Eight homes where plywood panelling creates warm interiors
We’ve gathered interior projects that feature tactile plywood panelling for our latest lookbook, from a Swedish summer house to a London micro apartment. More
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Intervention Architecture hides fold-out furniture behind walls of Florin Court flat
British studio Intervention Architecture designed bespoke plywood joinery to conceal furniture including a pull-down bed and a collapsible dining table inside this micro apartment in north London.
The flat is located within Florin Court, a nine-storey art deco building overlooking Charterhouse Square that was designed by Guy Morgan and Partners and built in 1938.
The 24-square-metre flat at the rear of the building was previously the servant quarters for a larger residence facing the garden at the front.
Intervention Architecture has designed the interiors for a London micro apartmentIts current owners, a couple of young artists, commissioned Intervention Architecture after seeing images on the studio’s website of another tiny flat it designed in London’s Barbican Estate.
Similarly to this project, the Barbican flat featured reconfigurable joinery that allowed for optimal use of the compact space.“The brief here was to create joinery for lots of storage and to have it all hidden behind doors to make the apartment feel more spacious,” Intervention Architecture founder Anna Parker told Dezeen.
Furniture in the Florin Court flat is concealed behind built-in joineryA storage wall lining one side of the living area houses a bed that folds down to rest on a moveable bespoke sofa. Shelving above the bedhead provides space for books with built-in reading lights positioned on either side.
The sofa, which can also be used as a daybed, was built to contain four bespoke flatpack stools. These can be arranged around a dining table that can be broken down and stored within the wall.
The living area houses a daybed that transforms into a moveable sofa when foldedA focal point of the space is the open shelving that functions as a library along the end wall.
Here, a recurring arch motif that references the building’s art deco architecture is used to frame the book-filled niches.
The puzzle-like construction of the shelving was also informed by Florin Court’s claim to fame as the residence of Agatha Christie’s fictional detective Hercule Poirot in the popular ITV television series.
Open shelving functions as a library with art deco-style arch motifsIntegrated into the storage units in one corner of the room is a study nook featuring a bespoke seat and a built-in drawing board that can be raised and adjusted to provide an ergonomic work surface.
Joinery throughout the space was constructed using a single material – poplar plywood with a white oiled finish. The floorboards were sanded and given the same treatment to reinforce the cohesive aesthetic.
“We wanted to retain a sense of calmness and singular surface tone of one natural material in the apartment to create an even tone of light from the one main window opening,” said Parker.
Joinery was constructed using poplar plywood with a white oiled finishThe ceiling, walls and window frames are painted a simple off-white shade that helps to brighten the space. This hue is complemented by the tactile boucle upholstery chosen for the sofa.
The room is illuminated by a single bulb above the study area and a central cluster hung at different heights from the ceiling. A pair of matching bedside lamps provides additional task lighting.Studio Est adds “brutalist elements” to Battersea Power Station apartment
While the living area is minimal in its use of colour, the adjoining bathroom and kitchen are saturated in bold hues that introduce an expressive element to the scheme.
“As the clients are two formidable artists, where the use of colour is intrinsic to their work, we wanted to reference a singular use of two colours in the two spaces ancillary to the main studio,” Parker added.
The bathroom is clad with blush-pink tiles chosen to evoke a hue that might be found in a 1930s ocean liner. All-white aluminium taps, sanitaryware and a Japanese-style bathtub contribute to the clean and simple aesthetic.
Blush-pink tiles cover the bathroom, contributing to a clean and simple aestheticThe kitchen is entirely painted in a vibrant shade known as International Klein Blue after the French artist Yves Klein, who used it extensively in his artworks.
According to Parker, the use of saturated colour creates an “immersive experience” within the tiny two-square-metre space, which manages to squeeze in a hob, oven, dishwasher, fridge, sink, spice rack and concealed bin storage.
The two-square metre kitchen is painted in International Klein BlueIntervention Architecture was founded by Parker in 2015 and is based in Birmingham, England. The interdisciplinary practice adopts a collaborative approach to its projects, resulting in bespoke solutions with their own unique personality.
The studio has previously worked on several projects in its home city, including an extension clad in cedar battens and a brick extension featuring arched windows that resemble a colonnade.
The photography is by Tom Bird.Read more: More
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Akin Atelier designs JAM Record Bar to feel like being “inside a giant speaker”
Pink plywood and exposed insulation combine in this monochrome bar in Sydney, designed by local architecture office Akin Atelier to evoke the cosy feel of Tokyo’s mid-century listening bars.
Akin Atelier founder Kelvin Ho designed JAM Record Bar for Justin Hemmes, the CEO of the Merivale hospitality group, who also ran the music label JAM Recordings.
A passion project for Hemmes and his sister Bettina, the bar is named after their parents John and Merivale, who used the JAM label for various ventures alongside their successful hospitality business.
Akin Atelier has designed a monochrome bar in SydneyThe idea for the bar came from a trip to Japan taken by Hemmes and Ho, where the pair enjoyed sampling the atmosphere of Tokyo’s iconic listening bars.
“We wanted to create an immersive and fun environment,” said Ho, who has collaborated with Merivale for over 15 years on roughly 20 projects.“Justin and I have had some super fun trips to Tokyo exploring lots of bars and clubs,” he told Dezeen. “The commitment to design and concept was what we loved in Japan and JAM was an opportunity to do our own spin on this idea.”
The interior scheme was influenced by Tokyo’s midcentury listening barsLocated on a corner of George Street in the city’s central business district, the compact 80-square-metre space seats 45 and houses a collection of 15,000 vinyl records along with a DJ booth.
The unit was previously occupied by a retail store and has large windows looking onto the adjacent streets. Together with outdoor seating, the corner windows help to create a strong connection with the surroundings.
Despite the small size of the space, Ho and his team created distinct zones organised around a central bar.
Fibreglass insulation panels are left exposed within the ceiling structureTowards the rear, an area with low seating has an intimate lounge-like feel, while the main bar area features tall stools and space for standing.
Ho described the decor as “simple and analogue but also refined”, explaining that this was achieved using a basic material palette including cork, plywood and off-the-shelf insulation.
“These are all familiar and accessible materials but we used them in a way that was more elevated through detailing and composition.”
The central bar is surrounded by tall stools with space for standingJAM Record Bar’s distinctive colour was driven by a specific material choice taken by Akin Atelier to enhance the acoustic properties of the space.
Pink fibreglass insulation panels from New Zealand firm Pink Batts are left exposed within the ceiling structure rather than being concealed behind plasterboard.Omar Aqeel brings “sensory fantasy” to NYC bar Only Love Strangers
“We loved the pink colour of the insulation, which then inspired the pink plywood and a full commitment to the colour throughout the project,” said Ho.
“JAM is designed to feel like you are drinking a cocktail inside a giant speaker box – but pink.”
The pink hue is applied across the ceiling, walls and all of the bespoke plywood joinery including the bar, the record library and the geometric stools that are used both indoors and outdoors.
The bar’s distinctive pink colour also extends to the built-in record libraryThe space is given a retro feel through the selection of vintage light fittings and objects curated by Merivale’s styling director Bettina Hemmes and design director Nasim Koerting.
Neon signage in the windows nods to the bar’s Japanese inspiration, while midcentury-style details such as the entrance with its grid of circular windows evoke the golden age of vinyl in the 1950s and 60s.
JAM Record Bar offers a menu of Japanese-inspired snacks developed by chef Michael Fox of Merivale’s Sushi E restaurant and drinks crafted by the company’s creative cocktail lead James Irvine.
Neon signage in the windows nods to JAM Record Bar’s Japanese inspirationKelvin Ho founded Akin Atelier in 2005 after studying at the University of Sydney.
The studio’s multidisciplinary output combines architecture and interior design, with previous projects including a retail space in Sydney with curved resin walls and a womenswear store in Melbourne featuring a tactile material palette.
The photography is by Tim Salisbury.Read more: More
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Mirzoyan Studio models Bursa Bar in Kyiv on musical instrument
This hotel bar in the centre of Kyiv, Ukraine, was designed by Mirzoyan Studio to have plywood panelled walls and a green latticed ceiling to improve acoustics.
Bursa Bar opened earlier this year in the city’s historic Podil neighbourhood, on the first floor of the boutique Bursa Hotel.
Bursa Bar was designed to look like the inside of a speaker or musical instrumentThe 55-square-metre cocktail bar was designed by Mirzoyan Studio founder Nastia Mirzoyan as a place for music lovers, hoping to attract “vinyl record enthusiasts and live-set lovers every weekend”.
“The architect’s idea was to create a space reminiscent of a musical instrument, where every visitor would feel like they’re inside a giant music speaker or guitar, surrounded by a cosy atmosphere of plywood,” said the team.
The space is lined with dark-stained plywood as a nod to contemporary Japanese designThe interior is lined with dark-stained plywood as a nod to contemporary Japanese design.The material forms evenly spaced wall panelling, simple bench seating and shelves for displaying liquor bottles and vinyl records.
The space includes a DJ booth and an extensive vinyl record collectionA grid of wooden boards creates a coffered ceiling that helps to dampen echoes and improve acoustics in the space, as well as preventing the sound from travelling to guest rooms above.
This results in a lower ceiling height but allows lighting and ventilation systems to be hidden inside while creating a more intimate atmosphere within the bar.
Plywood is also used for built-in seating, accompanied by furniture with stainless steel legs”In our design, we aimed to subtly implement the features of Eastern style: orthogonal lines, clean shapes, horizontal orientation of objects, vertical rhythm of walls, and orthogonal ceiling,” Mirzoyan said.
Furniture with stainless steel legs is pushed to the edges of the rectangular room, with the bar and accompanying stools on one side, and a row of small high-top tables along the built-in bench on the other.
The bar counter front is clad in ochre, white and dark green relief tilesStraight in front of the entry door is a DJ booth, also crafted from plywood, behind which the extensive vinyl record collection is stored.
The centre of the space is left empty as a dance floor, where guests can move freely to sounds from the Ojas speakers.Dubrovska Studio uses “leftovers” in Kyiv to furnish local dance studio
The front of the bar counter is clad using relief tiles in ochre, white and a dark forest green hue that matches the ceiling and the Flowerpot lamps by Verner Panton, which illuminate some of the tables.
Extra seating is provided at stainless steel counters installed in the window niches on either side of the door.
Additional seating is provided at stainless steel counters installed in window nichesThe lighting scheme is fully adjustable to create different atmospheres in different areas of the room.
“We combined accent lighting for guest seating areas, creating small bright spots, and used soft linear lighting to emphasize vinyl shelves and exquisite drinks,” said Mirzoyan. “This way, every guest feels special.”
Sound from Ojas speakers is improved thanks to the coffered ceilingDespite Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia, several projects have completed in Kyiv – from a laser clinic with futuristic interiors to a dance studio outfitted with custom furniture made from materials sourced in the face of wartime shortages.
Other spots for drinking and dancing in the city include the Virgin Izakaya Bar in a former arsenal building, which was shortlisted in the restaurant and bar interior category of Dezeen Awards 2021.
The photography is by Yevhenii Avramenko.Read more: More
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Linehouse defines Shanghai office with “unexpected combinations of materials”
Interior design studio Linehouse has renovated an office in Shanghai using numerous materials and art from a local gallery.
Linehouse refurbished the ground floor of a three-storey building in Shanghai that The Independents global marketing group have occupied in Shanghai for numerous years.
The office is located in a three-storey building in ShanghaiThe 374-square-metre space was designed as a communal area for the staff working on the floors above.
It includes a reception area, meeting rooms, pantry and communal eating space as well as a flexible deskspace for twenty people.
Metal curtains are used to blur the boundary between different functional spacesAdditionally, an art installation area has been integrated, taking advantage of the high lofty ceiling of the space, which will be used for monthly rotational curation.Linehouse aimed to create a destination by presenting art from a local gallery, which will be rotated monthly, in the space. Combined with numerous materials and abstract furniture pieces, the studio forms what the studio called an “unexpected collection”.
The entrance features a circular seating installation wrapped in metal curtain”The support of the client to design an office that pairs unexpected combinations of materials was refreshing and a challenge,” said Linehouse.
“The result is a space that allows art to breathe and creates a welcoming, natural and open place of work.”
The workstations are located in a sunken seating areaThe spaces are each defined by different materials. Marine plywood was used for the wall of the reception and pantry area, separating them from the meetings rooms. The same plywood was used for to the workstations located in a sunken seating area.
A circular seating area was wrapped in a metal curtain, with five-meter-high curtains used to divide other spaces.Linehouse transforms Shanghai swimming pool into office space
A customised table, made from different shaped pieces of marble and laminates, is used for meetings and dining.
Other tables in the meeting room features unique surfaces — one being a patchwork of timber textures and the other a gradient of glass transparency, from solid black to transparent.
“The design challenges the traditional notion of an office to promote a healthier and creative mindset to collaboration and communication, with emphasis on openness and autonomy for how staff use and occupy the spaces,” Linehouse concluded.
Marine plywood is used on the walls of the pantryLinehouse is a Hong Kong and Shanghai-based architecture and interior design studio established in 2013 by Alex Mok and Briar Hickling.
The duo won the emerging interior designer of the year category at the 2019 Dezeen Awards.
Meeting rooms feature custom made tablesThe studio has also recently designed a greenhouse-informed food market in Shanghai and the facade of a shopping centre in Bangkok.
The photography is by Dirk Weiblen.Read more: More
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Architecture for London creates demountable wood interior for Present & Correct store
Local studio Architecture for London has designed an interior for stationery store Present & Correct in London, which features gridded joinery and draws on “wunderkammer” cabinets of curiosities.
The studio designed bespoke joinery and storage for the Present & Correct shop in Bloomsbury, central London, which sells vintage and new stationery from across the globe.
The store interior was made from white-oiled woodArchitecture for London constructed a fully demountable interior for the store, which could be moved in the future if needed.
“Rather than building the joinery around the existing building, we treated each unit as a freestanding cabinet,” Architecture for London director Ben Ridley told Dezeen.
Trays showcase old and new stationery”Aside from the kiosk, most of the joinery was constructed offsite, so we had to consider whether the cabinets fit through a standard door width and could it easily be carried,” he continued.“In the long term the interior needs to adapt to multiple environments; the current shop has uneven floors, to accommodate this the cabinets have adjustable feet concealed within a recessed plinth, while slender legs appear to be bearing the weight.”
Architecture for London developed a grid design for the interiorPresent & Correct’s aesthetic is often built around an organised grid that holds different-shaped pieces of stationery, and the studio aimed to replicate this in the interior of the store.
“The shop joinery provides order through a grid which becomes progressively smaller as you enter the shop, providing scale to the eclectic collection of objects,” Ridley said.
The store design references the nearby British MuseumIt also drew on the idea of a wunderkammer, informed by the store’s location close to the British Museum, to display the goods as “objects of desire”.
“The wunderkammer is an environment which provides order to a collection of objects through compartmentalisation which could otherwise be observed as a chaotic mess,” Ridley explained.
“So it’s about how we display hundreds of tiny objects like pens, pencils and rubbers alongside toolboxes and trays in a considered and legible way.”Architecture for London uses natural materials to renovate studio founder’s home
The aim was for the cabinets to be durable and as long-lasting as old museum vitrines. However, budgetary constraints meant that Architecture for London couldn’t use hardwood for the joinery.
Instead, it chose to work with maple plywood and ash.
“We created the appearance and durability of solid timber by applying a rule that all edges of the maple plywood are finished with 25-millimetre British ash, which can take the knocks from a busy shop floor,” Ridley said.
The furnishings are fully demountable”The maple plywood grain is free from imperfections and has a calm grain, so we didn’t feel the need to use additional veneers,” he added.
“Although the joinery is built with an off-the-shelf material, by concealing the raw plywood edges the interior avoids the DIY aesthetic that can come with working with plywood.”
A neutral colour palette was used throughoutIt was important to Present & Correct that the interior would allow the products to shine, rather than compete with them.
This led Architecture for London to use a neutral colour palette and a grid layout that lets the materials speak for themselves, rather than more eye-catching designs.
“At the concept stage, we produced designs which incorporated more playful elements such as large columns shaped like pencils,” Ridley said.
“The shopkeeper understood their product well enough to know that there was enough humour in the stationery, so it didn’t need to be represented in the architecture.”
Other recent projects by Architecture for London include a light-filled extension to a Hackney home and an energy-saving home in north London designed for Ridley.
The photography is by Building Narratives.
Project credits:
Architect: Architecture for LondonInterior designer: Architecture for LondonMain contractor: AFL BuildRead more: More
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Co.arch Studio creates show kitchen for candied fruit specialist Cesarin
An Italian company that makes candied fruit now has a dedicated space for cookery demonstrations, designed by Milan-based architecture office Co.arch Studio.
Cesarin has produced its fruity bakery products at a factory between Verona and Vicenza in Italy for over 100 years.
The plywood structure is installed within one of Cesarin’s factory buildingsCo.arch Studio founders Andrea Pezzoli and Giulia Urciuoli worked with the company to create a pop-up kitchen for hosting live-audience events and filming videos for social media.
Built from plywood, this double-height structure is located on the first floor of one of the company’s existing factory buildings.
It provides space for hosting events and filming cookery videosIt incorporates a demonstration counter area, a kitchen, a meeting room, and storage and toilet facilities.The design concept developed by Pezzoli and Urciuoli was to create the impression of a singular, solid volume within the room.
“The new volume was designed as a large piece of furniture, inspired by Antonello da Messina’s painting San Girolamo Nello Studio,” explained the duo.
The demonstration counter is designed to move aroundThe Renaissance artwork they refer to depicts a priest sitting in a study room where architecture and furniture appear as one.
“This painting is known for the impeccable use of perspective, restoring the image of a space that is lived in but at the same time utopian and rigorous,” Pezzoli and Urciuoli said.Nimtim Architects updates London house with plywood partitions and arch motifs
Here, a similar effect is created. The structure was designed to look like a box with openings carved out of it, each incorporating a different function.
The demonstration counter sits within a large void at the front, although it is set on castors so it can be moved around.
An arched doorway leads up to the mezzanine levelA rectangular niche in the side wall creates a casual seat, while an arched doorway frames a staircase that leads up to a mezzanine level that functions as the meeting space.
The kitchen and toilet facilities are located within the volume, accessed from either a side door or via the counter area, while a cloakroom slots in underneath the stairs.
The meeting space sits directly beneath the roof trusses”The wooden volume highlights the height of the ceiling, defining the rhythm of the spaces with plays of solids and voids, and creating unprecedented internal views,” said the architects.
The plywood is made from okumè, a timber with a similar appearance to cherry.
The okumè plywood has a similar appearance to cherry woodThe idea was to reference the fruit that Cesarin is best known for; the land surrounding the factory is famous for its Prunus Avium plantations, which produce a particularly sweet type of cherry.
Behind the plywood panels is a balloon-frame structure, with pillars and beams made from fir wood.
Toilet and storage facilities are located within the wooden volumeThe entire construction was prefabricated by a carpentry workshop in South Tyrol, allowing the architects to achieve “a quality that would otherwise be impossible”.
The rest of the space is painted white, allowing the wood to stand out.
Pezzoli and Urciuoli liken the overall effect to that of a theatre. “To emphasise the theatrical aspect of the space, light wavy curtains resembling a curtain were used to darken the numerous windows,” they added.
Other recent projects in Italy include the Boyy flagship in Milan designed by Danish artist Thomas Poulsen and a sushi restaurant designed to resemble a futuristic spaceship.
The photography is by Simone Bossi.Read more: More
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Daniel Boddam converts Sydney warehouse into calm and plant-filled office
Local firm Daniel Boddam Studio has transformed a warehouse in Australia into a workplace for landscape design practice Wyer & Co, bringing nature into the space by using greenery and natural materials.
“I saw the project as an extension of Wyer & Co’s desire to bring in nature,” said Daniel Boddam, founder of Daniel Boddam Studio.
“Sustainability was discussed with the client from the outset and informed every aspect of the design – from materials and furniture to services and staff amenities.”
Green plants at the front door soften the red brick and black steel of the industrial warehouseLarge green plants at the entrance were used to conceal the building’s oversized dark steel doors, with the aim of reducing the scale and softening the red brick industrial warehouse.
A sandblasted limestone floor was extended from the building’s exterior to the interior to connect the spaces.At the front foyer, a large miniature date palm (Phoenic roebelenii) reaches towards the skylight above, reflecting the tone of the entrance garden.
Locally designed and crafted furniture was selected by the studioBehind the foyer is a gallery used for client presentations, industry events, talks and workshops. A series of bespoke, honey-coloured plywood cabinets decorate the space and showcase materials the studio uses in its work.
Throughout the office, workstations and meeting rooms were clad in various natural materials. Pine plywood, Tasmanian oak, walnut and sandblasted limestone create a warm palette that has been subtly embellished with cork and brass.
The office interiors features a variety of natural materialsDownstairs, an underground staff area holds plywood lockers and a kitchen space, and was designed to encourage staff to gather and socialise away from their desks.
Swiss cheese plants (Monstera deliciosa) were selected as the main indoor plant and used to trail the walls and ceilings to create a green environment over time.
Custom pots made with milled steel and finished in a clear powder coat nod to the industrial origin of the warehouse.SSdH tucks Melbourne warehouse apartment into former chocolate factory
Daniel Boddam Studio also curated a series of locally designed and crafted furniture for the workspace, including its low-lying Booham chair and the Wave sofa and armchair in the welcome foyer that nod to the coastal location of the office.
A meeting room opposite the foyer features the studio’s Geo Long table, accompanied by a custom-designed cabinet.
Materials used in the client’s work are displayed on plywood cabinets”The result is a quiet and considered interior that harmonises with the Australian landscape and celebrates the artisanal; a testament to simplicity, comfort, calmness and wellbeing,” Boddam concluded.
This project was longlisted in the small workspace interiors category of Dezeen Awards 2022.
Elsewhere in Australia, Dane Taylor Design has completed a multipurpose garden room in New South Wales with a compact form clad in charred wood, while Matt Gibson Architecture + Design has transformed a Victorian home in Melbourne’s suburbs with a faceted extension clad in black metal.
The photography is by Pablo Veiga.Read more: More
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Td-Atelier erects plywood “stage set” inside Shingu employment centre
Angular panels of plywood disguise the structural shell of the Yoridoko jobcentre in Shingu, Japan, designed by architecture studio Td-Atelier. More
