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    Oak furniture and parquet flooring feature in Scandi-style Asket office

    Swedish studio Atelier Paul Vaugoyeau worked closely with fashion label Asket to design its minimalist office in Stockholm, which features oak wood tables, parquet floors and soft white furnishings.

    Atelier Paul Vaugoyeau has transformed a 450-square-metre space on a high street in Södermalm into an office and workshop for fashion retailer Asket.
    Asket has transformed an office space in StockholmThe single-story space, which is located within an 18th-century building, was previously occupied by two separate offices that had been divided up into several small rooms.
    The aim of the renovation project was to celebrate the character of the existing building and pay homage to its “industrial roots”.
    The designers referenced minimalist Scandi design”We wanted to ensure that the design honoured the building’s original industrial roots,” said co-founder of Asket August Bard-Bringeus.

    “The new headquarters is located in an old industrial building from the 18th century which is typical for the district of Södermalm – the former working-class quarter of Stockholm,” he told Dezeen.
    Large oak wood tables are dotted throughout to encourage collaborationBard-Bringeus decided to create a workspace where the fashion label’s employees could meet but also work on new designs for its clothing range.
    The renovated open-plan office consists of a meeting room, a small kitchenette and a designated workspace, which is stocked with tools such as sewing machines and materials to help them design and develop new garments.
    The office has a small kitchenetteIn an effort to embrace the building’s original features, the team chose to strip back the interiors, leaving the original parquet flooring and metal pipes exposed.
    “I’ve always been drawn to the functionalist design movement,” Bard-Bringeus explained. “The work of Dieter Rams was a formative influence – and especially his approach to involve as little design as possible. ”
    “So we followed this doctrine and stripped back the space, consisting of two offices with different identities, to its structural foundation.”
    Soft furnishings were chosen in muted tonesLarge tables custom made by Paul Vaugoyeau were installed in the middle of the main office space, as well as in the meeting rooms and dining area.
    Designed to promote collaboration, the tables are made from oak wood that was sourced in Nyköping – a municipality south of Stockholm.
    The studio hoped that the material, which is commonly used in Scandi interiors, would make the office feel timeless.

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    “What has proven to stand the test of time is the tactile beauty of natural materials,” said Bard-Bringeus.
    “We worked with a lot of wood which lends a natural warmth to the industrial features, balancing out the lustre from metallic fixtures,” he continued.
    “Instead of changing the given space, we worked with what was here and used natural, long living materials, such as metal and oak wood for a timeless design that will last and last.”
    Light enters through multiple generous windowsThe Asket office benefits from plenty of natural light through multiple large windows that provide generous views of the nearby Baltic Sea and the town.
    To amplify this and make the space appear larger, Bard-Bringeus and Atelier Paul Vaugoyeau cast the walls in muted tones such as brown and beige, while translucent cream curtains provide privacy in the two large working areas.
    Metallic tones contrast the warm wood furnitureScandi is a term used to describe designs from Denmark, Sweden and Norway – but has also become a buzzword for minimalist interior design that uses plays with tactile, natural materials.
    Other offices that exemplify Scandi design include Danish brand Menu’s showroom, office cafe and in Copenhagen, which was designed by Norm Architects and Norm Architects’ stripped-back workspace for Kinfolk magazine in Copenhagen.
    The photography is by Erik Lefvander.

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    Pitsou Kedem covers Hiba restaurant in Tel Aviv with geometric timber latticework

    Gridded oakwood panels sit alongside rough slabs of granite inside Hiba, a restaurant in Tel Aviv designed by local architecture practice Pitsou Kedem.

    Located in the city’s midtown area, Hiba serves a menu of Arab-Israeli fusion food.
    The restaurant’s use of fresh local ingredients influenced Pitsou Kedem to curate an equally raw, natural material palette for its interior.
    A gridded oak partition runs along Hiba’s entrance corridorGuests are guided into the venue via a narrow corridor with a gridded oak divider on one side.
    Some of the partition’s rectangular slots are blocked off while others are left open, allowing visitors to get brief glimpses of the hubbub happening in the restaurant proper.

    Hiba’s facade and ceiling feature the same latticework, loosely informed by the mashrabiya window screens that are traditional to Islamic architecture.
    The restaurant can seat up to 40 guestsThe corridor opens up into an intimate dining room, which accommodates just 40 guests.
    Dotted throughout are a series of circular oak tables, each accompanied by curved-back oak chairs with woven seats.
    The dining room features oak tables and chairs alongside granite countersSome of the tables back onto a powdered concrete bench that runs along one side of the room.
    Concrete was also applied to the restaurant’s floor, where it was polished to reveal the aggregate within.

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    At the back of the room, the practice created what it describes as an “inverted bar”, where liquor bottles are displayed inside a backlit niche in the wall rather than a typical bar counter that projects out into the room.
    Drinks can be prepared here or on the chunky slab of granite that forms a counter at the centre of the room.
    Diners can also sit on a curved concrete benchAnother craggy block of granite forms the base of an oak-topped dining counter that extends directly into Hiba’s kitchen in the corner of the restaurant.
    The kitchen was intentionally left open so that diners can watch the chefs at work and get an insight into the culinary process.
    A niche in the restaurant’s rear wall doubles up as a drinks barPitsou Kedem was founded by Israeli architect Pitsou Kedem in 2000.
    Hiba joins a number of trendy eateries across Tel Aviv including the minimalist vegan restaurant Opa and Bana – a cafe where fresh fruit and produce are arranged into colourful eye-catching displays.

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    Norm Architects designs spa-like dental clinic modelled on art galleries

    Warm oak and smooth concrete are among the materials that Danish studio Norm Architects used to create the interiors for this Antwerp dental surgery, which aims to defy traditional, more clinical designs.

    The clinic, called Dentology+, is spread over a cavernous basement area and a ground-floor level. Both have been clad in a neutral material palette that was designed to evoke a sense of calm.
    The dental clinic was designed to defy traditional medical interiorsThe private dental clinic’s basement is made up of a set of dusty grey corridors, which Copenhagen-based Norm Architects designed to make it look as if the rooms were carved from a block of concrete.
    These concrete volumes are interrupted only by carefully selected minimal design elements such as geometric alcoves, pared-back black pendant lights and an earthy-hued circular artwork by Sara Martinsen.
    A cavernous basement area defines half the surgeryA low-slung sofa finished in a light-coloured textile also features in the basement, which was designed by Norm Architects’ longtime collaborator Keiji Ashizawa for Japanese brand Ariake.

    “The need to dwell and retreat to intimate nooks is a basic human requirement that we cannot dismiss when shaping living spaces,” Norm Architects co-founder Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen told Dezeen.
    Circular artwork by Sara Martinsen hangs above a low-slung sofaDentology+’s upper level was designed to be brighter and airier than its basement, while maintaining the clinic’s overall neutral theme.
    Cubes of light oak create walls and doors that are interspersed with objects including a pebble-like vase on a plinth, in a design that takes cues from the interiors of an art gallery.
    Translucent curtains line the windows of the operating rooms.

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    The choice to design Dentology+’s interior using materials that might be considered unusual for medical spaces was made in an attempt to enhance patients’ wellbeing, according to architect Sofie Thorning.
    “In many ways, we looked more to beautiful spa resorts than classic white dental clinics for inspiration,” she told Dezeen.
    Operating rooms exist within light oak walls”Material translucency and soft, warm light paired with carefully considered, crafted materials work to reshape the patient experience and perception,” she added. “The space is nothing like an ordinary dental clinic.”
    “What we surround ourselves with simply has a great impact on our mood and behaviour, which is why working with natural materials in architecture and design is a simple way to enrich our surroundings and enhance our quality of life,” added Bjerre-Poulsen.
    Afteroom chairs by Menuspace feature on the upper levelFounded in 2008, Norm Architects is a multidisciplinary design studio based in Copenhagen. Other projects by the practice that celebrate neutral and calming interiors include a minimal Chinese tea parlour and a jewellery store in Copenhagen informed by modernist artists’ studios.
    The photography is by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen.
    Project credits:
    Architect & Partner: Sofie ThorningArchitect: Qing YeClient: Dentology+

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    David Thulstrup revamps Donum Home at Sonoma County winery

    Granite, oak and rattan are among the materials found in a California winery’s hospitality building that has been refurbished by Danish designer David Thulstrup.

    The Donum Home facility is part of the 200-acre (81-hectare) Donum Estate, which sits within the rolling hills of Sonoma County, just north of San Pablo Bay.
    The Donum Home winery building features rattan elementsFounded in 2001, the winery is well known for its pinot noirs, along with the dozens of distinctive sculptures that dot its estate. The collection features work by famed artists such as Doug Aitken, Yayoi Kusama and Ai Weiwei.
    Donum Home – which functions as a venue for tastings, dining and entertainment – opened in 2017 with a design by Matt Hollis of MH Architects in San Francisco. The modern-style building has a crisp profile and white cladding.
    Sonoma County’s hills can be seen from the winery
    In advance of the winery’s 20th anniversary this year, designer David Thulstrup – who leads an eponymous studio in Copenhagen – was brought in to freshen up the interior.
    The project entailed adding new finishes and decor, along with reconfiguring the space to form three new tasting rooms. The aim was to create an environment that felt refined yet relaxed through a careful use of light and local materials.

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    “The outcome is an honest, simple and not over-designed place that reflects its surroundings, while also paying an ode to my Scandinavian roots without any Nordic clichés,” said Thulstrup.
    Rooms feature neutral colours and earthy materials, such as oak-and-rattan screens designed by Thulstrup, and walls and floors covered in oak.
    A rounded walnut table is surrounded by woven chairs in a tasting roomIn one room, a rounded walnut dining table by e15 is surrounded by woven chairs by Thulstrup. An exuberant light fixture from Louis Poulsen hangs overhead.
    In another room, a streamlined walnut table by Thulstrup is paired with a row of simple pendants designed by architect Peter Zumthor for Viabizzuno.
    Original artworks feature all through the buildingFor the building’s great room, where skylights usher in soft daylight, Thulstrup created a table made of California granite.
    Floating near the ceiling are three mirrored-glass balloons that were created by Danish artist Jeppe Hein. The sculpture, called Three Colours for Donum, moves gently with the wind and refracts sunlight.
    Skylights bring soft light into the building’s great room”Their mirrored surfaces reflect the surroundings and you at the same time, so you become a part of the artwork,” said Hein.
    The Donum Home also features a custom, hand-blown-glass vase by Danish artist Lene Bødker, and artwork by Chinese artists Yue Minjun and Liu Xiaodong. There also is a neon piece, titled Surrounded by You, created by UK artist Tracey Emin.
    A neon work by Tracy Emin can be seen through a doorwayStudio David Thulstrup has designed a wide range of spaces and decor, including a photographer’s studio inside a former factory building and the Michelin-star Noma restaurant in Copenhagen.
    Last year, the studio teamed up with Danish furniture brand Møbel to create a pair of tables – one made entirely from ceramic and the other from powder-coated steel.
    Photography is by Eric Petschek.
    Project credits:
    Designer: David ThulstrupStyling: Dung NgoClient: The Donum Estate

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