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    Td-Atelier and Endo Shorijo Design transform interior of traditional machiya house in Kyoto

    Japanese design studios Td-Atelier and Endo Shorijo Design have renovated a century-old machiya townhouse in Kyoto with minimal interiors that intend to honour the home’s existing architecture.

    Called House in Marutamachi, the Japanese house was built over 120 years ago and is arranged across two floors on a long and narrow site.
    House in Marutamachi is a traditional machiya house in KyotoTucked between two other residential properties, the house is an example of the wooden machiya townhouses that were once common in Japan’s historical capital Kyoto but are now at risk of going extinct.
    “Traditional Kyoto townhouses are being destroyed at a pace of 800 houses a year,” Td-Atelier explained.
    “Old buildings don’t match modern life. However, we want to stop the decline of Kyoto townhouses by fusing tradition, design and new life.”

    The kitchen is encased in a white volumeTd-Atelier and Endo Shorijo Design dressed House in Marutamachi’s interior with new components including sleek tiles and geometric furniture alongside materials reused from the original house, as seen in the traditional team room.
    The studios retained the building’s wooden columns and beams but added white volumes to house rooms including the kitchen and study to avoid disturbing the existing architecture with harsh structural materials.
    The tea room was constructed using materials reused from the original buildingThese variously sized cubes were designed to mimic the contrasting heights of buildings in a cityscape.
    “The gaps and omissions created between the volume group and the existing columns, beams, walls and floors create continuity in the space,” Td-Atelier said.

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    Throughout the house, Td-Atelier and Endo Shorijo Design adopted a minimal material and colour palette including a combination of light and dark woods alongside smooth concrete.
    A thin, sculptural light is suspended above the timber breakfast bar on the second floor, where occupants can sit on clusters of subtle-coloured stools.
    Original features were maintained in the gardenOutside, a plant-filled garden features elements from the building’s original architecture such as sandy-hued lanterns and a chōzubachi – a traditional stone water bowl historically used for washing hands before a tea ceremony.
    House in Marutamachi was shortlisted for house interior of the year at the 2022 Dezeen Awards.
    Dezeen recently announced the winners of this year’s interiors categories, who are now competing to win the overall interiors project of the year award.
    The photography is by Matsumura Kohei.

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    Brave New Eco applies cosy colours and materials to Melbourne “forever home”

    Timber, terracotta and rich jewel tones feature throughout this home in Melbourne that Australian studio Brave New Eco has designed for a family of five.

    Occupied by a couple and their three teenage children, West Bend House sits on a leafy plot overlooking the greenery-lined banks of Melbourne’s Merri Creek.
    The building itself was designed by local studio MRTN Architects but Brave New Eco was brought on board to do the interiors for the “forever home”, having already worked with the studio twice before on other projects.
    West Bend House is a Melbourne residence by Brave New Eco”The owners of the house were well known to us,” Brave New Eco explained.
    “They had been clients in the early days of the studio, so the mutual trust and respect levels were high, allowing us to create a highly responsive and intimately resolved outcome that the dynamic family will inhabit for many years to come,” the studio added.

    “Our challenge was to configure the interior elements so that each space feels settled and cohesive, with a sense of discovery to the distinct spaces as you move through the home.”
    A khaki-green sofa contrasts the blue carpet in the living roomCustom wooden cabinetry was installed in the home’s galley kitchen and kept handleless so that it “reads like a piece of furniture”, according to Brave New Eco.
    A wooden screen was also added behind the sink area to keep the washing-up out of view.
    Custom timber shelving was created for the studySlender green tiles that pick up on the home’s verdant surroundings line the island counter, as well as a strip of wall behind the stove.
    Above, a handy timber shelf for storing cooking paraphernalia is fronted with sliding brass-mesh screens.
    To the side of the kitchen lies an expansive picture window, beneath which the studio built a “bedroom repatriation drawer” where family members can store any belongings that stray from their sleeping quarters.
    The principal bedroom was rendered calming shades of greyThe colour green pops up again in the home’s laundry room, where the cupboards are coated with emerald-coloured Marmoleum.
    An L-shaped khaki-green sofa dominates one corner of the living room, contrasting with the plush teal carpet.

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    At the centre of the home’s ground floor is a sunken courtyard with a study housed on the other side. This was finished with full-height timber bookshelves, a lengthy desk and a pinboard panel where the owners can tack up anything from reminders to artwork by the kids.
    The floor, like much of the rest of the home, was inlaid with red bricks.
    Sapphire-coloured tiles clad the main bedroom’s ensuiteSoothing grey shades were applied in the principal bedroom upstairs, which adjoins a moody ensuite bathroom almost entirely clad in sapphire-blue tiles.
    Two types of terracotta tile – one plain, one grooved – were used to create textured walls in the bathroom shared by the owners’ daughters.
    Terracotta tiling creates textural interest in the daughters’ bathroomWest Bend House is one of five projects shortlisted in the house interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.
    It will go up against residences such as Twentieth by Wood + Dangaran, which is arranged around a decades-old olive tree, and Barwon Heads House by Adam Kane Architects, which adjoins a barn-like extension.
    The photography is by Peter Bennetts.

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    Stephanie Brown renovates Vancouver home to have “fewer formalised spaces”

    Large family get-togethers are enjoyed in the open-concept living spaces at this house in Vancouver, which interior designer Stephanie Brown has overhauled with entertaining in mind.

    The home is situated in a quiet, upscale neighborhood in the Canadian city. Built in 1991, it originally featured a postmodern aesthetic, while subsequent renovations favoured the craftsmen style.
    The layout of the home was reorganised to create a double-height foyerIts latest iteration was devised by local studio Stephanie Brown, who was asked to design the interiors by homeowners Joanne and Alan.
    The couple has a blended family with six grown-up children, and while only one still lives at home, the others return often for dinners together.
    Small rooms were opened up to create larger spaces for entertainingAlterations to the plan of the house were therefore required to allow it to comfortably accommodate so many people in the evenings, but still feel cosy during the day.

    “Prior to the renovation, the layout featured very formal, separated rooms,” said Brown. “We re-worked the layout of the main floor to create a more open-concept space, which would provide better flow for modern family gatherings and fewer formalised spaces.”
    Jewel tones and feminine hues add variation to the predominantly white colour schemeAn enlarged family room is now adjacent to the kitchen, which includes a generous island with a teal-coloured base for preparing meals and eating breakfast.
    The same teal shade, chosen for Joanne’s “love for moody jewel tones” continues in the pantry, while more feminine pinks and purples are introduced in other spaces through furniture fabrics.
    Smaller rooms like this office space feature darker coloursIn the dining room, a large black table is positioned beneath a grid of mid-toned oak beams and a Shape-Up chandelier by Ladies and Gentlemen Studio.
    Oak is also applied as parquet flooring, adding visual interest and bringing warmth to the predominantly white palette throughout the home.

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    Darker colours are used in the smaller spaces, including a new mudroom with grey-and-white-patterned cement floor tiles, and a wallpapered powder room.
    By also rearranging the first-floor layout, a bright two-storey entrance foyer was created, featuring black and unpolished brass details.
    A mud room with patterned ceramic tiles was created during the renovationArtwork and decorative furniture pieces are dispersed throughout the home, intended to convey a relaxed atmosphere more akin to a city loft.
    “We drew inspiration from New York and European apartments, which feature unique collections of art, furnishings and decor set against elegant details,” said Brown.
    “We opted for a casual take on those interiors, but one where the play between classic and modern would still feel fresh and unique.”
    A powder room is lined with dark wallpaperVancouver is regularly ranked as one of the most liveable cities in the world and has a wealth of notable residential architecture and interiors.
    Other projects recently completed there include RSAAW’s renovation of a mid-century residence to include a double-height library and a house by D’Arcy Jones Architects designed to mesh with its neighbours.

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    Melanie Raines designs “weird and funky” interiors for Austin residence

    Interior designer Melanie Raines has applied her experience in hospitality design to ensure the large spaces of this Austin family home feel cosy, playful and “a bit irreverent”.

    Raines, who recently moved to the Texas capital from LA, was discovered by the clients after they visited the Soho Little Beach House in Malibu and researched the team behind its interiors.
    The home’s large living room features vertical elements including a concrete-block fireplace and a swingAfter connecting on LinkedIn and realising they are now based in the same city, the family asked her to design the interiors of a property they were building.
    The house, designed by local firm Ryan Street Architects, was originally conceived as a 12,500-square-foot (1,160-square-metre) California barn-inspired home with vast living spaces, six bedrooms and a guest house.
    Furniture is arranged to create zones, like a seating area framed by a brown leather sofaHowever, the music-loving homeowners decided that the interiors should better reflect their creative personalities, and provide a “weird and funky” environment for their four children and two dogs.

    “By the time we were brought onto the project, they were hoping to see more of themselves in the interior design: colorful, playful, and artful people who love music and don’t take things too seriously,” Raines told Dezeen.
    Above the bar, a section of mezzanine floor is replaced with a rope net”For this reason, the central design challenge was to marry the architecture of exposed steel and reclaimed wood with an interior that felt fresh, playful, and distinctive.”
    One of the biggest challenges was to make the huge open living room feel intimate and cosy.
    Walnut is used throughout the home and prominently in the kitchenThis was achieved by arranging furniture in different zones, a trick borrowed from Raines’ career in the boutique hospitality sector.
    A large wooden ping-pong table that doubles as a dining surface sits at the centre, accompanied by velvet-upholstered stools.
    The millwork echoes the exterior reclaimed timber cladding visible through large windowsOn the other side, a curve chocolate-brown leather sofa sits atop textured red rugs to create a nook in front of a bar area, which has a built-in pizza oven.
    Above the bar, a cut-out in the floor of a mezzanine balcony is replaced with a rope net to form a hammock.
    The primary bedroom is decorated in dark colours to create a relaxing atmosphereOther vertical elements help to draw the eye up, including the fireplace clad in split-face, industrial concrete blocks and a swing suspended on ropes from the 22-foot (6.7-metre) ceiling.
    To unite the various ground-floor spaces, walnut is repeated across several surfaces and details.
    Colour is used boldly in several of the smaller rooms”Occasionally we joked that it’s the ‘house that walnut built’ – the floors, millwork, and many of the furnishings are a beautiful American black walnut,” Raines said.
    This is especially true in the kitchen, where millwork on the island and built-in cabinetry are all crafted from the material – echoing the reclaimed timber ceilings and the exterior cladding visible through giant windows.
    A green sofa set the retro tone in the dark movie roomWhile colour is used sparingly as accents in the living area, a much bolder approach was taken in other rooms.
    “The clients came to develop a trust in some colour sensibilities that became the moods around the home,” explained Raines. “We landed on a creamy off-white in the main spaces, then got especially playful in the ancillary spaces.”

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    Dark blues were chosen to create a relaxing atmosphere in the primary bedroom, where a corner is designated for the couple to enjoy tea together, while a retro aesthetic was guided by a green sofa in the near-black movie room.
    Smaller spaces like closets and bathrooms are decorated with a variety of patterned wallpapers, some of which Raines described as “PG-13”.
    Wallpaper chosen for closets and powder rooms includes a design that Raines described as “PG-13″In the guest house, wood panelling paired with tan and orange leathers offers a “1970s lakehouse feel”, and the primary powder bath has a black terrazzo stone ceiling.
    “The atmosphere needed to be creative, inspirational, artful, and un-precious,” said Raines. “Anything ‘fancy’ was immediately thrown out!”
    “It was a reaction on both my part and theirs to the age of over-design, and we were really able to throw some wild ideas out to see what stuck, then remix them to create an intentional – but a bit irreverent – final design,” she added.
    The ombre wallpaper in this powder room is another example of the designer’s playful approachAustin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the US and has seen a spike in residential architecture and interior projects as a result.
    Others that have been completed recently include a gabled family home clad in limestone and fibre cement by Clayton Korte and a residence with dark grey walls and a crisp silhouette by Side Angle Side.
    The photography is by Chase Daniel.

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    Woods + Dangaran brings warmth and light to mid-century modern home in Los Angeles

    Teak wood, travertine stone and expansive glazing all feature in Woods + Dangaran’s renovation of a mid-century modern house that once belonged to singer Bing Crosby’s manager.

    Los Angeles-based Woods + Dangaran has both upgraded the architecture and designed the interiors for Clear Oak Residence, which is located on a hillside above LA’s San Fernando Valley.
    Clear Oak Residence is located on a hillside above LA’s San Fernando ValleyThe design aims to enhance the building’s relationship with its setting while also bringing an increased sense of warmth and comfort to the living spaces.
    Doorways and windows were adjusted and enlarged to enable wraparound views of the landscape, while skylights were added to highlight key moments within the interior.
    A new swimming pool cantilevers out towards the viewTravertine creates a continuous floor surface that extends out from the living spaces to a sunset terrace, while teak provides wall panelling and in-built joinery throughout.

    “The architectural finish palette was intentionally limited to four materials: clear anodised aluminium, plaster, travertine, and teak for the wall panelling,” said Woods + Dangaran.
    “This visual restraint manifests in a serene ambiance that permeates all aspects of the residence.”
    Travertine flooring extends both inside and outClear Oak Residence is shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2022 in the house interior category, where it will compete with four other projects – including another one by Woods + Dangaran – for the title.
    Woods + Dangaran designed this project for client Robert Galishoff, whose brief to the architects was to embrace the building’s mid-century heritage but ensure the result exudes a sense of “effortless luxury”.
    Teak provides wall panelling and custom joineryLandscaping played a big role in the transformation. By relocating the swimming pool so that it cantilevers over the hill and adjusting the topography, more terrace and deck space could be created.
    Sliding floor-to-ceiling glass doors allow the main bedroom, the living room and the dining area to open out to this terrace.

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    “Enlarged doorways and windows inside the house, including floor-to-ceiling glass doors, integrate the interior spaces with the landscape and foreground views by eliminating barriers,” said the architects.
    “Glazed openings inserted along corridors create memorable spatial experiences from new axes and vantage points.”
    Skylights create framed views of the skyThe interior furnishings include both new and retro pieces in natural materials and warm colours, which sit alongside Galishoff’s collection of objets d’art.
    The living room features a copper silk shag rug from Mehraban, a Minotti sectional reupholstered in a retro-patterned textile and a pair of the Arthur Casas-designed Amorfa coffee tables.
    “Inspired by mid-century pieces but adjusted for scale, function, and material, these pieces give the home a unique voice that mixes old and new, retro with contemporary vibes,” said Woods + Dangaran.
    The design respect’s the building’s mid-century heritageLed by architects Brett Woods and Joe Dangaran, Woods + Dangaran has developed a reputation for modernising mid-century homes but also designs new-builds with a similar character.
    Other recent projects include an upgrade of a 1960s Craig Ellwood house and a brass-clad home in Palm Springs.
    The photography is by Joe Fletcher.

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    OEO Studio adds Nordic influences to Japandi-style apartment in Tokyo

    Copenhagen-based OEO Studio combined muted colours and textured materials to create the interiors for this renovated Tokyo apartment that is characterised by its Japandi design.

    Located within the Opus Arisugawa housing complex in central Tokyo, the apartment’s interior was renovated to combine design influences from Japan and Scandinavia – a trend known as Japandi.
    The apartment’s interiors take cues from Japanese and Scandinavian designOEO Studio intended to create a serene atmosphere by adopting minimalist interior design and mainly natural materials throughout, both of which are hallmarks of the Japandi style.
    The apartment’s entryway includes a rammed-earth wall surrounded by a slatted rectilinear wardrobe that was custom-made in calming honey-hued wood.
    Curvy sofas feature in the living roomLow-slung concrete seating is also built into the hallway, which doubles as a sculptural plinth for a ceramic vase by Christian Bruun.

    A mixture of deep indigo tiles and paper yarn rugs made from Finnish birch but embroidered with Japanese textile-style patterns cover the floors.
    Wooden cabinetry lines the kitchen”The interiors reflect the studio’s cross-pollination of Japanese and Scandinavian design ideas, drawing inspiration from both cultures and reinterpreting them in new ways,” said the firm.
    The hallway leads to an open-plan living room filled with interiors in neutral tones, including cool stone floors and sleek furniture finished in smoked oak, oiled pinewood and soft wool.

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    Curvy Taylor sofas by Shanghai brand Stella Works are arranged around an organically shaped timber coffee table, while artworks by Jaakko Mattila line the walls.
    Japanese Ōya stone was used for the columns that divide the living area and brightly lit kitchen, which includes tactile wooden cabinetry.
    A minimal dining space with black-stained ash chairs also features alongside the kitchen.
    The bedrooms are defined by the same refined styleThe apartment’s three bedrooms also have a mixture of refined textures and shapes, while the singular pared-back bathroom displays a statement wooden bathtub at its centre.
    “We worked carefully with the zoning and the transitions between the rooms in the apartment to create an evocative yet calm, welcoming and comfortable atmosphere,” said OEO Studio.
    A light wooden bathtub features in the bathroomFounded in 2003, OEO Studio has created a number of similar projects including a Tokyo restaurant that references both Danish carpentry and Japanese gardens in its interiors.
    The firm recently created a cafe and shop at Designmuseum Denmark that pays homage to architect Kaare Klint’s original design.
    The photography is by Michinori Aoki.

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

    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.”

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    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

    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.

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    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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