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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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      Concrete infrastructure informs Acne Studios' limestone-clad Rue Saint Honoré store

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      Fashion brand Acne Studios has opened a “monolithic” store on Paris’ Rue Saint Honoré, designed in collaboration with architecture studio Arquitectura-G, that references a Stockholm skatepark and its Parisian setting.

      Located on Rue Saint Honoré, a historic street and renowned shopping destination in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, the store was created by Acne Studios founder Jonny Johansson in collaboration with architecture studio Arquitectura-G.
      Acne Studios Rue Saint Honoré store was created in collaboration with Arquitectura-GJohansson explained that after spending time in a skate park situated beneath a concrete bridge in Stockholm, he wanted to replicate the look and feel of sitting under a piece of concrete infrastructure within its Paris store.
      “It’s finding these poetic spots – under a bridge, where you have sort of like a beautiful concrete wave motion, and this whole idea of being under a bridge where nobody wants to be, where it’s beautiful, I thought was quite a beautiful idea,” he said.
      “I want it to feel like you’re sitting under the bridge. So that’s when the whole idea – because I like that, sort of like a secret society – I thought it was good for us as a brand on the big fashion street.”

      The design was informed by skateparks and concrete infrastructureThe interior of the store can be characterised by Arquitectura-G’s use of Saint Maximin stone, a French limestone sourced from a nearby quarry that is synonymous with Parisian buildings as a result of Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann’s radical reimagining of Paris, which was built from the stone.
      Rectangular slabs of the golden-hued stone cover the walls, floors and ceiling of the store blending the 19th-century, Saint Maximin stone-clad exterior with the now similarly clad interior.

      Acne Studios taps into fashion-school cool for interiors of Stockholm HQ

      Arquitectura-G opened up the ground floor of the store incorporating a double-height space that is connected to its first floor through glass balustrades lined between stone columns.
      Black, amorphous-shaped furniture and dyed-fabric display units by long-time collaborator Max Lamb were positioned throughout the store like soft, quarry boulders.
      It used Saint Maximin stone throughout”If you look at [Paris] as a whole, it’s beige. If you squint you see this stone, this pale colour,” Johansson said.
      “Then you have these dots of black which are like cars. And they’re moving fast, and sort of shiny and black, quite scary in one way. That’s Max’s work.”
      Furniture and display units were designed by Max LambLighting by designer Benoit Lalloz was organised throughout the store and placed across its stone-lined ceilings to mimic the effect of daylight.
      Acne’s West Hollywood store, which was opened in 2018,  features a bright yellow interior that was designed by London-based firm Geoff Crowther Architects.
      In 2019, the fashion brand relocated its headquarters to a 1970s brutalist-style building, that belonged to the former Czechoslovakian embassy, in Stockholm.
      Photography is courtesy of Acne Studios.

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      Skewed apartment by Clément Lesnoff-Rocard Architect celebrates “edges”

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      Local architect Clément Lesnoff-Rocard used clean lines, light colours and mirrors to create a bright interior within this skewed Parisian penthouse.

      Located on the top two floors of a 1980s building in Paris’ 17th arrondissement, The Edge apartment is a penthouse that looks out over the city’s rooftops.
      “This space gave me this very specific feeling that you have when you find yourself on a cliff, attracted by its edge, mesmerized by the beauty of the landscape and quietly terrified of falling down,” said Clément Lesnoff-Rocard of his first impressions of the 105-square-metre apartment.
      “This had to be a topic to work with for me, this edge.”
      The Edge is a Parisian apartment that was designed by Clément Lesnoff-Rocard ArchitectHe also noted how although the building has a flat facade, the apartment’s plan is heavily slanted with “quite a strong angle” to the boulevard below.

      “Like if someone pushed too hard on the edge of the building, bending everything inside so you can nearly never face any neighbour and creating unusual and sharp angles in the floor plan,” explained Lesnoff-Rocard. “Straight skin with twisted bones.”
      In response to these conditions, Lesnoff-Rocard created an off-white interior that celebrates edges.
      The apartment combines textural materials throughoutSpread across two floors, the two-bedroom apartment features an open-plan kitchen, living and dining area on the lower floor.
      A small toilet and built-in cupboards are hidden by mirrored doors along one of the diagonal walls. These serve to reflect the light from the windows on the opposite side of the room.
      It has an open plan arrangementHere, the architects inserted a curved platform that softens the room’s awkward angles. Running along the length of the wall, the platform forms a window seat and a small raised outdoor terrace area.
      A central column clad in fluted plaster boards sits in front of the open-plan kitchen, which features black cabinets and a mirrored splashback.

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      A marble staircase with a walk-in closet slotted beneath it is framed by raw concrete. The stair leads up to the first floor where there is a main bedroom with a shower room, two smaller bedrooms and a family bathroom.
      Using a light, tonal colour palette, Lesnoff-Rocard created interesting material junctions, such as black wood and white paint or white marble and white concrete.
      The studio used a light, tonal palette across the interior”The edge can bring the outside in with bay windows or it can take your inside thoughts out in the sky through roof windows,” he said.
      “Concrete can look soft, textured and sensual when composed with a white-painted wall, while it can look hard and slick when topped by a fluffy shaggy pillow,” he added.
      “The edge can invite you to come upstairs with a light portal or it can push you away from the center of the room with a massive angular block. The edge can close with a wall or open with a mirror.”
      Curved edges aim to soften harsh cornersPreviously, Lesnoff-Rocard’s studio has completed an apartment using mirror, brass and simple geometries to create an understated take on art deco.
      Elsewhere in Paris, Java Architecture renovated and extended a stone house adding a wooden tower that is clad in polycarbonate panels.
      Photography is by Laurent Kronental.

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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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      Ten interiors with a natural and calming organic modern design

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      For our latest lookbook we’ve collected 10 projects that exemplify the organic modern design style, which combines minimalist interiors with natural textures and colours.

      Organic materials, a muted colour palette and details such as rustic accessories and plenty of green plants are among the things that characterise the organic modern trend.
      While the style has a similar look to pared-down minimalist and Japandi interiors, the focus in organic modern interiors is more on bringing earthy colours and natural materials into the home, as seen in the 10 examples below.
      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 colourful staircases.
      Photography is by Lorenzo Zandri and Christian BraileyMuswell Hill home, UK, by Architecture for London

      This energy-saving home in London’s Muswell Hill has an interior filled with natural materials.
      In the living room, wood was used for the ceiling, storage and furniture, and large plants – including a monstera deliciosa and a banana plant – add a touch of green. A colourful Isamu Noguchi paper lamp is a stylish modernist detail.
      Find out more about Muswell Hill home ›
      Photography is by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen of Norm ArchitectsForest Retreat, Sweden, by Norm Architects
      Danish studio Norm Architects created a home fitting for its surroundings with Forest Retreat, a traditional timber cabin set within a pine forest in Sweden.
      In a new-built annex, a raised daybed-cum-window seat sits next to a wall of glazing. The organic modern interior features details such as sturdy linen fabrics and a rugged jute rug, while the colour palette was kept earthy and calming.
      Find out more about Forest Retreat ›
      Photography is by Rasmus HjortshøjVipp Pencil Case, Denmark, by Julie Cloos Mølsgaard
      The interior of the 90-square-metre Vipp Pencil Case hotel in Copenhagen has a pared-down feel to it, but its well-sourced accessories add interest.
      In the eating area, large rustic vases filled with dried branches decorate the windowsills, and a rough-hewn wood vessel sits on the floor. Rounded, organic shapes and woven baskets add a countryside feel to the modern space.
      Find out more about Vipp Pencil Case ›
      Photography is by Do SyBrown Box apartment, Vietnam, by Limdim House Studio
      Curving and arched walls give Brown Box apartment in Vietnam an unusual look. While the architecture is eye-catching, its colour and material palette was kept natural and subtle.
      Cream and brown hues were used for the whole flat, including in the bedroom. Here, furniture in organic materials such as wood and leather add textural interest, and sculptural lighting contrasts against the clean lines in the room.
      Find out more about Brown Box Apartment ›
      Photography is by Caitlin MillsOcean House, Australia, by Rob Mills
      Ocean House’s clean, contemporary concrete design is combined with the warmth of a beach house through its organic modern interior.
      “I don’t see the design as being stark,” architect Rob Mills said. “The interior is organic and tactile, and incorporates neutral fabrics.”
      This can be seen in the living room, where cosy rugs and wooden furniture in pale hues sit next to design classics like Eero Saarinen’s Tulip table.
      Find out more about Ocean House ›
      Photography is by Maarten WillemsteinAmsterdam dyke house, the Netherlands, by Studio Modijefsky
      Dutch firm Studio Modijefsky renovated this dijkhuis – a traditional Dutch dwelling set next to a dyke – to respect the 19th-century style building’s heritage but add modern touches.
      In one of the bedrooms, this has resulted in a modern interior that is heavy on organic materials such as line, jute and leather, with a monstera plant in the window adding a bit of nature.
      Find out more about Amsterdam dyke house ›
      Photography is by Brian Ferry20 Bond Street, US, by Home Studios
      Bespoke furniture and vintage finds were used for the interior of 20 Bond Street in New York, set in a building from 1925. Design firm Home Studios renovated the space to “marry contemporary and vintage influences.”
      To do so it created a peaceful modern organic design, as seen in the bedroom, above, and living room (top image.) Brown, tan and cream colours were used in the whole flat, with a material palette of wood and copper.
      Find out more about 20 Bond Street ›
      Photography is by Martino di Napoli RampollaVilla Medicea di Marignolle, Italy, by Frama
      The dramatic interior of this self-contained residence inside a Renaissance villa was created by Danish design brand Frama for filmmaker Albert Moya.
      With a darker colour palette than that which usually signifies organic modern interiors, it nonetheless showcases its mix of modernist design and natural materials well in this tranquil wood-clad bedroom.
      Find out more about Villa Medicea di Marignolle ›
      Photo is by AriakePorta Venezia apartment, Italy, by Ariake
      For this year’s Milan design week, Japanese brand Ariake created a show flat in the city’s Porta Venezia area.
      Its Cipango exhibition, on view in the space, showed designs by Japanese and European designers with a focus on natural colours. Quirky accessories such as Folkform’s Plissé lamp and dried flowers create a homely atmosphere.
      Find out more about Porta Venezia apartment ›
      Photography is by Prue RuscoeWoorak House, Australia, by CM Studio
      This holiday home in Sydney was designed to optimise the view of its green surroundings and is built as a sequence of pavilions.
      Materials used for the home include pale limestone, brushed oak wood and marble. Its main bedroom has an all-white interior and has been decorated with an orchid in a vase and a pendant lamp to add interest to the monochrome room.
      Find out more about Woorak 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 timber-clad bathrooms, light-filled glass extensions and exposed wooden floorboards.

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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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      Traditional Chinese roof tiles decorate the interior of Blue Bottle Coffee shop in Shanghai

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      Japanese studio Keiji Ashizawa Design has used traditional Chinese roof tiles as the key material at Blue Bottle Coffee’s latest shop in Shanghai to celebrate local culture.

      Set to open on Friday, the cafe is located on the first and second floors of a building connected to the Kerry Centre in downtown Shanghai, close to the over 1,000-year-old Jing’an Temple.
      The new Blue Bottle Coffee shop is located in downtown ShanghaiKeiji Ashizawa Design placed a total of 13,000 handmade brick tiles on the bar counter, stairwell wall and the lounge area of the cafe.
      This particular type of bricks, which have semi-circular edges, were made in Yixing, a nearby city that is known for its clayware manufacturing. A new smoking process was used for the surface of the tiles to increase their strength and create a subtle reflective effect.
      Bespoke handmade brick tiles were used to cover the bar counter”As Blue Bottle Coffee commits to create local communities around their cafes, we always determine the materials and design based on the local, both culture and history,” studio founder Keiji Ashizawa said.

      “Working on a project in mainland China as a Japanese architectural firm, I felt that there was an importance in considering the common aspects between the two cultures,” he added.
      “With that in mind, we looked through images I photographed and found an image of a roof I took from a restaurant in Chengdu, which inspired me to use roof tiles for the cafe.”
      The stairwell allows visitors to enjoy views of the coffee-making processA coffee bar that connects both floors is at the centre of the space, while seating and product displaying areas are arranged around it.
      According to Blue Bottle Coffee, this is to encourage customers to interact with the process of coffee making.
      An open lounge is on the second floor of the cafeThe stairwell is right next to the bar counter on the first floor so that when people walk up to the second floor, they are able to watch coffee being made at the bar area from different heights.
      An open lounge space at the second floor features a hanging paper light above a seating area with dark-brown furniture and leather cushions.

      Keiji Ashizawa designs Blue Bottle Coffee shop for “cave-like space” in Maebashi hotel

      Where the shop connects to the Kerry Centre, a series of semi-circular recessed seating areas have been carved out from the wall on both floors.
      The rounded shape of the seating areas not only responds to the roof tiles but also creates privacy for the customers dining in the cafe.
      Keiji Ashizawa Design used concrete in a variety of colours and textures all over the cafe, which has structural columns and slabs in raw concrete. Natural oak furniture was selected to add warmth to the interior.
      The seating areas are designed to reflect the shape of traditional Chinese roof tilesBlue Bottle Coffee was founded as a small roastery in Oakland, California, by James Freeman in 2002 and has since grown into a chain of cafes across the USA and Asia.
      This is the second Blue Bottle Coffee shop in mainland China. The first one was opened in February this year, designed by Schemata Architects, also in Shanghai.
      Previously, Keiji Ashizawa Design has designed three Blue Bottle Coffee shops in Japan.
      The photography is by Chen Hao.

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