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      Lanterns dangle through hole between floors in “UK’s most expensive steak” restaurant

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      Interiors studio Rosendale Design used paper pendants to illuminate hand-painted red-and-gold walls in the first overseas outpost of Japanese steakhouse Aragawa in London.

      Set across two floors in a Mayfair townhouse, the restaurant is widely credited as serving the “UK’s most expensive steak” – a £900 cut of wagyu beef from Shiga prefecture.
      Rosendale Design created the interiors for a Japanese steakhouse in MayfairCharacterised by a rich palette of deep reds, golds and dark woods, the interior of the steakhouse was “heavily influenced by traditional Japanese architecture and design”, Rosendale Design founder Dale Atkinson told Dezeen.
      “We gave it a contemporary twist in a subtle way so it didn’t become kitsch,” he said.
      Pendant lights dangle through a void between the ground floor and basementUpon entering Aragawa, visitors pass through an archway that frames a wood-panelled reception area painted in pale green.

      From here, a corridor leads past a wine display cabinet that wraps around the back wall with skylights providing natural illumination.
      A private dining room with seats for 12 guests is accessed through glass and wood doors, with a slatted wooden screen partially obstructing the view into the space.
      A Japanese kiln is surrounded by blue tiles in the kitchenPendant lamps that take cues from traditional Japanese paper lanterns hang through a mirror-lined void between the ground floor and the basement, providing views of the main restaurant below.
      “The lanterns are one of the key features that are first experienced at ground level but drop down through the opening in the floor and are then a prevalent feature in the main dining room,” said Atkinson.
      “We looked at traditional Japanese lanterns and gave it a bit of a contemporary twist.”
      More lanterns hang from the latticed ceiling in the dining roomStairs lead down to the restaurant past an open kitchen, divided from the seating area via an uplit rough-textured counter.
      Cornflower-blue tiles clad the walls in the kitchen, where Rosendale Design installed a Japanese kiln.

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      Used to prepare Aragawa’s speciality, Japanese Kobe beef, the kiln was modelled on the model found in the original Aragawa restaurant in Tokyo, which opened in 1967 and became known as one of the priciest steak houses in the world.
      “The feature kiln is the main connection between the restaurants in Tokyo and London,” said Atkinson.
      “We worked with a local manufacturer to copy as best we could the kiln in Tokyo but dress it in a way that matches the London design ethos.”
      Hand-painted red-and-gold panels line the walls of the dining spaceMore lanterns are suspended from the dark wood lattice ceiling in the primary dining space.
      “The feature ceiling is referencing traditional Japanese castles,” explained Atkinson.
      Soft lighting illuminates the red-and-gold panels that line the walls of the dining area, hand-painted with patterns derived from Nishijin silk kimonos.
      Rosendale Design opted for crimson-red velvet-lined seatingThe red colour palette is continued in the red velvet-lined seating, contrasting against white tablecloths.
      “We made sure to play with the saturation of colours to make it more dramatic and romantic,” said Atkinson.
      Other Japanese restaurants recently featured on Dezeen include a noodle restaurant in a century-old townhouse in Kyoto and a restaurant in Alberta that combines Japanese psychedelia and cabins.
      The photography is by Justin De Souza.

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      Gubi opens first UK showroom in London townhouse takeover

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      A Georgian townhouse filled with period details is now Gubi House London, the first dedicated showroom that the furniture brand has opened outside Denmark.

      Gubi partnered with Danish surface design studio File Under Pop to reimagine the listed building as a showspace for its collection, which includes furniture by designers such as GamFratesi and Space Copenhagen.
      Gubi House London occupies a listed Georgian townhouseA curated colour palette combines with material finishes including Spanish clay tiles and Italian lava stone to create four floors of rooms with a contemporary feel.
      “To be in a townhouse is a unique opportunity,” explained Marie Kristine Schmidt, chief brand officer for Gubi.
      Furniture is on display across four different floors”We could create something very domestic in feel. We have smaller rooms where we can create different experiences and we can tell different stories on each floor,” she told Dezeen.

      The showroom is located on Charterhouse Square, a garden square framed by cobbled streets, and will be open by appointment.
      Danish surface design studio File Under Pop oversaw the colour and material paletteGubi was founded in 1967 by furniture designers Lisbeth and Gubi Olsen, who later handed it down to their sons, Jacob and Sebastian Gubi Olsen. Jacob is still a shareholder and a member of the board.
      The London expansion was first mooted in 2020, not long after the once family-owned company was acquired by Nordic private equity group Axcel and the Augustinus Foundation.
      Furniture on show includes the Croissant Sofa designed by Ilum Wikkelsø in 1962Schmidt said the UK is a key market for the brand as it looks to expand its intentional profile.
      “London is a melting pot right now, particularly in the hotel and restaurant scene, so for us, it is a really important city to be in,” she said during a tour of the building.
      “I think there is a lot of untapped potential for us here.”
      A ground-floor dining room features hand-painted forest-green wallpaperEach floor of Gubi House London has its own character, drawing on different influences reflected in the materials and fabrics that feature in across the product collection.
      The ground floor, described as “boutique chic”, features a trio of spaces designed to emulate the sense of comfort and luxury of a boutique hotel.
      Also on the ground floor, a blue fireplace sits behind the Moon dining tableKey details include a fireplace colour-blocked in a deep inky shade of blue, which serves as a backdrop to the brand’s Moon dining table and Bat dining chairs.
      Also on display here are several reissued 20th-century lamps, including designs by Finnish designer Paavo Tynell, Danish architect Louis Weisdorf and Swedish designer Greta M Grossman.
      The first-floor rooms take cues from the 1970sTowards the rear, a room with hand-painted forest-green wallpaper serves as a dining space.
      The first floor takes cues from the 1970s, with an earthy colour palette.

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      Key pieces here include the Pacha lounge chair, a 1975 design by the late French designer Pierre Paulin, upholstered in a striped fabric and a cascading arrangement of the Semi Pendant lamps, designed in 1968 by Danish design duo Claus Bonderup and Torsten Thorup.
      This floor also includes a bar, which serves as a centrepiece in the smaller of the two rooms.
      The second floor was envisioned as a co-working environmentThe second floor was envisioned as a co-working environment, with furniture that emulates a contemporary bistro, while the uppermost level offers a more bohemian feel.
      “We wanted to create a space that is inspiring,” said Schmidt. “It wouldn’t be right for our brand to go into a commercial space.”
      Gubi House London is located at 12 Charterhouse SquareThe experience is different from the warehouse feel of Gubi’s Copenhagen headquarters, which occupies a former tobacco factory in the waterside Nordhavn area.
      “This is how we see Gubi in the context of the UK,” added Schmidt.
      “It was fun to play with a building that is so pleasant and give it a very fresh, modern, contemporary look.”
      In Copenhagen, Danish brand &Tradition took over a townhouse during design festival 3 Days of Design, while fellow Danish brand Hay unveiled its renovated Copenhagen townhouse in 2021.
      The photography is by Michael Sinclair.

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      Studio Aisslinger completes “nature-loving” renovation of Hotel Seegarten

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      Designer Werner Aisslinger has renovated a lakeside hotel in Germany’s Sauerland region, adding hydroponics and locally sourced materials including wood and terrazzo to craft interiors informed by the surrounding nature.

      Hotel Seegarten is owned and operated by TV chef Olaf Baumeister, who took over the traditional inn from his parents in 1992 and has overseen its transformation into modern boutique accommodation.
      Werner Aisslinger has renovated a boutique hotel in the SauerlandWerner Aisslinger’s studio was influenced by the hotel’s location overlooking the Sorpesee lake when developing its “nature-loving” concept for the guest rooms and public areas.
      This includes Baumeister’s Seegarten restaurant, where hydroponic shelves are used to grow ingredients for the kitchen.
      Terrazzo and wood feature throughout the interior”The overall atmosphere is friendly and close to nature, as all materials are processed in their purest form and can be felt,” said the design team, adding that further inspiration came from Baumeister’s passion for using local produce in his cooking.

      The studio described the hotel’s setting as an “oasis in the Sauerland”, which informed a design that is casual, modern and focused on promoting wellbeing.
      The two main materials used throughout the scheme are terrazzo and wood, which are intended to evoke the pebble beaches of the nearby lake and the trees of the surrounding forest.
      Stones from a nearby quarry were incorporated into the grey terrazzoOther elements such as curtains, carpets, plants and rattan screens were chosen to complement these two cornerstone materials, as well as adding different tactile surfaces to the interior.
      Stones from a nearby quarry were incorporated into the grey terrazzo, which was processed by a local firm and is used throughout the bathrooms.
      As well as referencing the natural surroundings, the use of local materials and regional manufacturers helps to minimise the project’s carbon footprint by reducing shipping requirements.

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      The bedrooms feature bespoke shelves housing planters filled with herbs, along with equipment that guests can use to brew their own tea.
      In the bathrooms, Studio Aisslinger commissioned custom-made towel rails shaped like swimming pool ladders that attach to the bathtubs.
      Traditional wood panelling features in the Seegarten restaurant, providing a contrast with the metal hydroponic troughs and their bright LED grow lights.
      Furniture designs by Aisslinger include the Wood Bikini chairThe hotel’s wellness area features flat and curved rattan screens that are suspended from the ceiling and can be adjusted in height to provide privacy if required.
      Furniture created by Aisslinger for various design brands is used throughout the hotel, including the Geometrics pouf for Cappellini and the Wood Bikini chair for Moroso.
      The public areas also feature the solid oak Cep tables, the geometric Urban Jungle rugs and the Addit sofas designed for German furnituremaker Rolf Benz in collaboration with Studio Aisslinger’s design director Tina Bunyaprasit.
      Curved rattan screens and sheer curtains feature in the hotel’s wellness areaAisslinger founded his studio in Berlin in 1993, adding a Singapore office in 2008.
      The studio’s previous projects include the transformation of a famous Berlin squat into a photography museum and the design of a futuristic exhibition exploring topics from urban farming to robotics.
      The photography is by Nicoló Lanfranchi for Studio Aisslinger.

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      Eight compact micro interiors that make the most of their small space

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      For our latest lookbook, we’ve collected eight micro apartments and micro homes that use clever solutions to fit the most into a single room, which often functions as both the living room and the bedroom.

      A “sleeping cocoon” and built-in space-saving furniture are among the solutions used to create comfortable living and sleeping spaces in these projects.
      The interiors, which range from a home in Taipei to a small apartment in Beirut, feature a number of innovative designs that allow their owners and tenants to stretch out – even in spaces that are as small as 15 square metres.
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring minimalist kitchens and homes with pyramidal ceilings.
      Photo by Pierce ScourfieldFerguson, Scotland, by Lee Ivett, Simon Harlow and Duncan Blackmore

      Colour decorates the walls in this 25-square-metre apartment in Glasgow, which doesn’t contain any freestanding furniture. Instead, a fixed bench and a shelf that functions as a desk create a living room and workspace.
      The bed can be found on a mezzanine that sits above a compact shower room and is reached via wooden steps. Custom-made sinks ensure that the white goods don’t take up too much space in the flat, which the owner uses as a temporary base in the city.
      Find out more about Ferguson ›

      Corten steel micro home, Lithuania, by IM Interior
      This micro home located inside a former garage in Lithuania shows “how little a person needs,” said designer Indrė Mylytė-Sinkevičienė, founder of IM Interior.
      The home measures 21 square metres and has warm birch wood lining. Its bed is positioned like a window seat beneath one of its two narrow windows and surrounded by concealed storage. A slim, built-in shelf functions as both a desk and a dining table.
      Find out more about the Corten steel home ›
      Photo is by Hey! CheeseMicro-flat, Taiwan, by A Little Design
      Local studio A Little Design used built-in, space-saving furniture for this Taipei apartment, which measures just 17.6 square metres.
      Built-in cabinets provide storage next to a staircase that leads up to a mezzanine bed, while a foldable table can be used as a desk or dining space.
      Find out more about the micro-flat ›
      Photo is by Peter BennettsMicroloft, Melbourne, by Studio Edwards
      Chipboard was used to create much of the furniture in this 24-square-metre apartment in Melbourne, including storage units, a sofa and a bed.
      The designers also customised IKEA furniture for the home, wrapping a bedside stool in recycled aluminium to help with the acoustics and using aluminium legs to extend the same stools to create seats for dining.
      Find out more about Microloft ›
      Photo by Ståle EriksenShoji Apartment, UK, by Proctor & Shaw
      A translucent “sleeping cocoon” wrapped in panels that reference Japanese shoji screens gave this flat its name. Designed by London studio Proctor & Shaw, it measures 29 square metres and has a design that takes advantage of its high ceilings.
      “This apartment renovation project is conceived as a prototype for micro-living in existing housing stock with constrained floor areas but traditionally generous ceiling heights,” explained the studio.
      Find out more about Shoji Apartment ›
      Photo by Marwan HarmouchShoe Box, Lebanon, by Eliemetni
      This compact Beirut apartment, located on the roof of an old building, has just 15 square metres of floor space but manages to fit everything into one room.
      The floor was coated in white epoxy to maximise the light in the small space, which has lots of under-bed and under-seating storage in its custom-built space-saving furniture. Matching white walls add an airy feel to the space.
      Find out more about Shoe Box ›
      Photo by Koji Fujii Nacasa and PartnersLove2 House, Japan, by Takeshi Hosaka
      This Tokyo micro home, which measures 19 square metres, receives plenty of natural light from its two large skylights.
      Architect Takeshi Hosaka built it for himself and his wife, designing the compact home with seven partitions that extend out from the reinforced concrete walls to define the dining, kitchen and sleeping zones.
      A large sliding door opens the home up to the street, creating additional space in the warm months.
      Find out more about Love2 House ›
      Photo by JAG StudioDoméstico, Ecuador, by Juan Alberto Andrade and María José Váscones
      Located inside the Qorner building in Quito, Ecuador, this micro apartment measures 27.5 square metres and features a floor-to-ceiling unit that the designers described as a “habitable artifact”.
      It contains storage space as well as a bed and desk, both of which fold up. A door in the corner leads to a bathroom with a sink, shower and toilet.
      Find out more about Doméstico ›
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring minimalist kitchens and homes with pyramidal ceilings.

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      Space Available opens closed-loop design workshop and studio in Bali

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      Design studio Space Available has transformed a former warehouse in Bali into a workshop and office space featuring a mezzanine clad in offcuts from its plastic recycling projects.

      Situated in an industrial suburb of the island’s capital Denpasar, the building houses the first physical workspace for Space Available, which creates products and clothing from ocean plastic and other waste materials.
      Space Available has designed its own studio and workshop in BaliThe organisation, founded in 2020 by English designer Daniel Mitchell, wanted to create a studio that can act as a creative hub for hosting activities centred around the themes of recycling and closed-loop design principles that aim to keep waste materials in use.
      The space was designed to accommodate recycling machines, upcycling stations and a bio-design lab created in collaboration with MycoWorks – a Californian company that develops materials from mushroom mycelium for brands including Hermès.
      The studio makes products from recycled plasticMitchell and Space Available’s in-house architect Andika Permana oversaw the renovation of the 500-square-metre building, defined by typical industrial features including grey breeze block walls.

      “The raw warehouse space underwent a transformation of refinement to make it feel less industrial,” Mitchell told Dezeen.
      “We skimmed and painted the walls white along with painting the previously unfinished metal ceiling. Our aim was to create a clean, white, almost gallery-like atmosphere.”
      Offcuts from the production process were used to clad the stairsTowards the rear of the space, a double-height steel structure was erected to house the laboratory as well as an office on the upper level. This volume is clad in waste plastic offcuts that are repurposed from the studio’s homeware and furniture production.
      “The blue ‘marble’ structure stands out against the clean white backdrop, creating a dramatic ‘structure within a structure’ effect that really pops out as you enter the studio,” Mitchell added.

      Space Available and Peggy Gou create furniture from “heartbreaking” plastic waste

      The use of offcuts fits with Space Available’s mission to “change the perception of waste through elevated design”.
      In addition to forming the facade, the material is used to create shelving, furniture, speakers and other amenities throughout the building.
      The warehouse’s remaining open floor area functions as a flexible space for building and exhibiting projects or hosting events. Large shelving units at one end are used to store and display the studio’s furniture and archival products.
      The studio’s sheet material was also used to form various furnishingsSpace Available was founded during the coronavirus pandemic by Mitchell, who moved to Bali with his wife in 2014 after working in the fashion industry for several years.
      Shocked by the global plastic waste crisis that is evident in the volume of pollution washing up on Indonesia’s beaches, he wanted to develop a design studio that would explore circular design principles and revolutionise the perception of ocean plastic and waste.
      The organisation has recycled more than six million plastic bottles in its projects, which range from large-scale sculptural installations to furniture and fashion design.
      A shelving unit displays the studio’s furniture and archival productsIts furniture and solid surface sheet materials are made from waste plastic collected from rivers and landfills. The material is shredded, added to a mould and baked to create panels featuring vibrant colours and patterns.
      Space Available previously collaborated with South Korean DJ Peggy Gou to create a chair made from 20 kilograms of recycled plastic with an integrated compartment for storing records.
      The recycled plastic resembles colourful marbleIn 2022, the studio opened a dedicated gallery, recycling station and upcycling bar called Museum of Space Available in the coastal town of Canggu, which features
      The building features a facade made from 200,000 recycled plastic bottles and showcases the work of the studio alongside projects by other artists, designers and scientists.
      Another Indonesian organisation giving new life to plastic waste is Sungai Watch, which recently launched its first furniture designs made using discarded plastic bags.

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      In Common With opens Quarters showroom and hospitality venue in Tribeca

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      New York lighting brand In Common With has opened a multi-functional space in a 19th-century Tribeca loft in time for NYCxDesign, and will host a shoppable experience and a variety of events during the festival and beyond.

      In Common With founders Felicia Hung and Nick Ozemba renovated the 8,000-square-foot (473-square-metre) space on the second floor of a historic building on Broadway as a venue to host events and showcase installations and collections both by themselves and others.
      Designed with a residential feel, the Quarters venue includes a wine bar for hosting events”A marriage of warmth and grandeur, whimsy and irreverence, Quarters is both a concept store and community gathering space,” said the duo.
      “Inspired by Tribeca’s rich artistic history – and by the participatory spirit of 1960s ad hoc art spaces – Quarters shifts between the expected and the altogether disarming, a curated space and one that’s improvisational and alive.”
      Quarters is divided into multiple interconnected spaces, including one styled as a living roomDesigned and styled to have a residential feel, the venue unfolds through various interconnected rooms, including a bar, lounge, library and great room.

      Each features richly hued decor and is populated with artful vintage and contemporary designs, the majority of which are shoppable.
      The majority of the design products on show are available to buyThere’s also bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and powder rooms that feature dramatic marble sinks and are lined with handmade tiles.
      Other highlights include large tapestries hung on the walls, built-in burl wood storage that matches a counter base in a foyer, and the bar area that’s framed with a fresco by artist Claudio Bonuglia.
      The furniture, lighting and artwork presented in the space – by In Common With and many of their collaborators – will change frequently”Quarters is more than a retail concept; it’s a platform for showcasing our unique view on domesticity and hospitality and sharing our creative vision with a broader audience,” said Ozemba.
      “It represents our imagination, values, and ambitions in a tangible form, and it’s an open invitation for others to find inspiration within our world.”
      In Common With’s lighting collections including Flora, designed by Sophie Lou Jacobsen, are dispersed throughoutSince starting In Common With six years ago, Hung and Ozemba have collaborated on lighting collections with designers including Sophie Lou Jacobsen, Danny Kaplan and Simone Bodmer-Turner.
      All of these are represented throughout the different rooms, in pendant, floor, table and chandelier variations and multiple colourways.
      The various spaces, including bedrooms, a kitchen and a dining room, are all decorated with a mix of vintage and contemporary furnitureThe launch of Quarters also coincides with In Common With’s debut collection of wooden furniture, which features hand-painted trompe l’oeil surfaces and customisable inlaid ceramics created with artist Shane Gabier.
      Other new pieces on view include glass lighting and objects with hand-cut graphic patterns, and a three-piece series of hand-embroidered fabric lighting fixtures.

      In Common With opens lighting studio and showroom in Brooklyn warehouse

      Hung and Ozemba plan to use the space as a platform for their fellow designers and artists, as well as their own work, and to entertain their peers with wine evenings and dinners.
      The displays will be updated to present new projects and collections, and to reflect In Common With’s fluid approach to collaborative design.
      Highlights include a marble counter with a burl wood base in a foyer area”By welcoming others and fostering our artistic community, [Quarters] will continue to evolve in new and exciting ways,” said Hung.
      “With each new perspective and collaboration, Quarters will transform again and again, pushing the boundaries of design, expression, and creative connection.”
      Bathrooms and powder rooms feature handmade tilesQuarters launched just in time for NYCxDesign, New York’s annual design festival, and is hosting a variety of events over the course of the month. Check out Dezeen’s NYCxDesign highlights and all of the events we’re hosting.
      In Common With previously opened a studio, showroom and production facility inside a Brooklyn warehouse in 2022.
      The photography is by William Jess Laird.

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      Eight converted-barn interiors that reveal echoes of their pasts

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      An “unprecious” restaurant, a sculptor’s studio and a handful of holiday homes are among the converted barns in our latest lookbook, which explores how to transform the interiors of these agricultural buildings.

      Traditionally, barns are farm buildings that house livestock or store resources such as grain or hay.
      But around the world, architects and designers have renovated these spaces – often hundreds of years old – to create homes or for them to be used for other contemporary purposes.
      While the insides of some barns have been entirely remodelled, others purposefully celebrate their original features such as timber beams and gabled roofs.
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring minimalist kitchens, pyramidal ceilings and eclectic hotels.

      Photo by José HeviaRelámpago House, Spain, by H3O
      Barcelona practice H3O transformed an old barn in Sant Just Desvern, Spain, into a one-storey home with an unusual interior layout.
      The studio created zigzagging walls for Relámpago House in to reference an old family legend told by the homeowner, whose ancestors are said to have survived a lightning bolt that struck the barn and entered the building through the chimney, narrowly avoiding the family members sheltering under the dining table.
      Find out more about Relámpago House ›
      Photo by Rory GardinerRedhill Barn, UK, by TYPE
      A dilapidated barn in Devon, southwest England, was transformed into a secluded house that has retained its 200-year-old stone walls.
      London architecture studio TYPE used neutral hues for the interiors, designed to complement the barn’s original stone and lime plaster walls and columns.
      The studio also created a new Douglas fir floor and roof structure that was chosen to evoke the rhythm and simplicity of traditional agricultural buildings.
      Find out more about Redhill Barn ›
      Photo by Alex BaxterBarn at the Ahof, the Netherlands, by Julia van Beuningen
      Designer Julia van Beuningen added a plywood spiral staircase to this thatched barn in Gelderland, the Netherlands, which she converted into a holiday home.
      The staircase’s smooth timber and sinuous curves contrast the ceiling’s rustic wooden beams. A slender steel kitchen island also features on the ground floor and imbues the 19th-century barn with a contemporary touch.
      Find out more about Barn at the Ahof ›
      Photo by David BarbourCroft 3, UK, by Fardaa
      Set within an abandoned basalt barn, Croft 3 is a gabled restaurant on Scotland’s Isle of Mull by emerging studio Fardaa.
      “Unprecious” interiors characterise the eatery, which features salmon-hued, exposed plaster walls and long communal tables carved on the island from a single Douglas fir tree.
      Find out more about Croft 3 ›
      Photo by Lorenzo LandriniWraxall Yard, UK, by Clementine Blakemore Architects 
      The Wraxall Yard complex is a series of holiday homes in Dorset, southwest England located in formerly derelict stone barns.
      Clementine Blakemore Architects designed the project, accessed via a curved pathway, with accessibility in mind. Brick and timber accents characterise the interior, created to feel homely rather than clinical.
      Find out more about Wraxall Yard ›
      Photo by Thomas HeimannLandhaus, Germany, by Thomas Kroeger Architekt
      Landhaus – or Country House – is a holiday home and guest annexe in a converted 140-year-old barn in Uckermark, Germany.
      Designed by Thomas Kroeger Architekt, the building has a double-height large hall at the centre of the former barn. A statement red-brick fireplace with integrated seating on its sides features on one side of the paved courtyard.
      Find out more about Landhaus ›
      Photo by Brigida GonzálezKressbronn Library, Germany, by Steimle Architekten
      Also in Germany, Steimle Architekten converted a former barn into a library and community centre for the village of Kressbronn am Bodensee.
      The vertical wooden slats that clad the building allow diffused daylight to enter the interior, which features concrete flooring and an open gallery tucked beneath the preserved timber trusses.
      Find out more about Kressbronn Library ›
      Photo by Jim StephensonArt Barn, UK, by Thomas Randall-Page
      Architect Thomas Randall-Page designed an artist’s studio and airtight archive space for his sculptor father, Peter Randall-Page.
      The project is a converted barn in Devon with a largely open interior except for a cosy “winter studio” contained within a cork-clad structure positioned on timber supports. The space underneath the studio creates a lounge area with a wood-burning stove.
      Find out more about Art Barn ›
      The main image of Art Barn is by Jim Stephenson.
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring minimalist kitchens, pyramidal ceilings and eclectic hotels.

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      Locally produced tiles clad walls and table in Blue Bottle Coffee shop in Nagoya

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      Japanese studio Keiji Ashizawa Design sourced local materials for the design of Blue Bottle Coffee cafe in Nagoya, Japan, which features tiles across its surfaces and lamps made from pottery plates.

      The studio used tiles across the walls, floors and tables of the cafe, which were all produced by local manufacturer Ceramic Olive Bricks.
      “This cafe is located in the Chukyo area of central Japan, an area that excels in manufacturing, so we decided to make the most of it,” Keiji Ashizawa Design’s founder Keiji Ashizawa told Dezeen.
      Tiles cover the walls in this Blue Bottle Coffee cafe in Nagoya”We used a lot of tiles on the walls this time,” Ashizawa added.
      “Inspired by Blue Bottle Coffee’s philosophy of valuing the local, we decided to use tiles that are produced in the Chukyo area,” he continued.

      “These tiles are used to cover the structural walls of the building that exist as pillars to create three frames.”
      A table at the centre of the space is also tiledAs well as cladding the walls in tiles, the studio used them to demarcate seating areas and created a tile-clad table as a centrepiece of the 311-square-metre space.
      “We designed the table specifically for the space,” Ashizawa explained. “The tiles used are different from the wall tiles but are from the same tile manufacturer, glazed for easy cleaning.”
      Wooden furniture is used throughout the space”We thought that the cafe, which often serves as a lounge in a large building, needs to have a central space where everyone can remember,” Ashizawa added.
      “When deciding to create a large centre table, we thought a tiled table would be both iconic and appropriate for this space.”
      Tiling also lines parts of the floor of the cafeThe cafe features wooden furniture throughout and is decorated with rounded wall sconces and pendant lamps made from pottery plates.
      “The pendant and wall lamps are made of pottery plates from the same region as the tiles, and are also used as tableware in the store,” Ashizawa said.
      “The surface gives a soft, diffused light, where the light hitting the slightly uneven edges of the plate adds a touch of craft.”
      Above the counter is a brass lamp that references Nagoya CastleIn addition, the studio drew on a local monument for the interior design. Above the main tiled table, a mobile adds an extra decorative touch.
      “The lighting on the counter finished in brass colour was created in homage to the famous ornaments on the top of Nagoya Castle,” the designer said.

      Blue Bottle Coffee Qiantan references greenhouses and Shanghai’s brick architecture

      “The mobile that looks like a tree branch was designed by an architect friend who also designed the Blue Bottle Coffee Fukuoka cafe,” continued Ashizawa.
      “Depending on how the light hits, it appears as if it is a lighting fixture. The delicate mobile, named In the Sky, made of brass subtly defines the place and creates a charming atmosphere.”
      A slim mobile hangs above the main tableThe interior has an earthy colour palette with pink-coloured tiles.
      “The elegant pink color of the tiles, the gray floor and walls, added with the natural wood and textiles of the furniture were chosen to work in harmony with one another,” Ashizawa said.
      The cafe is located in Nagoya’s Chunichi BuildingThe Chunichi Building, in which the cafe is located, is a well-known Nagoya landmark that was formerly a theatre and now houses a hotel. This also influenced how Ashozawa thought about the design of the space.
      “The cafe was conditioned to be on the ground floor of the building that is familiar to the locals with its historical existence and the newly constructed hotel floors,” he said.
      “I had the inspiration to somehow add value to the place by making it not just a cafe, but more of a lounge space in a hotel that provides a sense of comfort.”
      The Blue Bottle Coffee shop is the seventh designed by Keiji AshizawaThis is the seventh Blue Bottle Coffee cafe designed by Keiji Ashizawa Design, with others including a shop in Shanghai’s Qiantan area with a glazed facade and another in Kobe’s Hankyu department store that takes advantage of its display windows.
      According to Ashizawa, the studio aims to tailor the different designs to suit their surroundings.
      “For all of them, it is always a pleasure to have discussions about local, landscape, and the culture of the place and country to be utilized in designing the store,” he concluded.
      “Indeed, this is what makes them a challenging project as every store has its own character and constraints.”
      The photography is by Tomooki Kengaku.
      Project credits:
      Architect: Keiji Ashizawa DesignProject architect: Keiji Ashizawa and Chaoyen WuConstruction: TANKTiles: Ceramic Olive IncFurniture: Karimoku and Karimoku CaseLighting design: Aurora and Yoshiki IchikawaPendant, wall lamp shade and logo plate: Juzan

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