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    Studio V clads Long Island City apartments in British racing green terracotta

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    Architecture practice Studio V has unveiled The Green House apartment block in Long Island City, USA, which was informed by the neighbourhood’s history of terracotta production.

    Situated at a prominent location on Jackson Avenue near the New York City neighbourhood’s waterfront, the 12-storey block encompasses a gallery, retail, 46 two-bedroom apartments and 40 parking spaces that are spread across two lower floors.
    “[Studio V founder] Jay’s goal with this building… was to create a design that points to the future of Long Island City as well as respects its past,” the studio told Dezeen.
    The Green House was designed by Studio VChosen as a contemporary interpretation of local terracotta-clad architecture, the British racing green colour gives the building its name.
    “Green was perfect for multiple reasons: to broadcast the sustainable design of the building and as the complementary colour to the traditional red [terracotta],” Studio V told Dezeen.

    “We also chose a glazed terracotta [finish] which features a shiny surface [and] brings the custom curved forms and shapes to life, giving the facade depth, reflecting light and capturing shadow.”
    The Green House was clad in British racing green terracotta tilesStudio V aimed to create a unique building by drawing inspiration from the site’s “rich history of terracotta production,” warehouses and red terracotta-clad architecture that are typical of the site.
    Three bold, large-scale murals by Brooklyn art duo Faile contrast the uniformity of the terracotta cladding and reference the significance of Long Island City as “a hub for contemporary art”.

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    Manufactured in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, the terracotta tiles were arranged  linearly with spacing and windows arranged to be reminiscent of a warehouse.
    “We’re not interested in generic design: architecture must reinvent a site’s history and context,” said Studio V founder Jay Valgora.
    Colourful murals by Brooklyn art due Faile contrast the uniformity of facadesThe three-storey lobby on the ground floor was designed as a gallery space and dedicated to “retail and active uses,” as an extension of the shops and restaurants that occupy the surrounding streets.
    Flux Chandelier, by Brooklyn-based artist Jen Lewin, illuminates the space. Its colour-changing pendants are activated by the movement below, adding an interactive element to the building.
    Facade facing Jackson AvenueDue to the unusual trapezoidal shape of the site, The Green House consists of two street-facing facades, which created an opportunity for variation in the terracotta facades.
    Woven bronze mesh panels that conceal the elevator tower and parking areas, storefronts and gridded windows formed “two distinct [yet] complementary compositions” that face Jackson Avenue and 50th Avenue.
    Facade facing 50th Avenue with alternate compositionA raised internal courtyard oriented to overlook the “stunning views of Manhattan across the East River” provides space between the apartments to prevent them from looking directly into each other.
    The Green House contains two further outdoor spaces – a shared wrap-around terrace accessed on the penthouse floor and private individual terraces for residents on the eighth floor, created by the staggered design.
    The Green House features individual terraces on the eighth floorThe electricity-powered apartment block also contains conference and co-working spaces to accommodate the rising trends of remote work.
    Other terracotta-clad architecture recently featured on Dezeen include a triangular mixed-use complex that is rotated around a central axis and a school that was informed by a child’s doodles.
    The photography is by Alexander Severin.
    Project credits:
    Architect: Studio VDeveloper: Charney CompaniesGeneral Contractor: Broadway ConstructionMEP Building Systems: Ettinger EngineeringStructural Engineering: Titan Engineers

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      Akio Isshiki Architects marries old and new with Japanese home and restaurant

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      Japanese studio Akio Isshiki Architects has transformed an old wooden building into a warm-toned home and public restaurant named House in Hayashisaki Matsue Beach.

      Located on a coastal street in Akashi in southern Japan, the mixed-use space was built within a 50-year-old building for a local designer and features a curry restaurant as well as residential and working spaces.
      Designed to reflect traditional Japanese dwellings, the home and restaurant are contained within a wooden building that was previously dark and separated.
      House in Hayashisaki Matsue Beach was designed by Akio Isshiki ArchitectsDuring the renovation, Akio Isshiki Architects aimed to pair existing elements with modern features to reflect the mixed-use nature of the project.
      “The house was divided into small rooms, narrow and dark,” studio founder Akio Isshiki told Dezeen.

      “It was very old and damaged, but fortunately the carpenter had done a good job, there were no leaks, and the structure was solid.”
      It is located in AkashiAccessed from the roadside, a series of circular stones form a path that leads through the planted front garden and curves to extend along the front of the building, providing access to the ground-floor restaurant.
      Here, a stepped sheltered porch features external seating and is separated from the interior space by a wide sliding glass door set in a timber frame, which offers views into the garden and can be fully opened to connect the dining space to the outside.
      The structure contains a restaurant and a homeInside, the floor has been coated with dark tiles informed by the history of the area, which was formerly a large tile producer.
      “These tiles were handcrafted one by one by tile craftsmen in Awaji, with the image of lava stone pavements seen in cities in Central and South America superimposed on the texture and edge shape,” said the studio.
      It draws on traditional Japanese homesWooden furnishings, including bespoke D-shaped chairs designed by the studio and created by a local woodworker, are arranged throughout the dining space at the front of the building.
      “To ensure stability even on uneven floors, three legs are used as a base for the chairs, and the legs are made of a thick material so that they do not fit in the joints of the Kawara tiles,” said Isshiki.
      “I aimed for a primitive design with an unknown nationality, with as simple and crude a composition as possible.”

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      Separated from the main space by an earth-toned counter, the kitchen is tucked into one side of the dining room and features walls clad in wooden panels and white tiles, along with a lighting fixture formed from two circles that hangs in the street-facing window.
      A Japanese shoji screen at the end of the dining room is the first of a series of flexible partitions throughout the home that can be pulled out to provide separation between the spaces.
      The upper floor contains private residential space”Conscious of the tropics and nostalgia, we put nets that look like mosquito nets and sudare blinds on the shoji screens,” said the studio. “The graceful plans created by imperfect partitions such as shoji and fusuma are typical of ancient Japanese architecture.”
      “In this house, where cultures, nationalities, times, and various other things are combined, I thought it would be appropriate to have the spaces partially mixed so that they could feel the presence of each other, rather than being permanently partitioned in terms of usage,” it continued.
      Wood was used throughout the interiorBuilt on a raised timber platform, the rest of the ground floor holds private rooms for the client, which are divided by shoji screens, including a traditional Japanese room that opens onto a garden.
      A home office borders the dining space, where a central black ladder leads to the floor above, while a bedroom, bathroom and utility room branch from the other side of the corridor.
      The residential space has views of the seaUpstairs, the studio added an open arrangement of dining and living spaces with warm-toned surfaces including a red wall and dark wooden beams that interact with the home’s original rustic roof structure.
      “The wall on the second floor is a scraped wall mixed with red iron oxide and finished by a plasterer from Awaji,” said Isshiki. “This is an attempt to incorporate the colourful walls of each country into architecture in a Japanese context.”
      The home has an open-plan living arrangementOther Japanese homes recently featured on Dezeen include a Tokyo home spread across two stacked volumes and a concrete home supported by a single column on Japan’s Okinawa Island.
      The photography is by Yosuke Ohtake.

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      Studio McW transforms London warehouse into live-work space for Earthrise Studio

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      London-based architecture practice Studio McW has converted an east London warehouse into an office and living space for climate activists and filmmakers Jack Harries and Alice Aedy.

      The live-work space was renovated from a century-old shoe factory featuring steel windows, exposed concrete beams, and a double-height pitched roof. The studio took a minimalistic approach to the renovation, aiming to enhance the 1924 building’s original features.
      Studio McW converted an existing warehouse into a home office for Earthrise Studio”It was key for us to not only retain, but also celebrate the existing suspended slabs and concrete beams which tell the story of how the building was originally built,” studio co-founders Greg Walton and David McGahon told Dezeen.
      “By exposing the rawness of the existing brickwork and imperfect concrete, we were able to contrast this with softer tones and textures, be that the clay finish to the walls or the reclaimed timber boards on the floor, whilst mirroring the variation and depth inherent in such finishes.”
      The studio exposed existing textures and balanced them with soft clay-finished wallsHarries and Aedy wanted a space where they could both live and work on their media company Earthrise, which has a focus on communicating the climate crisis. The duo briefed the studio to design a multi-purpose space suitable for recording podcasts and hosting social gatherings, work meetings, and photoshoots.

      While the 100-square-metre space was made to serve various different functions, the studio wanted to maintain a sense of continuity throughout the building by keeping the design as simple as possible in all spaces.
      The existing large steel windows let light into the main office space”Whilst the joinery is highly specific to the needs of Jack and Alice, it is in essence a very simple intervention that ties together the entirety of the upper floor, and blurs the intersection between the functions required by a kitchen space, dining space, work space, and living space,” said Walton and McGahon.
      “This element of the scheme remained consistent from concept to completion and is integral to ensuring a continuity within the space.”
      A bedroom located behind a glazed wall occupies the lower floorStudio McW redesigned the entrance level, opening up the existing partitioned bedroom and dressing room to create a large aperture to draw light through the new glazed internal wall to the bathroom and utility space.
      Above, an open-plan living space is accessed by a staircase made from reclaimed Georgian pine floor boards, beside which runs a black steel balustrade.

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      Prior to the renovation, this floor was constricted by redundant overhead services and an unused concrete doorway. The studio removed these to open up the space both vertically and horizontally.
      A new concrete sideboard spans the length of the room, acting as seating and storage as well as displaying the clients’ collection of artwork, photography, and cameras. A matching concrete island sits in the centre of the kitchen.
      A staircase made from reclaimed timber leads to the main floorThe main space also features custom oak joinery, including a table, a shelving unit, and additional floating shelves. Both levels of the building were finished with toxin-absorbing matte clay walls.
      “Greg and David created a space that feels very much in the spirit of Earthrise. The apartment is a natural, flexible, and beautiful backdrop to our work and lives, and the design allows it to oscillate between functions accordingly,” Alice Aedy commented.
      Shelving units and a concrete bench offer storage and display space at the side of the kitchenAccording to the studio, the apartment remains well protected from the potential of overheating despite the age of the structure.
      “The open stair, tall ceilings to the living space and openable windows all contribute to passive stack ventilation which assist in keeping the space cool,” said McGahon and Walton. “The apartment has glazing that opens on both the east and west faces, allowing for cross-ventilation during the warmer summer months.”
      A lounge area fills the other end of the open spaceThe studio hopes additional recent and future refurbishments will improve the levels of thermal comfort.
      “The roof of the building had recently been refurbished with vast improvements made to the thermal performance,” Walton and McGahon commented.
      “All of the building occupants have contributed towards the replacement of the existing single-glazed steel Crittal windows throughout,” they continued.
      “This will provide vast improvements to the thermal performance of the glazing, whilst retaining the style akin to the original building. These works are due to take place over the next year.”
      Founded by David McGahon and Greg Walton, Studio McW is an architecture practice operating across the UK whose recent projects include a London home extension with oak joinery.
      The photography is by Lorenzo Zandri.

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