colours were chosen to complement the original architectureIn both buildings, a blend of Japanese and Scandinavian decor was used to complement the existing wooden floors, ceilings and other joinery, in order to stay true to the original designs.
      Bedrooms and bathrooms were painted with earthy hues, while other rooms feature rugs, upholstery and bedding that continue the same palette.
      Rugs and upholstery continue the natural colour scheme in the bedrooms”With all the wood and views of the property we knew that inside we needed to play on those organic colours,” said the duo. “We used various textures throughout the home to balance things out.”
      The main house is split over three floors, with the majority of living space located on the central level.
      Clerestory windows bring light into the upstairs bedrooms from multiple sidesA double-height formal living room and adjacent dining area have decks on either side and connect to the separate kitchen that features white tiling and wood cabinetry.
      The primary bedroom suite on the same level leads to an indoor pool, which can be exposed to the elements by fully sliding back a floor-to-ceiling glass wall.

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      Upstairs, a large bedroom was converted into a family room with a custom-made modular sofa.
      “Originally it was just a huge open bedroom with no real sense of direction or purpose,” said Veal and Stucker. “By adding a fireplace and custom millwork along an oversized double sided sofa this room serves so many purposes.”
      Bathrooms were painted in darker huesThis room and two further bedrooms on the top level have clerestory windows that allow natural light to enter from multiple sides.
      The lowest level accommodates a home office and a mechanical room. All of the floors are connected by both internal stair flights with open risers and a black spiral staircase outside.
      The project involved replacing the outdoor decking and planting new foilageOverall, Stewart-Schafer aimed to imbue the almost 40-year-old house with contemporary flourishes that respect and celebrate the original architecture.
      “We really feel like this house has been a great example of how good design stands the test of time,” the couple said. “We feel even in 30 more years it will still be very relevant.”
      Built in 1984, the house sits on 18 acres of woodlandThere are many examples of modernist architecture Southwest Connecticut – an affluent area where many New Yorkers have long chosen to live within easy reach of the city, but with the benefits of rural surroundings.
      Others that have been updated in the past few years include a Marcel Breuer home expanded by Toshiko Mori and a mid-century residence renovated by Joel Sanders.
      The photography is by Alice Gao.

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      Jennifer Morden creates “aspirational” mid-century house with sinister dungeon for Fresh

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      Production designer Jennifer Morden created a mid-century house to reflect the personality of the flamboyant and misogynistic antagonist in comedy-thriller film Fresh.

      Morden and her team built two individual sets in a studio to represent the house for the film, which was directed by Mimi Cave and shot in Canada’s British Columbia.
      Fresh features a mid-century house that belongs to cannibal SteveThe sets were designed to portray the main floor and basement of a lavish mid-century house that forms a secluded lair for Steve – a seemingly-charming man who seduces women into dating him, after which he traps them in his basement and reveals that he is actually a psychopathic butcher of human meat.
      “We wanted to make as much as we could so we could customise it,” Morden told Dezeen in a video call from Canada, explaining the decision not to use a real house for the project.
      The dining room is positioned at the highest level on the main floorFresh tells the story of Steve’s relationship with Noa, who he briefly dates and subsequently lures to his house. The characters are played by actors Sebastian Stan and Daisy Edgar-Jones respectively.

      “The choice to go with a mid-century style house was partly because right now it’s really popular,” said Morden.
      “People love mid-century houses and they’ve had a big resurgence in modern design. It was also about Steve looking aspirational.”
      Dark wooden cabinetry was included in the kitchenOn-screen, the rooms on the house’s main floor are presented at subtly different levels from each other in what Morden called a “hierarchy of spaces”.
      A dining room is seen on the highest level, a kitchen slightly lower down, and then a living room and finally Steve’s bedroom.
      Plush furniture such as 1970s Camaleonda sofas by Mario Bellini and Eames-like armchairs decorated these spaces and were set against harsher accents including dark wooden cabinetry and built-in concrete seating.
      A curved basement informed by fallopian tubes holds women captiveThe other set representing the basement featured a concrete floating staircase dug out of rock, which leads to dungeon-like, teak-lined hallways that descend to cells with sunken beds where women are held captive.
      Steve’s operating room forms the basement’s lowest level, where he harvests the imprisoned women’s meat and body parts.
      “Wherever we see Steve in relation to his victims, he’s always at a higher level to them,” explained the production designer.
      Steve’s operating room is located at the bottom of the basementSteve’s house intends to reflect his complex and powerful persona, which quickly transforms from outwardly normal to sinister as the drama unfolds, according to Morden.
      “I was like, okay, everything we do needs to involve body parts, in some capacity. Every piece of artwork, every piece of furniture and the way the hallways are designed.”
      Imagery of body parts is repeated throughout the filmTo illustrate this idea, the production designer and her team placed a Michel Ducaroy “body chair” in Steve’s bedroom and created faux herringbone flooring from pieces of painted, hand-laid plywood, which Morden said she “really wanted to feel like ribs”.
      The curved, cave-like basement was informed by fallopian tubes and designed to be a grand auditorium for Steve – a “crazy” idea that Morden pitched in her interview for the project.
      An abstract painting conceals items belonging to Steve’s victimsAn abstract painting was placed on the living room wall, which actually included hair, teeth and nails on closer inspection. In an early scene, upon arriving at the house before she is drugged and trapped, Noa studies the artwork.
      It is later revealed that Steve hides personal items belonging to the captured women behind this painting in boxy cubby holes that mirror the basement cells below.
      Wooden and concrete accents feature on the main floor and in the basement”Mimi wanted to use the piece of artwork as a little Easter egg [a term for hidden messages in a film] for later because it’s the first thing Noa sees and she’s drawn towards it,” reflected Morden.
      “The idea was that if we can draw everything back to body parts then we can start to create the story’s subliminal messaging and foreshadow what’s to come as much as we can.”

      Seven houses that play a starring role in films including Parasite and The Power of the Dog

      The production designer said that it was important to visually connect the main floor to the basement, which was partly achieved by adding wooden elements to the mainly concrete basement and concrete elements to the largely wooden main floor.
      Eventually, Cave and cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski had the idea to add vivid and humorous sunset murals to the walls of the women’s cells.
      The decision to incorporate colourful carpets became natural after this, linking the basement to Steve’s opulent quarters above, according to Morden.
      Kitschy holiday-like murals were added to the cells to reflect Steve’s obnoxious nature”The idea was, what if we made the basement this space that Steve thought he was gifting to these people?” she explained, referencing Steve’s obnoxious and flamboyant character.
      “What if we use the idea that this misogynistic and unaware male was like, ‘I’m going to create a room that’s going to feel so nice for my victims?’ What would he put in there?”
      Each of the women’s rooms has a different coloured carpetCinematographically, Fresh also has a warm and fleshy colour palette of reds and oranges throughout, which nods to its graphic storyline.
      “I think for me, the biggest thing is just telling people to find all the Easter eggs in the film. There’s so much repeated imagery, especially around body parts,” concluded Morden.
      Other recent film and TV productions that feature architecturally-centred set design include Oscar-winning The Power of the Dog and BBC drama The Girl Before.
      The images are courtesy of Jennifer Morden.
      Project credits:
      Director: Mimi CaveWriter: Lauryn KahnProduction designer: Jennifer MordenSet decorator: Stephanie AjmeriaSet designers: Peter Stratford and Amanda De CastroCinematographer: Pawel Pogorzelski

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      Four-storey spiral staircase forms focal point of BSP20 House in Barcelona

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      A towering spiral staircase and a golden kitchen are some of the features that Raúl Sánchez Architects has introduced in its renovation of this townhouse in Barcelona’s Borne neighbourhood.

      BSP20 House has been in the making since 2013, when Raúl Sánchez Architects was approached by the building’s owners to turn it into a live-work space where they could stay during visits to the city.
      A white spiral staircase rises up from the ground floorHowever, due to regulatory issues, construction works didn’t begin for another seven years. During this period the already dilapidated building fell into further ruin, and at one point was even used as a squat.
      When the renovation finally got underway in August 2020, Raúl Sánchez Architects decided to completely gut the building, only leaving behind the four exterior walls and roof.
      This level of the home also features a brass kitchen suiteAs a result, three new floor levels have been inserted, each installed in such a way so that they don’t touch the building’s front or rear facades.

      Some of the resulting gaps have been filled with panes of glass, allowing residents to steal glimpses of different levels of the home.
      The staircase grants access to each of the home’s four levelsA huge void on the right side of BSP20’s interior now accommodates a white spiral staircase that winds up through the ground, first, second and third floors, all the way to the decked terrace on top of the building.
      Positioned directly above the stairs is a glazed opening that lets natural light filter deep into the plan.
      Rooms have largely been left empty so they can be used for different purposesSeeing the building in such a bare state at the beginning of the renovation process encouraged Raul Sanchez Architects to keep its rough, time-worn brick walls.
      “Those four walls, over 15 metres high, are a museum of the building’s history, where any trace of its construction, and of its use, will be left unaltered, exposed in all its crudeness,” said the studio.
      Raúl Sánchez Architects has preserved the building’s original brick wallsA similarly hands-off approach has been taken with the rest of the interior; most rooms have been largely left without fixtures and fittings so that, if necessary, they can be used for different purposes in the future.
      On the ground floor there is a kitchen, its cabinetry crafted from lustrous brass.
      “In terms of materiality, a certain refinement has been pursued in the new elements to be implemented, in opposition to the crude expressiveness of the existing walls, conscious that the space must house a home,” explained the studio.
      Natural light seeps in from a glazed opening above the staircaseOn the second floor there is only a bathroom lined with cream-coloured lacquered wood, finished with gold-tone hardware.
      The electrics, air-conditioning system and telephone wires have also been concealed within six steel tubes that run upwards through the home.
      Pale lacquered wood lines surfaces in the bathroomWhen it came to restoring BSP20’s facade, the practice had to follow strict heritage guidelines – but it was granted more freedom in the appearance of the front door.
      It’s now clad with three different types of aluminium, and features a graphic rhomboidal design that nods to the patterned hydraulic floor tiles seen inside the house.
      The home was given a new geometric-print front doorRaúl Sánchez Architects has completed several residential projects in its home city of Barcelona.
      Others include The Magic Box Apartment, which features a huge gold wardrobe, and Atic Aribau, which has bright, stripped-back interiors.
      Photography is by José Hevia.
      Project credits:
      Architecture: Raúl SánchezArchitecture team: Valentina Barberio, Paolo BurattiniStructure consultant: Diagonal ArquitecturaEngineering: Marés Ingenieros

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      Valentino Architects transforms Malta art studio into modern home

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      Valentino Architects has converted the studio and home of late post-war painter Frank Portelli in Malta into a contemporary residence for his granddaughter.

      The home, named La Serenissima, is located in the village of Attard in the centre of the Mediterranean island.
      La Serenissima now features an open-air sun terracePortelli, who is known for his cubist artworks and murals, originally designed the house in 1995 and incorporated numerous windows and skylights throughout the building so that it could serve as the ideal place to paint and live.
      Local practice Valentino Architects was tasked with transforming the existing structure into a home for the artist’s granddaughter, starting with adding a raised sun deck to the southernmost point of the house.
      Adjacent to the terrace is a modern kitchen with black cabinetryThis was achieved by removing the glazing from a number of the angled skylights and adding timber decking, creating a kind of open-air terrace that is separated from the interior using sliding glass doors.

      A short flight of wooden steps doubles up as seats and leads down into the kitchen, which features jet-black cabinetry and a large open-fronted island for storing tableware.
      The study is finished with petroleum green wallsJust across from the kitchen is a dining area. Here, Valentino Architects preserved one of Portelli’s original plywood mood boards, with some of his hand-written annotations and markings still intact.
      On the east-west axis of the home lies a small indoor courtyard and a blue-painted study surrounded by pointed archways.
      Geometric tiles nod to Portelli’s cubist paintingsMost of the mid-century furnishings and light fixtures featured in this space were Portelli’s own, before being carefully restored by Valentino Architects.
      The floor was also inlaid with geometric tiles in reference to the cubic shapes that frequently appear throughout the artist’s paintings.
      The bedroom and bathroom are tucked behind sliding doorsOn the northern end of the home is a huge gridded window that extends outwards from the building and then tapers to a point. To one side of the window lies a bedroom and to the other a white-tiled bathroom.
      Both spaces are closed off by sliding doors, punctuated with cut-out handles that nod to La Serenissima’s diamond-shaped window.
      At the northern end of the home is a huge pointed windowValentino Architects was established in 2015 and is based in Malta’s capital Valletta.
      Other striking homes on the tiny Mediterranean island include Casa B with its glass-bottomed rooftop pool and The Coach House by AP Valletta, which features a “woven” stone facade.
      The photography is by Ramon Portelli.

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