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      Norm Architects creates inside-out greenhouse restaurant in a Swedish meadow

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      Danish studio Norm Architects has completed Äng, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Sweden that features a glasshouse entrance and a subterranean wine cellar.

      The restaurant is located in the middle of a meadow in Ästad Vingård – one of Sweden’s largest vineyards.
      Norm Architects has added the Äng restaurant to a Swedish vineyardThe main component of the restaurant is a minimal glass building supported by a steel structure. Its design resembles an inside-out greenhouse, with the steel structure on the inside and a smooth exterior that reflects its meadow surroundings.
      Accessed via a stone pathway that winds through the grasses and crops, guests enter Äng through a glass door, where the stone flooring continues inside.
      The restaurant has a steel structure surrounded by glass panelsThe entrance takes guests past an open kitchen with a stone counter and bespoke artworks of organic forms.

      Inside, the glass building is designed to give diners the feeling that they are sitting in the middle of the field with nothing but clear skies overhead.
      “With inspiration found in both the unspoiled Nordic nature surrounding the premises of Äng and Japanese sensibilities in design aesthetics and craftsmanship, the interior provides a holistic, sensory experience,” said Frederik Werner, partner at Norm Architects.
      A stone counter and oak furniture features in the open dining spaceThe interiors are furnished with oak furniture by Japanese brand Karimoku, for which Werner is the creative director, and wood and stone sculptures made by Norwegian artist Anders Pfeffer Gjengedal .
      The furniture include the Äng lounge table, which was designed exclusively for the restaurant and constructed from solid oak.
      Other bespoke pieces include an oak serving tray by Keiji Ashizawa and a solid wood trolley inspired by the umbrella and shoe racks by the entrance of Japanese temples.
      Solid oak furniture by Karimoku fills the spaceA range of tableware designed to complement the restaurant’s atmosphere was created in collaboration with Sweden-based design studio Bonni Bonne.
      The collection of plates and bowls are made from green wood, an ancient woodworking method that creates natural silhouettes and raw textures.
      A grey cube-shaped volume is surrounded by further seatingArtworks by Danish designer Sara Martinsen made from materials found in the forest are also displayed.
      Norm Architects said its aim was to carefully balance every element of the design from architecture to design, lighting, taste, smell, and sound.

      Blue Bottle Coffee cafe in Yokohama spotlights natural materials

      “The fundamental ambition behind the Michelin-starred Restaurang Äng is in many ways in line with Norm Architects’ design philosophy of striking a delicate balance between all the sensory experiences that make up a space to create a harmonious setting, where all elements support one another,” explained Norm Architects partner Peter Eland.
      A series of stone sculptures from a quarry in Växjö, Sweden, reference the Japanese Karesansui gardens of raked sand and stone. These dry landscape gardens celebrate yohaku-no-bi, meaning the beauty of blank space.
      Stone sculptures from a Växjö quarry sit in the spaceThe interior also features discrete acoustic walls. Constructed from canvas, the studio specified the panels be made in a shade reminiscent of the jute sacks that are used to store grain.
      Bespoke cabinetry is filled with sculptures and ceramics by Viki Weiland and Ulla Bang, both artists who work with curved, simple forms.

      Ceramic pieces are on display in the restaurantAs well as the main restaurant spaces, Äng also has a hidden elevator that transports guests underground to a catacomb-like wine cellar with a dark lounge setting in its centre.
      “With the changing of light, we play on the phenomenon of chiaroscuro; a technique from visual arts used to represent light and shadow as they define objects in order to achieve a sense of volume,” said Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen, architect and founding partner at Norm Architects.
      “When stepping into the shadows, the vision weakens while the remaining senses intensify. One automatically pays more attention to sounds, smells, tastes and touch and even the intuition and instinct are strengthened.”
      The cave-like wine cellar was inspired by the visual arts technique chiaroscuroTo emphasize the transitions from one atmosphere to another, the floor tiles in the wine cellar recall a brick floor to enhance the cave-like feel, while the main dining room has a wooden floor.
      Founded in 2008, Norm Architects says its work builds on the traditions of Scandinavian design. Other recent projects by the Danish studio include a spa-like dental clinic modelled on art galleries, and a Swedish forest retreat “designed for a simple life”.
      The photography is by Jonas Bjerre Poulson.

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      Ten steely kitchens that use metal as their primary material

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      A black steel island fitted between original cast-iron columns, a gleaming stainless-steel kitchen and one with reclaimed metal cabinetry are among the kitchen interiors featured in our latest lookbook.

      Metal kitchens can make for a stylish addition to a residential interior, often lending the heart of the home an industrial and restaurant-style look.
      These types of kitchens are said to have risen to popularity during the 1950s, after the steel factories that were formerly used to manufacture weapons pivoted to produce domestic goods.
      Though they went out of favour in the 1960s, by the turn of the millennium sleek, stainless steel kitchens were popularised in residential homes as the result of a futuristic, technology-driven outlook.
      They have since come to represent a modern kitchen look. Here, Dezeen has spotlighted ten homes that make use of metal in residential kitchens in different ways.

      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing relaxing hammocks, white bathrooms and minimalist interiors with natural palettes.
      Photo is by Ioana MarinescuFrame House, UK, by Jonathan Tuckey Design
      British studio Jonathan Tuckey Design renovated this Grade-II listed building in west London, creating a two-storey home that features open-plan living solutions and skeletal partitions.
      Its kitchen, which was positioned behind an intentionally incomplete wall, was clad in stainless steel to provide the home with a cool metallic distinction against the exposed brick walls and plywood carpentry that surround it.
      Find out more about Frame House ›
      Photo is by Ralph FeinerFarmhouse, Switzerland by Baumhauer
      Set within a vaulted room in a traditional barn house in the Swiss hamlet of Florins, architecture studio Baumhauer used clean lines and modern finishes to juxtapose against the home’s farmhouse look.
      An L-shaped kitchen, comprised of two stainless steel counters and rows of cabinetry, was placed beneath the curving ceiling. The metal countertop has a seamless look and features a built-in sink and electric hob, with appliances incorporated within the steel cupboards below.
      Find out more about the farmhouse ›
      Photo is by Nieve, Productora AudiovisualCasa Roc, Spain, by Nook Architects
      Fitted along the edge of an open-plan living and dining room, a glossy metal-lined kitchen adds a modern look to the interior of this Barcelona apartment, which was renovated by Spanish studio Nook Architects.
      The renovation saw the studio maintain the Gothic Quarter apartment’s original mosaic floors and wooden beams while applying shades of grey and white across the walls and ceiling.
      Find out more about Casa Roc ›
      Photo is by Salva LópezBarcelona apartment, Spain, by Isabel López Vilalta
      Several partition walls were removed in architecture and interior design studio Isabel López Vilalta’s overhaul of this penthouse apartment in Barcelona’s Sarrià-Sant Gervasi.
      Afterward, the studio fitted a black iron island that anchored the kitchen, and its appliances, within the now open-plan kitchen, dining and living area.
      “Life in the kitchen was very important to the family, they felt more comfortable in a lively, gathering space than in a strictly traditional and functional kitchen,” said Vilalta.
      Find out more about Barcelona apartment ›
      Photo is by Paul WarcholThe Photographer’s Loft, US, by Desai Chia Architecture
      Aptly named The Photographer’s Loft, this minimal loft apartment in New York was renovated by US studio Desai Chia Architecture for a photographer local to the city. It occupies a 5,000-square-foot former industrial space and is complete with cast iron columns that line the interior.
      Within the home’s main living space, the studio fitted a long black steel kitchen island that runs parallel to a stark white row of kitchen cabinetry and also a dining table.
      The island’s dark steel construction ties to the apartment’s existing iron columns, creating the impression that it existed alongside its original industrial features.
      Find out more about The Photographer’s Loft ›
      Photo is by Justin Clemons and Robert TsaiCCR1 Residence, US, by Wernerfield
      With a material palette consisting of concrete, steel, teak and glass, this kitchen has a stainless-steel finish that covers its worktops, appliances and below- and overhead cabinetry.
      The kitchen has a U-shaped design that backs onto its living and dining area, creating a social yet practical space. The home was designed by Dallas studio Wernerfield and occupies a lakefront setting in a rural location 60 miles southeast of Dallas.
      Find out more about CCR1 Residence ›
      Photo is by Claudia Muñoz KarigCasa Ocal, Ecuador, by Jorge Ramón Giacometti Taller de Arquitectura
      Reclaimed metal was used across the kitchen of this home designed by architecture studio Jorge Ramón Giacometti Taller de Arquitectura in northern Ecuador.
      The textural weathered material was used across its cupboards, countertops and splashback and contrasts against the home’s light timber walls. Positioned above the single row of cabinets, and with a sink at its middle, a rectangular window provides views across the hilly surroundings.
      Find out more about Casa Ocal ›

      House in Tokushima, Japan, by FujiwaraMuro Architects
      Fitted in a home in Tokushima, a city on the Japanese island of Shikoku, a metallic kitchen flanks a living and dining room between its split-level living arrangement.
      Designed by Japanese studio FujiwaraMuro Architects, the kitchen comprises an open-plan design, with its countertops and sink looking out to an adjoining breakfast bar that lines the border of the home’s dining room.
      Find out more about House in Tokushima ›
      Photo is by French+TyeEast Dulwich house extension, UK, by Alexander Owen Architecture
      London studio Alexander Owen Architecture added a marble-clad extension to this Victorian mid-terrace in East Dulwich, London, which houses a kitchen fitted with poured concrete floors, shot-blaster pewter brick walls, a timber ceiling and a stainless steel kitchen.
      The L-shaped kitchen stretches the width of the home and extends across the adjoining length of the extensions pewter brick walls. Stainless steel clads the tops of the kitchen’s worksurfaces and the sides of an island placed at the centre of the space.
      Find out more about East Dulwich house extension ›
      Photo is by Anton GorlenkoShakespeare Tower apartment, UK, by Takero Shimazaki Architects
      Metal countertops top wooden cabinetry at this Japanese-style apartment located within London’s Barbican Estate by London-based studio Takero Shimazaki Architects.
      The apartment comprises a primarily wooden interior that is complemented with cooler materials, such as glossy-black subway tiles organised across the floors of the kitchen, steel worksurfaces and appliances that run parallel in the galley-style space. An exposed concrete ceiling provides a finishing touch.
      Find out more about Shakespeare Tower 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 relaxing hammocks, white bathrooms and minimalist interiors with natural palettes.

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      Buero Wagner makes inventive use of industrial materials in Munich office extension

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      Curtains made from aluminium foil and furniture made from galvanised-steel gratings are just some of the novel uses of industrial materials featured in this silver-coloured office extension in Munich.

      Designed by local studio Buero Wagner, the extension was created by opening up the basement of an existing office in the backyard of a turn-of-the-century building near the Isar River in the Au district.
      Buero Wagner has extended an office in MunichNow spread across two stories, the revamped studio measures 140 square metres and is illuminated by windows that Buero Wagner extended down to the basement level.
      The revamped interior makes use of light reflective materials, such as galvanised-steel grating and aluminium foil, which would more typically be found in an industrial setting.
      The studio used industrial materials throughout. Photo is by Kim Fohmann”
The interventions were implemented from a canon of industrial materials,” said Buero Wagner.

      “These conventional, banal materials take on a new value through their processing and use in a context that is alien to them, and lend the interior an abstract, temporary character that deliberately leaves open the questions of use, appropriation, and the 
completion of the construction measure.”

      Studio Four23’s self-designed office inside former metal workshop is inspired by a toolbox

      Gratings have been used to make floors, a staircase and furniture, while the silver foil is used as a curtain that hides a kitchen, storage shelves and passages to the toilet and storage rooms.
      Other curtains are made out of bubble wrap to provide privacy while allowing light through.
      It features curtains made from silver foil. Photo is by Kim FohmannThe architects preserved the existing building’s materials as far as possible. In the basement, the concrete floor slab was exposed and on the ground floor, the oak parquet was refinished.
      The majority of the furniture is made from welded steel gratings while shelves and lighting are built from galvanized cable trays.
      The office also contains space for livingThe project is complete with an apartment unit, which the studio said was informed by the Covid-19 pandemic and is designed to make living and working in one place possible.
      Other interior projects finished with industrial materials include the office that Four23 created inside a former metal workshop and an apartment by Arhitektura d.o.o with metallic moveable furniture that allows the layout to be easily adapted.
      The photography is by Florian Holzherr unless stated otherwise.

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      The Africa Centre finds new home inside former office building in London

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      A lacklustre office building in Southwark has undergone a vibrant makeover to become The Africa Centre, designed by architecture studio Freehaus.

      The Africa Centre first opened in Covent Garden in 1964 as a “home-away-from-home” for the African diaspora in London, where people could meet, connect and enjoy cultural events together.
      After closing its doors to the public in 2013, the institution now occupies a former office building on Southwark’s Great Suffolk Street.
      The Africa Centre takes over a former office blockThe redesign of the building was appointed to Shoreditch-based studio Freehaus, which sought to create an interior that reflects the African continent’s rich array of cultures and traditions.
      To establish the key ideas and themes that would underpin the centre’s interior scheme, Freehaus embarked on a thorough research process.

      A reception was created at ground level to welcome guestsKey points of reference were the work of British-Ghanian architect David Adjaye, Burkinabé architect Diébédo Francis Kére, as well as projects by Niger-based studio Atelier Masōmī.
      The studio also visited other cultural buildings and members clubs around London to pick up inspiration.
      There’s also a pan-African restaurant called Tatale on the ground floor”The key to the brief was for The Africa Centre’s new headquarters to be unmistakably African,” explained Jonathan Hagos, co-director of Freehaus.
      “Given the breadth of diversity on the continent and among the diaspora, we were keen to avoid stereotypes and well-trodden aesthetic tropes.”

      Sam Jacob Studio adds glass-tube entrance to London’s V&A museum

      “At the same time, we wanted to avoid continent-sweeping generalisations – ‘Africa isn’t a country’ is a familiar response, often born of frustration at the dismissive understanding of the breadth in peoples, cultures and traditions that span the African continent,” he added.
      “We wanted to turn this misnomer into a strength,” he continued, “and envisage what an embassy for a continent might look like in the 21st century; a space that demonstrates what connects us and binds us to one another, while celebrating the dynamism of the continent.”
      Latticed banquettes and wooden tables decorate the restaurant’s interiorWith the help of engineers Price & Myers, Freehaus opened up the ground floor of the building to make way for two new entrances.
      One of the doorways opens onto the buzzy Great Suffolk Street, while the other connects the rear of the building to a couple of converted railway arches that The Africa Centre already used for events.
      Clay-plaster walls feature throughout the building, including the barThe ground floor also now accommodates a reception and pan-African restaurant Tatale. The dining space has been decked out with lattice-back banquettes, wooden tables and vibrant pendant lamps that contrast the neutral clay-plaster walls.
      Upstairs on the first floor is a bar and lounge that features patterned armchairs and a large, curved drinks counter clad with relief tiles. The following second floor contains an event space and a gallery.
      The bar is dressed with clusters of patterned furnitureThere are a further two floors in the building that, once funding is obtained, will be transformed into a learning facility and incubator for budding Afro-centric businesses.
      The extra funding will also go towards adding an ornamental screen to the centre’s black-painted facade, which will echo the ornate mashrabiya screens seen in north African architecture.
      A gallery can be found on the building’s second floorA few London cultural spots have recently undergone an update; architecture practice Sam Jacobs Studio has added a contemporary ribbed-glass entrance to the Grade I-listed V&A museum.
      Haworth Tompkins has also created a chainmail-shrouded pavilion to connect two performance spaces belonging to immersive theatre company Punchdrunk.
      The photography is by Taran Wilkhu.

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      Yabu Pushelberg designs The Londoner hotel in the spirit of film and theatre

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      Design studio Yabu Pushelberg has completed a five-star hotel in London’s Leicester Square where rooms are all dedicated to different members of a theatre or movie production’s cast and crew.

      In tribute to its location, in the heart of the city’s theatre district, The Londoner is designed to echo the different sights, sounds and atmosphere you experience during a performance.
      The Londoner’s spaces are designed to reflect the cast and crew of a film or movieDramatic lighting, intricately painted scenography and architectural models all feature in an interior that celebrates the drama of cinema and theatre.
      George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg, founders of New York- and Toronto-based Yabu Pushelberg, said the aim was to create a multi-layered experience over the building’s 16 floors.
      A drawing room featured murals depicting scenes of flora and faunaIt was this that led them to create different types of scene throughout the building, representing everyone from the scriptwriter and director, to the sound mixer and visual effects supervisor.

      “The Londoner is an homage to performance, with each public space representing a character of someone essential to bringing a production to life,” said Pushelberg.
      The centrepiece of the reception area is a moon-head created by artist Andrew Rae”It was important that we create a project that is an exuberant, joyful expression of not only the hotel’s location but its cultural context,” he continued.
      “We created layers of programming up into the sky and deep into the earth, which emphasise this extraverted, alluring, playful voice,” added Yabu.
      The lobby bar is imagined as a stageThe hotel reception pays tribute to the cinematographer with a room that aims to set the mood. Details include stage models and a metallic moon-head created by artist Andrew Rae.
      In homage to the director, the lobby bar takes the form of a stage with curtain-style fluted wall panels and a mirrored ceiling, while the restaurant next door is filled with black and white graphic portraits that represent the characters created by the scriptwriter.
      The Y Bar features backlit wooden panels, suggesting symbols and charactersThis floor also includes Joshua’s Tavern, a pub-style space that uses industrial overhead copper canisters, leather furniture and scenes by 18th-century portraiture artist Joshua Reynolds to allude to the gripsman, “the muscle on set”.
      The mezzanine features a series of spaces that celebrate visual effects: a drawing room framed by mural paintings, a jewellery-box-like whisky room and a lounge bar where wood-panelled are brought to life with artistic backlighting.

      Rockwell Group and Yabu Pushelberg team up for Moxy Chelsea hotel

      “The atmosphere is dynamic,” said Yabu. “We broke the public spaces into multiple, smaller interconnected spaces giving each area individual personalities whilst creating connectivity through one overall design narrative.”
      “Seduction was a key design device for us to draw visitors through the hotel, which is giant,” he explained.
      The Green Room features velvet furniture, marble mosaic flooring and a bar topped by gold megaphonesMore lounge spaces can be found on the upper and lower floors.
      The sound-mixer takes centre stage in a basement bar called The Green Room, where undulating walls and curvy velvet furniture create the impression of sound waves.
      The lower levels also include a pool and spa that takes cues from set design, a series of meetings rooms filled with props, and a golden-toned ballroom designed to suit the glitz and glamour promoted by the publicity agent.
      8 at The Londoner is a restaurant, bar and terrace designed to represent a production’s performersUpstairs, an eighth-floor restaurant, bar and terrace celebrates actors and performers. It includes a rope installation intended to reference bondage, as a way of suggesting the human bodies that take centre stage.
      The only place the drama softens is in the 350 bedroom suites, which were designed with a brighter and more minimal aesthetic.
      Bedrooms have a more pared-back aestheticThe Londoner is the latest in a series of high-profile hotels that Yabu Pushelberg has designed, following Las Alcobas Napa Valley in California, The Times Square Edition and Moxy Chelsea, both in New York.
      Pushelberg said The Londoner gave them an opportunity to push the boat out further than ever before.
      Joshua’s Tavern combines copper and leather with painted scenes from the 18th century”One of the things we cherish most about the Londoner is the incredible layer of styling we were able to apply to each and every space,” he said.
      “The Londoner served as a one-of-a-kind canvas to fully explore our stylistic creativity. From custom gramophones in the club, to playful oversized slices of fruit carved from colourful stone in the spa, this final styling layer is what really brings each space to life with an exceptionally unique personality and subsequently, experience.”
      The pool and spa pay tribute to set designThe designers hope that guests will notice the careful curated views and details as they move through the interior.
      “There is a sense of veiling and unveiling, so that one can take in and absorb all the details,” said Yabu.
      “There is a real feeling of discovery as you wander through all the chambers. Guests really get to choose their own journey.”

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      Victorian balusters pattern surfaces at Aesop Yorkville store by Odami

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      The history of Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood informed this store for skincare brand Aesop, which local studio Odami has given ruby-toned walls and smooth beige counters.

      Odami, a design studio based several blocks west of the Aesop Yorkville shop, used features typical of the area as a starting point for elements of the design.
      Aesop’s third store in Toronto includes a “fragrance library” for testing the brand’s new aromas”The interior takes inspiration from the downtown area’s architectural and societal history – starting with the Victorian houses that populate the district, and the lanes and squares where communities have gathered over the decades,” said a statement from the brand.
      The profile of balusters found across nearby buildings and porches is translated as a closely repeated pattern that forms maple wainscoting around the interior.
      The profile of a Victorian baluster forms wainscoting around the storeWalls and ceiling are painted oxblood red, creating a dusky and intimate atmosphere inside the compact space.

      “The design is anchored by a sense of warmth, and sees traditional materials imagined anew,” said Aesop. “The geometry is akin to that of a bustling town square: a large and open space with smaller enclaves around its perimeter.”
      Walls, ceilings and furniture are coloured ruby red, while counters and sinks are beigeSeating and counters that are coloured to match the walls blend into the background, while units that have sinks for testing skin and hair products stand out in pale beige.
      The largest basin is positioned in the centre of the store, incorporating three faucets and doubling as a tea station.
      The wall colour creates an intimate atmosphere, while allowing the signature Aesop bottles to stand outA slender, metal light fixture is suspended horizontally above, directing light from a trio of tubes down onto the central counter.
      Three pale-toned cylinders set into the back wall form a “fragrance library” for the brand’s growing collection of aromas.

      MSDS Studio illuminates Aesop store in Toronto with collection of compact lamps

      Two tubes display the signature Aesop bottles, while the third has a clear front and acts as an infusion chamber for items of clothing.
      Odami was founded in 2017 by Spanish architect Aránzazu González Bernardo and Canadian designer Michael Fohring, and has completed several interiors in its base city.
      The central countertop includes a long sink and also doubles as a tea stationThey include the Sara restaurant, where a roughly plastered wall curves over the dining area, and a renovated 1980s apartment with a green-painted sunroom.
      This is the third Aesop location in Toronto, following a store designed by MSDS on Queen Street West, and another in the Downtown district.
      The history of the store’s Yorkville location provided references for its designThe brand regularly collaborates with local architects and designers on its store interiors around the world.
      Among the most recent are an outpost in Tokyo by Case-Real that features coarse plaster walls, and another in London by Al-Jawad Pike that’s filled with red sandstone from Scotland.
      The photography is by John Alunan

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      Ten bookshelf staircases that add clever storage to living spaces

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      A converted Belgian barn and a pine-lined house in Japan are among the residential interiors featured in our latest lookbook, which contains homes defined by staircases that incorporate bookshelves.

      Bookshelf staircases are a clever way to incorporate storage in, around and alongside stairs, which helps to save space within small dwellings.
      Architects and interior designers also use these two-in-one units to create striking sculptural statements and add distinctive character to a room.
      From a renovated east London home to a petite Barcelona apartment, here are 10 examples of residences that use bookshelf staircases to minimise clutter or add eclectic detail.
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing homes with hammocks, white bathrooms and garden studios.

      Photo by Lorenzo ZandriFarleigh Road, UK, by Paolo Cossu Architects
      Local studio Paolo Cossu Architects added a double-width oak staircase to this east London home that also serves as a bookshelf and a place to sit and read or chat.
      The renovated house was designed in this way to connect its upper and lower ground floors, which were previously subdivided into two separate properties.
      “We wanted to create a cross-level multi-functional space, that would feel connected and form part of a larger permeable living space,” architect James Kitson told Dezeen.
      Find out more about Farleigh Road ›
      Photo courtesy of Andrea MoscaBookshelf House, France, by Andrea Mosca
      Stepped bookshelves become stair bannisters, room dividers and general storage at this renovated house just outside of Paris by architect Andrea Mosca.
      On the ground floor, statement pouf-like sofas frame the characterful wooden units that were designed to look like stacked boxes rather than flat shelves.
      Find out more about Bookshelf House ›
      Photo by Maria CeballosBarcelona apartment, Spain, by Eva Cotman
      A mezzanine guest room and storage area are accessed via a petite geometric staircase that doubles as a bookshelf in this Barcelona apartment renovated by architect Eva Cotman.
      Every surface was painted white in order to create a blank, airy canvas for the occupants, including the statement staircase as well as exposed brick walls and timber ceiling joists.
      “The heart of the house is around the library, which separates the dining room from the built-in closet and, at the same time, joins the kitchen, dining room and the living room,” explained Cotman.
      Find out more about this Barcelona apartment ›
      Photo is by Tamir AddadiLondon home, UK, by Tamir Addadi Architecture
      London studio Tamir Addadi Architecture converted a loft in the city’s Muswell Hill area to include steep white stairs that also serve as a cage-style bookshelf.
      The structure’s painted wooden panels are interspersed with shelving rails that create individual compartments for books, while the space is illuminated from above by a south-facing skylight.
      Find out more about this London home ›
      Photo is by Koen Van DammeConverted barn, Belgium, by Studio Farris Architects
      A Jenga-like workspace was formed from stacked timber beams in this converted barn in West Flanders, Belgium.
      As well as a mezzanine office, the chunky structure creates a compact but eye-catching staircase that doubles as bookshelves and plinths for ornamental objects.
      “The stacked beams become the library, bookshelves, storage room, and resting and reading area,” said Studio Farris founder Giuseppe Farris.
      Find out more about this converted barn ›
      Photo is by Ema PeterBerkley House, Canada, by RSAAW
      Canadian firm RSAAW connected the levels of Berkley House in Vancouver with a double-height wooden bookcase formed from rows of light timber boxes attached to a large staircase.
      The renovated mid-century house was transformed to include gallery-like details such as white-painted walls, and the studio also added large windows and skylights that brighten the interior space.
      Find out more about Berkley House ›
      Photo is courtesy of SchemaaParis apartment, France, by Schemaa
      Space was maximised in this small Parisian apartment through the placement of an alternating-tread staircase that also includes closed storage for books and other objects.
      French studio Schemaa created cupboards of different heights, concealed by doors measuring the same width as the stair treads, while the light-hued choice of wood gives the interior an airy feel.
      Find out more about this Paris apartment ›
      Photo is by Tom CroninRosa and John’s Home, UK, by Zminkowska De Boise Architects
      Named after its owners, Rosa and John’s Home is a renovated London flat where books can be stored on their sides under a squat staircase that connects the two halves of a split-level living room.
      Zminkowska De Boise Architects inserted nooks on either side of the stairs to form more structured spaces for reading or studying. The stairs themselves serve as an informal space to gather.
      Find out more about Rosa and John’s Home ›
      Photo is courtesy of Kazuya Morita Architecture StudioShelf-Pod, Japan, by Kazuya Morita Architecture Studio
      Kazuya Morita Architecture Studio built interlocking laminated pine boards that slot together to form latticed shelving units from the floor to the ceiling of this home in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.
      The boxy units are interrupted only by small staircases that provide staggered routes through the house’s different levels.
      Find out more about Shelf-Pod ›
      Photo is courtesy of Platform 5 ArchitectsBook Tower House, UK, by Platform 5 Architects
      Tall bookshelves fold around the oak staircase at Book Tower House, a north London home renovated and extended by Platform 5 Architects.
      Designed to house its owner’s extensive collection of books, the project includes a study space on the first floor that is reached via the staircase and cantilevers over the hallway below.
      Find out more about Book Tower House ›
      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 pink kitchens, timber-clad bathrooms and multi-generational homes.

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      Sam Jacob Studio adds glass-tube entrance to London's V&A museum

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      British architect Sam Jacob has used ribbed glass to create a contemporary entrance for London’s historic V&A museum and updated its bathrooms with a broken-ceramic cladding that feels “a little perverse”.

      The studio drew on the Victoria & Albert museum (V&A’s) collection for its designs, choosing glass for the lobby in a nod to the museum’s glass collection and crushed jasperware for the bathrooms.
      The lobby has glass tubes in three sizesThe entrance structure was designed in response to the existing proportions of the building and is formed of three bands of glass tubes, starting with 120-millimetre diameter tubes on the lower level that become thinner on the upper levels.
      Sam Jacob Studio wanted the design, which marks the entrance from Cromwell Road, to function as a modern response to the surrounding Grade I-listed museum building.
      It sits in front of a large arched window”The heights of the whole structure and the way it is split into three levels is a contemporary response to the historic fabric,” Jacob told Dezeen.

      “This helps the new elements resonate in a harmonious way even with a very different design sensibility,” he added.
      “Working with historic buildings is a great challenge and one that means it’s important to understand what is really there, and why it might be like that.”
      The contemporary lobby was designed as a response to the historic museumUsing glass for the lobby also helped create a more dramatic and dynamic effect at the entrance, while nodding to the large arched window that dominates the space.
      “The glazing for the entrance – especially the glass tubes – were a way to retain a sense of transparency at the entrance, but also to dramatise the way light is transmitted into the space,” Jacob said.
      Sam Jacob Studio designed the lobby for the Cromwell Road entrance”The effect of the tubes is to act like lenses, and the movement of people through the entrance becomes visually more animated, producing different effects as the daylight changes over time,” he added.
      “It’s also a response to the large arched window above, that has texture and colour to the glass, so that the whole interior elevation now acts in a similar way.”

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      “It’s glass used not so much for quality of transparency but for the dynamic effects of light passing through that it creates,” he added.
      Jacob also added sliding doors to the lobby and designed a collection of moveable stations that will be used for bag checks on entry.
      A welcome desk with mirrored backing sits in the lobbyAt the museum entrance, the studio added a welcome desk made from glass tubes with a mirrored backing that reflects the surroundings.
      As well as the lobby, the architect also updated the bathrooms. Here, Jacob used crushed jasperware waste material from the Stoke-on-Trent factory that makes the V&A’s Wedgwood porcelain collection.
      This was used to create colourful wall panels constructed by crushing 700 kilograms of blue, grey, pink and black ceramic waste.
      Terrazzo made from jasperware decorates the bathroom”Terrazzo is a material you often find in these kinds of spaces, so our intention was to introduce a really unusual material element by using the waste jasperware,” Jacob said.
      “It is a material that resonates with the history of the V&A, and with the history of British applied design and with a certain luxury,” he added.
      “Even in a fragmented state, jasperware colours are instantly recognisable. Using it in this smashed-up state, and making a feature of its brokenness, felt like a very modern take on those traditions.”
      Bathroom walls have life-sized digital printsThe design was also intended to make the museum’s visitors think about reuse and how we care for objects.
      “It also feels a little perverse – using broken ceramics in a museum where objects are usually incredibly carefully looked after,” Jacob said. “But a beautiful kind of perversion – all the coloured fragments make a speckled colour field to the walls that surround you.”
      “It’s an interesting experiment in the high concept reuse of waste material, about how we care for objects and the impact that the production of designed objects has on the world.”
      The V&A Museum is in a Grade I-listed buildingThe bathroom walls have been decorated with life-sized digital prints showcasing figures from V&A’s collection, as well as landscape scenery.
      For Jacob, designing for the V&A meant “working in the shadow of people” such as British designer William Morris, a history that made him think about what a similar design response might look like today.
      “We tried to channel a contemporary version of that same spirit of applied arts to help transform some of the most functional spaces of the museum into places of delight, places to interact with the collection in different ways, and make it a more accessible and engaging experience,” he said.
      The glass entrance lets light into the interiorOther recent projects by Sam Jacob Studio include an office, bar and events space for the ArtReview magazine in London and a neolithic shelter in Shenzhen port.
      The photography is by Timothy Soar.
      Project team:
      Architecture: Sam Jacob StudioLighting: Studio ZNAStructure: Price and MyersMain contractor: AlcemaSpecialist fabricator: MillimeterTerrazzo: DiespeckerQuantity surveyor: Currie BrownMechanical and electrical services (M&E): Harley Haddow / JRG Electrical

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