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      Woods Bagot lines American Australian Association HQ with oak battens

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      The American Australian Association has opened a headquarters in New York City, with interiors by architecture firm Woods Bagot designed to offer flexible spaces for events.

      The 9,450-square-foot (878 square metres) space at 600 Third Avenue is the first location in the city for the American Australian Association (AAA), a non-profit organisation dedicated to strengthening ties and collaboration between Australia and the US.
      A large, flexible space allows the AAA to host a variety of events and activitiesClose to both the United Nations and the Australian Consulate-General, the headquarters is intended to promote Australian-American relations in NYC by hosting a variety of discussions, performances, exhibitions, networking receptions and more.
      Woods Bagot – which was founded in Adelaide and has offices globally – aimed at “melding the spirit of Australia with the corporate culture of New York” with the project, according to CEO, Nik Karalis. “It’s a stylish, welcoming environment created to bring people from both countries closer together,” he added.
      Moveable dual-purpose furniture created for the space includes a workstation that doubles as a barTo accommodate such varied activities, a large events space was left open to be as flexible as possible while incorporating movable dual-purpose furniture and fittings.

      A custom mobile island acts as both a work surface and a bar, and counters along the windows can also become serving areas for food and drinks.
      The ceiling structure was left exposed, while white oak battens wrap the columnsLocated on a high floor, the space benefits from sweeping views of the skyline through unobstructed expanses of glass.
      The ceiling structure was left exposed to maximise the height in the space, while columns were wrapped in vertical white oak batten system by wood cladding manufacturer Sculptform – for which Woods Bagot created an immersive showroom in Melbourne in 2001.

      Steam-bent timber tunnels through Melbourne showroom by Woods Bagot

      Similar battening lines the lobby and circulation spaces, with curved profiles creating sculptural frames around a golden bar back and over a pair of sliding doors with frosted glass panels.
      The AAA headquarters also houses offices for employees and a boardroom for private meetings.
      The white oak battens also line the lobby area, surrounding the doorway to the boardroomTo commemorate the opening of the space in June 2023, the organisation commissioned a custom artwork from the APY Art Centre Collective.
      The colourful painting was created by eight Indigenous women artists based in Adelaide and hangs in the bar area.
      Some of the battens feature curved profiles to create sculptural shapesWoods Bagot works on projects worldwide, and its current high-profile projects underway range from the Aboriginal Art and Cultures Centre in Adelaide to an extension of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
      Also in the US, principal Krista Ninivaggi recently completed the lobby design for the supertall Brooklyn Tower.
      The photography is by Adrian Gaut.

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      Eight serene interiors with decorative lime plaster walls

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      For our latest lookbook, we have gathered eight examples of homes where tactile and practical lime plaster walls give the interiors a natural, calming feel.

      Lime plaster is a traditional wall coating typically made from sand, water and lime. It is often used in heritage buildings, since it is a breathable material that can be a good choice for damp spaces.
      It also has a natural look and feel that can help to create a more rustic and peaceful atmosphere in modern homes.
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring clever wine storage solutions, space-efficient bedrooms and Mediterranean-style interiors.
      Photo by Simone BossiMA House, France, by Timothee Mercier

      Architect Timothee Mercier turned a rural farmhouse building in southeast France into a home for his parents that aimed to respect both the site and the region’s architectural history.
      Inside, he went for a pared-back, spartan interior, where some of the house’s stone exterior was left exposed. Walls were white-washed with chaux – a local lime plaster – to create a clean backdrop for the living room’s wooden furniture.
      Find out more about MA House ›
      Photo by Lorenzo ZandriCork House, UK, by Polysmiths
      Cork-clad living spaces feature in this east London home, which architecture studio Polysmiths’ director Charles Wu designed for himself and his partner.
      Wu used locally sourced timber and lime plaster for the house. A lime-plastered wall divides the main bedroom from its en-suite bathroom, which is lit by a corner lightwell.
      Find out more about Cork House ›
      Photo by Lorenzo ZandriHerne Hill House, UK, by TYPE
      The Herne Hill House extension replaced an existing conservatory at a south London terrace house, creating a bigger kitchen and dining room.
      A peaceful window nook gives views out of the garden from the open-plan kitchen, which features walls covered in lime plaster. Their pale beige hue contrasts the warm terracotta-coloured quarry-tile floor.
      Find out more about Herne Hill House ›
      Photo by David DworkindQuébec home, Canada, by Ménard Dworkind
      This home in Montréal centres around a lime-plastered, curved central block that sweeps around a staircase and forms a mezzanine level that overlooks the living room.
      Here, the rounded wall holds a terracotta fireplace. A geometric steel table adds a more modernist and industrial feel to the organic interior.
      Find out more about the Québec home ›
      Photo by Mikaela BurstowIceberg apartment, Israel, by Laila Architecture
      Natural lime plaster covers the walls in this Israeli apartment, which gets its name from a large birch plywood storage volume resembling an iceberg.
      In the kitchen, the plaster walls were complemented with birch plywood cabinetry and sunny pastel-hued chairs.
      Find out more about the Iceberg apartment ›
      Photo by Lorenzo Zandri and Christian BraileyLow Energy House, UK, by Architecture for London
      The minimalist interior of this energy-saving home in north London was designed using wood, stone and lime plaster by studio Architecture for London.
      Designed as a home for its founder, Ben Ridley, it had some problems with dampness. To help solve this, walls were coated with lime plaster to form an airtight layer, mitigating any heat loss.
      Find out more about Low Energy House ›
      Photo by Salva LópezCasa Soleto, Italy, by Studio Andrew Trotter and Marcelo Martínez
      Studio Andrew Trotter and Marcelo Martínez renovated this 17th-century Puglia house, using natural materials and colours wherever possible.
      Earth-coloured lime plaster decorates the walls, adding to the rustic feel of the space and matching the tactile and rough-hewn materials and furniture used for the interior.
      Find out more about Casa Soleto ›
      Photo by Jim StephensonNorth London home, UK, by Whittaker Parsons
      A home in London’s Stoke Newington was given an additional storey made from copper, larch and structural insulated panels, which houses a bedroom suite.
      Architecture studio Whittaker Parsons chose lime plaster for the walls of the space, which was designed to have a serene feel.
      “Lime render is a calming tactile material, characterful and soft,” said Whittaker Parsons. “It is a low-carbon alternative to gypsum plaster. It’s also a hygroscopic material, so it naturally moderates the moisture level in the bedroom.”
      Find out more about this North London home ›
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring clever wine storage solutions, space-efficient bedrooms and Mediterranean-style interiors.

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      Bottega Veneta channels Veneto design sensibilities at Sloane Street store

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      Fashion brand Bottega Veneta has opened a store on London’s Sloane Street that draws on materials, furniture and design techniques from Italy’s Veneto region.

      Located at the base of a nine-storey 1920s red brick apartment complex, the store sits behind a white-rendered frontage with doric column-style detailings.
      The store is located on Sloane StreetIt was opened as the first store to implement Matthieu Blazy’s vision for the brand and its physical retail locations, following his appointment as Bottega Veneta’s creative director in 2021.
      The interior was designed using materials, furniture and furnishings associated with the Veneto region where the brand was founded – the northeastern area of Italy that encompasses the land between the Dolomite Mountains and the Adriatic Sea and contains the city of Venice.
      It is the first store under the creative direction of Matthieu Blazy”Bottega Veneta’s identity is not only reflected in the furniture, but throughout the space, creating its uniquely warm atmosphere,” Bottega Veneta said of the store.

      Upon entering the space, visitors are met by a largely open interior. This is zoned by four large, curved wooden volumes that were inserted at the centre of the store and introduce a loose symmetry to the division and organisation of the space.
      It was inspired by the Veneto regionThese wooden volumes are constructed from dark wood and have a multi-faceted design, incorporating protruding elements and geometric cut-outs that are fitted with shelving for use as display areas for the brand’s accessories and footwear.
      Beyond subtly zoning the ground floor of the store into three distinct areas, the wooden volumes also create a series of intimate spaces and rooms tucked behind, within and between each of their adjacent structures.

      Gaetano Pesce designs his first-ever handbag for Bottega Veneta

      The floor of the store was blanketed in terrazzo, a material chosen for its ties to Venice, the brand said.
      The movement of water informed the design of the terrazzo, which has an oscillating look that was achieved through the use of four different stones – Bardiglio, Carrara, Verde Alpi, and Grigio Carnico.
      Terrazzo covers the floor of the storeLouvred veined stone panels framed in a brassy metal trim line the front and rear of the store and provide additional depth and colour to the interior.
      Where not used as decorative panelling, smaller brass-framed louvred panels are also used as mirrors that can be twisted and turned to reflect and face various parts of the store.
      Dark wood volumes divide the space in the storeWoven sofas and armchairs nod to the Intrecciato woven accessories and garments that the brand has become known for. The furniture pieces were constructed from leather in hues of green, brown and black and paired with a forest green rug.
      Sculpted wooden side tables and hard furnishings are scattered throughout the interior.
      Woven leather furniture is used throughoutA staircase, tucked to the side of the store, is clad in the same stone that covers the floors and lined in glass and brass to tie it in with the structural fixtures that can be found throughout the interior.
      At this year’s Milan design week, Bottega Veneta unveiled a collaboration with Italian designer Gaetano Pesce that saw him design his first-ever handbag.
      Prior to their collaboration on accessories, Pesce created a swirling resin set comprised of 400 custom chairs and a pooling multi-coloured floor for Bottega Veneta’s Spring Summer 2023 show.
      The photography is courtesy of Bottega Veneta.

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      Tate Modern’s Corner cafe revamped to be less “Herzog & de Meuron-y”

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      Architecture studio Holland Harvey has overhauled the ground-floor cafe at the Tate Modern in London so it doubles as the gallery’s first late-night bar.

      Tucked away in the museum’s northwest corner, the interior of the Corner cafe was originally designed in 2000 when Herzog & de Meuron created a home for the UK’s national collection of modern art inside the disused power station on the Southbank.
      Corner is a new cafe and bar at the Tate ModenSince then, the Tate had made no changes to the space until Holland Harvey was brought on board to refresh the interior at the start of 2022.
      “It was quite a cold space,” the studio’s co-founder Richard Holland told Dezeen. “All very Herzog & de Meuron-y.”
      “They’re amazing at what they do in so many ways,” he continued. “But this was not their best food and beverage space.”

      A grey stone bar forms the centrepiece of the roomHolland Harvey stripped back many of the cafe’s hard, reflective finishes, sanding away the black gloss paint on the floors to reveal the parquet underneath and removing the mirrored glass that Herzog & de Meuron had used to enclose the building’s original riveted columns.
      Fluorescent lights were replaced with more muted spots by London studio There’s Light, while the dropped ceiling above the bar was rounded off and covered in foam insulation to soften the interior – both visually and acoustically.
      Otherwise, many of the cafe’s core elements including the servicing as well as the kitchen and toilets remained largely untouched to prevent excessive waste and maintain the integrity of the building.
      “You don’t really want to mess around with the servicing because 12 feet above your head is a Picasso,” Holland said. “So it was pretty light touch.”
      The cafe backs onto the Tate’s Turbine Hall. Photo by Edward BishopThe biggest intervention came in the form of a newly added riverside entrance, allowing passersby to stroll straight into Corner rather than having to take the long way through the gallery.
      At the other end of the open-plan room, a door leads directly into Tate’s famous Turbine Hall, effectively linking it with the public spaces of the Southbank.
      Stone seating banquettes double as impromptu climbing frames”The Turbine Hall is one of the most successful public spaces in London,” Holland said. “It’s one of the few indoor places you can go, where people happily sit down on the floor in the middle of the day.”
      “And obviously, the Southbank is an amazing public offering as well,” he continued. “So this felt like an opportunity to connect the two, which led a lot of the thinking around the design.”
      With the idea of extending the public realm, many of the newly added pieces are robust and fixed in place, much like street furniture. Among them are the double-sided Vicenza Stone banquettes, which can also serve as impromptu climbing frames for young children.

      UXUS designs “permanently temporary” gift shop for Herzog & de Meuron’s extended Tate Modern

      Holland Harvey created a number of other seating areas throughout Corner to suit different accessibility needs, with a focus on supporting local manufacturers and small businesses while reducing waste wherever possible.
      Corner’s long sharing tables and benches were made by marginalised young people from west London as part of a carpentry apprenticeship programme run by social enterprise Goldfinger, using trees that were felled by local authorities to stop the spread of ash dieback.
      “Every table has the coordinates of where the tree has felled on it, so there’s a provenance to the furniture,” Holland said.
      The chairs were taken from Tate’s own storage and refinishedThe chairs, meanwhile, were salvaged from the gallery’s own storage before being refinished and reupholstered, while the smaller tables were made by Brighton company Spared using waste coffee grounds from Tate’s other cafes.
      These were baked at a low temperature to remove any moisture before being mixed with oyster shells and a water-based gypsum binder.
      Although the resulting pieces aren’t fully circular since they can’t be recycled, Holland hopes they tell a story about the value that can be found in waste.
      Waste coffee grounds from the gallery’s other cafes were turned into table tops”We’re by no means saying that it’s an exemplar project in that sense,” he explained. “We were just trying to find opportunities to tell stories through all the different elements rather than just going to the large corporate suppliers.”
      “And that’s really our wider impact: people realising that there’s a different way to procure a table. Imagine if all of Tate’s furniture moving forward is made by Goldfinger,” he continued.
      The cafe also has high counter seating for remote workingIn the evenings, the space can be transitioned into a bar and events space by switching to warmer, higher-contrast lighting, while a section of the central banquette can be turned into a raised DJ booth by pressing a button that is hidden under the cushions.
      “This place can get quite wild in the evening,” Holland said.
      Timber shelves are used to display productsThe last significant amendment to the Tate Modern building was Herzog & de Meuron’s Switch House extension, which opened to the public in 2016.
      The building contains a gift shop designed by Amsterdam studio UXUS, alongside various galleries and a viewing level on the top floor, which is currently closed to the public after Tate lost a high-profile privacy lawsuit brought by the inhabitants of a neighbouring residential tower.
      The photography is by Jack Hobhouse unless otherwise stated.

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      Andrew Trotter and Marcelo Martínez refresh 17th-century home where time “stood still”

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      Casa Soleto, a 17th-century house in Puglia, Italy, has been carefully renovated using lime plaster, terrazzo and furniture salvaged from a monastery.

      The four-bedroom house, parts of which are over 400 years old, was given a refresh by its owners – architecture firm Studio Andrew Trotter and its studio manager Marcelo Martínez.
      Casa Soleto is located in southern ItalyWhile no structural changes were made, the designers redid some of the building’s roofs, which were falling apart, added two bathrooms and powder rooms, and swapped the living and dining spaces around.
      “The street front had all the baroque details of a small palazzo and inside it was like time stood still,” Studio Andrew Trotter founder Andrew Trotter said of the house.
      Parts of the house are over 400 years oldNone of its walls were straight and the layout was designed for the needs of past occupants, with a chapel located behind the kitchen so that the family did not need to leave the house to pray.

      This place of worship was transformed into a media room and a powder room with an outdoor shower, creating a space that can be used as an extra guestroom if needed.
      A former chapel was turned into a media room that can also serve as an extra guest roomTrotter and Martínez aimed for the renovation of Casa Soleto to resemble the original building as much as possible and the team preserved much of its original flooring.
      “We tried to use natural materials as much as possible,” Martínez told Dezeen.
      “We used lime plasters to give a natural and raw feeling to the walls, terrazzo floors – battuto alla veneziana – in the areas where new floors had to be made, wooden windows and doors seeking to imitate the original ones, cast iron hardware and linen sofas.”
      The 17th-century house was decorated with modern and antique furnitureThe designers also chose a discrete colour palette for the lime plaster used on the walls of the house, which on the ground floor culminate in five-metre-high ceilings.
      “We chose subtle earthy and greeny colours,” Martínez said. “Colours played a central role, as some make spaces feel light, others moody.”

      Studio Andrew Trotter transforms 19th-century school into family home in Puglia

      Studio Andrew Trotter kept the house’s original kitchen and commissioned local woodworkers from the city of Lecce to recreate the home’s original wooden doors.
      To add to the natural feel of the interior, the team used jute rugs to cover the stone floors and sourced linen upholstery and curtains from local artisans.
      Lime plaster was used to give the walls a natural feelFurniture and accessories by Danish brand Frama were juxtaposed with antique furniture pieces including an 18th-century dining table that was salvaged from an Abruzzo monastery.
      The studio also sourced a late 18th- early 19th-century wardrobe from Lombardy for one of the bedrooms in Casa Soleto, which can only be accessed by going through the front patio and up an outside staircase.
      The original kitchen was kept and refurbishedStudio Andrew Trotter, which has worked on a number of projects in Puglia, plans to use Casa Soleto as a rental property.
      “We purchased and restored it mainly to rent it out, and also to invite creative minds that we appreciate, make gatherings and exhibitions,” Martínez said.
      An exterior staircase leads up to the bedroomsPrevious projects the studio has completed in the area include a 19th-century school that was turned into a family home and an earth-toned villa made from local sandstone.
      The photography is by Salva López.
      Project credits:
      Interior design: Andrew Trotter and Marcelo MartínezPlaster application: Tullio Cardinale and teamWoodwork: Alba Falegnameria

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      Three weeks left to enter Dezeen Awards China 2023

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      There are only three weeks left to complete your Dezeen Awards China 2023 entry!

      Dezeen Awards China, in partnership with Bentley Motors, is open for entries. The entry period ends at midnight Beijing time on Thursday 24 August, after which late entry fees will apply.
      Why enter Dezeen Awards China?
      Dezeen Awards China will celebrate the best Chinese design talent and highlight Chinese architects and designers’ growing global influence.
      Shortlisted and winning entries will receive significant recognition! They will receive a page on Dezeen’s WeChat account and on the Dezeen Awards China site.

      Projects will also be featured on Dezeen’s social media, with a following of seven million, as well as in Dezeen’s newsletters to over half a million subscribers.
      Find out more about Dezeen Awards China ›
      Who are the judges?
      Your work will be judged by a panel of 15 leading professionals from the architecture and design world in China including Ma Yansong and Rossana Hu, as well as high-profile international figures such as Ilse Crawford and Michael Young.
      Our judges are not only looking for beauty and innovation but also for projects that strive to benefit users and the environment. Full details of the judging process can be found on the terms and conditions page.
      See the judges announced so far ›
      Who can enter?
      Dezeen Awards China is for studios based in China! Entries from international firms will only be eligible if they have an office based in China that primarily delivered the project. It is open to studios large and small, with adjusted entry prices to avoid large companies dominating the categories.
      Your project must have been completed between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2023 and doesn’t have to be located in China.
      Read our terms and conditions ›
      How do I enter?
      For more information on how to create and submit your entry please click here. You can also drop us a line at [email protected] if you have any questions and someone from the team will get back to you!
      For information about Dezeen Awards China in Chinese, please visit our WeChat mini program by scanning the code below with WeChat.
      了解中文版有关 Dezeen 设志大奖的信息，请使用微信扫描右方太阳码访问 Dezeen 设志大奖的微信小程序。

      Dezeen Awards China 2023
      Dezeen Awards China is the first regional edition of Dezeen Awards, to celebrate the best architecture, interiors and design in China. The annual awards are in partnership with Bentley Motors, as part of a wider collaboration that will see the brand work with Dezeen to support and inspire the next generation of design talent in China.

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      Piles of green-hued books characterise London Aesop store

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      The interior of London’s most recent Aesop store in Marylebone was organised to reference a bookshop and features bespoke timber cabinetry by furniture designer Sebastian Cox.

      Skincare brand Aesop’s in-house design team created the concept for the Marylebone store, which recently relocated from its original home in the London neighbourhood to Marylebone High Street.
      The Marylebone store features piles of green booksThe team took “material references” from the British Library on Euston Road and attempted to emulate the layout of traditional bookshops by choosing warm timbers and towering piles of pale green books to decorate the interior.
      Divided into a main shop and an area for personal skin consultations, the L-shaped store features handmade cabinetry by Cox throughout.
      Olivier Cousy added frescos to the ceiling troughsThe shelving is defined by gently rounded edges, which Cox crafted from lime-washed oak and stained with linseed oil to enhance the timber’s warm appearance.

      He designed the cabinetry with flexible joinery that would allow the furniture to be disassembled and transferred elsewhere if needed.
      Sebastian Cox designed timber cabinetry throughout the interiorOversized rattan lampshades were also chosen for the main shop area, which displays uniform rows of Aesop products and includes large, metallic communal sinks built into the timber cabinetry.
      The store’s also features ceiling troughs with custom-made geometric frescos by artist Olivier Cousy.

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      Cousy was informed by Marylebone’s many green squares when painting the designs, which are geometric arrangements of autumnal colours – compositions that take cues from expressionist artist Paul Klee’s 1922 work Tower in Orange and Green.
      “Architecturally, our design method is to connect to the context of the locale, weaving ourselves into its fabric,” said Aesop chief customer officer Suzanne Santos.
      Wooden sinks characterise the skin consultation areaIn the skin consultation area, a sandy-hued, floor-to-ceiling curtain can be pulled to give customers privacy while geometric timber sinks were built into the space’s cabinetry.
      Known for its array of stores that pay homage to their individual locations, Aesop’s other outlets include a branch in London’s Piccadilly Arcade with marble fixtures that filmmaker Luca Guadagnino designed to reference the area’s jewellery boutiques, and a Cambridge store by British studio JamesPlumb with hemp and bulrush accents that nod to the nearby River Cam.
      The photography is by Alixe Lay. 

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      Lab La Bla uses “hyper-ordinary materials” for energy operator HQ interior

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      Local studio Lab La Bla sourced diabase rock from a nearby mine and created seating from MDF and recycled cork for the interior of energy company E.ON’s headquarters in Malmö, Sweden.

      Lab La Bla designed the headquarters’ reception area, coat room and lounge area, while also creating furniture, sculptures and other accessories across nine floors of the 22,000-square-metre building.
      The studio aimed to create a sequence of space that had variety, while taking inspiration from sources including airport terminals.
      The studio used recycled materials for the interiors”Creating work for an office that houses 1,500 employees is both challenging and inspiring,” co-founders Axel Landström and Victor Isaksson Pirtti told Dezeen.
      “It’s about creating spaces and functions that cater to the many while offering a mix of focus, creative and social environments, so it’s really about designing for the masses without making it boring or generic,” they added.

      “There’s a current fascination about airport interiors in the studio, so for the reception area we drew from that source of inspiration.”
      Seating was made from MDFIn the reception area, the studio created a set of sunny yellow furniture made from medium-density fibreboard (MDF) covered in nylon fiber.
      “The overall project for us is sort of a reaction to dysfunctional and non-sustainable processes inherent within our industry,” the studio explained.
      “For the reception area MDF and screws have been coated with repurposed nylon fiber using a technology commonly seen in the automotive industry, resulting in furniture that celebrates leftover material but without compromising on durability.”
      A bench features a “melting” diabase stone detailFor the building’s central atrium, Lab La Bla designed an unusual bench that features a gloopy stone decoration resembling an oil spill.
      This was created using diabase stone, which is famous for its blackness and was mined nearby in southern Sweden. The process of creating it was informed by its setting at an energy company headquarters.
      Lab La Bla sourced local materials for the project”Since electricity and magnetism are essentially two aspects of the same thing – and E.ON being an electric utility company – we thought it suitable to introduce magnetism as a modelling tool,” Landström and Isaksson Pirtti explained.
      “The shape of the piece comes from dropping a lump of magnetic slime on top of a conductive material,” they added. “The slime seemingly randomly slump and drapes over a metal bar before settling in its final shape.”

      Moving Forward exhibition shows work by emerging designers at Stockholm Design Week

      Lab La Bla then scaled this shape up and hand-sculpted the shape from a single block of diabase, which was finally sandblasted and polished.
      “We see this process as an adventurous exploration in making a physical representation of the invisible force that shapes our world,” Landström and Isaksson Pirtti added.
      Mouth-blown glass panels form a three-metre-high sculptureThe studio also turned brick beams, left over from the construction of a school in Malmö in the early 1900s, into umbrella stands, and sourced mouth-blown glass panels from one of the few remaining producers of the material.
      This was used, together with dichroic glass, to create a three-metre-high glass sculpture with a graphic pattern that depicts a CT-scan of a wood-fibre material.
      Glass sculptures were formed inside hollowed-out tree trunksLab La Bla also created decorative vases and glass sculptures using molten glass blown into tree trunks that had been hallowed by fungal decay. The trunks were sourced from E.ON’s own local heating centre.
      These trunks “serve no industrial purpose, but are burnt for energy by E.ON and used for teleheating for Malmö,” the studio said.
      “We borrow these tree trunks to blow glass in them, before returning them to their final purpose.”
      Lounge sofas were made from ground-down wine corksIn the headquarters’ lounge areas, the designers created modular sofas made from ground-down wine corks sourced from restaurants.
      “The modular cork sofa uses a unique process where 100 per cent recycled cork is sprayed onto a foam structure, proudly incorporating signs of imperfection into the design while bringing superior durability and sustainability to your furniture,” Landström and Isaksson Pirtti said.
      A table has an office-style glass relief with a keyboardTo the designers, the aim of the interior design was to use disused or forgotten materials, as well as ones that were recycled and recyclable.
      “We took a conscious decision of picking hyper-ordinary materials such as MDF and aluminium to pinpoint and educate people about cyclic and sustainable qualities inherent in the processes of creating these materials,” the studio said.
      “We often try to celebrate the beauty and intrinsic qualities of everyday, industrial materials otherwise consigned to temporary or low-cost construction solutions,” it added.
      “We wanted to design objects which require significant time and skills from craftspeople, usually reserved for expensive, rare and high-quality materials – to some of the very inexpensive and found materials that we used throughout the project.”
      Lab La Bla’s designs have previously been shown at the Moving Forward exhibition at Stockholm Design Week and as part of the Metabolic Processes for Leftovers exhibition in Malmö.
      The photography is by Lars Brønseth.

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