Interiors

Subterms

    More stories

    • 125 Shares189 Views

      in Rooms

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

      by

      Architect Keiji Ashizawa has created a Blue Bottle Coffee shop in Shanghai’s Qiantan area with a glazed facade and interiors in a hue that nods to the city’s brick buildings.

      Located next to a park in the recently developed Qiantan area, Ashizawa designed the oval-shaped cafe to reference its immediate surroundings.
      His studio removed the floor slabs from the first floor of the building, creating a double-height space with an atrium-like feeling for the ground floor of the cafe that would have a connection to the surrounding park.
      Blue Bottle Coffee Qiantan is located in a newly developed area”In rainy Shanghai, we wanted to provide a place where people could enjoy the park even on rainy days,” Ashizawa told Dezeen.
      “Also, looking at the overall plan of the park, I thought that a rich interior space was required,” he continued.

      “The result is seen as a greenhouse, like those found in botanical gardens. I thought that adding a new story to the park would increase its enjoyment.”
      It features a double-height space and a central staircaseFrom the ground floor, a long stairway leads down to the cafe’s basement level, which houses the main coffee counter.
      The staircase in Blue Bottle Coffee Qiantan was designed to reference the colour of soil and have a cave-like feeling.
      “We decided to create a cave-like space for visitors to appreciate the long stairway down to the basement, creating an experience that is like crawling through the earth in the park,” the studio said.
      A coffee counter in the basement has a colour reminiscent of bricksIt also evokes the colour of red bricks, which are commonly used for Shanghai architecture. The same hue was used for the coffee counter and for a tall central wall.
      “Shanghai’s brick architecture in the old city is a strong contrast to the architecture of modern Shanghai, and it leaves a very strong impression on the eye,” Ashizawa said.

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

      “We wanted to preserve some of Shanghai’s image in this newly developed location and architecture,” he added.
      “At the same time, since the cafe is located in a park, I wanted to create a sense of unity by using the image of earth in the architecture.”
      Keiji Ashizawa used wooden furniture throughout the spaceOn the ground floor, pale-wood stools are gathered around circular grey tables.
      Downstairs, Ashizawa clad the walls in greige microcement and added wooden chairs, tables and counters.
      The walls are clad in microcementLarge trees decorate both the basement and the ground floor, adding to the cafe’s botanical atmosphere.
      “The goal was to create a connection between the outside and the inside, with a natural form similar to that of the outdoor trees,” Ashizawa said.
      Large indoor trees connect the cafe with the park outsideWooden benches also offer visitors the option to drink their coffee outside in the park.
      Ashizawa has designed numerous other Blue Bottle Coffee shops, including one in a Kobu department store and another Shanghai outpost that was decorated with Chinese roof tiles.
      The photography is by Jonathan Leijonhufvud.
      Project credits: 
      Architect: Keiji Ashizawa DesignProject architect: Keiji Ashizawa / Chaoyen WuLighting Design: Aurora / Yoshiki IchikawaLandscape Design: Hashiuchi Garden Design / Hashiuchi Tomoya

      Read more: More

    • 125 Shares99 Views

      in Rooms

      “Fashion meets art and design” at Pittsburgh boutique by NWDS

      by

      Global team NWDS took a spontaneous approach to designing the Tons fashion boutique in Pittsburgh, which contains a mix of modest materials and iconic furniture pieces.

      The Tons store in the city’s East Liberty neighbourhood occupies a long, narrow building with its shorter side facing the street.
      The Tons store features a variety of “mundane” materials, including concrete breezeblocks and metal cansFormerly an atelier, the two-storey structure was reimagined by NWDS to create a light-filled destination “where high-end fashion meets art and design”.
      “Inside is a spacious and light-filled interior that now hosts a multifunctional venue designed to meet the needs of a modern-day sartorialist equally interested in fashion, art, and culture,” said the group.
      In the lobby, new apparel collections are displayed below a tapestry-like artworkDesigning the interiors of the 400-square-metre space involved dividing up the floor plan into several distinct areas that all flow together, but serve different purposes.

      Throughout the various retail and office areas, a selection of unexpected materials were combined and layered.
      Some of the walls are splashed or streaked with white paintImmediately through the glass front door is a lobby where new collections are presented.
      Here, product displays were built from concrete breeze blocks, while the upper walls above the clothing rails were dressed in transparent plastic curtains.
      Glass panels are used to partition different retail areasThe ceiling above was covered with metal tubes of different lengths and diameters, and gives way to a double-height space where tall tapestry-like artworks by Sasha Brodsky hang over opposite walls, and white paint was seemingly dragged across another.
      “There was a lot of spontaneity and many design decisions taken on site: some surfaces were uncovered and left in an unfinished state, and some were splashed with white paint,” NWDS said.
      A selection of iconic furniture designs can be found around the store, including Frank Gehry’s Wiggle ChairFurther along, fitting rooms are lined up behind black and white streaked partitions to one side, facing a room defined by glass panels that hosts monobrand products.
      Towards the back, a lounge area that also displays shoes is reached by descending a short flight of stairs, which run parallel to a raised, built-in seating area.
      A built-in seating area at the back of the store overlook the sunken shoe roomThe lower floor level in this space results in a higher ceiling, which NWDS took advantage of by extending a mural the full height behind a wall-mounted shoe display.
      A staircase at the very back leads to the upper storey, where retail displays and office areas for store employees sit side by side, and a photography studio is in full view.

      Checkerboard walls wrap Awake NY store by Rafael de Cárdenas

      “Inside Tons, the client space and the workspace are blended,” said NWDS.
      “Buyers and managers have their work desks right next to the sale rails on the first floor, and store visitors are welcome to take a peek at the fashion photo shoot happening right there at Tons.”
      The unfinished aesthetic continues across the upper storey, where retail and offices spaces are blendedThroughout the store are a selection of iconic furniture pieces that continue the theme of unexpected materials and functionality.
      They include metal-mesh Hi Tech armchairs by Piero Lissoni, a Mate chair by (A+B) Dominoni, Quaquaro that doubles as shelving, and Frank Gehry’s compressed cardboard Wiggle Chair for Vitra.
      “An interior comprising modest materials is a backdrop for high-end Italian furniture pieces, a collection carefully curated by the NWDS team,” said the designers.
      An open photography studio allows shoppers to watch shoots as they happenNWDS was established in 2013 as a team of architects, designers, curators and researchers from cities including New York, Tbilisi, Moscow, Paris, Berlin, Yerevan, Lisbon and Dubai. The group’s projects span residential, retail, hospitality, culture, exhibition design and more.
      Other recently completed boutiques that feature unusual materials include the Boyy flagship in Milan, which reveals layers of the store’s history, and a Parisian jewellery store featuring rippled sheets of acrylic.
      The photography is by Ekaterina Izmestieva and Alexandra Ribar.
      Project credits:
      Design concept: NWDSSupervision and project management: Brnz BureauLighting design: Natalia MarkevichArt: Sasha Brodsky

      Read more: More

    • 100 Shares99 Views

      in Rooms

      Eight interiors that feature reclaimed and recycled materials

      by

      For our latest lookbook, Dezeen has selected eight examples of interiors that were created with reclaimed and recycled materials, including a restaurant in Bangalore and a brick house in Ghent.

      Recent decades have seen more awareness and reflection on environmental and sustainable issues both inside and outside the design world, leading a number of designers and architects to choose sustainable design for their projects.
      From the use of unwanted items to the application of reclaimed bricks and recycled plastics, the eight projects in this lookbook present ways in which designers have rediscovered the value of waste.
      This is the latest in Dezeen’s lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring sunny yellow interiors, beds that have been built into interiors and tiled kitchen worktops.
      Photo by Ishita SitwalaCircus Canteen, India, by Multitude of Sins

      Bangalore studio Multitude of Sins designed this restaurant interior, which was shortlisted in the sustainable interior category of Dezeen Awards 2022, to showcase a collage of unwanted objects.
      The salvaged objects were sourced locally from a donation drive in a few weeks. The studio categorised them, then organised them into a colourful, stylish interior.
      Find out more about the Circus Canteen ›

      Kamikatsu Zero Waste Centre, Japan, by Hiroshi Nakamura
      The Kamikatsu Zero Waste Centre (above and main image) was created as an eco-friendly community and educational space for recycling activities, and features a facade made of 700 windows donated by the local community.
      Architect Hiroshi Nakamura attached harvesting containers from a mushroom factory to the wall to be used as bookshelves. Unwanted objects were also collected from abandoned houses, previous government buildings and schools in the local area.
      Find out more about the Kamikatsu Zero Waste Centre ›
      Photo by Sam A HarrisSilo, UK, by Nina+Co
      The dining tables of this zero-waste restaurant in London consist of flecked recycled-plastic tops and sustainably-sourced ash wood legs, with mycelium pendant lamps dangling above.
      The dining space also features a long bar counter made from recycled plastic packaging.
      Find out more about Silo zero-waste restaurant ›
      Photo by Magdalena GruberUrselmann Interior’s office, Germany, by Urselmann Interior
      The renovation of the ceiling in this Düsseldorf office was completed using poplar wood sourced from a tree felled in the nearby city of Krefeld. The studio preserved the existing wooden and terrazzo flooring.
      The refurbishment of the office, which is the studio’s own, also included the use of biodegradable materials, glueless joinery and cellulose-based cladding.
      Find out more about Urselmann Interior’s office ›
      Photo by Syam SreesylamWendy House, India, by Earthscape Studio
      This vaulted residence in Bangalore, which sits among eight acres of dense forests, was covered with recycled mudga tiles. Its glass walls were framed with recycled rods.
      Earthscape Studio also constructed the building with sithu kal bricks, a traditional technique that is currently not in use. This design revisited the neglected technique to help bring work opportunities to the local community.
      Find out more about the Wendy House ›
      Photo by Stijn BollaertGjG House, Belgium, by BLAF Architecten
      Built without supporting interior walls, this house was constructed with reclaimed bricks and features a curved form and brick bonding.
      BLAF Architecten designed the unusual curvilinear walls in order for the house to fit in between surrounding trees on the site in Ghent.
      Find out more about GjG House ›
      Photo by José Hevia10K House, Spain, by Takk
      In the context of global climate change and the energy crisis, 10K House was built on a material budget of only 10,000 euros and features rooms built inside each other to maximise insulation.
      Spanish Architecture studio Takk used recycled white table legs to lift one of the interior rooms in the Barcelona apartment, creating space for water pipes and electrical fittings without the extra cost of adding wall grooves.
      Find out more about 10K House ›
      Photo by Agnese SanvitoRylett House, UK, Studio 30 Architects
      Studio 30 Architects transformed an old carpenter’s bench into a kitchen island for this London house extension, which includes a living, kitchen and dining area.
      The extension was built on the site of a previous conservatory and overlooks the garden through a timber window decorated with plants.
      Find out more about Rylett House ›
      This is the latest in Dezeen’s lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring sunny yellow interiors, beds that have been built into interiors and tiled kitchen worktops.

      Read more: More

    • 125 Shares199 Views

      in Rooms

      Cho Thompson unearths Boston building’s history to inform office interiors

      by

      US studio Atelier Cho Thompson has redesigned the shared spaces for an office building in Boston, borrowing shapes and materials from its history for new interior elements.

      The project involved reimagining the communal areas at 179 Lincoln Street, a full-block building in the city’s Leather District that was constructed as a shoe factory in 1899.
      Arched motifs on the facade of 179 Lincoln Street were reinterpreted as grooves in the lobby’s plaster wallsAtelier Cho Thompson looked to this history to guide the design of areas at the margins of the building, including the under-utilized lobby space, a dark central core, and empty pocket spaces on each of five floors – all totalling 8,000 square feet (743 square metres).
      “We unearthed and amplified the building’s rich history while creating a space that is responsive to the needs of the post-pandemic workplace,” said studio founder Cho Thompson.
      Finger-shaped backrests for a bench are wrapped in leather to nod to the building’s shoe-making pastWork began with removing the layers of previous renovations, including vinyl tile and commercial carpet, which had left areas “dark and generic”.

      The team uncovered original terrazzo floors in some areas and worked with experts to restore any sections that were damaged.
      Arches are also hewn into the white oak counter front in the receptionThey also looked to the arched geometry and detailed ornamentation of the building’s historic facade for interior design cues.
      The arches are repeated in the lobby as grooved patterns across the hand-troweled plaster walls, and again at a smaller scale around the white oak front of the marble-topped reception counter.
      Brass details including handrails match the building’s original mail chute”With a modern sensibility, we developed a language of detail that brought elements of the exterior into the building’s core,” Thompson said.
      “In that transformation, we brought a playful spirit, bringing massive forms down to human size and creating juxtapositions of materials, patterns, and scales.”
      In other communal areas, original red brick walls and terrazzo floors are exposedShiny black floors contrast the pale colour palette used across all other surfaces, while brass – chosen to match the building’s mail chute – provides a bright accent on railings, drawer handles and other details.
      Lighting fixtures by Lam Partners comprise globe-shaped components attached to thin brass supports, in a variety of linear configurations.
      Multiple counters are provided for group work and conversations between colleaguesIn other “in-between” communal areas, red brick walls and columns are exposed beneath skylights.
      A series of brass-topped counters are scattered through these spaces, creating spots for casual conversation between colleagues.

      GRT Architects restores facade and overhauls lobby of New York’s Fashion Tower

      Banquettes and benches also provide opportunities for group and collaborative work outside of typical meeting rooms.
      These are upholstered in dusty pink leather as a nod to the building’s shoe-making past.
      These casual meeting spaces are designed to respond to the changing needs of office workers”This project responds to the changing landscape of office life by offering opportunities that go beyond what we can experience in only working from home,” said Thompson.
      “With a hospitality approach, the spaces of the project offer a fresh, welcoming, and inclusive place to spend time with colleagues.”
      Polished brass is also used for signage and wayfinding. Photo by Samara ViseReimagining historic buildings as contemporary workplaces is a common challenge for architects and designers, and refreshing communal or public-facing spaces is typically an impactful place to start.
      Similarly, GRT Architects overhauled the entrance to the art deco Fashion Tower in New York, restoring its facade and modernising the lobby.
      The photography is by Jared Kuzia, unless stated otherwise.
      Project credits:
      Client: EQ OfficeArchitect: Atelier Cho ThompsonLighting designer: Lam Partners

      Read more: More

    • 150 Shares169 Views

      in Rooms

      Most Architecture creates micro factory with “everything on display” for Charge Cars

      by

      UK studio Most Architecture has converted an industrial shed in west London into an all-black-and-white showroom and production facility for electric car start-up Charge Cars.

      Created to manufacture Charge Cars’ first vehicle the ’67 – an all-electric version of the 1960s Ford Mustang Fastback built using components from electric vehicle brand Arrival – the facility also acts as an office and showroom.
      Most Architecture has created a factory for electric car start-up Charge Cars”Charge designs and makes its unique cars in a single facility,” said Most Architecture founder Olga McMurdo. “Like an open-kitchen restaurant, everything is on display to the staff and customers.”
      “So we created an environment that allows immediate access to every aspect of the process from design through to production,” she told Dezeen. “The factory, and all of its contents, are at once an agile design and manufacturing centre, a customer showroom, and a design statement.”
      The building is arranged around the workshopThe facility in Stockley Close, west London, was designed around the idea of promoting a connection between Charge Cars’ clients and the engineers building and customising the cars.

      At its centre is a large open workshop where the cars are built and customised, which is overlooked by various offices and meeting spaces.
      Charge Cars’ ’67 will be manufactured in the factory”Our client came to us with an ambition to re-define a classic design icon using cutting-edge electric vehicle technology and to create a customer experience that engenders a visceral response to the product, and the process of creating it,” said McMurdo.
      “Their space had to accommodate both the manufacturing and the design process, facilitating teamwork and recreation, testing, a showroom, and areas for customer engagement,” she continued.
      “All that had to happen within one architectural volume, and so the primary challenge was to facilitate all of these activities simultaneously and symbiotically, whilst projecting a clear and coherent design statement reflecting the client’s philosophy.”
      Office spaces overlook the workshopUnlike the majority of car factories, the Charge Cars facility was designed so that its customers can visit at any time to observe how the vehicle is designed and assembled.
      “Charge wanted the customer journey to be mapped out by the design of the building,” said McMurdo.

      Bindloss Dawes creates car barn for classic Porsche collector

      “The customer’s access to, and experience of, the factory is an integral part of the product,” she continued.
      “They have a personal relationship with the engineers that are making their car, and are able to see the car as it is being constructed.”
      The Charge Cars factory is almost entirely black and whiteMost Architecture designed the spaces with a stripped-back aesthetic united by a largely white and black colour palette, including a black light fixture above the building’s entrance.
      “The white and the black amplify each other by contrast, representing the fusion of a laboratory and a garage, and the constant dynamic between research and production,” explained McMurdo.
      “Using this pallet we also wanted to make an impactful design statement on entry to the building. The result was a large anamorphic light fixture, which coalesces into a Feynman diagram from a single vantage point, becoming a composition of independent pieces.”
      Cars are designed, built and tested at the facilityOther recent electric car factories featured on Dezeen include a black steel and glass facility designed by Snøhetta for car brand Polestar in Chengdu, China. In Sweden, Danish architecture studio Cobe is designing a development centre for Chinese car manufacturer Geely, which it describes as a “chamber of secrets”.
      The photography is by Paul Riddle.
      Project credits:
      Client: Charge CarsLead architect: Most ArchitectureInterior concepts: Evgeniy BulatnikovMechanical engineer: AironElectrical engineer: Smart Techno SystemsStructural engineer: HLS StructuralLighting: Gaismas MagijaBuilding control: The Building InspectorsWind consultant: Buro HappoldFire engineer: QFSMCDM advisor: Andrew Goddard AssociatesMain contractor: Hansa GroupSteel mezzanine contractor: System Store SolutionsLighting manufacturer: Esse-Ci

      Read more: More

    • 150 Shares179 Views

      in Rooms

      DAB Studio lines kitchen of Dutch home with oak and Afromosia wood

      by

      Dutch interior design practice DAB Studio has transformed the kitchen of a family home in Zwaag, the Netherlands, by covering the floors and ceiling in one type of wood and the walls and cabinets in another.

      DAB Studio aimed to create a “calm yet soulful” interior with an earthy colour palette made up of tan and neutral shades.
      Quarter-sawn Afromosia wood lines the walls and kitchen unitsThe floors and ceiling were covered in hand-scraped oak with a smoked and black-oiled finish, laid in a pattern of side-by-side plank pairs.
      Afromosia wood, a tropical hardwood native to west Africa, was applied to the walls and cabinets. The wood was quarter sawn to create a decorative grain pattern and add a sense of playfulness to the interior.
      Oak planks were laid in side-by-side pairs on the floors and ceilingDAB Studio co-founders, Lotte and Dennis Bruns, designed the interior to be a space that would balance “feminine and masculine elements” and reflect both of the owners’ design tastes.

      According to the duo, the repeating wood choices for the different surfaces give the space a sense of completeness.
      Marble worktops extend down the sides of the kitchen units”Per the client’s request, we wanted to merge the feminine and masculine vision of their new home, balancing each other out in one curated space,” the co-founders told Dezeen.
      “This allowed us to create unique areas in line with our client’s habits and interests while imbuing the space with a sense of spaciousness and lightness.”
      “In order to merge all elements of the design, it felt important to prioritise the theme of consistency,” the duo added.
      “For that particular reason, the wood of the floor is repeated on the ceiling, and the wood used for cabinetry is continued into the walls of the room.”

      Julia van Beuningen adds spiral stair in Dutch barn conversion

      The centrepiece of the kitchen is the island, which features Afromosia wood cabinet doors and a waterfall countertop made from Arebescato Orobico marble.
      Wood cabinets along one kitchen wall were also topped with a marble worktop, which extends down one side to frame the unit.
      The studio balanced “masculine and feminine” elements in the interiorDAB Studio added a dining nook below a window, designed to be a space flooded with natural light where the family can gather.
      Seating with rounded corners wraps the three walls of the nook. The seating base was covered in the same wood as the interior walls, while the seat and backrest are covered in plush upholstery.
      The quarter-sawn Afromosia wood creates a decorative grainAt the centre of the nook, a rectangular table with two blocky legs made from Arebescato Orobico marble contrasts the rounded seating.
      “The dining nook is where the family can spend time together, welcome new conversations, and create core memories,” said Lotte and Dennis Bruns.
      “The asymmetrical built-in banquette seating feels inviting with its round edges, and adds a dynamic feel to the space.”
      The dining nook sits below a windowDecorative items and free-standing furniture were introduced to the interior to add more rounded elements, including a Wiggle Chair by Frank Gehry.
      Elsewhere in the Netherlands, Francois Verhoeven Architects has created a bungalow clad in vertical timber slats and Julia van Beuningen added a plywood staircase to a barn conversion.
      The photography is by Daniëlle Siobhán.

      Read more: More

    • 188 Shares129 Views

      in Rooms

      Kelly Wearstler designs Los Angeles bar to feel “like it has been there for ages”

      by

      Interior designer Kelly Wearstler paired clay plaster walls with Moroccan cement tiles at this eclectic cocktail bar in the Downtown LA Proper hotel.

      Named after Mexico’s national flower, the Dahlia bar features a blushing interior that was designed to echo the rest of the hotel – also created by Wearstler.
      The designer looked to the same Spanish, Mexican and Moroccan influences that define the wider Downtown LA Proper, such as terracotta Roman clay plaster walls and ceilings when conceptualising the bar.
      Dahlia is a cocktail lounge within the Downtown LA Proper hotel”The warm, earthy tones of the lounge are in concert with the larger hotel while striking their own note entirely,” said Wearstler.
      “Dahlia feels like it has been there for ages,” added the designer, who has been named as a judge for the inaugural Dezeen Awards China.

      Moroccan cement tiles clad the barVisitors enter the bar through yellow-tinged stained glass doors that were custom-made for the venue by Los Angeles’ historic Judson Studios, which claims to be the oldest family-run stained glass company in America.
      Seating was created from a mix of built-in reddish banquettes and low-slung curved armchairs that hug circular timber tables, while a geometric chandelier draped in light-filtering silk was suspended overhead.

      Kelly Wearstler renovates swimming pool for suite in Downtown LA Proper Hotel

      In one corner, an embossed and low-slung black cabinet supports two squat table lamps that look like oversized green olives.
      Wearstler adorned the clay plaster walls with a mishmash of vintage and contemporary textural artwork, which was finished in ceramic and sand. Various local artists were included in the mix.
      Kelly Wearstler imbued the venue with her signature eclectic styleDefined by “saturated hues and dramatic lighting,” the cocktail lounge also features a bar clad with lilac-hued Moroccan cement tiles and woven crimson rugs.
      “This is the kind of space where you can entirely lose track of time,” said the designer.
      Known for her distinctively eclectic style, Wearstler has created interiors for various other destinations that are part of the Proper Hotel Group. The designer scoured vintage shops to source the furniture that decorates the living room-style lobby of a Santa Monica branch while an Austin location features a sculptural oak staircase that doubles as a plinth for Wearstler’s own glazed earthenware pots and vases.
      The images are courtesy of Kelly Wearstler.

      Read more: More

    • 150 Shares139 Views

      in Rooms

      “Not having architectural education makes you find different solutions” says Charlotte Taylor

      by

      Visualisation artist Charlotte Taylor discusses how she is translating her digital design work into built architecture projects for the first time in this interview.

      Taylor is the founder of 3D-design studio Maison de Sable, where she collaborates with other 3D designers on renderings of imaginary, fantastical interiors and buildings.
      Recently Taylor’s designs have become less fantasy-driven and closer to real spaces, with some of them set to get built as physical architecture projects.
      “In the long term, I’d like to move more into architecture,” Taylor told Dezeen.
      Taylor is venturing into built architecture projects for the first time. Image by Thea Caroline Sneve Løvstad and top image by Nicholas PréaudHaving not pursued formal architecture training, the designer believes there should be more non-traditional pathways to designing buildings.

      “I didn’t train in architecture at all,” she said. “I think it would be great if there were more entries into architecture because it’s such a hard career to get into.”
      “I’d like to think that there’s hope that you can get into building physical spaces through unconventional means.”
      Casa Atibaia is a fictional home in Brazil that is due to be built. Image by Nicholas PréaudOne of Taylor’s designs due to be built is Casa Atibaia, a house that was originally conceived as an imaginary project in collaboration with designer Nicholas Préaud.
      The duo imagined the house situated by the Atibaia River in São Paulo, creating a digital model of part of the riverbank based on information from Google Maps.
      The interior of Casa Atibaia features on the front cover of Taylor’s bookFrom this, Taylor and Préaud designed a concrete and glass fantasy home raised on huge boulders, the interior of which features on the front cover of Taylor’s first book, Design Dreams, published last month.
      Although the project was not originally intended to be built, Taylor is now in the process of finding a plot of land suitable to actualise the design.
      The fantasy home is raised from the floor on boulders. Image by Nicholas PréaudTaylor has also collaborated with architectural designer Andrew Trotter on a house in Utah, which forms part of Trotter’s wider design for a hotel and retreat centre named Paréa.
      The house, which is currently under construction, was designed to blend into the desert landscape with large spans of glazing and walls finished in lime plaster.
      Taylor also worked on a house in Utah that is currently under construction. Image by Klaudia AdamiakAccording to Taylor her fictional designs have received a mixed response from architects, with some saying that “in the real world, it doesn’t work like that”.
      But for Taylor, not having an architecture degree and exploring spatial design digitally without being constrained by lighting, noise, safety and budget requirements allows for more creativity.
      The house in Utah was designed to blend into the landscape. Image by Klaudia Adamiak”It acts as a sort of creative playground for me in which I can test out all these concepts and see how they work visually,” said Taylor.
      “Then bringing that into the physical world and working with engineers and architects, it becomes pared down.”
      “I think not having architectural education makes you find different solutions or ideas to bring to the real world that wouldn’t have come from just designing an actual space,” she added.
      According to Taylor, digital design allows for more creativity than designing for the real world. Image by Klaudia AdamiakThe designer mentioned that her design icon Carlo Scarpa also never became a licenced architect.
      “My icon, Carlo Scarpa, never had his full qualification, so there are little stories that inspire me, but the general thinking is quite rigid – this particular entry is a bit frowned upon from what I’ve experienced,” said Taylor.

      Casa Atibaia designed to be “ideal modernist jungle home”

      Having learned most of her design skills from experimenting with digital design and collaborating with other designers, Taylor describes herself as “self-studious” and encourages other designers to create work that they feel best represents themselves.
      “Strive to build a portfolio that excites you and represents you the most,” Taylor said.
      “Through building a portfolio and working with 3D designers and architects was how I learnt – it’s very research-heavy.”
      She founded the 3D-design studio Maison de Sable. Image by Klaudia AdamiakTaylor’s Design Dreams book features 3D designs of buildings and interiors created by herself and other artists.
      The curation includes fantasy-like environments as well as renderings of interiors that appear like real, tangible spaces.
      “[The book] became a space in which to share my personal projects, the artists I work with and work I admire around the field of interiors and architecture,” said Taylor.
      Taylor recently published her first book. Image by Klaudia AdamiakAlthough most of the images are already widely shared online, by collating them all into one volume Taylor hopes readers will enjoy getting lost in the printed format.
      “The same way that the Instagram page acts where people go to get lost in the images, to have that in a physical format means you are able to spend more time in detail than you can on a phone screen,” she said.
      Design Dreams features work by Taylor and other digital designers”To take something digital that doesn’t exist in the physical world and bring it to print was quite important for me, to see it in that way,” the designer added.
      Although they work in the digital sphere, Taylor maintains that 3D-visual creators play a part in interior design trends.
      It collates digital designs into a physical format”The arts trends that happen in 3D gradually make their way into interior spaces, and it’s really interesting to see the Pinterest effect,” she said.
      “People love to collect images and make their ideal moodboard with them, and these spaces really play into that. People are constructing their own ideas and making architecture and interiors more accessible rather than something very professional.”
      In her own interior visual designs, Taylor includes elements from her actual home to make the spaces feel more relatable than traditional architecture renderings.
      The Design Dreams book includes fantasy interiors and ones that look like real spaces”It’s down to the construction of the images, they have this sort of lightning and familiarity, and we always put little props that will often be things from my home,” she said.
      “These little details make it lived-in and more relatable versus traditional architectural visualisation, which can be very sterile and not aesthetically relatable.”
      Taylor has also previously worked on various NFT projects, including a video artwork informed by an OMA-design sculpture and NFT capsules that contain digital images of fantasy architecture projects.
      The images are by Charlotte Taylor unless stated.
      Dezeen In Depth
      If you enjoy reading Dezeen’s interviews, opinions and features, subscribe to Dezeen In Depth. Sent on the last Friday of each month, this newsletter provides a single place to read about the design and architecture stories behind the headlines.

      Read more: More