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Collector Rajan Bijlani has opened up his London residence for an exhibition featuring highlights from his 500-piece collection of furniture made for Le Corbusier’s master plan of Chandigarh in the 1950s and 60s. More
Spooky puppets, original costumes and childhood drawings feature in The World of Tim Burton, an exhibition at London’s Design Museum charting 50 years of the American filmmaker’s work. More
Distinct shades of green, orange and blue give character to this workplace, designed by Emil Eve Architects for the production company behind TV shows including the BBC’s Doctor Foster and Netflix’s One Day.
Drama Republic gave Emil Eve the task of refurbishing its office in London’s Holborn.
The redesign gives the company a more homey workspace, combining a mid-century-inspired colour palette with textural materials including oak and fluted glass.
The colour palette includes mid-century-inspired shades of blue, green and orange”This is a working office, but also needs to be pleasant for clients to visit,” said Emma Perkin, Emil Eve co-founder.
“We had to create a design that was practical but also welcoming and comfy,” she told Dezeen.
“Often workplaces have a very limited palette; we consciously introduced a mid-century mix of greens, blues and oranges against warm white walls and natural wood. The slightly muted shades mean it’s bright but still calm.”
Existing glass partitions were moved in line with the new floor planDrama Republic’s brief called for a mix of flexible work areas, including large desks for collaborative working, meeting rooms that support video conferencing, and lounge areas where staff can take calls or read through scripts.
Emil Eve replanned the office layout to improve the flow between these different spaces.
A new lobby features partitions crafted from hardwood and fluted glassThe architects were keen to reuse existing materials and furniture where possible, so glass partitions that surrounded the previous meeting rooms were simply moved in line with the new floor plan.
A lobby was created, with new partitions designed to match the proportions of the existing ones. These were crafted from Sapele, an African hardwood with a warm reddish-brown tone.
The custom-made desks integrate pinboard screensStorage was also installed, in custom-made wall units that provide bookshelves and hidden cupboards.
“The office has really good natural light but had never been properly organised, so it felt cramped and ad-hoc,” said Perkin.
Archmongers uses eco-friendly materials in colourful Bakken & Bæck office
“Drama Republic didn’t want it to feel corporate, so we used our experience from residential projects to design well-considered joinery which maximised storage,” she explained.
“There were lots of cables and lights, plus big office equipment like printers; we had to find a way to tidy things away but still have them accessible.”
Meeting rooms are designed to support video conferencingCustom-made work surfaces include desks with bespoke pinboard screens, as well as meeting and coffee tables.
All the chairs from before were reused, with the exception of the lobby sofa and the meeting room armchairs.
Wall units provide both open shelves and concealed storageThe flooring is oak in a herringbone pattern, while lighting is provided by coloured glass ceiling lights and curvy pendants.
“These are unusual specifications for an office but they work just as well and feel automatically more homey,” added Perkin.
Poster and photos from Drama Republic productions decorate the wallsThe space is completed by framed photos and posters from Drama Republic productions, including Black Earth Rising, The Honourable Woman, Wanderlust and The Irregulars.
Perkin and her partner and Emil Eve co-founder, Ross Perkin, established their studio in 2009. Their own office is a retrofit of a brutalist building in Hackney. Last year, one of its projects won London’s Don’t Move, Improve! competition.
The photography is by Rachael Smith.
Project credits
Architect: Emil Eve ArchitectsContractor: Harbour Joinery WorkshopJoinery: Harbour Joinery Workshop, Thomas Collier StudioPaint: Edward Bulmer, Paint and Paper LibraryTiles: Mosaic FactorySofa and armchairs: Loaf
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Gleaming sushi and an “earthquake-proof burger” are among the hyperrealistic food models on display at Japan House London as part of the exhibition Looks Delicious! Exploring Japan’s Food Replica Culture.
Opening today, the show documents Japan’s history of food replicas, known as food samples or shokuhin sampuru in Japanese, which dates back to 1923 and continues as a contemporary trend.
Looks Delicious! Exploring Japan’s Food Replica Culture opens today at Japan House LondonThe bespoke replicas are scale models of dishes from the country’s 1.4 million restaurants, produced by craftspeople for eateries wishing to advertise hyperrealistic versions of their menu items to prospective diners.
Simon Wright, director of programming at Japan House London, explained that the meticulous detailing and bright colours synonymous with the world-famous replicas intend to “stimulate how delicious the food actually is”.
The exhibition explores the country’s many food replicas”There’s a slight exaggeration to trigger your memory and stimulate your appetite,” he told Dezeen at the gallery.
Among the works is a dedicated section revealing how the replicas are made, including moulds and stencils such as a screenprint stencil used to create fish scales, arranged in a factory-style layout atop colourful crates.
Early replicas were cast from coloured candle waxThe display examines the shift from early replicas cast from coloured candle wax, which was historically poured into a box of agar jelly, to the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) replicas cast in silicon moulds that emerged in the 1970s and continue to be used today.
“Even though the materials are different, ultimately, it hasn’t really changed,” said Wright.
A contemporary “earthquake-proof burger” is included in the show”The process is exactly the same,” he continued, explaining that real food has always been used to create the moulds. “It’s quite analogue. It’s all handcrafted – there are no conveyor belts and automation.”
“That means that there’s a versatility to making food replicas,” he continued. “Any restaurant or food establishment can have what it wants. So maybe your hamburger is just a little bit fatter than the one next door – you can give the craftspeople your fat hamburger, and they will make an exact replica of that.”
Each of Japan’s 47 prefectures is represented by a replica of a local dish”Colours are also made according to actual food substances,” acknowledged Wright, referring to the selection of paints on display that are used to finish each replica, featuring names including pumpkin peel and croissant.
Another section explores the evolution of food displays, highlighting how the introduction of heat-resistant materials allowed for more dynamic compositions – such as noodles being lifted from a handless fork or cheese oozing from a piece of airborne toast.
The exhibition features a range of replicas displayed in myriad waysA playful, “earthquake-proof burger” formed from towering piles of artificial meat, relish and onions stands tall on one of the plinths.
“When you display wax, it has to be flat, because it either melts in the heat or fades in the sunlight, which isn’t very effective as a marketing tool,” said Wright.
“When PVC was introduced, you were able to tilt the dish by 45 to 60 degrees, therefore giving more exposure and more visibility to the outside of the model.”
Applications of replicas beyond restaurant settings are also included in the exhibitionIn the centre of the gallery, a banquette-style table presents 47 models commissioned for the exhibition, created by leading food replica manufacturer Iwasaki.
Arranged like a map, each model represents a dish from one of Japan’s 47 prefectures. There is zuwai-gani, shimmering orange snow crab served in the winter in Tottori, and “scattered sushi” from Okayama known as bara-zushi, arranged in a circular timber box.
“We chose them for their variety, size, colour and shape,” said Wright, who explained that they consulted people across Japan when selecting the delicacies.
Taste-Adjusting Chopsticks makes food taste saltier without adding salt
Elsewhere, the first known food replica created for commercial purposes is on display. Completed in 1931 by Iwasaki Group founder Iwasaki Takizō, the model is a wrinkly yellow omelette topped with a dollop of red sauce and a replica of a dish that Iwasaki’s wife had just prepared in the kitchen at home.
Applications of replicas beyond restaurant settings are also included in the exhibition, highlighting the expanding ways that people are using food models.
Looks Delicious! Exploring Japan’s Food Replica Culture runs until 16 February 2025Mounted to one wall is a 3D chart produced for the Japan Diabetes Society classifying food groups according to their primary nutrients, while a “carrot preparation guide” for family caregivers and nursing home staff features a gradient of consistency – from finely cut vegetable rounds to a smooth paste.
Visitors can also create their own bento box of replica food on a dedicated food assembly table covered with a red and white gingham tablecloth.
Wright explained that wax food models were originally created in the early 20th century to introduce Japanese diners to less familiar cuisines imported from China and Europe, before restaurants began to commission replicas of local dishes.
Today, the Looks Delicious! Exploring Japan’s Food Replica Culture is the first UK exhibition of its kind, and offers London audiences the chance to see handcrafted Japanese models up close.
“In Japan, you’ll see exhibitions of competition pieces, but they only exist within a context of what people understand food replicates to be,” said Wright. “Whereas this kind of thing doesn’t really exist, and has never been shown before.”
Elsewhere in London, social enterprise POOR Collective exhibited a collection of work by emerging local designers. Design studio Wax Atelier also presented an exhibition revealing how living trees can provide materials for design objects.
The photography is courtesy of Japan House London.
Looks Delicious! Exploring Japan’s Food Replica Culture takes place from 2 October 2024 to 16 February 2025 at Japan House London, 101-111 Kensington High Street, London W8 5SA.Visit Dezeen Events Guide for a guide to the festival and other architecture and design events taking place around the world.
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Andu Masebo and Rio Kobayashi are among 23 designers who have created birdhouses for an exhibition held at South London Gallery that aimed to unpack “what it means to build a house for a bird”.
Conceived by design studio Computer Room and birdwatching collective Flock Together, the Dwellings project focused on shared themes of sanctuary and exploring our relationship with nature.
The Dwellings exhibition was held at the South London GalleryThe exhibition held in the Orozco Garden and Clore Studio at South London Gallery from 31 August to 1 September 2024 comprised an eclectic series of 22 objects and images, ranging from practical solutions to expressive conceptual responses.
The varied contributions encapsulated the unique thought processes and skills of makers including ceramicists, glassmakers, architects and photographers.
It aimed to unpack “what it means to build a house for a bird”Many of the designers created their own takes on conventional birdhouses, which are typically made from wood and feature a hole just large enough to provide an entrance for the nesting birds.
Other participants opted for a more abstract approach, such as artist and designer Moe Asari’s site-specific project exploring the attempts to reintroduce black kites to a Dutch nature reserve.
Various materials were usedThe show’s co-curator Masebo, who runs the Computer Room design collective alongside Jesse Butterfield and Charlie Humble-Thomas, developed a birdhouse via a remote collaboration with his uncle Dan O’Conell – a trained carpenter based in Ireland.
Without conversing throughout the process, Masebo and O’Connell sent materials back and forth between London and Ireland, each making their own alterations until an object with the form of a birdhouse emerged.
Each design was “chosen to be good for birds”Butterfield’s contribution to the exhibition is a wooden structure informed by skyscrapers and modernist architecture. Bird Metropolis provides space for eight nesting house sparrow couples within a tower carved into organic, tree-like forms.
London and Copenhagen-based designer Daniel Schofield’s birdhouse uses renewable cork bark as an alternative to wood, which he suggested is an odd choice of material as it requires cutting down a bird’s natural home to create an artificial one.
“The form and proportions were chosen to be good for birds,” said Schofield, “but also simple to produce industrially and locally, hopefully giving more chance of these being made en-masse, and giving the best opportunity of making more homes for birds in our urban landscape.”
Timber featured throughoutKobayashi’s playful response to the brief called The Guest House For An Ostrich is elevated to an appropriate height so an ostrich could hide its head inside rather than burying it in the ground.
The birdhouse features an aerodynamic form and details that reflect the ostrich’s ability to run at great speeds. Its front surface is scorched to give the impression that aerodynamic friction has set the wood alight.
Nicer Design creates bird-box house numbers to encourage urban birdlife
Ceramicist George Baggaley created a birdhouse in his signature organic style, which is embellished with glazes that accentuate its undulating surfaces.
Ovulo by Jaclyn Pappalardo features a welded form reminiscent of shapes found in nature. The curved profile with a hook at one end for suspending it from a tree branch was produced using a process that involves inflating metal using water.
Dwellings focussed on shared themes of sanctuary and exploring our relationship with natureOliver Hawkes worked with a charity called Global Generation to build birdhouses using material offcuts donated by eyewear brand Cubitts. The project aimed to engage young people in the making process and educate them about issues relating to the environment and bird cohabitation.
Many of the pieces created for the exhibition were available to purchase, with all proceeds helping to support South London Gallery’s communities and learning programmes.
The photography is courtesy of Computer Room and South London Gallery.
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A traditional Lebanese bread influenced design elements at this bakery in London by local firm MA Studio, where it’s the primary item on the menu.
Common Breads on Buckingham Palace Road, close to Victoria station, celebrates the centuries-old Middle Eastern food staple of kaak.
Common Breads was designed as a celebration of kaak breadIn Beirut, the bread is crafted from simple ingredients, covered in sesame seeds and moulded into an identifiable “purse” shape with a hole at the top, which allows vendors to hang the roll from a rig attached to their bicycles.
“Inspired by this quintessential street food, a passionate trio of friends decided to bring the story of kaak to London,” said MA Studio, led by Selma Akkari and Rawan Muqaddas.
The poured floor is speckled to look like sesame seedsThe studio designed the bakery’s interior to introduce the bread to new audiences in a contemporary setting.
Formerly an office, the 65-square-metre space at street level was transformed with warm materials and nods to the heritage of the snack it serves.
Kaak bread is also displayed in a window that looks into the kitchenThe original facade was altered to include two prominent reinforced columns at the entrance, while large windows create a connection between the outdoor patio and the indoor areas.
“The interior design interprets the vernacular vocabulary of Lebanese architecture through a curated palette of materials,” MA Studio said.
Caramel-toned wood creates a portal into the main service areaBeyond the glass door is a white-walled space with a speckled floor that mimics the appearance of sesame seeds.
This room offers seating on built-in window benches, facing a glass panel that allows a glimpse at the preparation process in the kitchen behind and creates an opportunity to display the kaak on metal hooks.
Rawan Muqaddas designs Sloane Street Deli to be a “classic neighbourhood spot”
A caramel-toned wooden frame references typical Lebanese architecture and creates a portal into the main service area.
Here, two perpendicular counters are wrapped in checkerboard tiles that playfully suggest the patterns of backgammon – a popular community pastime in Lebanon.
A white-painted room has bench seating built under the windowsTo adorn the walls above the two-top tables, Beirut lighting brand Fabraca Studios designed custom metal sconces that resemble kaak, complete with the signature hole at the top.
“This thoughtful integration of traditional elements creates an immersive cultural experience, inviting customers to step into a space where the essence of Lebanese hospitality and culinary tradition come alive, offering a true taste of Beirut in the heart of London,” said MA Studio.
Checkered counters provide a nod to backgammon boardsBefore joining forces, Akkari and Muqaddas ran separate studios in New York and London respectively, and collaborated on the interiors of a “minimal but warm” Brooklyn apartment.
Muqaddas also previously designed the Sloane Street Deli in the UK capital, which features green tiles and bentwood chairs.
The photography is by Felix Speller.
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Dezeen has teamed up with ASUS Zenbook to curate a major exhibition during London Design Festival exploring materiality, craftsmanship and artificial intelligence.
Titled Design You Can Feel, the exhibition will showcase how material qualities such as form, colour and texture can be combined to create objects or moments that awaken the senses.
Featured designers include Fernando Laposse, Giles Miller, Natural Material Studio, Niceworkshop and Studio Furthermore.
The exhibition will also include a specially commissioned piece by Future Facility, the design and research studio led by distinguished designers Kim Colin, Sam Hecht and Leo Leitner.
Exhibition to tell the story of Ceraluminum
At the heart of the exhibition will be an exploration of Ceraluminum, an innovative new material that’s used to create the distinct visual identity of the ASUS Zenbook series of laptops.
Ceraluminum combines the lightness of metal with the resilience of ceramics through an aluminium ceramisation process, resulting in a new proprietary material with distinctive nature-inspired hues that make each object unique.
Dezeen has teamed up with ASUS Zenbook to curate an exhibition at London Design FestivalUnlike traditional aluminium anodisation, the process eliminates volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and heavy metals and results in a 100-per-cent recyclable material.
This will be presented alongside work by other leading designers and curated around themes that speak to the qualities of Ceraluminum and showcase ASUS’s approach to design.
A celebration of ASUS Zenbook
The Design You Can Feel exhibition will celebrate Zenbook, the new range of laptops from ASUS.
These thin and light ultra-portable premium laptops have been crafted with the user in mind. The design features have been dictated by their use with the aim of seamlessly integrating beauty and function.
Dezeen Events Guide launches digital guide to London Design Festival 2024
The laptops feature advanced (artificial intelligence) AI tools and are clad in the proprietary Ceraluminum material.
This light and durable material can be used to create unique, everlasting designs. Each of the pieces in the exhibition – which span furniture, lighting and installation design – will speak to these qualities in different ways, while Niceworkshop has produced a piece of furniture directly using the material.
The Design You Can Feel exhibition will celebrate ASUS ZenbookThe special commission by Future Facility will also be crafted from Ceraluminum.
Through this conceptual design, the studio will explore the relationship between the digital and physical worlds and ask how AI and materiality can change our relationship with technology.
Visitors to the exhibition will also be able to learn about the design story behind ASUS Zenbook and try out the AI tools it features for themselves.
Design You Can Feel takes place during LDF
Design You Can Feel will run from 17 to 22 September at Protein Studios in Shoreditch during London Design Festival.
More details of the exhibition, including details of the work on display, will be announced in the coming weeks at: dezeen.com/designyoucanfeel.
The exhibition graphic at the top of this post is by My Beautiful City, which used the generative AI tool Midjourney to create the imagery. You can see Dezeen’s policy on AI here.
London Design Festival 2024
London Design Festival 2024 takes place from 16-22 September 2024. See our London Design Festival 2024 guide on Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks taking place throughout the week.
Partnership content
The Design You Can Feel exhibition is a partnership between Dezeen and ASUS Zenbook. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.
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Former Soho House design director Linda Boronkay drew on her experience of members’ clubs when creating communal spaces at The Sessile, a rentable apartment block in north London.
Created by contemporary rental brand Way of Life, The Sessile is a 310-apartment building in Tottenham Hale.
Linda Boronkay has created the communal spaces at The Sessile in Tottenham HaleBoronkay designed the interiors for the building’s communal areas, which include a rooftop orangery and a private dining area as well as a gym, a yoga studio and a dedicated vinyl listening room.
“We opted for bold colours and pieces with lots of personality,” said the interior designer, who founded her own practice in 2020.
The rooftop orangery opens onto wide terraces”We also integrated vintage finds like we always do, so the ingredients and our approach were very similar to how we would work on a members’ club design,” she told Dezeen.
The 10th-floor rooftop orangery is the largest of the spaces, opening onto planted terraces with sweeping views of the surrounding area.
Marble and dark timber feature in the private dining roomBlack terrazzo flooring was paired with gleaming green and crimson tiles, which line the windowsills and a tall central fireplace. Boronkay chose a trio of spindly, ornate chandeliers to contrast with these colour-blocked accents.
Large skylights illuminate an open kitchen and various seating areas encircled by textured armchairs. Bespoke rugs decorated with bright patterns add “a layer of art and graphic design” to the space, said Boronkay.
Boronkay selected lighter hues for the yoga studioThe private dining room is more intimate, with sliding timber joinery that allows a graphic, coloured tapestry to give way to a concealed television.
“Joinery, artwork and drapery allow residents to instantly change the function or ambiance of a room,” explained Boronkay.
The gym is illuminated by sculptural lampsTranslucent glass discs were clustered together to create a chunky overhead lamp, while burnt orange curtains and veiny marble sideboards add a touch of luxury.
Lighter hues were chosen for the yoga studio, finished with “natural” earthy colours on the floors, walls and ceilings. Muted tones also evoke a sense of calm in the gym, complete with sculptural sandy pendant lamps.
The vinyl listening room was created as a “private nook”A squiggly neon ceiling light features in the vinyl listening room, designed as a “private nook for reflection”. The space is characterised by open blood-red shelving displaying stacks of records.
“We were conscious about coming up with a new colour scheme and new identity for each room,” said the designer.
Careers guide: Linda Boronkay explains what it’s like to be design director for Soho House
Boronkay also included a ping-pong table in the room that can be used or stowed away depending on residents’ preferences.
“We aren’t very used to designing in new build architecture,” reflected Boronkay.
Terrazzo flooring was included in the interior design”Most of our projects are in historical heritage buildings and their story and style is an important building block in our design and narrative. At The Sessile, we had to almost ignore the architecture and create a world of our own that you experience as soon as you step inside,” added the designer.
Elsewhere in London, local firm Studio Est referenced the industrial heritage of Battersea Power Station when creating the interiors for an apartment inside the redeveloped landmark. Archmongers studio recently renovated a home inside North Kensington’s Trellick Tower.
The photography is courtesy of Way of Life.
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