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      MWAI designs Mayfair apartment as if it were a hotel suite

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      From a mini-fridge to a folding desk and a concealed make-up mirror, this compact London apartment designed by local firm MWAI features a variety of space-saving solutions.Commissioned by a busy, professional client who works internationally, the architects were asked to transform a 37-square-metre, one-bedroom apartment in a Mayfair mansion block into a minimalist “pied-à-terre”.

      Top image: an open-plan area includes the kitchen, living room and workspace. Above: neutral colours were used throughout
      “We thought accommodating sleeping, living, dining and working in a 37-square-metre apartment while also delivering the feel of a spacious interior was a very challenging brief,” said the practice.
      “We decided we should not look at it like a residential project but rather like a hotel suite, where all functions are carefully and discreetly planned to provide a functional response to business and leisure travelling needs.”

      The apartment’s built-in storage includes a folding desk

      Finished in a palette of natural materials like wood and stone, the apartment features an abundance of bespoke, built-in storage.
      According to MWAI, the main challenge was to maximise the limited amount of useable space in the apartment. Restricted by sloping ceilings, the apartment had a poor existing layout and was in need of renovation.

      Walls in the bedroom are painted grey
      In order to create a more efficient footprint in the London apartment, the practice began by removing and replacing all of the walls, floors and ceilings.
      Particular attention was paid to minimising the footprint of the bathroom and kitchen by placing them into the centre of the plan, sandwiched between the living room and bedroom.

      The bathroom walls are finished in waterproof cement
      A wet room is now accessed from the bedroom, with a pivoting flush door used to separate the rooms.

      Freaks Architecture divides tiny Parisian pied-à-terre with mobile storage unit

      The bathroom walls are clad in a waterproof cement polymer render, providing a textured finish that is enhanced by recessed lighting. Sleek industrial fixtures and sanitaryware were chosen to offset the textured walls.

      The kitchen conceals appliances and features sleek hardware
      To maximise floor space in the kitchen, the architects concealed units and equipment, including a mini-fridge, behind panels in the wall lining.
      A kitchen island accommodates the hob and oven and also doubles as a dining table.

      Light flooring runs throughout the apartment
      A wall of bespoke storage is built into the bedroom, including a make-up cabinet with a concealed mirror and clothes steamer.
      In the living room, custom-made cabinets with an integrated folding desk are installed along one wall and furnishings are kept to a minimum. A simple fireplace made from Vicenza stone acts as a focal point for the space.

      The stone fireplace is a focal point
      Other architecture firms that have created clever, space-saving solutions for compact apartments include Ukrainian firm Ater Architects, which hung curtains in place of walls in a Kyiv flat.
      In Madrid, Spanish studio Husos Arquitectos designed a 46-square-metre plywood-lined apartment that features a vertical garden and sleeping pod.
      Photography is by Billy Bolton.

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      Buckley Gray Yeoman gives Panagram office in London a “retro-pop aesthetic”

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      UK architecture studio Buckley Gray Yeoman has revived a 1980s office building in Central London, creating colourful spaces using painted ductwork, translucent curtains and speckled terrazzo.The newly opened Panagram encompasses 4,830 square metres in the city’s Clerkenwell neighbourhood and offers rentable office spaces across multiple levels.

      Buckley Gray Yeoman’s renovation of the 1980s building included creating an open and informal reception area
      Using the original building’s pink granite cladding as a design cue, the team at Buckley Gray Yeoman devised a colourful scheme for the interior renovation to create a relaxed setting.
      “A retro-pop aesthetic has replaced the corporate look and feel of the building as physical and metaphorical barriers are broken down to bring about a more convivial and lively set of workspaces,” said the architecture studio.

      The foyer features subway-tiled seating but no reception desk

      To modernise the existing architecture, glazing was added along the ground floor facing Goswell Road – a thoroughfare that is home to store locations of several prominent design brands.
      Visitors enter from the street into a large open-plan foyer, furnished with custom seating elements but no traditional reception desk – hosts emerge from a behind a translucent curtain instead.

      A koi carp pond sits in the centre of the tiled bench
      The sculptural seats include a plinth clad in white New York City subway tiles, with a koi carp pond and a bright yellow steel column at its centre. Another is wrapped in leather and surrounds a ficus tree.

      Fashion Street by Buckley Gray Yeoman

      “We have tried to create an almost gallery-type space upon entry; with a series of beautiful objects set amongst planting and trees,” said Oliver Bayliss, director at Buckley Gray Yeoman.
      “These accents continue throughout the building and provide moments of joy that will hopefully lift the spirits of the people who pass through.”

      A wooden staircase with bleacher-style seating creates a multi-purpose space
      A wooden staircase that incorporates bleacher-style seating and another ficus curves down to the garden-level, combining circulation space with an informal work, meeting or auditorium area.
      Lifts illuminated with coloured lighting connect the expansive rentable office spaces on the levels above, and ductwork is painted pink and blue on alternating levels.

      Lifts to the upper office levels are illuminated with coloured lighting
      On the second floor, Buckley Gray Yeoman has designed a workspace to demonstrate the potential of Panagram’s spatial offering.
      This model office combines pale timber, soft colours and translucent materials to continue the playful aesthetic seen downstairs.

      Buckley Gray Yeoman’s showcase office for Panagram features a pale palette with pastel colours
      A casual meeting area is enclosed by a sheer yellow curtain and furnished with comfy chairs, while private booths are lined in grey felt.
      Drapes are also used to partition the wood-lined reception area and the green-themed kitchen if needed. In the bathrooms, white subway tiles are paired with tinted speckled terrazzo.

      Colour continues in the green kitchen, which can be partitioned off with a translucent grey curtain
      The open-plan office layout benefits from plenty of natural light, and is peppered with potted plants. More greenery can be found on terraces that offer City of London views.
      “It’s easy to look at a building like this and assume you have to start again,” said Bayliss.
      “We saw an opportunity to create something really different and highly sustainable. Panagram has great volume and therefore great natural light, which in turn allows the building to be extremely desirable and flexible.”

      Panagram is located in London’s Clerkenwell neighbourhood, facing onto Goswell Road
      Buckley Gray Yeoman, which has offices in London and Bristol, is known for its imaginative conversion and restoration projects. The employee-owned firm has also turned a fire-damaged former market hall in Shoreditch into Corten-clad university offices, and was profiled as part of Dezeen’s Virtual Design Festival last year.
      Photography is by Jack Hobhouse.
      Project credits:Client: DorringtonArchitect: Buckley Gray YeomanContractor: Open ContractsProject manager: Blackburn & CoStructural engineers: Heyne Tillett SteelPlanning consultant: JLLLandscape architect: SpacehubBranding and design agency: Everything In BetweenM&E consultant: Peter Deer and AssociatesQuantity surveyor: ExigereLighting Designer: Pritchard ThemisFire engineer: MLMRights of Light/Party Wall surveyor: Point2SurveyorsBuilding control: MLMBuilding app: Smart SpacesIT consultants: DP SystemsAgents: Colliers, Allsop, Richard Susskind & CompanyBuilding managers: Workman

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      Keiji Ashizawa uses “rough materials” to create cosy restaurant interior

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      Wood-wool cement-board walls and concrete tabletops feature in this Tokyo restaurant interior by Japanese architect Keiji Ashizawa.Located a few minutes walk from Kawaguchi station in one of Tokyo’s largest commuter towns, Grillno is a cosy, 26-seat restaurant that serves a menu of smoked and grilled dishes.

      Top image: tables and chairs made from concrete, steel and wood furnish the interior. Above: dim lighting sets the mood
      Built on the second floor of a concrete apartment building, the moodily lit interior features walls made from grey wood wool cement board alongside oak floors and doors.
      An open kitchen with a long concrete counter allows diners to watch the chefs at work as they eat.
      “There are two fundamental inspirations,” said Ashizawa, “the building materials used for the thirty-year-old concrete apartment building and the food ingredients the restaurant uses daily.”

      The textured walls are made from grey wood wool cement board

      The 62-square-metre restaurant only opens in the evening, so guests typically experience the space at sunset or after dark.
      “The space gets some natural daylight from the entrance,” Ashizawa told Dezeen. “The gentle light from the setting sun creates a spectacular atmosphere during the opening hours.”

      A concrete counter stretches along the length of the open kitchen
      The restaurant’s owner is a friend of the Tokyo-based architect, as well as a regular collaborator.
      “Since starting his career as a chef, I have been supporting him with the planning of his restaurants — and enjoying eating what he cooks, of course,” Ashizawa explained.
      “As Grillno is a restaurant specialised in smoked and grilled dishes, we began by planning an open kitchen and a long concrete counter around the kitchen so that people could enjoy watching the chef cook while eating.”

      A suspended steel lamp hovers over the concrete counter
      A thin, long steel suspension lamp hangs above the concrete counter to create an even light for dining.
      “We believe that good restaurants can welcome people in many situations, whether you come by yourself, with your friends and family or for your night out,” continued Ashizawa.
      “To make the most out of the space as possible, we planned different types of seating arrangements.”

      Campana brothers use hollow terracotta blocks for São Paulo Aesop store

      These include the rounded counter, which seats up to 14 diners, alongside two cosy wooden tables for couples that are tucked away in a recess, and three tables that seat up to four people on a mix of chairs and benches.

      Dining tables for couples are placed in a recess
      “With a few rough materials, worked expertly by craftsmen, we tried to achieve a relaxing atmosphere with moments of tension to match the food and hospitality,” explained Ashizawa.
      Incorporating industrial materials that are generally perceived as “rough” into commercial interiors is popular among architects and designers.
      Lisbon-based Inês Brandão has created a kitchen from oriented strand board inside a converted barn home in Portugal, while brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana applied hollow ceramic bricks, typically used to build external walls, in a shop interior for Aesop in Sao Paulo.

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      Bureau de Change makes creative use of terrazzo in Frame House renovation

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      London studio Bureau de Change has used different varieties of terrazzo to create a richly textured interior for a remodelled family home.Frame House is a Victorian terraced home in south London, renovated and extended by Bureau de Change for a property developer and her family.

      The ground floor of Frame House is split over three levels
      The project involved adding a rear extension, converting the loft and completing revamping the interior. But most importantly, the client wanted to give the home a distinct character and coherency throughout.
      The architecture studio achieved this with a carefully planned colour and material strategy, and through playful use of geometry.

      The lounge occupies the extended rear of the house

      “The brief was to create a coherent journey through all spaces and floors,” explained architect Billy Mavropoulos, who co-founded Bureau de Change with partner Katerina Dionysopoulou.
      “We needed a holistic design, looking at everything from the architecture of the extension, to the layouts and the way the spaces are used, down to the joinery handles and details,” he told Dezeen.
      “The client was after a rich palette of finishes and colours, but one that would feel consistently part of the same narrative.”

      Different varieties of terrazzo were chosen for different areas
      As is common with Victorian terraces, Frame House has a split-level layout that helps to make the floor plan more efficient.
      In the new layout, the ground floor is divided over three levels, comprising the kitchen, dining space and lounge. The two split-level upper storeys contain three en-suite bedrooms, a separate bathroom and a study room.
      Terrazzo was the material that Mavropoulos and Dionysopoulou chose to unite the various spaces. It is a material the pair are familiar with, having previously used it in another residential project, Folds House.

      Different shades of taupe feature on each of the ground floor levels
      Here, they decided to work with different varieties of terrazzo to give each space its own character, while subtly tying them all together.
      On the ground floor the flooring is a taupe terrazzo in three slightly different shades – one for each level. This creates a gentle transition from light to dark, starting with the kitchen at the front of the house and ending with the lounge at the rear.

      A green marble terrazzo was chosen for the staircase handrail
      “We chose them very carefully so that they are all of the same family but vary in darkness/density,” said Mavropoulos.
      “The colour difference is very subtle as we did not want the floor to take over. But when you look closely you notice the difference.”
      Other details have been picked out contrasting terrazzo varieties: a kitchen island features shades of red and black, the staircase handrails are a green marble terrazzo, and each bathroom has its own different shade.

      The master bedroom on the first floor features an en-suite with grey terrazzo
      The geometries of the design are based around the rear extension, which gives the occupants a large living space.
      Keen to avoid the 45-degree angled roof and frameless glass typical of infill extensions, the architects opted for a more cuboidal approach. Steel frames create staggered glass boxes, which Mavropoulos and Dionysopoulou liken to museum display cases.

      The new loft bedroom features an en-suite with pale terrazzo and pink walls
      “When we looked at the cascading volumes in plan and section, we felt there was an element of fragility to them, almost like a jewel stone, so we decided to make them out of glass to enhance that feel,” said Mavropoulos.
      “These distinctly cubist glass volumes are articulated through their bold steel-frame construction, expressing each edge in a manner that creates shifting patterns of light and space, and a paradoxical sense of both levity and solidity,” added Dionysopoulou.

      The terrazzo also extends into the garden, forming cascading planters
      These cascading box forms are referenced in other places, such as the proportions of the split floor levels, or the planting boxes in the garden. There’s also a glass display case in the dining area.
      Other details contribute to the personality of these spaces. The lounge room brings together a floral-patterned rug and a large cactus plant, while the dining space features a wall of shelving filled with various objects and books.
      The architects hope the result is one of “theatre and tactility”.
      Photography is by Gilbert McCarragher.
      Project credits
      Architect: Bureau de ChangeInteriors: Bureau de ChangeEngineer: SymmetrysM&E: MWLContractor: Argyll LondonLandscape: Tulip Landscapes

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      “The uncomfortable truth is that 2020 might just have been exactly what we needed”

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      After a turbulent 2020, this year designers should be braver and bolder, says Michelle Ogundehin in her interior design anti-trends report for 2021.I concluded my 2020 Interiors Report with the words, “I still believe that we can be as brilliantly inventive as we have previously been so terribly destructive. However, 2020 is our make-or-break year to prove it.”
      Six months later I wrote about the potential impact of the coronavirus on our homes. In summary, your environment is as fundamental to your health and well-being as nutrition and exercise.

      However, Covid is not the only issue impacting society. The pandemic simply crunched years of behavioural change into months. Resistance wears away when something becomes a necessity. And while some of the responses to global lockdowns gave us a glimpse of potential solutions, other factors are having an equally noxious affect on the way we live.
      As Christopher Ryan says in his book, Civilised to Death: The Price of Progress, “the zoo we’ve designed for ourselves is a poor reflection of the world in which our species evolved, and is thus a profoundly unhealthy, unhappy place for too many of the human animals it contains.”

      This report then is less about trends, than exposed truths

      Certainly, if we peel back the cladding on much of the residential housing built over the last few decades, it reveals a horrifying disrespect for the humane as the dignity of the occupants is routinely sacrificed at the altar of profit – tiny windows, minimal footprints, cramped rooms, no easy access to outside space, and not least, cheap and dangerous building materials.
      It’s a symptom of where we find ourselves, but also a contributor to the cause as it affects our primal need for a safe place to call home. This report then is less about trends, than exposed truths.
      After all, even before Covid, normal wasn’t working. To quote the American socio-biologist Edward O Wilson, “The real problem of humanity is the following: we have palaeolithic emotions; medieval institutions; and godlike technology.” Or as Sophocles would have it, “nothing vast enters the life of mortals without a curse”.

      Sexy eco, monochrome and plus-size furniture: interior design trends for 2020

      In other words, the flip side of the incredible technology we have at our fingertips is that it’s simultaneously being used as a tool to erode the very fabric of society – community, connection, reality and considered thought (which I explain as the desire to check sources and decide for ourselves before accepting opinion as fact). Plus, apps to run our baths, ever faster broadband, the ability to manipulate genes, Klarna, deep fakes and cheap flights to far-flung lands? Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.

      Blurring the boundaries between home and work is not without repercussion

      It had already been estimated that by 2020, 50 per cent of the UK workforce would be working from home. Campaigning for the flexibility it offered had previously been vociferous, especially for women.
      Besides, employees were at breaking point. The toxic culture of presenteeism resulted in 44 per cent of all UK work-related absences being due to stress and anxiety. In short, work as we knew it was already broken. It was just the bosses who feared staff would be less productive if given more freedom. The opposite has been proven to be true. 
      Nevertheless, blurring the boundaries between home and work is not without repercussion. Alongside the impossibility of overlaying parenting with employment in the same space and hours, even without children in tow, the ability to WFH assumes you have adequate room, equipment and support. And if you injure yourself on-the-job at home, are you insured?
      We would also do well to remember the salutary tale of “Bob”, the US software developer who in 2013 outsourced his job to a Chinese consulting firm for a fifth of his salary. His work didn’t suffer.
      In fact, he was regularly marked out as being one of the company’s top-performing programmers. Until he was rumbled. But here’s the thing, if WFH makes it easy for you to outsource your job without being detected, it also makes it easy for your boss to outsource you. If you can do your job anywhere, can anyone do your job?
      For these reasons alone, the demise of the office is over-stated. Besides, according to an Arup survey published in The Sunday Times, for every 100 office workers, four jobs are sustained in the food/drink sector; six in hospitality and seven in retail. But, if businesses are smart, offices will be smaller and used as three-day week hub points for shared learning, innovation and collaboration. People are innately social animals. We need to come together to get things done. This will engender improved productivity and creativity with a happier workforce.

      Fear is not a trustworthy motivator for long-term survival

      And yet, living with uncertainty can be a great spur to innovation and discovery. Regardless, in so many aspects of life we have become more fearful. We begin to believe that it’s OK to attempt to live forever, plan an exodus to Mars, medicate our way out of aging, or see the world as something to be perpetually controlled and conquered. This is not progress, it’s to rail against the natural order of life. Fear is not a trustworthy motivator for long-term survival.
      For example, a vaccine is a reprieve from fear, but a vaccine is not a cure. It’s a shield. Like a mask. Or hand-sanitising. Absolutely required to protect the most vulnerable, but mass inoculation does little to address the cause.
      And when another pandemic occurs, our response cannot be a repeat performance of the ‘muzzle-up-and-shut-down’ while waiting to be saved, as already witnessed. The collateral damage of disrupted lives, broken livelihoods and the inevitable mental health fall-out are too severe. There has to be another way.

      “In the future home, form will follow infection”

      We could start by taking some personal responsibility. As Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet put it, “Our liberties depend on our wellbeing”. And yet, “we create the risks that threaten us… Our space for manoeuvre is narrowing. Pandemics are the new normal. We had better understand that. And get used to it.”
      Thankfully, we already have inside us one of the most potent infection-fighting bits of kit imaginable, our immune systems. We need to bolster these. However contemporary life for many does precisely the opposite. We will spend on average 90 per cent of our time indoors and by 2050 the UN had predicted that 68 per cent of the world population would be living in profoundly urban environments.

      UK government schemes like Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s eat-out-to-help-out initiative imply that it’s our moral and civic duty to support the economy. But is it?

      Previously eradicated diseases like rickets and gout are returning to developed nations, alongside childhood myopia and obesity, all attributable to increasingly screen-based, sedentary lifestyles with a profound lack of outside time. As a result, instead of getting stronger as a species, we appear to be getting weaker. This is a pathology of society, not just our bodies.
      As the Journal of Affective Disorders stated in 2012 (from Christopher Ryan’s Civilised to Death): “The economic and marketing forces of modern society have engineered an environment… that maximise[s] consumption at the long-term cost of well-being.
      In effect, humans have dragged a body with a long hominid history into an overfed, malnourished, sedentary, sunlight-deficient, sleep-deprived, competitive, inequitable and socially-isolating environment with dire consequences.”
      Surely then the vital question must be: if city centres were previously considered the engines of the economy, but urban hubs don’t work for us and we need more room for homeworking as well as outside space, what must change – us, or the way we view “the economy”?
      UK government schemes like Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s eat-out-to-help-out initiative imply that it’s our moral and civic duty to support the economy. But is it? If a recession is on the horizon, shouldn’t I be saving or downsizing? But if I don’t spend, do I in effect prompt the downturn? Catch 22.
      And what of that other political punchbag, education. “The Future of Jobs Report” prepared by the World Economic Forum in 2016 stated that 65 per ceny of the children entering primary school then would end up in jobs that don’t currently exist. Despite this, existing measurements of learning — annual exams, one-size-fits-all curriculae – do little to assess and develop character traits like curiosity, resilience and independence of thought. Essential for our children both today and if they are to be employable in the future.

      Everything that we believed comprised ‘civilised society’ has been shown to be more fragile than we thought

      So where do we go from here? We’ve shattered the economy and ideas of sovereignty. Contemporary society has repeatedly been shown to be fractured along racial, faith and class lines. Most political systems have always been broken (in my opinion, governments are but a country’s HR department: there for the business, never the people). National security was no match for an invisible foe. And healthcare can only ever be based on assumed knowledge. 
      Basically, everything that we believed comprised ‘civilised society’ has been shown to be more fragile than we thought. It presents a dilemma. It seems we need to go back in order to go forwards, but nostalgia is a mistake, and the future is unknown.
      Our global interconnectedness appears to be both our passage to, yet also from, destruction. The return of the analogue is manna for our sanity but automation and robotization are essential for convenience. We cannot deny the might of the ‘attention economy’ — I am still ‘seen’ even in lockdown; therefore, I exist — but it urgently needs to be recalibrated.

      “Grey alone would be too depressing for 2021’s colour of the year”

      Writing as an optimistic realist, I maintain that the power to proactively prompt big change for our best interests has never been so vested with the Everyman. And in that lies our opportunity.
      My hope is that over the next few years such conscious consumerism will drive market value rather than the customary manufacturer-prompted lure of the new. Because, while we will almost certainly keep spending, swiping, click and collecting, what I see changing is the awareness that every time we do so, we advocate for the provider to stay in business.
      We can individually vote with our wallets for greener energy suppliers and sustainable manufacturers, boycott apps that unnecessarily distract or hook users, or globally demonstrate for cleaner air and ethical governance. Anything rejected by such a collective mainstream will be undermined. In this way even the most established edifices become vulnerable unless they move with the times. 

      Discomfort begets the new comfort. This is the year for the interiors equivalent of speaking your own truth

      The uncomfortable truth is that 2020 might just have been exactly what we needed. A year so damned unsettling that a majority finally woke up and saw that we must understand, even if not accept, polarising points of view. That real evolution is all about balance: new and old; real and virtual; left and right; East and West. Combative duelling is rarely the path to sensible compromise. 
      And regarding Interior trends for 2021? Discomfort begets the new comfort. This is the year for the interiors equivalent of speaking your own truth. To be braver, bolder and create your own interiors narrative.
      To understand that the best homes are about the feeling they give you not the stuff they contain, the “right” colours or “hot” looks. A tidy home doesn’t necessarily make a happy home. And being surrounded by memories is not the same as living in the past — our roots keep us anchored in the present. 
      Quite simply, we are all products of our environment. If we intentionally create more supportive spaces in which to live, i.e. spaces which reflect our authentic likes and lives rather than anything dictated externally, we will be more able to weather the myriad messy curveballs of life itself. This alone is the true purpose of home. And the impact of fully recognising this could be game-changing, if not potentially life-saving. 
      Michelle Ogundehin is the author of Happy Inside: How to Harness the Power of Home for Health and Happiness and the head judge on TV series Interior Design Masters.Main image is of the Dezeen Awards-shortlisted Writer’s Studio by Eric J Smith.
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      Norm Architects bases jewellery store interior on the studios of Picasso and Matisse

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      Norm Architects used natural materials such as oak, clay, linen and travertine to create a jewellery showroom in Copenhagen informed by modernist artists’ studios.Located on Ny Østergade in the city’s old town, the flagship store belongs to jewellery brand Dulong and features an open-plan layout broken only by a few existing cast-iron columns.

      Dulong’s flagship store features travertine tables and counters
      Its “serene, soft and welcoming” interior is arranged much like a living room, with a curved sofa and round coffee table at its centre.
      To enhance the sense of homeliness, the local firm opted for natural materials such as oak flooring, clay walls, travertine display tables and caramel-coloured suede and linen curtains.

      The walls were finished with clay

      According to Norm Architects, the selection is intended to reflect the jewellery brand’s “timeless and exclusive” pieces but was also inspired by the studios of great modernist artists such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși.

      Granite boulders feature in jewellery showroom by Richard Stampton Architects

      The oak parquet flooring is original, while everything else, including the clay walls, has been added.
      Burnished brass, glass and walnut feature as material accents across the store’s lighting, as well as in the bespoke furniture pieces that were designed for the space by Norm Architects.

      The studio kept the original oak parquet flooring
      A colonnade stretches across the entire back wall of the store in a nod to the neoclassical architecture of Copenhagen. Within each of its recesses sits a travertine plinth with a glass vitrine displaying an individual piece of jewellery or artwork.
      At the back of the store is a private room where customers can try on jewellery, alongside a separate kitchen space and restroom.

      A colonnade runs along the store’s back wall
      “The quality craftsmanship with which the jewellery has been designed is reflected in the carefully selected choice of finishes and elegantly feminine, balanced tonal palette,” said the Danish practice.
      Founded in 2008 by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen and Kasper Rønn Von Lotzbeck, Norm Architects is renowned for its understated design and sensitive use of natural colours and materials.

      Linen curtains and suede-clad display cases feature throughout the space
      In Tokyo, the studio renovated a pair of formerly light-starved apartments to create “transparent” living spaces with concrete walls, wooden floors and simple furnishings.
      Meanwhile in Hamburg, the practice used oak, grey stone and yellow-tinted glass in a minimal makeover of a department store’s menswear section.
      Photography is by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen.

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      IE University taught me about strategic interior design says Araceli Torres Muñoz

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      Dezeen promotion: graduating from the IE School of Architecture and Design provided the skills to design adaptable spaces for the post-pandemic workplace, according to designer Araceli Torres Muñoz.Torres Muñoz, who is a workplace strategist and designer at architecture studio Sshape in Washington DC, received a master’s in Strategic Design of Spaces from the IE School of Architecture and Design at IE University.
      According to Torres Muñoz, the skills she learnt during the course taught her to embrace change and utilise technology to develop her workspace designs.
      “It was there that I received the tools to react with agility and view change as an opportunity,” she said.
      “Technology has served as our ally in this change. This is an idea I’ve internalised since I completed the master’s at IE University. There, we were encouraged to integrate technology in all the phases of the design process – from analysis to development to execution of the project and, finally, to monitoring the project’s performance.”

      IE University taught Torres Muñoz to embrace change and utilise technology to develop her workspace designs. Photograph by Manolo Yllera

      This knowledge has become especially valuable over the past year as the coronavirus pandemic has forced numerous companies to adapt their workspaces and adopt digital working strategies.
      “Although we’d spotted this new style of work approaching on the horizon, we still weren’t prepared for it,” said Torres Muñoz. “In a blink of an eye, our work environments and lives were reduced to a screen and a keyboard. We were forced to go virtual.”
      “As a workplace strategist and designer at Sshape in Washington DC, I had to rethink my approach to work in that moment. I needed to provide solutions for my clients, who were facing an unforeseen situation with high levels of uncertainty,” she continued.

      Technology has become an essential tool for connecting employees to their workspaces, says Torres Muñoz. Photograph by Manolo Yllera
      Since the pandemic began, Torres Muñoz has observed that technology has become an essential tool for connecting employees to their workspaces.
      “Technology has become the link between designers and the users of the spaces; it is the open communication channel between both extremes,” she explained.
      “The immediacy and capacity for data collection and analysis that new technologies provide are the foundations an interior design strategy should be built upon,” she continued.
      “They allow offices to become efficient and, above all, flexible spaces that attract talent and respond to the needs of their users.”
      Below Torres Muñoz outlines four areas of strategic interior design where technology is driving change:
      Technology can confront uncertainty, measure change and predict the future
      “Anything that cannot be measured cannot be improved. Understanding how employees work, their needs, routines, timings, etc. is key to developing a knowledge base that serves as a foundation for strategic interior design,” she said.
      “Online survey tools help us perform these internal analyses and detect changes in work models. Additionally, they allow employees to express themselves freely and encourage all voices to be heard.”
      Technology to reinforce company culture and build engagement
      One of the principal problems of the shift to working virtually is the feeling of personal disconnect. Working from home can lead to isolation. For companies, this means that successfully transmitting their mission and values can be a difficult task.
      We use gamification techniques to increase engagement and ensure employees take ownership of the office design project. These platforms and activities give us an understanding of the company culture; the unwritten rules that define the behaviour of people in a group. This critical information helps companies build a more flexible culture that encourages continuous learning and lets interior design strategists design an office that transmits and reinforces its values.
      Technology and leveraging virtual reality for architecture
      Designing, and above all, explaining online projects can be complex. We often find that it’s difficult for customers to understand detailed plans and schematics from behind a screen.
      With the integration of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) methodology and virtual reality technologies, designers can offer companies virtual tours of their future workspaces. They can walk through the different areas, see what the materials will look like and experience the final result before even beginning construction.
      Space and technology: A perfect symbiosis
      The future of workspaces lies in flexible and connected spaces. We must emphasise the design of wireless spaces where walls, screens and furniture can move and adapt to the needs of the moment. We will see outlets and lights on rails, air stream systems integrated into each space and a generally flexible office space that allows its users to adjust it to their needs.
      For the hybrid work model to function, we have to implement a simple and efficient space-reservation system that can adapt to different teams during distinct project phases. This requires state-of-the-art technology that serves both people and spaces.
      Partnership content
      This article was written by Dezeen for IE University as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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      in Rooms

      Minimalist micro-apartments in Seoul form “blank canvas for tenants”

      by

      Interior designer Ian Lee has lined the walls of the LIFE micro-apartments in South Korea with birch wood to offer tenants pared-back spaces that they can personalise.Located in Seoul’s Gangnam District, the apartments form part of a 16-storey co-living building for young adults, developed by co-working-space provider Fastfive.
      The block contains a total of 140 rooms, which vary between 16 and 23 square metres in size, alongside shared living areas that Vancouver-based Lee also designed.

      LIFE micro-apartments are lined with birch joinery

      Lee’s goal for the LIFE apartments was to create deliberately simple, timeless interiors that were visually uncluttered.
      While helping to distract from the small size of the rooms, this offers tenants the opportunity to create homely, private spaces with their own furniture and belongings.

      The birch is intended to offer a minimalist finish
      “Like in many densely populated cities, most young adults in Seoul struggle to find homes as housing prices climb,” explained Lee.
      “I wanted this co-living space and the community it would build to be an accessible alternative to traditional housing options that can eventually give its residents a sense of belonging.”

      Built-in window seats and reading nooks feature in some rooms
      “One of my aims in designing these rental units was to find that balance, where the space feels timeless and comfortable as it is, but also like a blank canvas for tenants to personalise,” Lee continued.
      “The overarching goal was to evoke a sense of home.”

      Playful arched cut-outs are the only decorative elements
      Each apartment is fully equipped with a private kitchen and bathroom, with storage and appliances built-in or hidden within the birch-lined walls to maximise useable space.
      Some units are fitted with sliding glass partitions that can be used to divide the flats offering tenants flexibility while ensuring natural light can still filter through.

      Some apartments feature sliding partitions
      Lee chose birch as the main material for the micro-apartments to create a cosy finish, but also because the material forms a neutral backdrop for furnishings.
      The only decorative elements he has included are playful arched cut-outs, reading nooks and window seats, which he hopes contribute to the cosy aesthetic.

      A Little Design maximises space in tiny 22-metre-square Taiwan apartment

      “Rental homes can feel generic, cold and utilitarian,” Lee explained. “The soft spatial elements like arches and curves were used to infuse warmth and emotions into the rooms.”

      Storage is built-in to maximise useable space
      The shared living spaces, which were not photographed, include a communal kitchen, workspace, lounge, gym and rooftop garden.
      Finished with an equally minimalist design, these are hoped to help foster community amongst tenants.

      Each apartment is fully equipped with a kitchen
      Other micro-apartments on Dezeen that feature wood-lined interiors include A Little Design’s 17.6-square-metre residence in Taiwan, which features built-in, space-saving furniture.
      Elsewhere in Taiwan, the studio also designed a 22-metre-square apartment with storage spanning one entire wall, covering the 3.3 metres from floor to ceiling.
      Photography is by Texture on Texture.

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