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    Vives St-Laurent creates theatrical children’s boutique in Mont-Tremblant ski resort

    Harnessing soft colours and gentle curves, interior design studio Vives St-Laurent has completed a shop for children’s boutique Billie Le Kid in Mont-Tremblant – a Canadian ski resort known for its colourful architecture.

    Following on from Billie Le Kid’s first store in Montreal, the brand brought in Vives St-Laurent to create a new outpost that captured the spirit of the brand while reflecting its location.
    Vives St-Laurent designed the interiors for Billie Le Kid’s Mont-Tremblant boutiqueIts storefront was designed to resemble a theatre, showcasing the brand’s wholesome edit of children’s clothes, toys and books.
    Custom-made awnings recall the idea of a general store, while the front was repainted in a vibrant blue-on-blue palette to reflect Mont-Tremblant’s colourful charter.
    Painted tongue-and-groove panelling adds a touch of nostalgiaReferencing the facade, arched openings throughout the boutique bring a whimsical touch to the transitions between different sections.

    Rounded corners were used to soften the edges of the display cabinets, adding character and creating a playful and welcoming atmosphere.
    Integrated display cabinets provide plenty of storageBianco Carrara marble was used on top of the checkout counter to convey a sense of timeless luxury, while moss-coloured velvet changing room curtains reference the theatre concept and bring softness and tactility to the space.
    The polished concrete floor was a practical choice, as the low-maintenance material allows skiers to visit the store in their ski boots.
    Bianco Carrara marble covers the store’s counterPainted tongue-and-groove panelling was added to give the boutique a touch of nostalgia.
    “We combined classic and contemporary materials to create a harmonious yet unique ambience,” Vives St-Laurent’s interior designer Léa Courtadon told Dezeen.
    Courtadon said she chose the store’s calming colour palette of stone beige and sage green to create “a whimsical mood that recalls the playful world of childhood while maintaining sophistication and ensuring the products stand out”.

    Norm Architects devises understated HQ for children’s lifestyle brand Liewood

    Sturdy vintage Canadian furniture was chosen to draw on the idea of the general store and family home. Long wooden refectory tables were repurposed as displays for toys and clothing, adding visual interest while paying homage to the brand’s Canadian heritage.
    A row of vintage frilled-glass pendant lights creates a feature above the counter.
    “The lamps’ rippled globes resemble ballerina tutus, adding a delicate touch to the overall design,” Courtadon said.
    Rounded corners give the storage units a playful edgeIn contrast, the main lighting system with its matt white finish was chosen to blend seamlessly with the store’s high ceiling. The railing system allows for precise positioning to highlight different items within the display cabinets.
    Vives St-Laurent used baskets for storage to contribute to the nostalgic, homespun aesthetic as well as offering a practical way to store and display plush toys.
    Changing rooms are hidden behind velvet curtains”They create an impression of abundance and allow children to interact with the toys, promoting a sense of independence and autonomy,” said Courtadon. “It all contributes to a playful and engaging atmosphere that’s ideal for a kids’ store.”
    Since its founding in 2018, Vives St-Laurent has completed a range of projects across Canada. Among them is a tactile home in Montreal with a grey-heavy colour scheme.
    The photography is by Alex Lesage.

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    Studio Vaaro reconfigures House M using built-in storage volumes

    For the renovation of a house in Toronto’s West End, local firm Studio Vaaro added minimally detailed millwork to form kitchen cabinetry, the staircase and a feature bookcase in the living room.

    Studio Vaaro’s overhaul of House M, a three-storey detached property that had been renovated and extended multiple times over the years, involved reconfiguring the layout to remove the awkward subdivided spaces.
    The ground floor of House M is partitioned by storage volumes laid out in a diamond formation”Our clients were a professional couple with two young children, who were looking for flexible and resilient spaces that could accommodate their home offices, overnight guests, and the changing needs of their growing children,” said the studio.
    “We, therefore, developed a spatial concept based on ‘functional volumes’, in which well-proportioned spaces are partitioned by blocks of storage and service functions.”
    The pale blue-grey volumes provide additional storage space for the kitchenThese built-in storage blocks partially partition four rooms on the ground floor while keeping an open flow between them.

    Laid out in a diamond formation, all are coloured pale blue-grey to highlight their function against the otherwise white walls.
    In the kitchen, oak cabinetry contrasts with the marble countertops”The large amount of built-in storage ensures the rooms themselves are free of clutter and ready for use,” said Studio Vaaro. “In line with the family’s personalities, colour and playful details abound.”
    In the entryway is a coat closet that hides the view of the living room behind, where an oak bookcase sat atop a teal powder-coated fireplace covers almost an entire wall.
    Bleachers are built into the oak staircase, offering a display area or extra seatingA powder room is placed between this space and the kitchen, also forming additional cabinet and counter space within its volume.
    Further kitchen storage sits in front of the dining room, and another closet is tucked under the doglegging staircase.
    On the first floor, the bedrooms are accessed through deep portal doorways”A ‘mixing bowl’ at the centre of the plan, at the base of the stairs, visually and physically connects all four spaces,” the studio said.
    Both the entry and the dining room volumes are pulled away from the home’s exterior walls, allowing additional views between rooms.
    The portals are coloured dusty pink and the kids rooms are also colourfulThe remaining built-in furniture is oak to match the flooring that runs throughout, including kitchen millwork and the staircase, which incorporates oversized bleachers for displaying kids’ artwork or creating extra seating during a party.
    A white metal “picket” guardrail, softened with rounded details, allows light to pass down from the upper levels.

    Long wooden cabinet runs through slender Borden house by StudioAC

    On the first floor, two parallel volumes separate the children’s rooms at the front of the house and the primary suite at the back from the central corridor.
    These create both storage for the rooms, and deep doorway portals that are highlighted in dusty pink.
    Skylights in the stepped angled roofs bring extra light into rooms at the rear, including the primary bathroomCarefully considered details include recesses for the door handles, allowing the doors to open the full 90 degrees without banging into the wall.
    Work and study spaces in the attic are minimally furnished, though feature built-in desks that step up to form shelves behind.
    Study spaces in the attic also feature built-in furnitureSkylights in the stepped, angled roof planes on all three floors bring extra light into the dining room, primary bathroom, and the stairwell.
    Other Toronto homes that have undergone extensive renovations to make them better suited for their occupants include a 14-foot-wide house where pale woodwork forms storage to make more space, and another “disguised as a gallery” – both designed by StudioAC.
    The photography is by Scott Norsworthy.
    Project credits:
    Team: Aleris Rodgers, Francesco Valente-Gorjup, Shengjie Qiu.

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    Eight brutalist Mexican interiors that prove concrete doesn’t have to feel cold

    Raw concrete surfaces are softened by timber and plenty of daylight inside these Mexican houses, rounded up here as part of our latest lookbook.

    Many of these brutalist interiors leave their concrete shells exposed and their cavernous rooms largely unadorned.
    But freed of the constraints posed by frigid temperatures, they also create a greater connection to the outside, whether overlooking Puerto Escondido’s wave-swept beaches or nestled in the bustling metropolis of Mexico City.
    Here, concrete surfaces help to create a sense of seamlessness between indoor and outdoor spaces – often separated only by removable partitions – while unfinished natural materials, such as wood or stone, are brought into the interior.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring homes with exposed services, primary-coloured living spaces and houses with outdoor showers.

    Photo by Rory GardinerCasa Alférez, Cañada De Alferes, by Ludwig Godefroy
    Tucked away in the forest outside Cañada De Alferes near Mexico City, this brutalist holiday home has a board-formed concrete shell.
    This is left on display throughout its entire interior, all the way down to the bedrooms (top image) and the double-height lounge (above).
    To bring a sense of homeliness to its otherwise spartan living spaces, architect Ludwig Godefroy added warm wooden floors and lush pops of green – as seen across upholstery and lighting fixtures.
    Find out more about Casa Alférez ›
    Photo by Onnis Luque and Fabian MartinezLa Casa del Sapo, Playa Zapotengo, by Espacio 18 Arquitectura
    The kitchen of this seafront home – set right on Oaxaca’s Zapotengo beach – can be merged with its neighbouring patio using a wide wooden folding door.
    All-around concrete helps to underline this fusion, while also serving a practical function in the form of a kitchen island and matching shelves.
    Find out more about La Casa del Sapo ›
    Photo by César BéjarThe Hill in Front of the Glen, Morelia, by HW Studio
    Reminiscent of the Hobbit houses in JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, this sunken home is nestled into a hillside in the forests of Michoacán in central Mexico.
    The building’s interiors are defined by its concrete vaulted ceilings, which can be seen in every room, while log benches and full-height glazing provide a visual link to the woodland outside.
    Find out more about The Hill in Front of the Glen ›
    Photo by Rory GardinerCasa Mérida, Mérida, by Ludwig Godefroy
    Mayan architecture and craftsmanship informed the design of this otherwise brutalist house in Yucatán state, which is considered the capital of the indigenous civilisation.
    The home’s perimeter walls, for example, have joints covered in stone splinters that take cues from the design of Mayan pyramids and temples. These are left exposed on the interior alongside the concrete ceilings, creating a rich medley of architectural references.
    Find out more about Casa Mérida ›
    Photo by Rafael GamoPachuca Apartments, Mexico City, by PPAA
    Concrete slabs pave both the patio and living spaces in this Mexico City house to create a sense of continuity, only separated by a full-height glass wall that can be completely pushed open.
    On the interior, the rough concrete finishes are contrasted with details in American white oak, among them a long dining table as well as a staircase with treads that slot into a huge bookshelf.
    Find out more about Pachuca Apartments ›
    Photo by Dane Alonso and Mariano Renteria GarnicaCasa UC, Morelia, by Daniela Bucio Sistos
    Neutral colours and tactile materials are found throughout this home in the city of Morelia, including raw concrete ceilings and floors finished in a honey-toned tropical timber called caobilla.
    In the library, the same wood was also used to form integrated shelves and a huge porthole window that can be pivoted open and closed like a door.
    Find out more about Casa UC ›
    Photo by Sandra PereznietoCasa Aguacates, Valle de Bravo, by Francisco Pardo
    Mexican architect Francisco Pardo repurposed the pinewood formwork used in the process of constructing this concrete house to form a series of partition walls throughout the home.
    The resulting interior layout is simple and fluid and centres on an open-plan kitchen, dining area and living room that open up onto a sunken garden.
    Find out more about Casa Aguacates ›
    Photo by Rory GardinerZicatela, Puerto Escondido, by Emmanuel Picault and Ludwig Godefroy
    Set in the small surf town of Puerto Escondido, this weekend home accommodates its main living areas inside a covered patio and is made almost entirely of concrete.
    The only exceptions are the doors and sliding louvred wood screens that can be used to open the space up to the gardens on either side, as well as a few sparse furnishings such as the low-slung dining table, which is made from a cross-sectioned tree trunk.
    Find out more about Zicatela ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring homes with exposed services, primary-coloured living spaces and houses with outdoor showers.

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    Halleroed mixes French and Japandi influences inside L/Uniform’s Paris boutique

    In the arty Paris district of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Stockholm design studio Halleroed has designed a new boutique for French bag and luggage brand L/Uniform.

    Taking cues from the brand’s simple, rational approach to design, Halleroed design lead Ruxandra Halleröd created a series of backdrops that allow the products to “pop out in a beautiful way”.
    Halleroed has designed a boutique for L/Uniform in ParisThe boutique is comprised of two rooms that drawing on L/Uniform’s French heritage alongside a mixture of Japanese and Scandinavian design traditions – also known as Japandi.
    The first room was designed to nod to the vernacular of the traditional French marketplace, with stepped display furniture and rustic materials, such as walls papered in woven raffia.
    In the first room, bags are hung from integrated wooden hooks”It reminds us of L/Uniform’s use of French canvas on its more functional bags, but on a bigger scale,” Halleröd told Dezeen.

    “We used a Shaker-inspired approach where bags are hung from hooks. There’s an association with everyday market life because some of these bags are specifically made for bringing to the market.”
    To create a striking visual contrast with the natural textures of this space, Halleroed added a monolithic display table in deep burgundy with a high-gloss finish.
    Glossy red details feature throughout the store in finishes and furnishingsThe second room is more “elegant and eclectic”, according to Halleröd. Here, L/Uniform’s leather handbags are displayed against a palette of soft pink and green, featuring an olive-coloured velvet sofa and pistachio display cabinet alongside tactile elements like the handwoven jute-and-wool carpet.
    The same glossy red finish from the first room is also reprised – in this case applied to two exposed pipes, around which Halleroed has constructed a low timber cabinet.
    Pistachio display cabinets provide additional storage”We worked with colour, texture and material as one entity, creating contrast and also unity,” said Halleröd.
    Around the counter, Halleroed added cedar cladding “for a Japanese look and feel”.

    Halleroed combines futuristic and primitive for Acne Studios store in Chengdu

    This is mirrored across the shop with details such as a rice-paper pendant light by Isamu Noguchi and chairs by George Nakashima, as well as cedar table lamps with rice-paper shades created by a Japanese cabinetmaker.
    Gallic influences are reflected in the lighting by Pierre Chareau and Charlotte Perriand and the bush-hammered limestone floor, which according to Halleröd has a “calm, vintage touch that for us is very French”.
    Travertine floors and stone counters bring a sense of refinement to the spaceHalleroed also brought Swedish elements into the mix, reflecting the studio’s own approach.
    “With our minimalist Scandinavian mindset, we prefer to work with fewer elements and materials but in a conscious and precise way,” said Halleröd.
    “Working with wood and craft is something that I think is common for both Japan and Sweden, while we think of the warm tones here as being both French and Japanese.”
    Timber joinery nods to Japanese and Scandinavian craft traditions”Many of the items in the store were handmade specifically for the space, which was important for us since we believe that this reflects the L/Uniform mentality and approach,” she added.
    Since it was founded in 1998, Halleroed has completed a number of high-end boutiques around the world.
    Among them are an Acne Studios store in Chengdu and various outposts for Swedish streetwear brand Axel Arigato in Berlin, Paris, Copenhagen and London.
    The photography is by Ludovic Balay

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    Formation Association transforms series of buildings for Phillips Los Angeles

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

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

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

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

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    Eight pared-back and elegant Scandinavian kitchen designs

    For our latest lookbook, we’ve collected eight peaceful kitchens with Scandinavian design details, in homes including a chalet in Belgium and a forest retreat in Sweden.

    Plenty of wood and stone, minimalist details and practical solutions make these eight interiors from across the world good examples of Scandinavian kitchen design.
    As well as being stylish, the pared-down interiors make for functional, clutter-free kitchens where it is easy to find and use all the items needed to make a meal in a relaxing atmosphere.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring outdoor showers, interiors with exposed services and Milanese homes with eye-catching material palettes.
    Photo by Jonas Bjerre-PoulsenForest Retreat, Sweden, by Norm Architects

    Architecture studio Norm Architects designed this kitchen in a traditional Swedish timber cabin using oakwood to create a warm feel.
    Its discrete handleless low-lying cupboards have plenty of storage space, while a stone splashback is both decorative and functional. A black tap adds graphic contrast.
    Find out more about Forest Retreat ›
    Photo by Julian WeyerVilla E, Denmark, by CF Møller Architects
    A carved lightwell brings light into this sundrenched kitchen in a villa in Denmark. The brick tiles that clad the kitchen wall give the room a tactile feeling.
    The floor of the open-plan kitchen is made from herringbone parquet, a style often seen in living room that here gives the kitchen area a more luxurious feel.
    Find out more about Villa E ›
    Photo by Jesper WestblomStockholm apartment, Sweden, by Westblom Krasse Arkitektkontor
    This Stockholm flat might be the exception that proves the rule when it comes to Scandinavian kitchen design – that it has to be designed using discrete colours and materials.
    Instead, local studio Westblom Krasse Arkitektkontor chose a pale lilac hue for the kitchen, which nevertheless features wooden details in the form of a table and chairs. An orange pendant light contrasts nicely with the monochrome kitchen.
    Find out more about Stockholm apartment ›
    Photo by Anders SchønnemannVipp Pencil Factory, Denmark, by Vipp
    Danish homeware brand Vipp used one of its own modular kitchens for Vipp Pencil Factory, a pop-up supper club in Copenhagen.
    The dark-brown wood, commonly used in Scandinavian kitchens, contrasts against the grey concrete walls of the former pencil factory and is complimented by glass cabinets and a marble benchtop.
    Find out more about Vipp Pencil Factory ›
    Photo by Itay BenitHabima Square apartment, Israel, by Maayan Zusman
    Local designer Maayan Zusman renovated this apartment in Tel Aviv using plenty of Scandinavian brands and details, including lamps by Gubi and chairs by Ferm Living.
    A pared-back colour palette and Crittal windows that let the light in also give the kitchen a slightly industrial feel.
    Find out more about Stockholm apartment ›
    Photo by Jeroen VerrechtChalet, Belgium, by Graux & Baeyens Architecten
    This 1960s chalet in Belgium features light-filled living spaces, including a wood-and-stone kitchen that has plenty of storage spaces and large windows that open up towards a lush garden.
    Even the kitchen fan has a plywood cover to ensure it matches the rest of the space.
    Find out more about the Belgian chalet ›
    Photo by Johan DehlinSaltviga House, Norway, by Kolman Boye Architects
    Nicknamed the “house of offcuts” because it has a facade made of offcuts of wooden flooring material, this weekend retreat in Lillesand, Norway, has a kitchen with a view.
    The Scandinavian kitchen design is underlined by the use of Danish furniture brand Carl Hansen & Søn’s classic CH24 Wishbone chairs, which have been placed around a wooden dining table.
    Find out more about Saltviga House ›
    Photo by Jim StephensonThe Hat House, Sweden, by Tina Bergman
    Located in the forested landscape of Tänndalen in western Sweden, The Hat House has a traditional Swedish kitchen with an entirely wood-lined interior.
    To save space, a small floating shelf was used to provide open storage, rather than cupboards. Contrasting dark black and grey colours were used for the splashback as well as the kitchen island.
    Find out more about The Hat House ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring outdoor showers, interiors with exposed services and Milanese homes with eye-catching material palettes.

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    Krista Ninivaggi looks to “future rather than nostalgia” for Brooklyn Tower lobby interiors

    International architecture studio Woods Bagot has completed the lobby design of the Brooklyn Tower, a supertall skyscraper that is the tallest in the New York City borough.

    Woods Bagot was commissioned for the interior spaces – including lobbies, amenities spaces and furniture – for the SHoP Architects-designed skyscraper, which is completing this year. So far, it has completed the two entrances that will usher residents into the lobby.
    Woods Bagot designed the lobby for Brooklyn’s tallest towerThe tower itself rises from the historic Dimes Saving Bank in Downtown Brooklyn, so Woods Bagot needed to navigate the historic design as well as the “future landmark”.
    “Together with the architect we looked to the future rather than focus on a nostalgia for the past,” Woods Bagot principal Krista Ninvaggi told Dezeen.
    It features oak panelling”Ironically, [American architect] Hugh Ferriss’s work and dedication to retro-futurism influenced our designs,” she added.

    “We very much wanted the interiors to be in dialogue with the ethos of the exterior of the building, so that it felt like a complete work and continued the vision of the exterior. The goal was for the inside and outside to be unified as a total work.”

    SHoP Architects principal knew Brooklyn Tower would be “like the Empire State Building of Brooklyn”

    Woods Bagot’s solution to create this unification was to focus on small details, such as the wood panelling in the main lobby, which was milled at one-half the scale of the exterior facade extrusions.
    The design included both of the two residential entrances to the tower, one of which passes through the Dimes Savings Bank building on Fleet Street.
    Both entrances have oak panelling and cream-coloured hexagonal flooring that was based on the original flooring for the bank.
    The elevator entrance room has a ceiling clad in dimesThe Flatbush Avenue entrance, through the extension built for the tower, acts as the primary lobby and has a concierge desk positioned in front of a recess.
    Gold and bronze detailing and custom furniture designed by Ninvaggi – such as a built-in stone bench – were arranged around the desk and the wood panelling is backlit.
    From here, a passageway with arches clad in stone connects the main lobby with the Fleet Street entrance. Also accessed from the main lobby is the elevator bank.

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    This area has a vaulted ceiling clad in liberty dimes, another reference to the bank, and the elevators are framed by gold detailing.
    “We also used an abstracted mercury dime face as the signage for the ATM tucked away in the lobby,” said Ninvaggi.
    “Though we wanted to reference the bank we intentionally incorporated wood, which was not found in the bank’s original material palette. This warmed the space and gives it a more residential feel and the lighter wood tone compliments the stone.”
    “Overall, we made strides to abstract our references for a modern-day audience,” she added.
    A passageway connects the two entrancesWoods Bagot was founded in Adelaide, Australia in 1869. Other recent projects by the studio include a convention centre in Christchurch with a curved, tile facade in collaboration with New Zealand studio Warren & Mahoney and an expansion to Seattle’s Sea-Tac airport.
    The Brooklyn Tower is scheduled to be completed in the next few months, with most of its black facade already having been installed.
    The photography is by Adrian Gaut.

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    Of Architecture builds beachside home for surfer-and-artist couple in Cornwall

    London practice Of Architecture has used a fuss-free colour and material palette to create this understated home for a young couple in the town of Newquay in Cornwall.

    House by the Sea belongs to an artist and a surfer, who told Of Architecture that they wanted a home without extravagant finishes, instead preferring a living space that appears “simple, robust and utilitarian”.
    Of Architecture has designed House by the Sea for a couple in CornwallThough the brief was relatively straightforward, erecting the home proved tricky for the practice.
    “The house is located by the cliff side of Pentire peninsula and has a very steep driveway, so transporting material was a big challenge for everyone on site,” the Of Architecture co-founder James Mak told Dezeen.
    “We had to work with materials that could be carried by a small vehicle or by hand.”

    One of the sitting areas has uninterrupted views of Pentire Steps beachOnce the framework was in place, the house was finished with a “monolithic and modest” lime plaster facade.
    Key rooms were dispersed across the home’s open-plan first floor, where walls are almost exclusively painted an off-white shade.
    Prefabricated steps grant access to a cosy mezzanineIn one corner is the kitchen, which features black melamine plywood cabinetry and a large breakfast island topped with stainless steel.
    Overhead hangs a couple of industrial-style pendant lamps.
    The space is filled with artworks and other trinketsAdjacently lies a sitting area that directly overlooks Newquay’s picturesque Pentire Steps beach.
    Fronted by expansive sliding windows, the space is dressed with a classic Eames lounge chair and an L-shaped sofa upholstered in beige marl fabric.

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    Another sitting area lies towards the rear of the first floor, facing a concrete blockwork wall.
    Backed against the wall is a wood burner with a tall slender flue that stretches up to meet the four-metre-high ceiling.
    A skylight in the beam-lined roof helps brighten the mezzaninePrefabricated plywood steps lead up to a mezzanine level tucked beneath the home’s sloping roof, which is held up by steel beams.
    Intended to serve as a cosy retreat, the space is illuminated by a single skylight while artworks are casually leaned up against its walls and books are showcased on a wrap-around gridded shelf.
    The minimalist aesthetic of the first floor then carries over onto the home’s ground floor, which accommodates two guest bedrooms – complete with their own en suites – a cloakroom and a utility room.
    Rooms on the home’s ground floor are also pared backA number of other architecturally striking homes can be found along the British coast.
    Examples include RX Architects’ Seabreeze in East Sussex, which is coated in smooth pink concrete, and Mole Architects’ Marsh Hill House in Suffolk, which is shaped like a seagull’s wing.
    The photography is by Lorenzo Zandri.

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