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This pavilion, designed by architecture firm Semester Studio for a furniture exhibition in Shanghai, was built entirely using materials that were separated and returned to their source after the show. More
This wooden pavilion set among lush gardens forms a retail space in Mexico City for fragrance brand Xinú, designed by its founders Esrawe + Cadena.
The Xinú Marsella space occupies a former car mechanic’s workshop in the city’s Juarez neighborhood that has been transformed into an oasis of greenery.
Esrawe + Cadena built the Xinú boutique within an industrial courtyard transformed into a verdant gardenIt was built to provide a multi-sensory experience for customers of perfume and home scent brand Xinú, which designers Héctor Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena founded in 2016.
Both had a hand in creating the retail space, which is intended to reinvigorate the leftover industrial space and provide an enjoyable spot to visit.
The single-storey pavilion is built almost entirely from laminated tornillo wood”The design approach started with the idea of gifting a garden to the neighbourhood, ingeniously giving life to a vacant space by harmoniously blending a holistic experience that integrates the seductive power of nature, with design and architecture,” said the design team.
Visitors approach the space via an unassuming metal gateway on the street, passing through a tunnel with many potted plants on either side before emerging into the courtyard.
Its radial construction emanates from a central columnA flagstone path guides this journey to and around a circular single-storey pavilion built almost entirely from laminated tornillo wood.
Its radial construction revolves around a large central pillar, from which structural beams emanate to support tongue-and-groove ceiling panels.
Vertical louvres around the perimeter support shelves and vitrines displaying various itemsThe pavilion sits on a steel frame atop a system of red grandis wood beams, while a pine lattice above the ceiling supports a plywood board roof.
Around the perimeter are a series of vertical louvres that provide anchors for shelves and vitrines displaying a variety of items.
Products on view include Xinú’s fragrances, candles and other olfactory-related piecesGlass panels fill most of the gaps between the louvres, except the two that are left for the wooden doors.
At night, a ring of track lighting illuminates the displays that range from Xinú perfumes and candles, to olfactory-stimulating natural items, small plants and botanical drawings.
The boutique is designed to offer Xinú customers a “a powerful authentic brand narrative””This thoughtful arrangement allows the periphery to fully embrace the botanical realm, correlating scents, candles, incense and home products with the vivid tapestry of the landscape,” the team said.
“Supported by a powerful authentic brand narrative, the pavilion unfolds as a contemplative journey, a multi-sensory approach inviting guests to explore a universe crafted by simplicity and the fragrant symphony of nature as well as Xinú’s unique products and scents.”
Mexican design and architecture undergoing a “renaissance” says Héctor Esrawe
Xinú launched during Design Week Mexico in 2016, when the brand’s stacked-hemisphere reusable bottles – also designed by Esrawe Studio and Cadena & Asociados – were unveiled.
Esrawe is one of Mexico’s most prolific contemporary designers, and in a recent interview with Dezeen, said that Mexican design and architecture is undergoing a “renaissance”.
The courtyard is accessed from the street via a metal gate and reached by following a flagstone pathHis studio’s recent projects include the Albor Hotel in San Miguel de Allende where planes of green tile are suspended from the lobby ceiling and an apartment in Mexico City anchored by a cruciform cabinet.
Cadena frequently collaborates on projects with Esrawe, offering art direction, concept design and brand identity.
Track lighting inside the pavilion and uplights in the plants create an atmospheric setting at nightOther projects the two studios have completed together include Grupo Arca’s showroom and cultural centre in Guadalajara and the Tierra Garat cafe in Polanco, Mexico City.
The photography is by Alejandro Ramírez.
Project credits:
Concept and experience: Esrawe + CadenaArchitecture, interior design, furniture: Esrawe StudioDisplay and artwork design: Cadena ConceptsDesign team: Heisei Carmona, Nuria Martin, Laura Vela, Ángel Durán, Raúl Araiza, Rodrigo Romero, Pablo ÁvilaVisualisations: Yair UgarteScale models: Alejandro Uribe, David DíazWood: MicmacStructure: Sergio LópezInstallations: JLC RemodelacionesLandscaping: Arturo FloresLighting: Lighteam
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UK architecture studio Pearce+ and Canadian designer Joe Kalturnyk have created a temporary inflatable restaurant for subzero temperatures in Winnipeg, Canada.
The barrel-vaulted restaurant has space for 48 guests dining in temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius during the 10th annual RAW:almond fine dining food festival, which celebrates both Canadian cuisine and the harsh winter.
The temporary restaurant was designed by Pearce+Each year, the food festival commissions the construction of a temporary structure that responds to its environment and incorporates sustainable reuse.
“[The shelter] mirrors the ethos of the food served within by minimizing waste, discovering elegance in simplicity, creatively celebrating local identity, and incorporating a global outlook,” said the team.
It featured a vaulted dining roomPearce+, based in Herfordshire and London, constructed the 220-square metre (2,370-square foot) restaurant in just a few weeks, and it was in use for 22 days early in 2024.
The snow-surrounded structure had a cruciform plan with a 140-square metre (1,500-square foot) vaulted dining room that contained two linear tables.
Pearce+ developed custom inflatable panelsEmploying a Diagrid framework, the vault was constructed from 18-meter-long, 15-millimetre reinforced steel bars.
“These bars were bundled in groups of three, with varying plywood spacers, to create exceptionally lightweight trusses,” the team said.
Interior diamond-shaped panels featured a reflective foil layerThe team – with the help of inflatable specialists at Inflate Ltd – developed custom inflatable panels that mitigated the potential pressure to decrease the cold temperature’s lower air density. It was stretched over the framework.
The diamond-shaped panels featured a gold-coloured foil layer that reflected heat into the space.
Festival goers entered through a smaller vaulted lobby tunnelAlong the ridge line, the gold panels were swapped with transparent ones, offering a view to the snowy sky.
The panels were connected with Velcro – rather than glue due to the extreme temporal variation – and were disassembled and stored for future uses.
Directly across from the entrance was the rectangular kitchenCapping each end of the dining area were trapezoidal buttressing structures, designed to resist strong winds and offer emergency egress.
Festival goers entered through a smaller vaulted lobby tunnel at the centre of the plan. A gabled wooden vestibule transitioned into the dining area.
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Directly behind the structure was the rectangular kitchen.
Separated by a small hallway, the kitchen was constructed with a Structurally Insulated Panels (SIP) flat-pack and outfitted with high-quality appliances.
Rectangular dining tables featured insideThe structure was meant to be a demonstration of ways to conserve space by utilising temporary structures.
“I think it’s necessary to start re-envisioning how we use space, for what and for how long,” said RAW:almond co-founder Joe Kalturnyk.
“In the beginning I was interested in seeing if you can temporarily build a city within a city – and what better way to test the idea than with food? RAW:almond was a huge leap – would people embrace the winter and eat outdoors? Would they do it on a frozen river? And ultimately, could we even pull this off?”
In 2015, the RAW:almond pop-up restaurant was constructed on the surface of a frozen river with an X-shaped plan lying over the connection between the Assiniboine and Red rivers.
The restaurant was designed for subzero temperaturesAlso in Winnipeg, Canadian studio KPMB revealed a horticultural centre with a Fibonacci spiral roof.
The photography is by Simeon Rusnak.
RAW:almond 2024 took place from 24 January to 18 February. For more events, talks and exhibitions involving architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide.
Project credits:
Project founders: Joe Kalturnyk & Mandel HitzerArchitect/designer: Pearce+ and Joe KalturnykArchitect of record: AtLrg ArchitectureProject management: Joe KalturnykStructural engineers: Wolfrom EngineeringInflatable specialists: InflateVisualisations: Pearce+Construction: RAW:Almond team, Pearce+ and Hi-Rise
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Dirk Somers, founder of Antwerp studio Bovenbouw Architectuur, created a “fictional, yet recognisable” Flemish city named Composite Presence for the Belgian Pavilion at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale. More
Valencia studio MUT Design has designed five modular pavilions clad in scales made from leftover wood for a travelling exhibition in Spain.The pavilions will showcase work by 50 designers in five different sections to celebrate Valencia’s title of World Design Capital for 2022.
Each section – design and art, the circular economy, industry and craftsmanship, technology and the transformative economy – is housed within its own mini pavilion formed from two semi-cylinders.
Top image: the exhibition is broken down into five mini-pavilions. Above: each is formed from two semi-cylinders
These consist of four metre-high curved walls, which can be placed separately or together to create a labyrinth of winding corridors and secluded alcoves.
Inside, the units’ pinewood frame and construction are laid bare, while the convex exterior is clad in hundreds of small, overlapping wooden fins, adding up to around 220,000 across all five pavilions.
The units are arranged to form a labyrinth of corridors and alcoves
The wood was originally meant to be turned into the parade floats that are ceremonially burned as part of Valencia’s historic Fallas festival every March, but the event was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Instead, the wood was used for this installation, which is on view as part of the Madrid Design Festival until 14 March before becoming a travelling exhibition.
The pinewood frame is left exposed inside the pavilions
“Here in Valencia, we have a lot of traditional wood ateliers that create works for the Fallas festival,” MUT Design co-founder Alberto Sánchez told Dezeen.
“But it was cancelled due to the pandemic and a lot of materials were left on the shelf. So we decided to collaborate with one of the ateliers to give a new life to the wood and create some work for the builders.”
The pavilions are clad in wooden scales
Each scale was handmade by local woodworker Manolo García and trimmed to three standard sizes of 14, 16 and 18 centimetres. These were then lined up and alternated to create a textured surface not dissimilar to tree bark.
“We wanted to bring together tradition and the avant-garde while recovering something that is really ours – deeply rooted in our city,” Sánchez explained.
In particular, the studio drew on natural textures found in the Albufera National Park just south of Valencia, as well as on the thatched roofs of traditional houses known as barracas.
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Breaking each pavilion down into two semi-cylinders allows the individual units to be combined into “infinite compositions” that can be adapted to different spaces for the travelling exhibition.
“Because it is a travelling exhibition, we want to create one-of-a-kind experiences in each of the several places it will be visiting,” Sánchez added.
The units were also designed to be taken apart into separate pieces, which can be stacked for ease of transport.
Each scale was handmade by Manolo García
Contributors to the exhibition include designer Jaime Hayon, brands Andreu World and Expormim, and a number of emerging studios showing projects including self-ventilating graphene facades and homeware made from olive pits.
“We wanted to bring to Madrid a different selection of projects that are leading a silent transformation of society,” explained Xavi Calvo, director of World Design Capital Valencia 2022.
Displays are fixed to the inside of the pavilions
MUT Design has previously collaborated with Expormim to create a chair modelled on the shape of a flower petal and an outdoor rug made from braided ropes, which were exhibited at the products fair of Dezeen’s Virtual Design Festival.
Photography is by Ernesto Sampons.
Valencia Pavilion – The Future is Design is on view at the Fernán Gómez Cultural Centre as part of the Madrid Design Festival until 14 March 2021. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
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